WoS Chapter 3

"but malkuthe..." he started, then sighed "yes sir" radu said, bowing his head. he gave his head the slightest of a confusec shake. 'why would he chose me? i am a farmboy! i don't know the slightest bit about how to lead a village' radu straightened up "malkuthe i just hope you know what your doing."

radu frwned at malkuthe restricting radu from taking his pain even if he fell out again. radu disliked this idea, but he had to listen to malkuthe. "yes sir... malkuthe if you dont mind i think i'll return to my farm for a bit, i have much to think about"

"Very well, you are dismissed." said Malkuthe with a twang of formality to his voice. Before Radu could leave, he turned away and walked in the other direction, looking for Algaisia.

Very well, you are dismissed, bah! You've got something against formality and you choose now of all times to change your mind? Malkuthe laughed at his own thoughts. It wasn't a mirthless laugh now, it was genuine amusement at himself. It was a short drawing laugh though, the pain made it hard.

With every step, Malkuthe seemed to wobble a little. When he finally found Algaisia, he said "Guard of my honor, how goes your day? I hope you are not busy. I need you to accompany me somewhere."

Without further ado, Malkuthe lifted Algaisia up with his alerons and placed the elf on his back. He took off without even noticing that Jade had landed just as he opened his wings.

---

Jade bit back a curse as Malkuthe took to the skies the moment she landed. Not only did the wind buffet her and cover her thinly with dust, she had lost another chance to convince Malkuthe. The other chieftain seemed to be rushing off to only the ancestors know where.

She followed Malkuthe, but within moments, Saffyre was beside her, looking at her sternly and the other said "Jade, what are you doing here?"

"Following Malkuthe, I guess. I'm just worried something's bothering him." She lied. It was a pathetic one, but it would have to do.

"Fine." said Saffyre. "Let's both see where he's going."

Jade nodded. Malkuthe was climbing higher and higher into the clouds with an elf on his back that seemed to be hanging on for dear life. He was angled steadily north, and Jade could not make anything of it.

The wind steadily chilled and before long Jade was already shivering. Saffyre was covered in a warm purplish glow. The other Ceree had the grace to blush before teaching Jade the magic. The nerve of the girl!

When Malkuthe finally landed, it was difficult to miss what he had sought. He set the elf down who was, by know shivering. Malkuthe blew fire on the snow and set a large red-hot rock in the middle of the clearing.

Saffyre and Jade landed a ways from where the two were enclosed. They gaped at the spectacle that was before them. The shimmer of the gold almost blinded them. The gold-like substance made the glare from the snow seem like the light from a glowfly.

---

"If I'm not dead, then why is Sielvoth here? Aren't all the dragons dead?" said Erithe wonderingly.

"That's because Sielvoth is not an ordinary dragon. I can't tell you any more for fear of being killed right here, or anywhere I stand anyway. He's very powerful in magic." said Solen, still jittering. It took all his willpower to look away from Erithe's eyes.

"Then why did he not use his magic to heal me?" asked Erithe. There had to be a reason and she was bent on finding it.

"Because he thinks that your pains should teach young girls like you to avoid flying from a faraway place without resting." said Solen.

"Who are you calling young? You may be taller than me but you're not so old yourself!" said Erithe. She had been called a girl. A girl!

"Oh the girl has spirit... How many questions are bouncing around in that skull of yours? I can't stay here all night long answering your questions. I have business to take care of!" said Solen. Erithe's back had stiffened at the first thing he said, her back went stiffer still, if that was possible, at the second.

"Trust me, Solen, I have a LOT of questions." Erithe grinned ferally, but Solen sighed, exasperated.

Radu gathered his armor and found his claok, but didn't bother to put it on as he walked right down the middle of he village. several ceree turned there heads and simply watched. he exited the town quickly and continued his hike to his farm.

once he was home he paced in his house for awhile jus thinking about what had happened. why did malkuthe chose him, of all people. radu had never done anyhting that would diserve the honor. malkuthe had done much more for him than radu had in return so malkuthe didn't owe radu anything. yes they where friends but that was no reason to make radu the next chieftan. and lastly radu knew next to nothing about how to lead a village!

after awhile new thoughts came to him and he rested his mind on these for awhile. his mind returned to the dream he had yet to tell malkuthe of... had he really seen Amteth, the son of flames, or Erik in that dream? but then his mind traveled to Derek, who had looked so similar to him.

out of boredom and curiousity radu went over to a large mirror that he had in the house, leaning it against the wall. radu reared up and positioned his body so he was like a elf or human standing up. he quickly lost balance and fell, but he had seen enough. if radu had scales and no alerons while standing like that, he would look like a clone of Derek. he shook his head and laid down on his bed to rest

Malkuthe lounged on the side of the warm stone opposite to where Algaisia sat. The ground was earthy, but ice permeated here and there. Snow and ice were cleared when Malkuthe breathed flame onto the ground, the water had soaked it, but Malkuthe drew the water out using magic. It was now comfortably damp.

The stone was still glowing cherry red and it radiated heat. The snow and the chilling wind would have made a fire impractical. "You know, Al, I've always wanted to see this monument ever since I was a child. Tell no one of what I'm about to say..." he said quietly. He had not wanted to tell Radu, but it felt appropriate to tell his Guard of Honor.

"I feel my death approaching." With those words, the rock went cold and even the wind seemed to stop dead in its tracks. Malkuthe got up and walked towards a stunned Al and put him on his back. He then took off, the clearing was being filled with snow again.

---

Malkuthe had said something that was drowned out by the wind. After that, the gale stopped. Jade was dumbfounded, but Saffyre seemed to be thinking about something.

Malkuthe had taken off and they could not see where he was headed. They decided to return to their holds.

---

Erithe and Solen descended deeper into conversation, but a time came when Solen's alerons stiffened and he shot a few thousand excuses at Erithe to leave. Erithe waved him off, annoyed and at a loss at the same time.

Solen left and flew off into the distance. Before long, Erithe heard a low ululating roar rise from the direction that Solen had gone.

(Wanted to chat but you were all offline. D: That's because I live in a different timezone, I guess XD )

Caleth leapt, arching over the back of the demon as it charged.
'You chose the wrong ceree,' he grinned, whipping his alerons past so that they left deep cuts across the beast's flesh. Landing behind it, Caleth smashed his klimnu into its hind legs, smashing the bone, and it fell to the ground.
He was about to strike the finishing blow when the demon began laughing. Caleth stepped back, not sure why it would do so. It was then that he noticed the black seeping across his alerons and tail from where he'd touched the creature.
'What are you doing?!' Panicking, he roared at the beast, but it had already died. The black continued to spread, already covering his legs. It had almost reached his throat when it stopped, and Caleth collapsed onto the grass, shaking.
He hadn't been so scared since...well, since he was a child.
'But you shouldn't have been,' he told himself off out aloud. Stretching his forelegs out in front of him, Caleth looked at the deep black staining his fur, grimacing as he noticed his claws had turned the same color. He wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't seem good. Hopefully it wasn't some sort of evil magic.

((Ooh. New Guy. Welcome to the World Of Sylfe. Hope you do fine in the RP.))

Seraph continued his search. He wanted to save the people he loved. Though he tried his best, he could find nothing. He had to make a choice, search alone and find nothing, or ask for help from the other tribes. " Ugh. Guess I have no choice. I'll go back to Alriiea." Reluctantly, he dragged himself back to Alriiea. When he reached the continent, he went to a lake northeast of the Forbidden Peaks. This lake was very special to him. He went for a swim for a few hours. After his swim, he lied down on the shore and slept peacefully.

Radu had heard the sounds of a fight nearby. He dawned his cloak which covered almost all of him except for the end of his purple muzzle. The cloak was mostly for hiding his markings, which most people thought where curse marks, when he went to town. He quickly went outside and looked around... When he got out there he saw a ceree killing a demon, but then somehow turned nearly fully black...

Without hesitation radu ran over, making sure to keep himself fully hiden under his cloak. He walked up behind Caleth... "are you okay" asked wanting to help the elder ceree. "you could cone to my house to rest if you like, my farm is just on the otherwise of that hill there" radu said gesturing with his tail

(Thanks willtofly!)

"Are you okay?"
Caleth snarled, whipping his head around, ready to snap at the owner of the voice.
'Oh, sorry,' he apologised. 'I thought you were another demon.' The ceree was hidden beneath a cloak. He was curious as to why, but reasoned it wasn't the best of ideas to ask.
"You could come to my house to rest if you like, my farm is just on the otherwise of that hill there." Caleth peered over to where the newcomer was gesturing and smiled.
'Why thank you,' he got up slowly, the black still staining his fur. 'I'm an Agile Talon, so as long as your clan doesn't mind me coming in, that would be wonderful,' he paused, shaking his head as a thin strand of the black began creeping up his throat, past the purple streak of fur, towards his left eye. Caleth growled as it stopped.
'It appears this is some sort of dark magic.'

Radu notice the dark strand growing and raised an eye brow at this, but said nothing. "you don't have to worry about my clan objecting to letting you rest in my home, as i live seperate from the highwind clan." he said as he began to walk towards the hill. his cloak fluttered behind him, giving a few glimpes of dark purple fur with strange yellow marks.
Radu walked over the hill, revealing a small humble farm with a tiny cottage to one side. "oplease forgive me for not having a nicer place for you to rest" he said as he lead Caleth into his small home "is there any thing i could get you? food? water?" he asked politely

"How do you know your death is approaching?" Al was shocked, for he only met him recently. "Is there anything i can do?" Algaisia was slowly gaining his wits again. "Don't just give up!" Al stood on the Ceree's back.

Malkuthe returned home and set Algaisia just outside his home. "Remember, not a word to anyone. Now to find my heir." The day was still young so he had time to do more things.

With that, Malkuthe took off and angled himself towards Raducan's farm. On the way, the pain throbbed, but he quelled it before it could swell. He came to a running halt just short of the newly furrowed fields. He saw a hoe somewhere to the side. "He could have done a better and faster job using magic. I can't understand why he'd do things manually..."

He entered the farmhouse unannounced and saw not only Radu but also an Agile Talon with what seemed to be a blackness crawling up his limbs. "What happened here? Nevermind, let me tend to him, Radu." said Malkuthe pushing his way past Raducan and laying alerons on the other.

His front paw throbbed, and then he sensed something about the darkness on the other that stunned him. It was made of an evil that was different from the one that afflicted him. The two evils throbbed against each other, the first trying to annihilate the second. The beats filled Malkuthe's ears and he shook his head to clear it.

"Radu, remember how your marks drained away my pain into you? For a moment then, I was conscious and I saw how you did it. I think I can do it for this evil too." said Malkuthe, not really looking at Radu as he did.

He scrunched his eyes and breathed in heavily. He let the magic flow into him and used it to probe the other. The magic then formed a bridge between him and the darkness on the other side. He coaxed the darkness into his body and it followed. Once inside him, he directed it to the pain in his paw, hoping that the two would destroy each other.

To Malkuthe's disappointment, the evil from the Agile Talon tribesman was annihilated, and the pain on his paw throbbed as hard as it did before. Malkuthe opened his eyes and observed his work, the darkness was now only on the claws of the other. He smiled approvingly.

"You see?" Malkuthe told Radu, craning his neck around to see the other. Before he could take a step around, the blinding pain crept up his leg and throughout his body and the darkness of sleep enveloped him.

Caleth stared in amazement as Malkuthe drained the darkness away with his magic. The black disappeared except for his talons, and he was about to thank the newcomer when he collapsed.
'Are you ok! What's wrong?' He looked at Radu guiltly. 'This isn't my fault, is it?' It was then that he caught a glimpse of Radu's strange markings and coloration.
In all his years in the world, he'd never seen anything like it.

Radu shook his head, "calm yourself, malkuthe just over exerted himself there" radu said faintly surprised malkuthe had copied his ability to draw on anither's curse. "he will be fine" radu lugged malkuthe over to his straw bed and laid him down

he caught caleth staring at him and figured why. With a shrug he removed his cloak, fully revealing his dark purple fur and the strange yellow markings that crossed it "a strange pattern I know, but I can't change it"

'Ah, good. For a moment there I thought he was dying...' Although Malkuthe was unconcious, he thanked the ceree.
Caleth tried not to stare at Radu's markings as he removed his cloak.
'They're certainly different...'

-------

Liara hurtled across the meadow.
So strange! She'd never seen such an open expanse of grass, as back in the rainforest she'd been born in, the trees were close together. It felt like she could run forever and it would never end.
'Kreee!' She imitated the sound of a beast that lived in the rainforest, throwing her head back in joy. She wasn't sure what she was, as she had never seen another creature that looked like her before, so pretending to be one of the numerous beasts of her homeland was the best she could do to fit in.

Moments later, Malkuthe opened his eyes, drawing in a huge amount of air. He gasped for breath, he had dreamed that he was drowning. The dream had seemed so real. He lay there for a few moments more, eyes wide as they could go, remembering the horrifyingly vivid nightmare.

Malkuthe was standing on top of a cliff. The wind whistled past his face. He was deep in contemplation, and failed to notice what was happening around him.

He did not hear the tides that began to cover Alriiea in water. He did not see the waves that crashed against the face of the cliff he was on. He did not feel the spray that splattered him with water and he did not smell the salty breeze.

All he saw, heard and smelled was a single entity that landed not far behind him. "My son...?" The voice trailed off. He knew that voice, many a night he had dreamed of hearing it again. He whirled around and came face to face with a monstrosity he could not begin to describe.

It opened its maw and black flames shot out and bound him. The beast cackled in strangely feminine laughter and threw him off the cliff. For the first time, he noticed the sea. He fell into the watery depths and he tried to scramble for breath.

His lungs burned and his eyes stung. He struggled against his bonds, trying to claw his way to the surface. Again and again, in his head he said. I must! I must! I must... I m--! And then the coldness enveloped him.

Malkuthe shuddered and stood. He looked at Radu and then at the Agile Talon that he had healed. "Radu, be ready to take the helm some day soon." He turned to the Agile Talon tribesman "I have no need for repayment. If the times were better, I would ask for your name, but by your leave, I must go."

Malkuthe stepped outside and then took off.

---

"But Saffyre! We must take the war to the Dark One before he gains full strength!." Jade shouted above the howling winds. She had been trying to convince the other ever since they had returned. The plateau was where Saffyre offered to discuss things.

"Jade, listen to reason! Even at his weakest, we are but bugs under his heel!" said Saffyre. All of a sudden, feathers on her shoulders began to glow. "Shh! Do you hear that?"

Jade cocked her head, it was difficult to hear anything over the wind. A high pitched keening wail though echoed in the distance. It was as if it was from an over-sized eagle. After the wail, frenzied cackling laughter followed from what seemed to be thousands of throats. It all came from the direction of the Forbidden peaks.

Saffyre looked at Jade, and Jade returned the gaze. Both took to the skies and saw a contingent of klakkra on the way to the hold of the Agile Talon. "You see what I mean, Saffyre?" said Jade grimly. "Quick! we must go!" she said with all urgency.

The two headed towards the Agile Talon. Jade saw Saffyre scrunch her eyes and mutter something. She disregarded it though, and looked ahead.

---

Erithe had taken leave of Sielvoth and was now flying towards Alriiea with all urgency. She had looked for Solen before she left, but when the black was nowhere to be found, she left Sielvoth with a message.

Suddenly, Saffyre's face appeared in front of her. "Saffyre? Where's your body?" she asked, at a loss for words.

"That's of no consequence. Head home faster, the Dark One's minions are attacking your hold!."

"I will come, sister." she told Saffyre. They weren't really sisters but being chieftains one and the same, they were as good as just that.

---

Malkuthe had angled southward, but the sudden pain in his limb made him go northeast. As he flew, the pain decreased. He did not know why, but he was somehow compelled to go in that direction.

He had simply found himself wanting to go there.

Radu bowed his head to malkuthe "yes malkuthe" he sighed somehow knowing that malkuthe was expecting his death. Rafu could bear this life without his friend... He sighed and looked at carleth "yes, as far as I know markings like this have never grown on a ceree before. " radu shook his head

radu gestured about his home, "please make yourself comfrotable..." he walked outside and attached his plow, and began to work his farm. This was just to relieve stress, which rafu aquired quite a mound of. He never complained about hard farm work, he enjoyed it. He also beloved if someone takes the time and effort to work the crops by hand, the resulting crop was bigger and tasted better than that lavily grow with magic

Inside Malkuthe, a yearning to go to where ever the pain was taking him welled. Malkuthe was disgusted, he did not know why such compulsion was taking him and he did not like it one bit. His lip trembled and he bared his fangs, but the pain did not stop throbbing.

Gradually, the pain ebbed as he felt the yearning grow. The closer he got to his destination, the more pleasure racked his body. He actually shivered while flying. He shivered!

He shook his head, but kept on flying nonetheless. His name was Malkuthe, the soft. He had been soft as a kid, but his father had always told him that that was better than being hard as rock. His father was soft too, hardly the man to rule with an iron fist, but the people did his bidding anyway. The tribe had loved him.

His father had told him that one should only be hard with one thing. Dealings with the council. Although that was his father's view, it was his mother that had named him.

He had never known that he would be so soft as to follow the whims of pain and pleasure that racked his body at the command of an unknown master. He was worse in his state than a slave, but he could do nothing about it. He wanted to fight the pain, to resist the pleasure, but the pleasure of following the calling was too great to resist.

In the distance he saw a group of Klakkra headed by a massive bird wreathed in black flames. Malkuthe dreaded that he had been called to serve amongst the Klakkra, but the calling did not draw him there.

He saw Saffyre and Jade in the distance, but they were barely specks of purple and green. Somehow, he knew it was them, but he did not know how. Abruptly, as he crossed what seemed to be a boundary, the pleasure and the pain stopped.

He gave a sigh as the pleasure of following the calling drained from his limbs and he blinked. He was disgusted because he actually missed the sensation. He landed and walked towards the chieftains just as another green appeared in the sky, diving towards them. It was Erithe.

"Shall we dance?" said Malkuthe loud enough for everyone to hear. "Agile Talon, behind us!" He snarled and rushed headlong into the oncoming horde. No questions should be asked, after all, it was clearly an attack.

Radu had just finished up plowing his farm, and he was admiring his work... Then he suddenly fell down to the ground, clutching his head in pain. As he did so his marks flashed like a warning signal... "m-Malkuthe in d-danger" he managed, somehow able to sense his friend's oncoming trouble, but he didn't know where. He growled and spit a burst of multi colored flames as the pain subsided. As a purple dragon his flame could change color, and sometimes changed to his emotions. Since radu didn't quite know what he was feeling the result was a rainbow colored flame

he began to pace, he knew malkuthe wasin trouble or soon would be... But he didn't know where ge was and figured malkuthe was far away by now. This meant it would be highly impractical to go after him, and possibly get lost... He continued pacing

Caleth whipped his head up.
There's something wrong... He felt a strong desire to go back to his clan, like they needed him for something, that they were under attack.
"m-Malkuthe in d-danger" He glanced at Radu, the ceree breathing multicolored flames. Normally he would have questioned why, but the sense of peril was too strong to worry about such things, so he hurried over to Radu.
'I feel like my clan needs me, like something is wrong,' he growled, scratching the dirt beneath his claws. 'Perhaps Malkuthe is threatened by the same thing?' It was just a hunch, but it seemed feasible.

-----

Liara shuddered as she heard strange laughter. Suddenly the new land she was in didn't seem like paradise anymore, and her eyes widened as she saw a flock of creatures in the sky. A couple left the main group, diving towards her, talons outstretched.
There's no way I'll outrun them... Liara frowned, the markings beneath her eyes glowing as she shot a burst of light forwards. It hit one of the creatures, and the body disintegrated with a hiss.
The spell had tired Liara, and she stumbled, darting out the way as the other beast attacked. She couldn't fight with claws or alerons, she didn't know how, and magic was her only weapon. She'd have to keep away from the creature until she could cast another spell.

"Hmm I think your right" radu nodded with a quick snort of red fire. "we should go and find them" he said looking in the general direction of the agile talon clan... He hoped malkuthe was there and would be okay when radu got to him. Radu arched his back slightly, wings made of pure energy formed over his back and spread out for an immpressive wingspan. He nodded to caleth "come on, there is no time to waste we must go now!" he said jumping into the air

Algaisia saw Malth go, and wondered how he could be a guard when he is not even brought along. He wandered in the general direction he saw him go. There was a flash of fire, and he started sprinting. There might be something wrong. He arrow was on the bow, and he rapidly scanned for signs of danger.

Caleth followed Radu. 'I can't fly, but I can run!' Luckily, his larger than normal size meant he took less time to get to places than others. Soon he arrived at the Agile Talon clan's territory, and noticed the beasts in the sky.
'Klakkra!'

----

Leaping into the air, Liara's eye markings glowed once more, as she clasped her front claws together to make a symbol. The remaining beast flew at her, and she waited until the last minute to attack.
'Kclemvros!' she roared, her voice echoeing strangely, the air in front of her warping so that the beast was enveloped in light. It screeched, disappearing as the spell destroyed it.

As Malkuthe led the charge into the fray, he distantly remembered an Agile Talon that he had healed from what seemed to have been a living evil. He sensed that same evil because the mark on his paw throbbed against it.

"Kill the Klakkra with fire or magic, just do not touch them!" he shouted and pretty soon, the entire battlefield was hot as a furnace. In the distance, Malkuthe saw Raducan and the Agile Talon he had healed speeding towards them.

He returned his gaze to the battle just in time to tear a Klakkra from head to toe with magic. The black blood smeared across the shield of air he had put around himself. He grimaced at the sight, but went on to kill the others.

Pretty soon he found himself back to back with Saffyre, blowing flame in a wide circle even as Klakkra exploded due to the wild tides of magic that ebbed and flowed throughout the battlefield. Malkuthe was well versed in using magic and breathing fire at the same time and he ripped klakkra limb from limb with it.

The battle shifted and the four chieftains found themselves face to face with the leader of the contingent. It screeched at them and the black flames that wreathed its body burned even more. Jade stiffened visibly and Saffyre simply shook her head before blowing out a whirlwind of golden fire that whipped around and around the bird.

Malkuthe added his own blue flame to the mix that turned violently pink. With the addition of Jade and Erithe's green, the mixture shifted colors wildly and the heat was almost too much to bear. Malkuthe felt the fur in front of his neck singe.

The black bird screeched again and the flames dissipated under gusts from wings that flapped. Malkuthe observed that almost the entire thing was badly burned but its eyes still glowed with a wanting to kill that had not even waned.

It opened its beak and flames streamed from its open mouth. Malkuthe could only draw up a sliver of earth to split the stream and cause it to hit the Klakkra which had a negative effect, at least for the Ceree. The hit Klakkra screamed with a high pitch that made Malkuthe clap his alerons to his ears. "What in the Mother's name was that!?"

They suddenly seemed to ripple and grow, some even became more monstrous, if that was even possible. "Jade, draw water from the plants, let's try to extinguish the beast." Malkuthe barked the command hoarsely, throat dry from the inexorable heat of breathing fire.

Jade did just that and to Malkuthe's surprise she had drawn enough water to quench the flames that covered the beast entirely. The beast screamed as she did this and it turned out, it was made completely of flame. Jade threw the massive ball of water at it and it exploded in a puff of steam. It left behind a single feather, and with that, the Klakkra began fighting each other.

Malkuthe picked up the feather and fell to the ground writhing.

Radu caught up by then, he had been in the battle while the cheiftans fought the flaming creature. radu walked over to malkuthe and sighed... he heavily disliked watching his friend writhe in pain, but malkuthe had ordered him not to try and take any of malkuthe's pain no matter what the circumstance. radu momentarily considered doing it anyway, but decided against it

he instead sat down next to malkuthe and waited for the pain too subside on it's own

Caleth launched himself into the battle, tearing apart the Klakkra with his claws.
"Kill the Klakkra with fire or magic, just do not touch them!" He heard Malkuthe's warning and grimaced, jumping back from the beasts he'd been attacking. But his body seemed fine.
It must be that dark magic... Although Malkuthe had saved him, his claws were still black, and it seemed like they offered a barrier against the creatures. Caleth grinned, attacking them again.

--------

Liara looked to the west as she felt a wave of heat. There was fire and magic pitted against a sky of Klakkra, and for a moment she turned to flee.
What... She could see coloured creatures, similiar to her, fighting them. Curious, Liara ran towards the danger, into the middle of the battle. There are others like me?
Suddenly a few of the Klakkra noticed her amongst the other ceree, and attacked. Liara didn't know who the ceree were, or what they were - but she knew the Klakkra were evil. She'd help these creatures attack them.
Magic rippled around Liara as she stood still, markings and eyes glowing. The Klakkra around her were ripped to shreds.