WoS Chapter 3

"Eldest, I've often heard that before a Ceree dies, an incomparable fear envelops him or her. After that, life becomes dull and meaningless... Is it true?" Malkuthe said slowly, turning over the words in his mouth.

"I really have no idea, but if the stories say so, then maybe, just maybe... Why do you ask, Malkuthe?" By that time, Malkuthe was already in the hallway outside the room. "Malkuthe!" the Eldest shouted after him, but he paid no heed. He already knew what he needed to know.

He went to his small abode and waited. Night fell and sleep came with unsettling dreams.

---

Erithe floated in what could be called an endless void. It was blacker than black, and she felt as though she no longer had a body. "Is this how it is to die?" came the unbidden thought. Slowly, pinpricks of light appeared in the distance. Before long, the darkness seemed to be like the night sky.

The light began attaching to her. She didn't know how, they just seemed to stick. They seared her, right down to the core. "Oh the pain! The pain!" she screamed.

Her alerons twitched and she clenched her hands. She was afraid to open her eyes to a sight that she expected to meet her.

---

Saffyre laid on her back in the grass of the Gasir Plains. It was comforting to watch the night sky and the slow twinkling of the myriad stars set in its indigo depths. Her eyes shined in their own light, but it was a dim, sad one now.

She smiled when she saw Lycandu in the distance, running across the flatland, throwing up billowing clouds of dust. They ran in the few patches of sand in the plains.

She got up and sat on her haunches at the sound of a voice she had come to recognize, she believed she could even pick out it's owner in a crowd of Ceree. "Saffyre..."

"Yes?"

"There's something you haven't been telling me, right?"

"I guess so... But now is not the time to tell you. I would have, if the time had come earlier. Not now, though." said Saffyre. Saffyre hated having to keep secrets from her childhood friend. She was far from the person that the other knew years ago. "Forgive me, but I have other matters to attend to."

Saffyre turned her back on her other friend's concerned gaze. Tears welled in her eyes, but she forced them down. She took to the skies, angled to the east and then flew. Soon after, she was but a black speck on the sky to her distressed friend. She knew her friend had hoped to talk to her about her own problems, she didn't know how she knew, it was just so.

---

Jade looked sadly at the skies. She wanted to help Erithe get through her time of trial, but when she had returned, Erithe was gone. Apparently, a long time since.

She had returned dejectedly to her home. Now she felt ashamed that she hadn't even tried to look for Erithe. That was the only thing on her mind, but that was quickly replaced.

The ground shook and the tremors took a full minute before they subsided. The soft cries of terrified children rose from the surrounding forest. She herself shook visibly. She felt something was awry, but it took a lot of debating with herself before she left her abode.

She flew outside and almost fainted when she saw what had happened. The mirror of the winds had shattered. Parts of the erupting volcano were still under the semblance that they were normal, but the magic was shattered. She didn't know that anything could shatter webs of magic.

Then and there, her teeth chattered. She flew to Malkuthe's abode quickly.

---

Solen had left after knowing that those he left were okay. He went to an island that he had always liked. It was within the cloak of Malleithen and it had a relaxing breeze.

There, he found a Ceree lying unconscious. He hid behind a rock, not knowing whether to help or not.

---

Elves streamed into the Elven city by roads so cleverly hidden in the woods as game trails. By now though, the barracks was on a different section of the forest and only one road went to there from the city. The amassed elves, after taking their oaths proceeded to the barracks.

In their march, chins held high and breasts swollen with pride. They did not notice that the road beneath their feet was now paved.

Screams of pain, terror and panic filled the night and the air shook with horror. All of a sudden, the forest was still and nothing remained of the slaughter that had just taken place.

Radu had tapped into a small mine under his hut which his family had been digging into for years to get a mineral known as adamant needed to make farm tools, adamant was as strong or stronger than steel yet half as light, as everything they owned they had usually made themselves. he felt glad that one of the people who had helped raisie him in his youth had been and immpressive black smith, who had taught him the ways of forging metals. he stayed up all through the night, melting, cooling, remelting, and so on. hours and hours of only barely beginning then starting over. he wanted it to be perfect...

in the small hours of the morning he lay passed out clutching in his paws a half finished helm peice, while a set of perfectly forged dark red armor lay about him... he started as he woke up and admired his work in the light. the armor was an exact replica of the armor that had been passed down to him, except this looked brand new. he smiled and despite how tired he was he went back to working on the helm to finish this job

after another hour of working, and two more of letting the paint dry on the final piece, the armor was ready. with a little effort he attached his armor, it looked as though it weighed near a ton, but barely weighted 1 hundred pounds (which should be light given dragon standards...) he moved around in it and smiled. he was also glad that the armor covered nearly all of his marks. but regardless he dawned his cloak over his armor and headed to town to wait...

Malkuthe sat on his haunches atop the cliff that jutted from the mountainside. He savored the wind whistling on his face. The fear had taken him in what seemed an eternity ago. All that remained was a bleakness, a sort of lethargy that had him thinking it would just be better to wait for himself to waste away.

Earlier on, he had told a disheveled Jade off sternly. She protested unceasingly until Malkuthe made the ground beneath her feet crack with his voice. At that moment, she had sobbed and was unable to fly away for a few moments. She had whispered "What's happening to you?"

The sun was now high above the horizon and the wind was picking up in strength. Although Malkuthe was constantly buffeted by the gale that screamed across the land, he barely moved. His alerons whipped about in the zephyrs and the elation of feeling the wind on his face wiped away the sullenness that soaked his bones. Soon after, though, it returned.

The steady rhythm of wings flapping half-roused Malkuthe from his brooding. The direction of the wind shifted and carried a scent that was familiar to him. His head swiveled around and he looked straight at Saffyre. "What do you want this time?" His voice was dull and lifeless as a rock.

"What are you doing, Malkuthe? The tribes are riled up and the Dark One is stirring, but here you are, the highest of us, sulking in the breeze!" said Saffyre, her voice filled with sympathy and a pleading for him to see the right path.

"What does it matter if custom dictates that I am the highest of us? WHAT?!" Malkuthe bared his fangs in a snarl as he whirled around to face Saffyre.

"It means that our fates ride on your shoulders!" the other said with conviction.

"Your fates, right. Twenty seven died because I was not able to raise my voice when I had to... Twenty seven faces haunt me every time I close my eyes! Twenty seven dead!" Malkuthe said, tears streaming down his face as the fear enveloped him again. It was a fear of failure, a fear of embarrassment. He even shook.

"Your mother would have told you not to sulk like this! Your father would have been disappointed! Do you want them to see their son wasting away like this, a dull wreck?" Saffyre shouted over the wind that had picked up to a ferocious whistling.

"What do you know of them, Saffyre? Get away from me... Get away!" Malkuthe shouted, tears still streaming down his cheeks. The world seemed to crash down on him and the bleakness was gone. What was left was a grim determination to see the Ceree through the troubled times. Even that, didn't last long; the bleakness took him again.

Saffyre turned away and shook her head sadly, causing her alerons to wave slightly. Her mouth was turned down in sadness and with powerful strokes of her wings, she launched herself from the cliff.

Malkuthe stood there, motionless for a time. After Saffyre left, he decided to go inside his small home. Before he could take a single step, though, pain went through him like he had never felt before. His vision reddened and he collapsed on the ground, writing in agony as shudders racked his frame. That definitely got rid of the bleakness, but now, he fought to hold on to dear life.

Just about then Radu walked up "malkuthe... What agonizes you so?" he said having pushed his cloak back to reveal his armored face. He looked down upon his friend in pity... Then something seemed to click in his head. He pushed himself under malkuthe, and lifted his friend up, carrying malkuthe on his shoulders, he sighed and the marks on his body flashed, then a strange thing happened. Malkuthe's pain would lessen greatly and be drawn into radu... Radu gritted his teeth now bearing mire than half of malkuthe's pain... He flipped his hood up and made his way step by shaking step down the mountian

he didn't quite know how he was doing this, but he knew malkuthe's pain was not a natural one. This meant it could ecentully replace what radu had absorbed... He growled as he was halfway down the mountain side, having to pause from how much of malkuthe's pain he had taken. He continued shakily towards malkuthe's house, doing his best to bring ease to his friends pain, even if only temporaily

radu continued his way down the mountian, step by painful step. he tried to keep the flow of pain from malkuthe into himself steady, to keep malkuthe's pain at a standable level, but it was rwally straining radu to keep that up, while dealing with the pain he was taking in. he slowly made his way all the way to malkuthe's home

he set malkuthe down on a soft bed and lay down next to him, keeping a paw on malkuthe's side. he continued to try and drain the pain, but it kept coming back... he wasn't ure how much more of this he could take. his claws began to dig into the ground from the shear pain

Algaisia opened his eyes when a servant went to inform him that the elders will most likely debate this proposition for a week, and that they will contact him when the decision is made. He stood slowly and just walked, deep in his thoughts, thinking and philosophizing.
A bird sang, the song of an elven message from royalty. Algaisia sang back in the language of birds, identifying himself as the Old Commander of the Elite Elves. The bird sang, "My old friend, I have grave news; The Elven army was most likely betrayed, and they were destroyed. The Elite are no more. You are one of the last elven warriors. I have gone into hiding, and this bird knows where. Reply please. I know you possess one more question, and i must answer. Your family did not survive."
Algaisia, now crying, sang, "Bring this to the King, 'I have appealed to the Ceree's and they might join with the remnants of our army. I will send more news when possible. The Dark One is rising, but I shall fight.'" Algaisia watched the bird go, then sat down. He was back into his memories, when he left his post since nature called out to him. That was the last time he saw his friends and family.
Another servant came, obviously in haste, but not wanting to disturb the elf. The servant said, "Please, elf, come with haste and heal our fallen friend. We do not know what has become of him, only that he is in deep pain."
Al nodded, and followed. When he came upon Malkuthe, he knew that there was no physical wound, "This is pain of the soul. I can only but try to help him bear the pain." And so Al did, sitting by Malkuthe's side and casting various magics of the soothing of water, life of nature, and the strength of light.

Erithe awakened to the wind's sweet caress, it was laced with the scent of a field of flowers. She didn't know what kind of flower, but it was fragrant all the same. Gingerly, she moved her paws and her alerons, they hurt. She tried to get up, but her knees sagged and she fell right back down.

Erithe's breath caught as the wind changed direction and brought an aroma that was intoxicating. It was as though all the good in the world had gone into making that single smell for the pleasure of those that would smell it. She blinked when she thought she saw the ground burst into growth and bloom proceedingly closer to her. It was as though the simple presence of something that stepped on the ground was enough to make plants bloom wildly.

When Erithe looked around, she was sitting squarely in a patch of barren ground. It seemed as though the being that made the land bloom was trying to get rid of it. She blinked when she saw a form shimmer above the patches of growth that, she realized, were in the shape of paws.

The shape seemed to flow from step to step in what looked like a graceful dance around her. Every time the wind stirred, the heavenly scent entered Erithe's nostrils and she slowly felt the energy seep into her. With each whiff, the figure began to grow more corporeal.

She gasped when she saw a face described only in myth and song. Am I going to die already?. The figure came closer to her, sympathy painted on that oh-so-beautiful face.

"Come here, my child..." the figure beckoned as it sat on its haunches. Sitting like that, it was head and shoulders taller than Erithe, but Erithe didn't care.

Erithe trotted up to the figure, as slowly as she can, but she couldn't help but wince at every step. When she finally reached the figure it took her near it and placed her on its bosom, while hugging her as much as a dragon could hug. Erithe smiled as she felt comfort seeping into her veins.

Is this how it is to feel the last embrace of the Great Mother? That was her last thought before the world faded into darkness.

---

The world spun as Malkuthe fought against his bonds. They weren't chains but could have been as good as that. They were glowing threads of something with the texture of fur. He tried to pull with all his remaining might, but he couldn't his head sagged as his ears were filled with distant screaming of others that were tormented.

"No! No! No! Not again!" screamed Malkuthe in his head. His vision was filled with the dream that kept repeating itself in his unsettling sleep.

He struggled, trying to move his already limp alerons to sever the thread that tied him but to no avail. He heard the hiss of a hot iron as it was pressed against the skin of one of the other captives.

"No! Get away from me!" Malkuthe forced every word out of his mind with excruciating difficulty. "Get away!" he roared.

Out of the crimson darkness, a Ceree appeared. Her face was illuminated with the reddish glow of the iron that she held. It hissed and burned as though it was still pressed against skin.

"N-n-no! Saffyre, not you! nooo!" Malkuthe trembled even in his state of unconsciousness. His mind was racked with shudders. Other times it had been Jade or Erithe or his mother or his father or even a creature blacker than the deepest night, but this apparition was the one that shook him the most.

Malkuthe shrank away from the branding iron. He felt his heart beat hard. His back was completely against the cold slick wall. He screamed in pain as the iron was buried deep into his front left paw.

It seemed to Malkuthe that the pain in the dream and that in real life was one and the same. He screamed again.

The world spun as Malkuthe fought against his bonds. They weren't chains but could have been as good as that. They were glowing threads of something with the texture of fur--

"No... no, not again!" Malkuthe groaned. The border between reality and the dream suddenly started to stiffen. After what seemed to be an eternity, the dream suddenly started to feel less like reality.

He woke with a gasp. He was in a cold, dark room, he remembered the dream and he shuddered. His left paw was throbbing, he did not have to look to know what had happened. He roared in agony to the skies.

---

Solen's eyes widened at the spectacle he had seen. The Great Mother had actually appeared before someone. The moment though, that she vanished, the other dragon flew towards Malleithen.

The moment he had seen the dragon that was in the Great Mother's embrace, he had been besotted. He tried to follow her, but decided against it. He decided to take the easier way to Malleithen. He jumped in the waters and willed them to take him home.

Algaisia saw him go, but did not follow. This was something Malkuthe must do himself. Instead he walked the other way, sat down, and meditated. The news he received hurt him more that he could bear, but he must be a good role-model, and keep up the pretense of confidence.

Oh, my brother, i have failed you. I promised that i would see you again, but The Dark One made that a lie, as he does only too well. Al thought sadly, and went back to his childhood, all those centuries ago, when life seemed infinite, and carefree. Those were the days where there was an unbreakable bond between them, and one was never seen without the other.

Radu lay behind malkuthe panting his eyes seemed dull. he was drained at this point, having been pulling over 70% of malkuthe's pain into him, and carring him down the mountian. radu was on the verge of unconsciousness, and his paw had slipped off malkuthe's side, breaking the connection so radu no longer was taking the access pain if any was left. he was still left to deal with the pain he had already taken, his claws dug into the ground and his muzzle controted into a growl of pure agonizing pain.... he looked at malkuthe, trembling "your a-awake" he mumbled "i'l leave you be" he stood and started to stumble out the door, each step was of agony.... he passed out from the exhaustion of taking the pain and from the pain itself

The presence of others in the same cave was like a distant memory that faded with time. He heard a faint groaning and the sound of claws being dragged through the ground. He had squeezed his eyes shut again, as though opening them would bring every painful memory back.

Sleep reached for his consciousness. The seemingly harmless song drew him and tried to seize him from the waking world. He fought desperately against the lulling melody that was sleep.

The blinding pain returned harder than ever and it made him lose his grasp on what was real.

Everywhere he looked was covered in brown. There was no sun, but light seemed to permeate the very air. Something all of a sudden, a drawing laughter echoed in the place and something creaked.

Malkuthe stirred in his sleep. He fell from the small rocky outcrop that he had climbed in the cave so gingerly.

Thud. The ground shook but Malkuthe did not feel it. He smelled something familiar and it seemed to seep from the floor, it was the smell of wood. He looked around once more and saw lines that shot out everywhere. He dreaded to look behind him, but he did. He saw a circle, and he was the only one on it.

He looked down, and at his feet was a disc of a pale white wood carved with a feather. He saw his limbs and they were misty, like a half-formed dream. Something tugged at his memory, but he couldn't quite remember it.

Half-conscious, he got up from the cold floor. He took a single step, but he couldn't feel anything. The pain had numbed him, he moaned, but he still could not differentiate reality from the dream.

He tried to move across the wooden floor. He wasn't able to. Four wooden discs tumbled from somewhere and crashed on the ground beside him. Three marked faces. He knew he should remember something, but he couldn't.

The discs tumbled again and this time landed with four faces. From the distance, something scratched against the wooden surface and he saw towering figures standing on wooden discs. The Fayett. The realization hit him like a boulder and he started at it. The Sa'mit thundered down the board again

Malkuthe could not see anything, but he felt wind on his face. He continued walking.

The Sa'mit landed with a bang that sent the entire board shuddering. Malkuthe thought frantically about the rules that made the game. He was the last Highwind in the circle, if he left, the game will be over. Four carved faces, he observed and he smiled ferally just as the Fayett moved closer to him. He took a step and the disc moved out of the circle, the dream faded into a flash of light

He opened his eyes just in time to open his wings and pull out of the dive before he hit the earth. He glided up, the feeling of the wind on his face was wonderful, made even more luscious by the pain that was now gone. He laughed as he stopped to perch atop the cliffside, but his front paw throbbed. He let out a small cry as he saw an image branded onto the skin. Fur had grown over it in a small time, thankfully, but even that was of a different shade.

---

Erithe woke up to a silver dragon tending her wounds. The paste stung as the elderly dragon applied it on her skin. She looked around in a daze until her eyes fell on the dragon again. Her mouth dropped and she produced little more than a squeak.

It took a while to regain her composure and when she did, she gaped in awe. "I thought the dragons were extinct!" She sat bolt upright, as though shocked at what she had said.

"Now, now, that will make your cuts worse. Yes, I am the last of my kind." The elderly dragon smiled at her. "Now, who might you be, young lady? I seldom have Ceree flying through the sky half-asleep and then landing in front of my hut and collapsing, for that, I would like to know your name."

"I-I'm Erithe..." She said, still dazed. "And who are you?"

"I was born with a different name, but now I am called Sielvoth. Well, only I call myself that, all my friends have passed away and I deeply regret that." He said with just a hint of sadness in his voice. "Oh sorry, I tend to ramble, the millenia do that to you, you know?"

Erithe moved her mouth wordlessly and winced when Sielvoth applied a fresh layer of paste. Suddenly, something came to her mind. "I'm dead aren't I? Did you see the Great Mother anywhere, I have to thank her for taking me into her embrace."

"Dear, dear, settle down, you are not dead!" Sielvoth said, worry in his eyes. "No, I did not see the Great Mother, she has been dead for eons now."

"You're not going to fool me. I think that's a well-rehearsed ploy that you put on so that the newly dead will not be shocked by the transition..." said Erithe trailing on, not even seeing how deluded her words were.

"You got your head knocked pretty hard didn't you, young lady?" Sielvoth cocked his head at Erithe with a bemused expression.

Algaisia followed Radu outside, and when he collapsed Al did nothing, for all Radu needed was healing sleep. So Al sat, cross-legged, next to Radu and went into a light sleep. He dreamed of his now deceased family and friends, each of them were blaming him and said, 'Why did you betray us?' when Al tried to explain why he couldn't keep his promise, the figure faded and was replaced by another.

In his sleep radu had the strangest dream he saw a strange world. And in it there where seven figures. He caught a few names triethe, skyye, esctasy, apoin, algaisia.. But two surprised him, the name of the great mother, which they Nick name kaldi for some reason. But the other name he did not know yet it seemed to linger Erik Grandclaw. The dream seemed to zero in on him and not the great mother, which annoyed radu. It showed everything from him delivering the final blow upon a beast called exiron, trying to make freinds with triethe who seemed difficult, to gaining a blade called tanik. A strange part wad where he became some form of humanoid dragon.... Then the dream shifted revealing another world and another figure. Radu was shock when he saw this figure, the figure looked almost exactly like him except standing on two legs... It was also missing it's alerons and had scales instead if fur. But other than that it was almost a copy of him. This figure was apparently Derek grandclaw. His actions where striking similar to erik's, and in a way his own. The dream followed most of his life and his on going attempted to befriend and change syruin (who seemed far more difficult than triethe

radu seemed to wake, but in his house, not malkuthe's home. What was really strange was in front of him stood Derek and Erik. Radu's eyes tried to wake up could not. His attention went to Erik first, Who seemed to be multiple figures at once. He seemed to shift between anthro dragon, dragon, elf, and an enity made of blue fire "you knew the great mother" he managed
Erik rolled his eyes "yes I knew kaldi, but I stil don't see why people focus on her so much, yes she gave magic and was the mother of dragon kind but I did just as much to create this plane" he grumbled Derek looked at him
"your doing it again" Derek stated then looked at radu applogeticly "ignore that, he gets grumpy when people mention that subject"
radu just sat there in stunned silence "wait then he is one of the seven then who are you?" radu asked Derek
Derek waved off the question dimissively "not important, but radu very hard times lay ahead, the dark lord is rising and he will try to destroy everything, and you will help prevent that"
then Erik spoke "as a rare purple ceree you already have power above that of normal ceree, but this isn't your only power. Your markings are beyond even the rarity of a pure black or pure white ceree, they signify your power. Two of these powers are your resistance to magic and the ability to draw the pain from others. Other powers will come. Until then ... Wake up" at these words radu started and awoke back in malkuthe's home.

(any problems with this post and I will edit)

Malkuthe was able to clear his mind and he entered his home. It was dank and dark. He used magic to get rid of the foul odor and glowing balls of gas erupted into life all around the cave. He regarded the state of the cave with a sniff.

He saw Radu on the floor writhing in pain, barely awake. Malkuthe took a step towards him, but hesitated. He took the form of an elf and picked up a rock from the ground. He whispered a thank you to Radu and the stone burst into a blue lily. The edges of its petal was white, but the neck was the color of a clear morning sky. It glowed faintly, he distantly remembered it was called Geirrha's Glory.

Malkuthe settled the flower on Radu's forehead and turned around. Slowly, he let the balls of gas wink out one by one. As he did, he felt the cave squeeze around him, his breath caught and he tried to exhale but wasn't able to. Every step was heavy and was as if he was walking through jelly.

He managed to leave the confined space and was able to breathe again. He took off and on his way to the council, he saw a weeping elf. Again, he caused a Geirrha's Glory to bloom, this time at the elf's feet.

Malkuthe angled towards the clan hold and landed with a great billow of dust just before the council's chambers. He threw the doors open in the form of an elf and it took the elders a moment to recognize him. The wind rushed inside with a definite whoosh and the walls shook with the force with which the doors banged open.

"What is the meaning of this, Ma--!" one of the elders shouted, enraged, but was cut off by Malkuthe.

"Let us talk about matters of succession and contingency plans. Elder Sal'moren, who is next in line to be chief if ever death befalls me?" Malkuthe said, the tones of haste, anxiety and command in his voice. A deadly combination to speak with in front of the council for with such a voice they could simply shut the person speaking out. The entrance dealt with that possibility though and one of the doors hung on only one hinge.

"It would be Noune'suvre. Your cousin." said the elder. "But I do not see why you should come barging in on us. We were deep in deliberation."

"Then let it be known." said Malkuthe, ignoring the question. "That by the chieftain's will, I name Raducan, son of Thorn, son of Marick, heir to the title. Should the time come that I die without an heir, Raducan, son of Thorn, son of Marick shall take my place." He said firmly. Almost all the elders raised their alerons in question. "My will is final. Elder Malhar, what does the code of Saravelle state for a time of crises?"

"The chieftain speaks for the council in all aspects concerning the crises. The must bend knee, listen and obey the chieftain's orders for as long as the crises afflicts Ceree society." The words sounded as though they were wrenched from the elder's mouth. "But I still don't see how Ra--!"

"Be quite Malhar!" Malkuthe snapped. The council was filled with gasps. Spectators were gathered around the hall and even inside. "Now, when the time comes that the Dark One's freedom is apparent, I want all the four clans to take to the Languid Sea. I want every single Ceree that belongs to a clan on the continent of Malleithen before that day comes to a close."

"Malkuthe. I want to question the wisdom of your actions. Our ancestors--!" said one of the elders heatedly.

"Our ancestors did what could be done. I expect silence Sal'heran! Now listen to me, I expect messengers sent out this very day to the other tribes and have them make haste! I want every Ceree out of Alriiea when the Forbidden Peaks release their fury. Drag every Agile Talon out of the barren wasteland they consider as home if they refuse to leave. These are my words. Listen and obey." With that Malkuthe turned around and even as he did, fur sprouted on his skin and his legs elongated. His jaw became longer and his face developed into a Ceree's with a satisfied smile.

A hush had settled over the onlookers and they parted for him. Some nodded in approval, some shook their heads in disdain. Others still, were intent on studying the ground between their paws.

Malkuthe turned around and told the council "By the way, from this day forth, Algaisia shall attend to me and not you. He is to be my guard of honor. A good day, elders." he flourished a bow fit for a court.

Radu awoke as the pain he had drawn from malkuthe fully faded and so did the same dream. he started to rise, but then the flower dropped from his head.. he looked at the delicate blossom "Geirrha's Glory" he muttered in amazement. he blinked at the flower before him. he replanted the flower by one of the cave walls and next to it he removed his armor and neatly piled it while dawning his claok. he had a strange sense that something deeply related to him had just happened, but what it was he had no idea

he hurried out of the dark cave and began to search for malkuthe. his only thought was to make sure his friend was okay. he eventually found him and was relieved that malkuthe seemed to be okay, he had found malkuthe exiting the clan hold "my friend! how are you feeling, you gave me quite a scare back there i thought you would never wake up" he smiled from beneath his hood

Seraph journeyed back to Malleithen to find a way to defeat the Dark One. Since Malleithen was the continent the Great Ancestors landed, it must have a clue to defeat the Dark One, Seraph thought. As he reached the continent, he searched high and low for a way. He left no stone unturned. Finally after a few hours, he punched at the ground. " I give up! There absolutely nothing here! Why should I even help them. The four tribes treat me like an outcast! Our..." He stopped. " I will never be accepted!" He fell to the ground crying 'til he slept.

Seraph then saw him standing before him his father, a ceree with about the same features as himself. " Father..." He then saw other ceree with the same features. But a great fire appeared, devouring all the ceree in his sight. " NO!"

Seraph woke up with a start. He was clammy with sweat. " Just a dream."

Algaisia slowly opened his eyes, and saw the flower at his feet. He appreciated the gesture, surprised that the Ceree knew some of the Elven customs. ((he doesn't know that you just put it there)) He slowly rose to his feet, and walked, seemingly gliding, towards where he saw Radu and Malkuthe. "Hello, what have I missed?" Algaisia seemed older, nearly ancient, which was saying a lot, since elves naturally seem young. "I have sad news to tell you," Al continued on, not listening for a reply, "The elven army is destroyed." Al looked away, resisting the tears that threatened to spill again.

Caleth shifted his weight from one foot to the other uneasily.
Those nightmares again...will they ever end? He'd fallen asleep last night, only to be confronted with images of his childhood.
Of the Great Division.
Movement in the valley below caught his eye. Launching himself into the air, Caleth plummeted towards the ground, using a burst of magic from his pinions to slow down at the last possible moment. He landed on the prey he'd been stalking, digging his claws in so that it couldn't escape. With a swift bite to the throat, Caleth killed the deer.
The crimson blood made him wince. It never failed to remind him of the past horrors, and of his oath -
'To protect this generation, come what may,' he murmured.

All other emotion was pushed away, drained from a heart that was rapidly turning to stone. Gray stormy seas of anger, regret, suffering, pain, joy and even determination rumbled mutedly in a corner of his mind. The state he was in was a state of mirthless optimism.

Algaisia's question was answered by Malkuthe quickly. "Sad news to hear..." he said, without even a hint of what he mentioned in his voice. "Fear not, you will remain in service to the world. You shall be my guard of honor until my passing." He said flatly. He pushed away the throbbing pain of the mark on his front paw.

He practically ignored Radu's puzzled look and took Algaisia took the side. "I made Radu next in line to the Laudethe and the title, pretend you don't know until I tell you." Without waiting for a reply, Malkuthe walked in front of Radu without so much as a glance, but all confounded eyes were on the two of them.

He went to stand beside Radu, but it seemed no one yet knew the identity of the cloaked stranger. He bent close to Radu's ear as though he would whisper something, but in one deft movement he threw Radu's cloak skyward and it was caught in the wind, revealing all of his markings. "Behold, my brothers, Radu, son of Marick, son of Thorn, heir to the title and the Laudethe!"

Radu was about to protest or run due to the removal of his cloak. but then he heard malkuthe's annoucment. his jaw went a little slack and his eyes widened. he quickly straighten up infront of the crowd of ceree who wear much more confused and astonished than him. he quickly turned to malkuthe and whispered "have you gone bloody MAD!?" he then jsut kind of stood there frozen and not moving due to a mixture of confusion, shock, and stagefright, the crowd in front of him was just as speechless

'147 years and they still taste the same,' Caleth wiped his talons on the grass, then got up. He was large for a ceree, which would give him an advantage in war...if one ever came around, that was.
'Typical. I spend all my life training and the only battles were when I was too young to fight.'
I suppose I should be thankful for that. Caleth coated his neck in dust, making sure it hid the purple streak across his throat. The dirt was irritating, but he didn't want others thinking it was anything other than a scar. Eventually, he'd managed to make it blend in with the rest of his cream-brown fur, and set off, running across the valley in a blur of speed.
He knew he was dangerously close to another clan's border, so he kept his guard up.

"Old friend, do you honestly think I would choose you for my heir if I was mad?" said Malkuthe humorlessly. "Although that depends on how you'd see Mad. If mad for you is being unable to feel anything because of a pain so horrible it almost shuts everything including itself out, then yes." Malkuthe threw back his head and laughed mirthlessly, avequeli twitching.

Malkuthe turned to the crowd, seeing many with their mouths hanging open. "Well, what are you gaping at? A new heir has just been chosen, you should be rejoicing!" His comment was met with indifference and many stalked away outright. The others who remained shot sympathetic glances at him and followed in the wake of the ones that walked away. "Don't worry, it'll help your self-esteem problems." said Malkuthe, turning to Radu.

One of the elders stepped out from the council's hall and looked at Malkuthe with concern painted on that elderly face. "Are you okay, Malkuthe?"

Malkuthe cocked his head at the elder and frowned a little, as though it was the elder that was insane. He opened his mouth a bit, but then shot off into the sky towards the south. He came to a running halt outside his home and then pain flashed and he embraced it and went into slumber, writhing on the floor in agony.

---

Erithe stood up, dazed, after Sielvoth applied the stinging paste for the third day. She trotted around the house observing that scrolls overflowed from every single cubbyhole that was in the house. Sielvoth had told her to stay inside after denying for the forty-seventh time that she was dead.

It was difficult to get a bearing of time in the almost windowless house. She had asked Sielvoth about that, but he said that the anteroom to his chambers had windows. They were grand names for a small run-down hut, it was just a room that shared a room with his, but it was also connected to her room. Sielvoth had told her to keep out and she wouldn't have followed if she had been able to pick the lock that closed her room to the so-called anteroom.

It was the first day after her supposed 'death' that she managed to use magic. She went back to her room and used it to open the lock. The rumbling in her stomach was indication enough that it should have been midday, but she gasped when outside she saw moonlight. It must be a reflection of Malleithen in the world of the dead.

She went to the front door and pushed it open. She came face to face with a handsomely black Ceree. In shock she said "Are you dead too?"

The other answered "No I'm not. I'm Solen, and you are?"

Erithe's mouth moved wordlessly.

---

((OOC: Hey, GoredGuar, try getting on the chatbox!))

radu then spoke the mind of every single still present Ceree "dear lords above, malkuthe has gone loony" him and the elder exchanged a worried glance. then radu made an address to the other ceree "i think we shoudl with hold offical judgement on this matter until malkuthe hopefully gains some amount of sanity back, until then... i'll go back to my farm" this was met with nods of approval

Radu flew off, but not to his farm. he followed malkuthe at a very far distance. he was pondering how badly malkuthe would of lost it if radu hadn't taken a large portion of the pain any before hand. he was slowly gathering energy within himself. he planned to get to malkuthe and try to drain as much pain as he could, and try to hold it long enough for malkuthe to gain a sense of sanity back. he touched down a few feet from malkuthe's house and would wait till he woke up

Algaisia was grinning, but was confused with how the events were going. Ceree's customs were so strange. Was it tradition to call the leader who was putting a title on someone loony? Al sighed, elven customs were much easier to understand. Shame.

Caleth was about to turn around and head back to Windblown Valley when the air grew cold.
Strange... Usually it was warm, due to the heat creeping in from the arid Windblown Valley. The soil felt strange beneath his claws, and Caleth kept an eye out, trying to spot anything unusual. Although he was out in the open, the light began to dim, growing darker, a metallic smell filling his nostrils. Caleth whipped his tail round, the Klimnu humming softly as it sliced the air. Suddenly, a hulking beast reared up from the earth, opening its maw to screech at him.
Caleth winced as the sound hurt his ears. There was no time to collect his senses, however, as the demon charged forwards, teeth flashing.

Malkuthe waited for what seemed like an eternity for the pain to come, he was ready to embrace it with every fiber of his being, but it didn't come. He opened his eyes with a gasp and tried to stand. The pain was still there, but it was tolerable now. The pain made him want to retch.

His knees wobbled when he tried to stand straight, but he fought gravity and was able to stand. For all it was worth, embracing the pain seemed to help a lot. He seemed to be able to think straight now and he actually gave a start when he saw Radu nearby. He walked up to the other and looked at him.

Malkuthe stared at Radu in the eye. He was an entire head or more taller than Radu, so he had the advantage. "You're my heir and there's nothing you can do about it. As you can see, now I'm thinking straight." said Malkuthe flatly.

Ignoring the looks of protest that flashed across Radu's face, he said "And if I collapse due to pain again, don't you dare try drawing some of it away. I need all Highwind to be in top condition if we are to fight the Dark One. However, our forces are still weak, that's why I ordered an evacuation if he really does manage to break free of his bonds."

"Do I make myself clear?" Malkuthe finished sternly.

---

"I'm Erithe. Nice to meet you Solen. So let me make this clear, you're a living breathing Ceree that is in the world of the Dead," said Erithe, inviting the other inside.

"Yes, I'm a living, breathing Ceree, but this is NOT the world of the Dead," mumbled Solen, twitching ever so slightly every time his eyes fell on Erithe's face. "I don't think old man Sielvoth would appreciate me inside the house."

"No, no boy, if you can talk some sense into this girl here, feel free." said Sielvoth. "As for you, young lady, we'll have a talk about following orders later." Solen's head whipped around and he found himself almost snout to snout with Sielvoth, Erithe leaned to the side and gave a start.

"O-okay, old man." mumbled Solen. Once inside, Solen sat down liesurely and began talking with Erithe. "You're not dead!"

"Yes I am! Is this another of those briefing ceremonies for the newly dead? Or are you one of the newly dead too?" said Erithe, not believing a single word that the others said. To her, her logic was incomparable, after all, she had been embraced by the Great Mother.

"Why can you not understand that you are NOT dead?!" said Solen, raising his voice in irritation, but he still fidgeted when he looked at Erithe's face.

"Because I was in the embrace of the Great Mother!" said Erithe, raising her voice too.

"I saw that and after she embraced you, you flew half-asleep across the ocean and landed here. I should know, I followed you." said Solen in a proud matter-of-factly tone.

"Oh." said Erithe. In a corner of the room, a spirit thought that if only she had a face, she would have scowled.

---

Saffyre looked up at the sky, the day had turned into night and the stars were twinkling high above. She smiled sadly and a single thought crossed her mind.

For what cause am I here?

---

In the darkness two voices converged. It seemed as though the more powerful of the two had found a new servant to replace the one it had killed.

"You will go to the chieftains and convince them to take action." said the first voice with what can only be called a cold finality.

"But master, there is nothing that I can do, I have already tried, but they would not listen." said the second voice filled with protest.

"Then try harder, you know what is at stake if you do not do as I say. Now go." said the first voice. It made a pushing gesture in the darkness and the light of the doorway that appeared outlined the form of a Ceree. The light didn't touch it here, but she opened her own doorway and stepped outside.

---

Jade stood on the plateau facing the Forbidden Peaks. She looked at it with a mournful expression, she had just returned from another failed attempt at convincing Saffyre to take action. She was turned away rudely, practically thrown out of the small hut that Saffyre lived in. "How unceremonious!" she had thought.

Jade would have gone to Malkuthe but the highwind were in uproar. They were in turmoil over someone that Malkuthe had named his heir. Jade thought that it was a wise decision, seeing as how things were turning out and Malkuthe was still incapable of fathering any children, not that he had found a mate yet. She believed it was the choice of who should be an heir that the Highwind were so riled up about, but who was she to care.

Erithe was another thing entirely, the chieftain had vanished inexplicably from the clan hold and was nowhere to be found. The only thing that anyone could remember was a loud roar that sounded like it was pained, the next thing they knew, Erithe was gone. She discarded those thoughts from her mind and focused on what she should do next.

Her ladyservant went up to her bearing a carcass. "Mistress, you must eat..." Jade looked at her ladyservant with a look of thanks that made her servant's face brighten.

"I am sorry Ma'hail. I do not feel like eating. Eat it yourself, it was your hunt after all." said Jade, balancing things in her mind. After that she took off in the direction of Malkuthe.

After all, orders were orders and this was a master she could not afford to displease.