Wos Chapter 5

Jade screamed in her sleep. She squirmed on the fluffy carpets.

"Open your eyes Jade... Listen, Jade..." taunted the voice in the Darkness. She felt caressing fingers draw over her soul. She shuddered.

"No! No! Get away from me!" Jade mumbled in her sleep. The tree shook and leaves fell in droves.

"Unless you want to meet the same fate as Malkuthe and Raducan, I suggest you do as I say." tormented the voice in her head.

Her tail smashed across one of the walls. She wanted to rip her head off, for the good that would do. Saffyre would chase her soul even in the mother's embrace.

"Let the winds of dissent rule!" said Saffyre with a sonorous peal of laughter. "Make sure that some of the Ceree will come after us. After all, the world I will create shall need inhabitants."

After that, the arch of light opened.

Jade opened her eyes with a gasp.

---

Saffyre opened her eyes to the two Agador fighting over her. Malkuthe roared at Raducan and nipped at the other Agador's neck. The younger Agador mewled and looked at the older one with tearful eyes.

Malkuthe purred happily when he saw 'master' awake. Radu imitated the gesture, but Malkuthe pushed him away with a swipe of the tail. Two pets fighting for the attention of their master, but Malkuthe was definitely the Alpha of the pack.

Saffyre got up and walked around Radu, examining the other Agador. She smiled, he was light of build and had well defined muscles. Although, he wasn't as handsome as an Agador or as a Ceree as Malkuthe. She would pick Malkuthe over the other any day, but she petted Radu affectionately first, which drew a low growling from Malkuthe.

His eyes pleaded to be done the same to. Saffyre, though sat beside him and placed her head on his shoulder. She needed the support, her head was spinning. Malkuthe purred happily and looked at Radu with prideful eyes. The younger Agador sat there, mewling softly.

---

A wind rose and picked up from the Forbidden peaks, carrying the horrendous sulfur-saturated air from it. Down it blew across the lake, rippling the crystal-clear waters.

A Ceree lay on the shore, unconscious, one paw in the water. He got up and turned to the path that had opened. Almost a dozen pale blue Ceree stood there, all almost the same color as he.

He started walking towards them and heard the murmurs from the small gathering. He shook his fur and looked at them with head held high. One came forth and asked a question that he did not answer.

"Chieftain?"

agdor Radu mewled and sat down a few feet away, clearly not liking the attention. his tail swayed back and forth and he tapped his claws against the ground. he was only slightly smaller than malkuthe, but a bit more muscluar, due to the fact Radu did a lot of physical work on his farm. though hairless and half rotted the mark's remained on his skin, but no longer bright yellow they where a much darker yellow on his skin. he placed his head on the ground and mewed

the rwal radu awoke after awhile, seeing that liara wasn't yet awake. he was extermly worried for her saftey, and scared that she had over done herslef in that last attack on malkuthe. he hefted her onto his back with ease, years of pulling a plow and other farm work made from strong muscles so this was easy. he took her into a cave and also made a small fire to keep her warm. he took his elven form again and sat at the edge of the cave as it began to rain outside

Seraph looked at the faces of the ceree before him. Some were familiar faces, some were new ones. One asked him a question he dreaded. " Chieftain?" For a while, seraph remained silent. Finally he answered the question. " Yes. I have returned. But this is no time for celebration." He pointed to a group of old ceree. " Council, we musy have a meeting right away. The Sacred Wings tribe must act now."


(( Surprised?))

Liara woke up, jumping to her feet before realising she was somewhere else. Somewhere safe.
The burns are gone...am I...dead? She felt the ground beneath her feet - it felt real enough - and relaxed until she noticed an elf at the front of the cave. She crept up behind him, poking her face near his.
'Who are you?' He smelt like Radu, but seemed non-ceree. 'Where's Radu, is he alright? Saffyre didn't get him, did she, I thought I saw him...change.' She winced, hoping that wasn't true.

the elf turned and smiled happily "good to see your awake... and don't worry, Radu is perfectly alright." the elf stood and with a swish of his purple and gold cloak, he was once again Radu. he smiled at liara "after all i should know" he laughed "as for saffye, she thinks she transformed me, when my marks made her magic backfire, i got out fine, but a false agdor version of me was created. i doubt she or anyone else knows i haven't been transformed." he frowned a bit "are you sure your okay? you where hurt, and didn't wake up for awhile so i was worried" he blushed a bit at the last part

'Woah,' was all Liara could say, as she saw the elf change to Radu. Wait - the elf was Radu!
I have to learn how to do that someday.
'A false agdor?' Liara was worried. She saw Radu blush and smiled, 'don't worry, we're far away from Saffyre, and my burns are healed...thanks to you.' She leant forwards and brushed her head against his, then quickly pulled away. 'I...' she muttered. 'I'll go see if I can find some food.' Liara hopped down from the cave and began to walk away, blushing.

Radu bliked, his jaw open a bit, and blushing madly. he shook his head and used his paw to quickly pop his jaw closed. he smiled as she left.. maybe she did like him, radu definatly liked her.... no bad radu, more important things to think about... saffye, malkuthe, the false agdor me, the dark one rising.... Liara...

he laid down and waited for her to return

Jade reeled in repugnance from what she was compelled to do. Of course, she could have just agreed to become Agador like Malkuthe but that was not an option. Chieftain as she was, she still had thoughts of self-preservation.

She had called council to convene between the four tribes with her and Erithe at the helm. There was much to do and so little time. For what reason, though, she did not know.

"Let the winds of dissent rule!" Saffyre had said. It was easy to interpret. Sowing chaos amongst the Ceree would not be difficult, especially now that most were on edge because of the Dark One's stirring. Whatever happened though, she would make sure she lived to see the end of everything. On second thought, she would live far after it was finished.

"But Jade! We cannot make these so-called research trips into the wayward roads! Can't you remember what happened the last time they appeared?" The voice brought Jade back to reality. She hoped she had not spoken aloud and from the befuddled look on Erithe's face, she had not. That was one of the things she had planned to scatter dissent like a plague amongst the Ceree. All she had to do was convince the council and when they proclaim it, the Ceree will fall into protestation.

"That's exactly the point, elder. What if this wayward road is everywhere on Alriiea? What if all of a sudden, the ground beneath your feet turns into pavement?" As though her words were beck and call, the ground did turn into pavement. Jade averted her eyes as the sickening crunch of splintering bone and the squishing noise of insides being flattened filled the small pavilion. "That, is why we must research the roads. We must understand how they work so that we could better avoid any further casualties." Malkuthe would have been taking notes on the toll. Now there were twenty-eight dead from the highwind.

The elders nodded their reluctant agreement to Jade's plane and Erithe looked at her reproachfully. Jade shot back an equally upbraiding look.

---

A nick was all it took to draw blood. A nick was all it took to wound an Eternal. Oh how Oath had snarled at her for that. She dropped the blood into her throat and she savored the metallic taste flowing down it.

Oath bit back an array of curses and yelled at her. "You fool! You blasted, accursed fool! Let the Fayett take me for all I care, you are a fool!"

She had only smiled then. After all, if you could make a god, or at least someone close to that, bleed. You wouldn't believe they were gods anymore. The next day, she had tried if her powers were magnified. Her magic definitely wasn't

She was about to give up when she saw something in the back of her mind. A lump of pulsating red light. She pushed at it and it pushed back. When she embraced it, though, it filled her veins with ecstasy and before the hour was done, a new continent filled her vision. She wanted to laugh oh so much.

Saffyre sat bolt upright. It was the first time that she had seen the entirety of that memory. She felt like laughing. The younger agador was chewing on Malkuthe's tail rather affectionately, he seemed to have taken Malkuthe as a hero. Hero worship was always good among the Agador, it always was.

(see the wiki for picture/info on Maetesk)

Liara hurriedly collected some wild berries and headed back to the cave, catching a hare along the way. She'd only been trying to get away so Radu wouldn't see her blush, but had realised she was actually quite hungry. She was pleased to see he was waiting for her, and dropped the food in front of him, sitting down opposite.
'Sorry about earlier,' she mumbled, pushing a pile of berries towards him.

-------

We have come from the wind and rain, the salt of the sea and the coarse earth of the land, but we are not of this world.
The words echoed across the coast and surrounding cliffs as the waves began to churn. Something stirred beneath the waters, and they began to hiss and boil, the voice growing louder, more strange.
We are born from Destiny's mind into this frail body, but we have been made strong. We come upon this land as a blessing and a curse.
Suddenly a form began emerging from the sea. There was a sound like grinding stone, and the land shook. The creature came ashore, looking at the rocks in front of it, unsure of what to make of the world around it. It roared, the trees and objects around it exploding into dust, steam curling off its blackened armour, and was content with its power.
We are Maetesk!

"Jade! What are you planning?" asked Erithe in earnest. She was looking behind her shoulder, that mysterious figure Solen had been following her around all day like a lapdog. If only he didn't have alerons and looked more undead and had black skin instead of silver fur, she would have said he was Agador.

"I'm planning a way out for us. Who knows? The wayward road might be our only route of escape." said Jade. The lie was plain and concise, it should work. It would have to do, she was out of time and if Saffyre wasn't content... She shuddered at the thought.

"But there's always Mal'Hamyet Kalmaha..." Erithe trailed off. Mal'Hamyet Kalmaha was the Ceree name for the Lucid Sea. Legend had it that if ever peril was on the horizon, you would just have to embrace the sea and it will take you to sanctuary.

"And what, Erithe? Put our lives in the hands of some legend? I think not." said Jade. Truth be told, that was less than legend, although ever since the last time Mal'Hamyet Kalmaha was used for that purpose, it has been considered myth. Simply put, no one believed in the magic of the waves that battered Alriiea's shores anymore.

"But you would rather go into someplace where no fewer than a hundred Ceree died already?" said Erithe reproachfully. It was true though, in her eyes, that Jade's logic made sense, but the wayward road? It was taking things too far.

"I believe that if we just know how to work the wayward road, we will be able to use it." said Jade trying to convince Erithe as hard as she could. It was no use, though. One would teach a bull to dance and a rock to become soft before convincing the young chieftain. she sighed in resignation; it would have to be done, though, as Saffyre had said.

"Let the winds of dissent rule!"

---

Saffyre took to the skies and surveyed the landscape before them. Wherever the light of Malleithen's moon shone, fields of moonshine glittered. There was something odd, though, about them. As though it was something that she could not put a name to.

By her luck, a wispy cloud moved over the moon and blotted out the light shining down on one of the fields. All of a sudden, a line of red appeared. It must have been the throats of the flowers, but it pointed straight at something.

She cast her power over the weather and wispy clouds came into existence. That was it! She laughed high in the sky. The red line pointed straight at the library. She cajoled the two Agador on the ground to follow her.

"I WILL find the rose of Sanctuary."

Radu gulped, but smiled "think nothing of it, nothing to be embarassed about" he said nervously popping a berry into his mouth 'dam me for being so shy! he ate a few more berries and tapped his claws on the stone of the cave... he considered this moment to be one of those aqward moments, and was looking for a way to change the subject.

after awhile of silence he found an idea. "i'm sure you where surprised when i transformed from an elf, well it's something all ceree can do..." he gulped, blushing a bit "i-i could teach you how" he managed

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

agdor radu started to follow, but noticed something on the ground. a brown cloth cape, very simple with nothing special. it had once been in okay condition but now it was a bit tattered and had ripps along the edges. this was Radu's cloak, most likely lost a few minutes before radu had been imprisoned in the crystal. the agdor quickly put it on him as radu would of worn it, he leaped into the sky after malkuthe and saffye. he was a bit behind but caught up easily, as he was faster, but he stayed behind malkuthe

Seraph walked toward the council room, with guard ceree at his side. It made him feel awkward. The kneeling ceree wherever he walked didn't help. When they arrived, they started the meeting immediately.



" Council, it is time we reveal ourselves to the four tribes. The Dark One is stirring, and we must act immediately. If we do not act, all is lost." The head council member pounded his fist on the table. " Unacceptable! Our first cheiftain, Geirrha led our tribe of magic wielders to seal the Dark One. But our tribe didn't get the credit we deserve. They ignored our important contribution. Geirrha concealed our tribe into the lake northeast of the Forbidden Peaks. Now you want to reveal our tribe?" "Yes. That's exactly what I want. On my command, we come out of hiding and make an alliance with the four tribes. Meeting adjourned."

As the others left the room, Seraph walked to the park, and pondered what to do next.

'Yes!' Liara grabbed the chance to end the awkward silence. 'I mean, that would be nice.' She added a smile to help ease the tension.

-----

The statue-like being continued on its way, slowly continuing through the forest - and through any tree or boulder in its path. Had it emotions, it would have been irritated at the lack of resistance, perhaps angry, but as such felt nothing.
'We will walk until we find purpose,' Maetesk intoned, the ground beneath its feet raising up slightly, trees thinning out as it came upon mountains. The extra challenge of moving his heavy body uphill pleased Maetesk - for indeed that was the sole feeling it possessed, when it was pleased by its powers.
'Power, eluding death, eternity,' Maetesk listened to its crashing footsteps echoeing across the mountains and sky. When it finally reached a plateau, Maetesk stopped, staring out across the valley as if waiting for something.

radu pushed the food to the side and he began to explain how kaldirala, the great mother of dragon kind, had creatd the ceree to be half elf, half dragon. once he was done with the minor history lesson, he began "actually turning into an elf is quite easy, once you learn how. first you have to imagine an elf, then you think of the features that make you seperate from other ceree, the color of your fur, markings, etc. then you take these features and combine them into your elf form in a certain way." to demonstrate he took his elf form, brushing a purple and gold lock of hair that always hung over his right eye out of the way. "like how my hair is seperate colors like my fur and markings, and my cloak is mostly purple, but bears marks simalar to ceree form. now once you have invisioned your elven form, it is as simple as just telling your self to go from one form to the next" he smiled, then blushed 'and do remember to invision clothes, since it is a common mistake" he siad fingering his collar

Erithe shuddered for the night was cold. Jade was insane; she thought. She stood there, on the plateau, looking out into the cold dark expanse of canvas that was the night sky. It was as if an artist had gone crazed and sprayed dots of white upon it, smeared some even.

She shivered when she felt alerons caressing her and padded footsteps moving to her. She would have screamed if it was Malkuthe or even Radu, but the light of the moon made it plain that it was not.

Solen stood there, graceful silver by morning, feline black by night. The moon's light made his sea-green markings glow even as he shifted his body. Erithe leaned against him, thankful for the warmth and support.

Erithe had chosen to not go to the Council's meeting. She was certain that Jade would just convince them to send a party after Saffyre and the two others.

"Erithe, the council needs you." said Solen. "They were in uproar, learning you wouldn't come."

"Is that what this is about? Then fine! I'll go to the council." snapped Erithe. "And here I was thinking that you actually cared for me. Bah!" she said, flying away into the night.

---

Following the red line wasn't easy. Saffyre had felt the burning urge to sleep and so they had stopped for the night, not that it was possible to tell when on Malleithen.

After they had dozed off, she had woken to see Malkuthe battering Raducan with tail. She would have told him off but he saw the bite marks on Malkuthe's tail, she was sure it was just Radu experimenting his bite.

When they had taken to the skies, it had taken at most half of the day to locate the red line again. It might just be that the library moved every single day.

Liara frowned, thinking up an image in her head.
Errr, no, that's definitely not right. She didn't think elves had four arms. No, they don't. Remember Raku's form.
She concentrated, feeling her body go numb and tingly, but nothing happened. Trying again, Liara shifted, her elven form slender with golden hair.
'Ah,' she fingered the red and blue clothes she was wearing, then grinned at Radu. 'Weird!'

Radu gulped and blinked. he stayed silent for a minute, "your beutiful" he let the words slip, then coughed turning slightly "i mean uh-err... i'll be right back" he said quickly running out the cave enterance, taking his ceree form and flying away. the entire time his face was beat red.

he landed a bit away and banged his head against the rock a few times "stupid stupid stupid... oh god now what will she think of me" he moaned

Solen simply stalked away. Truth was, he couldn't remember anything at all in the past week. Oh sure, he remembered seeing Erithe at Sielvoth's hut and even his childhood, but ever since that day when he went to Erithe on Alriiea, he couldn't remember a thing.

It was like a vague dream, fading into inexistence. Since Erithe had so ungraciously left him on that cold plateau, he decided to check on things back in Malleithen. There, he came upon two strange beings and a purple Ceree that seemed to be looking for something.

He went up to them, about to offer help, and all of a sudden the only feeling that racked him was pain.

((is it supposed to be that easy turning into an elf?))

Al opened his eyes slowly, his thoughts troubled.

((just cuz i need an opening))

Seraph went to his quarters, a lush room with gems embedded in the walls. The bed was made with coral and other precious gems. The bed was carpeted with velvet. The walls had portraits of past chieftains. He looked at two portraits. One was a male ceree who looked liked him, his father. The other was a beautiful female ceree, Geirrha, the first chieftain of his tribe. He went to his bed. He had just noticed that the room had been cleaned. Soon enough, he fell asleep.


Seraph looked upon the horizon. He was staring at the sunset with his father. He was a kid again. His father knelt down and whispered something in ear. " Son, to become a true leader, you must become a follower, do what you must for the sake of the people. You must put the people's intention's first before yours."

Young Seraph looked upon his father. " Why are you telling me these things father? I have no intentions of becoming a chieftain anyway."

Seraph's father gazed at the sunset. " Soon my son, these things will come handy to you."



Seraph woke up at the first rays of sunlight. The dream he had, it was a memory he had when he was a child. Before his father disappeared. " I must prepare. It is time we help in the defeat of The Dark One."

(not sure, but it was better than having 4 boring replies of Liara doing nothing but trying to change :S )

Liara tried going after Radu, but stumbled, dropping to the floor.
Ah, this is harder than I thought. Why do they only have two legs? Completely impractical. She attempted to get up again, frowning, and after a few trial runs changed back into her ceree form.
'It's like trying to learn to walk all over again.' - and, in essence, it was. Liara clambered up onto rocks to the side of the cave to try to see where Radu was, and smiled as she spotted him. Suddenly a roar echoed across the valley.
What was that?! Whipping her head up, Liara stared with wide eyes at a plume of smoke drifted into the sky, crackling with magic. An Agdor? She leapt down and ran over to Radu.
'I think we should go, or hide, that could be...well, you know - her.'

Radu's face was still a bit red "who?" he asked, slightly disoriented from banging his head of a stone wall... "oh right her!" he spread his wings, but paused "no we should stay low, below the trees. easier to spot us in the air... it's probably best if we go back to the cave and wait until she passes. he siad turning that way, but mostly he didn't want liara to see his face, since he was still embarassed about what he said in the cave

Algaisia was up and running when he heard a roar, as he knew Radu was in that direction. I should have been with them! Al reprimanded himself as he ran. So many things have gone wrong, he shouldn't have been caught off-guard. His bow was in his hand, strung, with an arrow on nocked, magical energy radiating from it. He was the Leader of the Elite Elven Warriors once more.

'I can't fly anyway, remember?' Liara could see Radu's face was a little red, but didn't ask him about it, as it was obvious he didn't want her to see. 'Oh...ok then,' she hurried towards the cave alongside him, glancing back at the grey in the sky every now and then.

-----

Meanwhile, Maetesk slammed shut his jaws with a sound like grating stone, the pillar of smoke disappearing away on the wind. He turned his attention to the mountainside beneath its feet. After choosing a suitably large rock, Maetesk drew his armoured talons across the surface in sweeping patterns. A symbol began to appear, carved out enough to be seen from the sky, and Maetesk moved the tip of a claw to one edge. The air around him crackled with uncontained energy, glowing magic flowing into the grooves of the symbol. Maetesk stepped back.
The mountain shuddered, telltale crashes signalling avalanches starting lower down, the magic flashing twice in bright bursts before seeping into the stone.
'We...Destiny...the symbol...' Maetesk peered out across the valley towards his next destination. He had no idea what had drawn him here, other than the whispers in his mind, echoeing - always echoeing. Throwing back his massive head, Maetesk roared once again.'The first of Destiny's symbols is made whole! We shall mark them until the gate opens, and the world is torn asunder before the doors.'

Saffyre sensed a disturbance far to the north. It was the same kind of power that she used, but different and far weaker in potential. She shuddered, feeling the tell-tale ley lines that could be seen when channeling that power.

There was something off about Sylfe when the magic subsided. She did not know what. Whatever the case, it was not the time to take that into account. She had to find the Eternal Library at all costs. It was her only hope of gaining status as Astrailun.

The two Agador behind her were playing with each other as she tried to figure out where to go. It was more like the younger Agador was playing with the older who was getting annoyed and just nipping back at the younger.

There were two ways to break the bond between Agador and master, one when a being pledges itself to the Agador, the Agador being its master. It goes against the nature of the Agador and hence, it is no longer Agador, but the magic is still put and there is no changing back to the way it was before.

One was to hunt down the old soul of the Agador and replace the new one with it. It would unravel the magic, but at the cost of the one who attempted to do it becoming Agador himself.

She would have to keep a close eye on the two.

---

The night sky was dark, and an elf straightened from his cot. For some reason he wanted to leave the house at that moment and embark on an adventure. Normally, he would have told himself not to listen to such nonsense, but the aspect sounded so inviting.

He scrounged up his few belongings and put them in his small wooden-framed pack. He hastily scribbled a note that he put against the doorframe so that anyone entering the room would see it. He had considered stabbing it with a dagger and leaving it on the wall opposite the door for a more dramatic effect, but that might just have sent his mother to hyperventilate.

The note said

"Mother, father, I am going on a journey. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. I'll see you when it's over.

Cael "