WoS Chapter 2

Radu shook his head "it's not because of how I look it us because they believe me to be cursed" he corrected algaisia. He raised an eyebrow at algaisia's second statement... "yes I did tell you my name, I told you my name was Radu" he shook his head at the elves final statement "ME defeat someone in a fight? You entertain me algaisia, I am but a simple farmer, and a shunned one at that. Few would even stay near me long enough to engage me in battle. And despite physical powers I would be trumped in a magical battle"

With powerful sweeps of his wings formed from the Laudethe, Malkuthe sped towards the clan hold. He landed on a rocky outcrop overlooking the entire 'village'. His tail whipped around him to hit a bronze gong.

He smiled ruefully at himself, that was a technique his father had taught him. It was just a perfect display of authority. From all around, the clan flowed into the space in front of the outcrop. In the rich, sonorous voice that was required of a clan chieftain when speaking in front of the tribe.

"Friends, the day has come. The moon is nearing its peak and it glows with a light that invigorates. The great mother calls us to sing to the moon and plead for its grace, that it may grant us fortitude. The great mother, Kaldreiia, highest of the Ancestors, from whose womb we came from, calls us on this one day to repay her care for the first among us. Kseirrha, blessed be her name in memory, offered this same tribute on the day that her mother died. Let us do the same to commemorate her passing. Let the festivities for the Lunarie begin! Follow me to where we shall sing!" With that, Malkuthe threw himself from the outcrop.

Malkuthe's wings stretched out with a snap just before he hit the ground and he soared high into the air. He hovered for a moment while facing the Highwind and was outlined by the light of the moon. At that, the Ceree burst into cheers and songs.

The musicians took the form of elves to better grasp their instruments and a joyous melody filled the air as the Highwind marched behind their chieftain.

---

All over Alriiea, the same thing was happening. Some of the Swift Tail leaped high into the sky and performed somersaults that continued as they landed. Their musicians played much more joyous tunes than that of the Highwind. Fiddles, lyres and flutes predominated the ensemble.

Jade blew plumes of flame through pursed lips into the sky as she marched alongside her tribe. Clusters of the Bright Scales gathered around and blew fire into the heavens forming many shapes and making plumes that shifted color that brightened the night sky. Drums that kept to the beat of the leaping flames followed behind the main column.

The gaunt Agile Talon with Erithe found reason to smile and laugh as they marched towards where the clans would meet. Even in the middle of what seemed to be a disaster a festive air hung along the column. The Agile Talon prided themselves with their musicians that were the best in the land. The music from the Agile Talon columns rebounded off the walls of the windswept valley. Repairs to the hold were even put off until after the Lunarie.

---

Solen grinned toothily as he felt the wind whistling past his ears. His fur shone dully in the light. He shivered as he passed that boundary between night and day. One moment, he was under the full heat of the sun and the next, he was in a sky pitch black as night.

He settled on a rocky cliff a ways from where he thought the Ceree tribes were heading. He threw back his head and let loose an ululating roar that echoed through the land. It definitely felt good to participate in the Lunarie.

Radu lookEd up in surprise to the sounds that heralded the beginning of the ceremony "please forgive me Algaisia but the festival is beginning, so I must depart" he turned and stood, with that the spell on him strengthened causing his marks to dissappear. At the same time ,where there once had been none, wings made of pure aura spread from his back. He ran until he jumped into the air and flew away towards the festival

Radu landed towards the back of the highwind clan just as malkuthe began his speech. He cheered along with the others when malkuthe finished. He enjoyed the music as well, but he still stayed a little towards the back of the crowd, out of his nervousness. Though it was much better than laying under a tree far away just watching the festival (he would really have to find a way to pay malkuthe back) but he seemed to enjoy the looks he was getting. No one seemed to recognize him without his markings, but everyone seemed to notice what they had failed to notice about radu before... He was a rare purple dragon. The looks he got where those of admiration, surprised gawks, and more, but he paid little attention to that as he was trying to enjoy himself

never did it cross his mind that magic shifted and acted strangly upon the night of the lunarie, so the spell that kept his marks hidden could be affected at any moment

The Highwind were the first to arrive at the plateau. The Swift Tail, the Agile Talon and the Bright Scales arrived within moments of each other. Malkuthe looked around the plateau and grinned ruefully. The fear of something he couldn't quite name came back and gripped him in a deadlock.

He gasped as for some reason, that feeling was alleviated, replaced by a feeling of joy and kinship. Saffyre cocked her head at him and he threw his head back and laughed mirthlessly. The other looked at him, tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. An unasked question hung between the two.

Soon as that, the moon reached its zenith and it began to glow a diffused blue glow. Malkuthe looked straight at it and hummed. He swept a flat gaze around the plateau. It was a gaze with mixed impassiveness and a more supressed delight.

The other chieftains picked up the tune as the other Ceree fell silent. It always began like this, a wordless tune that suffused every fiber of the being. Erithe began tapping her left hind paw to the beat.

As the moon began to shine stronger, the sound of dulcimers drifted dreamily from the gathered tribes. The dancers from the Swift Tail began to leap about and move to the sway of the wind that kept beat with the music. Drums began to pick up and lyres followed. Flutes keened and the older Ceree took the forms of Elves and began to clap.

The light of the moon spread across the land in steadily brightening waves that washed over the gathered Ceree and struck something in them. Gasps rolled with the waves as pure joy and awe surged through their veins. The light washed over Malkuthe and his wings burst out from behind him as the Laudethe molded itself in a burst of light.

Everything else was a blur. Malkuthe remembered soaring high in the sky, laughing in ecstasy.

"Let the light of the moon shine on us..."

He didn't know how long he was up there before Saffyre surprised him by flying right beside him and laughing too.

"Let it grant us grace, courage and power...
That we may stay the Dark One's hand..."

The song throbbed in Malkuthe's veins right into his heart. His very soul seemed to resonate with the wondrous melody.

"Great Mother... you who reared and created us...
Grant us your fortitude...

Malkuthe laughed as he twisted and twined around Saffyre in a graceful dance high above the plateau. Saffyre laughed right alongside him as they continued.

Great Mother... in the cold, cold wrap of death...
Smile upon us and take us into your final embrace...

The song faded into a crazed humming to Malkuthe's ear. He flew around Saffyre and occasionally let go a plume of flame that mixed right in with Saffyre's purple flame. The combination swirled in front of them, releasing colorful motes that danced before their eyes.

Malkuthe sighed as the rest of the night faded into blissful eternity.

---

Solen felt the same ecstasy as the other Ceree as the moon's light washed across the land. It took all his willpower to refrain from joining the dance. He saw Ceree blowing fire into the air in marvelous shapes that lit up the land all around the plateau.

He threw back his head just as a low keening wail erupted from his throat. He did not know what it meant, but he suddenly became fearful. He remembered that he shouldn't even have been near the shore of Malleithen.

He had more important matters to take care of deeper into the other Continent and he had left his responsibility. He shrugged it off and let the ecstasy envelop him, but he still refrained from joining. He just sat there, swaying to the joyous melody.

After all, he was one to shun responsibility at the worst moments, the others would understand.

Radu dance with the others in his state of ecstasy. He had never enjoyed himself this much in his life! He soon found himself dancing with a beutiful pink ceree he had never met before, they swirled and danced about each other with grace. In his state he had yet to notice something of great importance, under the strange shifting of the lunarie the magic about him had long faded. His marks where clear for all to see... But due to the ecstasy that hung heavy in the air, no one noticed or cared, not even the one he danced with

Algaisia had finally reached the festival, and joined in with the musicians, who were disguised as elves. He sang and danced as well, with all his elven grace. It is moments like these where he appreciated life to its fullest. He saw Radu dancing, and continued singing with the musicians.

He departed later, before the festival ended, so he would not be discovered. He went to a place hard to find, and continued singing in he beautiful voice there. He did not know that his voice carried through the air to the festival, and just was content watching the animals and plants of nature and wild dance around him, together in peace for that one time.

Seraph hid near the plateau but far enough not to be seen. He felt the same ecstasy as the other chieftains flying above, but he knew not to fly or else expose himself. The Lunarie is a celebration in which all ceree attend. But since he is a nomad ceree, he is afraid that when he is exposed to the public, they will find out what tribe is he. They might say he is a cursed ceree and must be killed. So he hides whenever he is in very public places. But today, he can't stop the joy flowing through him. He let out a burst of pure light. But since the other ceree were busy with the Lunarie, the others barely noticed the burst of light. Seraph was relieved.

The moon neared the horizon and the last tendrils of its magic washed across the land. The Lunarie's main celebration was coming to an end, although the next seven days would be of feasting and dancing in the clan holds. It was to commemmorate the seven final days that Kaldreiia had to spend with Kseirrha after she reached maturity.

Ecstasy drained from Malkuthe's veins but he still laughed as he raced Saffyre to the plateau. Once there, he sat on his haunches and looked to the Forbidden peaks unbidden. He didn't know what was so important about them, or at least the memory was still vague. The ecstasy made it hard to think clearly, especially with Saffyre leaning her head on his shoulder.

He shuddered at the feather-light touch of her klimnu that traced down his powerful back and sides. He went red faced at thoughts that surfaced in his mind unwanted. He pushed them back, blushing with what he hoped would seem like embarrassment, not pleasure. On another hand, he purred softly though, and Saffyre did the same.

Jade rolled her eyes at the two, although she was grinning like a fool. Erithe was battering Jade's tail with her own, grinning like a bigger fool. Jade looked at Erithe warningly, but Erithe brought her tail down like a whip that cracked on Jade's tail. That was enough to exact a yelp from Jade. "Don't bother the lovebirds!"

Jade fluttered her eyelids and lowered her head in a mockery of a curtsy. She said in the most high-pitched yet sarcastic voice she could muster "As you wish o mistress of the Agile Talon."

The festivities went on until only the last vestiges of the moon's light washed over the horizon. By that time, the ecstasy was long gone, but everyone was too tired to do anything about it. The last wave of bluish light washed across the land and screams and shouts and Ceree crashing into objects or other Ceree rose from below the plateau.

Malkuthe looked dreamily at where most of the stares were pointing at, he had dozed off and so had Saffyre. What he saw was enough to jolt him awake, the mirror of the winds had shifted and now there looked like two Forbidden Peaks, one erupting, the other not.

When that last wave of bluish light vanished, the Forbidden Peaks seemed to shimmer and become one. It was whole again, not at all erupting. To Malkuthe's relief many of the Ceree regarded it as simply a trick of the mind due to the ecstasy. A few others that were quite doubtful about that huddled together with their families, visibly shaking.

---

Solen had given a start when he saw that the forbidden peaks shifted. He wasn't worried about them becoming two, but rather, one was erupting and that never was a good sign. The way they had shimmered and become one was peculiar.

He generalized that it had something to do with magic. He generalized! That was one other thing he was notorious for not doing.

He couldn't see the magic that was used, either it was because he was too far or he was inside the boundaries of that magic. Either way, that was enough to jar his balance and for the first time, real worry snaked through his being for the 'others' he had left behind. Even in his thoughts, he refrained from naming them.

If there was something Solen was known for above all, it was for being cynic. He even prided himself on the fact that it had saved his life countless times. Although he was very bitter about the fact that it had lost him some friends, but that was another story altogether.

Algaisia had not realized that the festival had ended, and kept singing into the night. He was in his own world, dancing with the animals and swinging with nature. He might be hidden, but he is easily heard. He sang about life and light, in a loud musical and beautiful voice that carried easily. This was one of the few times in Al's lifetime when he felt not only at peace, but truly happy.

Radu had ran away just before the ecstasy had faded away. he lay under a tree panting, he looked at the marks on his pelt and sighed since the magic had faded. he shook his head and just barely noticed the mountians shifting... he looked up and blinked several times. "i seem to have gotten into a habit of seeing things i am not supposed to..." he said standing up. he paced back and forth, swishing his tail nervously. he probably shouldn't bother malkuthe, as he was busy and most likely had already seen the event

Radu shook his head and munched on an apple from the tree in boredom. he would now spend the festival as he had for many years, alone and off to the side, but he would be forever in debt to malkuthe. this was because it was malkuthe's magic that had hid his marks and let him enjoy himself as he never had before

The return to the clan holds was sullen if not completely downtrodden. Every step taken seemed to be dismal and unbidden. Families clung tighter and heads of families nervously glanced at the Forbidden Peaks as though expecting Klakkra to appear out of thin air.

The glum atmosphere hung above most of the Highwind column, but there were patches of laughter and music, albeit, half-hearted. They were those who desperately clung to the spirit of the Lunarie, as though they expected salvation to come to them for it.

Tensions ran high in the column of the highwind and fights broke out more than once. Every single time they were solved within moments by a chanced glance at the Forbidden Peaks. After that, they simply trod sullenly without looking back. Eventually even the joy faded and the Highwind walked glumly in the gray of predawn.

Malkuthe headed the column, walking this time, rather than flying and even he was buried waist-deep in fear. Behind him, the council trod, muttering something about the Dark One stirring and the clans having to unite. He sighed, knowing it was too late to weave the magic of compulsion, there were simply too many that knew.

"The Great Mother take me into her embrace, but I am not standing around waiting for the Klakkra to take me! I say we make a move to seal the Dark One already!" Already, the council was raising voices. What more, if it ever came to a formal meeting, Malkuthe simply did not know.

"For the love of the ancestors! Banrril, these thing have to be thought over. You don't decide fates by tossing the sa'mit, so you shouldn't do anything out of haste!" The rest, Malkuthe drowned out and frowned ahead. It was only the gasps of amazement that drew his attention from his thoughts.

He looked to the side and the ground became a paved road. It didn't shimmer or change, it was simply one thing and then the other. He turned the column and led the Highwind to investigate the section of the road. He was unaware of what the road actually was until they were already there.

"Do not step on it until I tell you to!" He shouted, but his voice was weak from fear and it barely carried in the howling wind that had suddenly sprang up. No one heard him and before too long, an entire party of Highwind was moving towards the road. He shouted in vain, but he was not heard.

Malkuthe tried to run to them, but one had already stepped through. Gasps of amazement ran through the gathered Ceree as the one that stepped through suddenly grew majestic wings. He grinned and then followed the road as though in a trance. The others with him finally followed and when the last one stepped through others made a move to follow.

It was too late when Malkuthe bellowed. "Oh the Great Mother burn my soul and the Klakkra strip the flesh from my bones! No one follow! That's the Wayward Road! No one has returned from it alive!" The other Highwind either heard and were stopped in their tracks or they saw something new to be scared of. Cries of alarm rushed through the gathered crowd like wildfire and Malkuthe only had to look up to see what they were getting riled up about. A boulder, seemingly from nowhere, fell towards the last two who entered.

Malkuthe averted his gaze as the sickening crunch filled the air and blood spattered onto his blue coat. The sun was rising now and screams came from those on the road as spikes shot up from the ground and impaled every last one. Those screams were echoed by the gathered Highwind, but no one seemed to want to move. The road then vanished, it simply was gone, and everything that was on it. "The Dark One's hand reaches even that which is supposed to be unseen!" He thought.

After a moment of shocked silence, the Highwind began to run in the direction of the hold in a panic. Malkuthe prayed that what had happened hear had not happened in other places.

The next morning, Malkuthe's fears were all but allayed as messengers from all the other tribes arrived, half dead from exhaustion. It had happened to all of them, with the Swift Tail having the most casualties, the Agile Talon the least. If last night, the faces were sullen, that morning, they were terrified. Twenty-seven Highwind worse than dead, failed to find the last embrace of the Great Mother. Fear now shook Malkuthe to his core, there was barely any space for the anger that welled in him.

---

The cries of agony that barely carried over the wind gripped Solen with terror unparalleled. He reared his head and mourned for those that had passed. He had seen the road appear himself and saw the birds that flew above it 'extinguished'. His keening wail pierced the night.

After he mourned, he launched from the branch and angled towards Malleithen. Fear for the people he had left dominated his heart.

---

"First the Forbidden Peaks and now the Wayward Road. What is that fool up to? If I do not get to see Aznala, I will make him pay!" shouted the figure in the darkness that was beyond dark. The figure's anger doused, it stepped out into the world of the living once more.

Radu stared in horror at the events that occured on the wayward road... He had had a bad feeling about it from the start, now he knew why. He looked sadly at the bodies, one of them was a nice ceree, who was one of the ones who bought radu's crops. Radu shook his head and walked away. He hidden beneath his 'cloak' which he had redone so it fully concealed him, except for the end of his muzzle. He walked through the cword of frighten ceree, who gave the mysterious 'stranger' a wide berth.

The next day, Radu walked up next to malkuthe "I remember what I saw, the volcano erupting the ritual... Appently your magic doesn't last on me... and the peAks combining, the wayward road, The dark one is rising isn't he?" radu said to malkuthe without looking at him.

((EDIT: Nothing much, I just modified this to fit the timeline. ~Malkuthe Highwind

Algaisia was observing from afar, shocked and dismayed. He recognized the signs, and realized that the elves must unite again, and form the elven army. He decided that the time for secrecy was over, and stepped out into full view of the Ceree's. He strode foward, cloak billowing behind him as he strode gracefully and magicstically towards the leader.

Too late, they began their panicked ascent towards their mountain home. Algaisia decided it would be best to confer with the leader the next day. Silently, but still gracefully, he followed. Haste would do him no good here.


((EDIT: Nothing much, I just modified this to fit the timeline. ~Malkuthe Highwind))

((thanks i was confused with your post xD))

Other than couriers half-dead from exhaustion, Malkuthe sent some of his own to the other tribes. They complied, although with much reluctance, they were worried about leaving their own families behind. A flat gaze from Malkuthe made them mutter that if duty required them to go, then they would go for the good of the tribes.

Earlier on in that day Radu had come with that stifling cloak of his. It was a wonder he didn't get discovered, what with the wind that screamed in your ears outside. Malkuthe was shocked that Radu remembered nearly everything. He told the other off with reminders to keep silent. Though he wanted to sympathize with Radu, the times were not for that.

Almost immediately after Radu left him while nattering about the chieftain having no more time for an old friend, an elf came. He regally announced himself as Algaisia and the name struck something in Malkuthe, as though it was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. The Elf had the proposal to unify the elven armies and ally them with the Ceree. Malkuthe told him to go to the council and dismissed him hurriedly.

Although the petitions that steadily streamed to him were a distraction from the fear that enveloped him, he would welcome the fear at any time. He was pinned in the small house that served as his office in the hold. He took a piece of wood and hastily carved the words "Go to the Council". He placed the plank near a window that was in view of all those that went to him. Slowly, the crowd began to dwindle.

Malkuthe was glad that the room was spacious, for one, he could pace to think and the other reason, he would as soon not talk about. He shook his head in exasperation and started to walk out of the house. He barely noticed the shadow that enlarged on the ground to signify someone with wings was landing. It was Jade, of all people.

"Malkuthe! I haven't had the time to even go to my own people, Erithe is taking all of this to heart. She thinks that she's to blame for everything that has happened so far." Jade said, eyes imploring help.

"Jade, I must go to the council, there is something I wish to put forward. Go back to Erithe and assure her that no one blames her, tell her that the Highwind doesn't. Then get back to your tribe, they may need you more than she." said Malkuthe, trying to ignore the pleading in Jade's eyes. He had to be hard in a time like this, but he was a coward by nature, what concept did he have of being hard.

He stalked off in the opposite direction. Instead of going into the Council's hall, he went into their quarters. The ceiling was of earth and it was barely high enough for Malkuthe to enter unbarred. He had to crouch a little. He went to one of the doors he knew since he was a child and knocked with an aleron. "Eldest, I want to speak with you."

"Malkuthe! Come in! I didn't expect to hear of you." came the voice from the other side.

"I knew you would be here. Tell me again why you're not meeting with the council and answering petitions?"

"I'm much too old for that Malkuthe, now what is it you want?"

---

In her cave, Erithe sniffled. So much for being strong in a time of crises. There was more than one crisis going on and she didn't like it one bit. The Agile Talon was supposed to guard the Forbidden Peaks and as chieftain, the failure of the clan was hers.

She cried, much like she always did before she became a warrior. Someone had once told her that a warrior never cried. There she was, though, bawling her heart out. It was lucky for her that Jade had placed a ward against eavesdroppers in the room.

She wiped her eyes with an already soaked Klimnu. The snowflake like texture seemed to caress and comfort her, but she knew that it did not. She walked out into the sun and roared her pain to the sky. No head swiveled around to stare at her, the Agile Talon was busy preparing; armor was being repaired and weapons were being fashioned.

She looked down and tears streamed from her eyes. She summoned her wings and flew to no one knows where. Of the chieftains, only Jade insisted on not using wings, but that was nothing to think about right now. She sped across the sky, a black speck speeding in the distance to those that looked up now. She had no concern form them, she just wanted to get away and have some time to herself where she couldn't be seen.

Exhaustion overtook her, the next thing she knew, she was plummeting to the ground. "It would be better if I was dead..." she told herself, knowing that this would most certainly kill her.

---

Solen did have enough time for fun as he skimmed across the surface of the ocean. He dipped a wing into the water and watched as he broke the crests of waves that moved towards Malleithen. He laughed nervously, joy mingling with anxiety. He did not have any idea what happened to those he had left behind.

With a loud whoop, he drew up and flew parallel to the cliffs that bordered one side of Malleithen. The other side was soft, sandy beach. He flew across fields of moonshine and pine trees that glowed softly. The moon had risen again, he observed.

Across field and valley, across hill and plain, Solen flew, all urgency drawing on his last reserves of strength. He flared his wings and landed on a stone that would have fit nicely in a city. It overlooked a vast plain of many such stones, some still standing, others on their sides. Activity stirred, but only one Ceree came to him. "You fool!" it exclaimed and the blow from its aleron sent his world spinning.

---

In the darkness of the unseen world, the now single voice spoke aloud. "I fear I might have to break the blue one. I need a new minion..." A soft cackling laugh echoed and was gone as an arch of light appeared.

Yet again, the mysterious figure stepped out into the world of the living to wreak what only the Great Mother knows, and even then, she might not know everything.

Algaisia quickly strode towards the council, Now, haste is everything when he arrived, he then submitted an appeal to see them. It was quick to be approved, as not many elves are seen whereabouts, and Al strode in. He went right to the point.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as we know, The Dark One has returned. It will take him a short period of time to gain his full strength if left alone, and allow him to prey on whomever he wishes to. That is will be it for this world if we fail to act, if we argue and let fear overcome us!" At that Algaisia bowed and waited to see how they would react. After studying them a bit he continued:

"But, there is hope! I offer an alliance between the Elves and the Ceree's, to combine our armies and tactics. To fight the Dark One! If we fight, as soon as possible, to delay the Dark One until we can find a weakness, and exploit it before it reaches it's full power, we can banish him, and if we are lucky, forever!" Al paused again.

"The choice is on your shoulders, your decision will affect our future. Stand alone, or stand with us. The Elves are probably massing at our only city reserved for such occasions while we speak, for we will do what we can to prevent destruction of our world happening. If we succeed, and with you alongside us, Each one of your names will be known and respected for generations to come!"

"I still haven't told you my name. My name is Algaisia, and I shall no longer speak, and allow you to vote." Al strode out of the council's area, to the waiting area outside. He would wait all night if he had too, but he was satisfied with just speaking out. If approved, he would stay here and help the Elves communicate with them, if denied, he would join the Elves massing army.

radu flew back to his house, he had not been angry when he was turned away, he knew malkuthe was busy. he landed down on the farm witha definite purpose, he wanted to help in any way he could. he went to his tree and dung down a bit into the soft earth. soon he found a metal trap door in the ground about a foot below the surface. he quickly pried it open and crawled inside the dark hole... after a few minutes of moving in darkness he emerged tail first, dragging a large and heavy chest out of the hole. he dragged this to his house...

he opened the chest and inside was peices of dark red armor. he stared at the armor, a set of armor built to fit a ceree of his age. he sighed and drew out a peice and wiped some dirt off it... this had been his father's armor, and his before him. his father said the armor had been used last time the dark lord had risen.... that he doubted. he started pulling out the armor peices and polishing them.he entended to rebuild the armor and copy the design. yes he wanted to help, even if he died in the process