WoS Chapter 7

eon had been shaking nervously when malkuthe had come over to him.... but calmed down slightly after he left. eon found himself still staring , bewildered at the spot where malkuthe and saffye had been moments ago

Radu shook his head and returned to his ceree form. he sighed slightly relaxed since he had expected a beating for malkuthe or saffye or even both...a different thought entered his head. he sniffed and rubbed his eyes a bit. malkuthe was gone and more than likely not to be seen again... radu would miss his friend but knew it would be better for him and saffye to be together. though the part that had saddened him the most was the expression he had seen on both their faces when they looked at him.... he felt absolutely terrible

radu gulped and turdged back towards his tent, an aura of depression about him as he walked. he went inside and curled himself into a tight ball, silently wondering where liara had gone off to... he needed some form of comfort....

Bathed in flames, a lithe but strong figure gestured his hands with frenzy. His eyes burned with hatred and a desire to kill. From his hands shot out bolts of black lightning that drew in large slabs of black marble. A fortress was assembling itself around him. Massive spikes jutted from its base and horrific beast statues adorned its rooftops. Its heart glowed a brazen red, bathed in the light from the magma below.

Tall marble pillars paraded inside along a blood-red carpet. Tufts of crimson grass jutted from under the slabs of polished basalt that adorned the floor. Intricate carvings that would rival any great artisan's work were being formed with every moment that passed. Frescoes of battle scenes and victories that were drawn from the figure's mind started painting themselves on the black walls.

Braziers bathed everything in a sinister reddish-purple light, adding to the atmosphere of the fortress. Wind that entered the fortress seemed to howl in agony, the effect was produced by the design of the windows that had flute-like structures in them. Whenever the wind shifted, the wailing lament changed. This too, added to the atmosphere that hung around the fortress.

He drew the molten rock up from the volcano and it filled gutters around the well that lead to the volcano's heart. They poured out of the mouths of Gargoyle decorations that lined the rooftops. Some of the streams fell right beside marble balustrades and this added a sense of a dangerous beauty to the evil atmosphere. The Dark One smiled at his handiwork.

"Stop spying on me!" he bellowed all of a sudden and made a drawing motion with his hands. All of a sudden, a figure now made of flesh and blood appeared before him and knelt in pain, naked as the day he was born. His hair was blue and his body was lithe. "So Triethe, we meet again. Bah! Salkethe is what they call you now. Let's just see what the 'Father of Time' could do without his precious swords."

Triethe looked at the dark one with a pained expression as itchy black robes draped themselves around his shoulders. Chains shot out from the floor and a piece of rock supported his back so that it seemed like he was prostrating himself before the Dark One. "Now THAT's better." said the other with a slight sneer.

"Ready the troops!" the Dark One shouted. Within moments, joyous wails filled the air as the Dark One's army gathered before the fortress. "Kill them all!" he decreed.

Radu was still curled up.... he entered a trancelike state, unjable to feel think or move. he only breathed softly. amteth had done this so he could have a partly living body elsewhere...

powerful laughter shook the building "you know Al, or the dark one as you are now called, whatever, you still are as stupid and ridously ugly as the day i first laid eyes on you..." amteth formed in the flesh and blood. he was causaully lounging on the dark one's throne with a smirk on his muzzle. he looked at al with a smile. he stood and pointed his palm at the dark one, his markings glowed like blue fire against his black scales... a fire ball formed in his hand and he chucked it at the dark one.

the ball would catch the dark one in the chest, and throw him back with such force he flew clean through one of the marble walls. amteth drew tanik and slashed it, an arc of fire like energy flying out and passing over salkethe's head, making a wall collaspe on the dark one... amteth looked exhausted as he cut triethe's bonds "how many times do i have to save your skin?" he said as both where teleported to a far away mountian that was over looking the highwind's encampment...

amteth nearly collasped on a stone, as tanik turned into golden dust "you owe me for that big time... nice to see you again, your only the 4th ancestor to 'wake up' after all" he paused a pointed to the encampment "if you look for me later, there is a ceree down there purple but with strange yellow markings, he is my vessel" with that his exhausted form flickered and he turned into flame then he was gone

Seraph was silent the whole time. He was staring at space for some reason. After his comment on shark, he didn't notice the events that had happened. Just then his eyes turned bright red. His voice turned almost ancient. It's as if there were two Seraph's talking at once. " He is here. It has been a long time since I've seen him. But how did he have a physical form?"

He glanced at Amteth's vessel, who was breathing heavily. " Amteth's helping him again. He really gets into trouble. I wonder if the elves are sensing his presence?"

He tapped one aleron on the ground. " Shadows, come forth." Three shadows about Seraph's size came from the ground.

" Shadows, I want you to escort Salkethe here. Make sure he gets here safely. Now go." The shadows disappeared and then reappeared at a mountain overlooking the camp. They bowed to the figure.

The jet walls shook with a supernatural rage even as they flew together. The smoldering hole in the Dark One's shirt was enough to drive him to the brink, but to actually have been caught unawares by one of the ancestors was unacceptable. A klakkra rounded the corner and shrieked as it exploded in a puff of smoke illuminated by the light from the braziers. The Dark One shook and so did his fortress.

Jets of molten rock erupted from the nearby peaks and rained down on the unfortunate valleys below. "WE MOVE TODAY!!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. The resulting cacophony sounded like a thousand peals of thunder as Klakkra banged black spiked blades and clubs against crude shields. The march began and the ground seemed to shake under the assorted hooves, talons and feet that at that moment started to stomp in unison.

---

On the distant mountaintop, Salkethe bowed before the three shadows that appeared before him. Servants of Noundele, he noted, Apion if he correctly remembered their past. His frame bent over easily and his silvery-blue hair followed the motion gracefully. Father of Time was what many called him, but he could barely even remember how come the name had stuck, seeing as how he actually had no power over time.

He raised a slender arm that was milky fair, it was one of his best traits after all, and drew them through the air with a deft motion. Lines of energy followed his fingers as they worked around an area in the air that seemed to draw in a great amount of the ambient magic that was in the area. A hilt began to materialize as well as a long, slightly curved blade of a pallid steel.

A set of runes paraded down its blade, accented by intricate designs that suited the curve of the steel perfectly. "Unity" was the name of the blade and it suddenly glowed red hot. A perfect copy shimmered in the air beside it, perfect except for the runes that showed the word "Division". The twin blades of Salkethe, the elves called them, but they more than that. They were his life.

He jumped atop the nearest shadow and commanded that he be taken where they came from.

" Good. He should be here in a few minutes. He would be here a lot faster but solid substances can't travel in the shadow world unless allowed by a being in the shadow world." Noundele turned toward Amteth's vessel. " He should be here shortly Erik. You saved his sorry butt again?"

Seraph didn't understand what was going on. All he knew was Noundele was controlling him for a while. " What are you saying?"

Noundele didn't notice that Seraph was awake. " Oh nothing. The fourth Great Ancestor is awake. Salkethe should be here shortly. I wonder, why the other girls aren't awake yet?"

Huh? Why are the Great Ancestors suddenly popping out of nowhere?

Noundele was kind of irritated at the question. " Kid, when Sylfe is in peril, we aren't just gonna sit around and watch it be destroyed. That's why we are awakening. We are part of Sylfe. But since our physical bodies are long gone, we decided to use creatures of Sylfe as our vessels to help them. Anyways, as I said Salkethe should be here by now. All that leaves is Eilya, Ecstasy and Skyye. I know Eilya and Ecstasy will be happy to see Triethe, but they won't like seeing each other again."


As if by cue, the three shadows Noundele summoned appeared at camp. " Good to see you again Triethe."

Radu woke up saddness still panged in his chest, he wanted to just lay there until death drew him away... But an urge filled him, the need to get his people to the languid sea, and just to get up over all. With a groan he crawled out of his tent... He looked at eon and slashed his tail at him, his powerful kliumu sliced through his tether freeing him. He started making sure everyone was getting ready to move. He survived the goings on until he noticed a figure...

He walked over and saw a fair blue haired elf male who weilded twin blades. He walked over and suddenly knew it was shalethe... He almost started to bow but suddenly he stood on his hindlegs and without warning he took his anthro form. His golden eyes turned purple and a weakened form of tanik formed in a sheath on his side... He smirked at triethe "sorry about that triethe. Nice to see you.... And you owe me for saving your hide... Again"

Seraph walked toward Radu and Salkethe. His eyes were still glowing red. Ah Triethe, it's been a long time. I see you still have Unity and Division with you, unlike my blade, which has disappeared in time." He opened his palm and a shadow formed into a sword like form. It then vanished into thin air. Just then an eerie breeze blew on their camp. The three tensed, as if they were slapped. " He's making his move. we should rally up what forces they have and attack."

Thick leathery wings opened with a snap as they caught the strong wind that now blew against the hot mountainside. A large black stood there, preparing to launch as her master yanked at her reins. Her strong muscles rippled in an effort to balance herself against the wind that was hampering her flight. The thick membranes of her wings were straining to the point of being ripped.

The moment the wind died down, the dragon launched itself from its ledge. The crimson glow below bathed its black scales in a crimson glow that accented the defined curves of her body. She opened her maw and let loose a shriek that was echoed all around. Klakkra joined in the battlecry, but the first battalions were already too far away to be of concern.

In the wake of the troops, the land turned black and blightened. Ash blanketed the landscape and smoldering cinders that were once trees lay haphazardly in the grey expanse. They were almost past the Windswept valley, but the valley itself barely changed for it truly was already barren.

The Dark One's advance had begun.

Amteth retreated and radu became radu again, he was still in anthro form. He turned in the direction of the dark one's army... His eyes blazed with fear and fury. He growled and drew tanik, he pointed the mighty blade into the sky, light shone down it's beutiful silver blade and glowing marks shone like a sun. It acted as a beacon to the highwind encampment

The highwind turned their attention to radu who stood tall and proud "my brothers and sisters!! The dark one is coming this way and with him he brings an army to destroy us! Last time this happened the dark one nearly won and brought about and endless winter, it didn't end up none other than the mighty dragons rose against him and defeated him in a mighty war. WE are the last of the dragons, the ceree, we shall not let him take over again! Now will you run or will you fight!!" at this a mighty cheer rose from the highwind, everyone began to prepare for battle.

Radu walked into the camp and stabbed eon with a talon in the shoulder, a star like mark appeared and he passed out "that should do it"

"Will you run or will you fight?!" Radu had exclaimed, followed by a thunderous cheer from the Highwind. That much, Saffyre had heard. She and Malkuthe had reappeared in Sylfe shortly after fifty years of trying to start renewal efforts on Saffyre's palace in Azalar. Malkuthe shook his head in disagreement, Saffyre burst outright.

"You fool! Will you lead these people to their deaths? You cannot yet fight them, Radu. They are far too numerous" said Saffyre without so much as a hint of tenderness. As she spoke, the ground rumbled in the distance and rock suddenly began to jut from it.

By the time Malkuthe had walked over to her side, a wall of mountains already stood in the distance. "That should buy us some time" he said slowly. It was easy for him to forget that Saffyre now had immense power. She was usually the most innocent of the four chieftains.

"Highwind to the Languid Sea!" bellowed Malkuthe, once forgetting that he was no longer chieftain. After all, nothing much mattered when you were with your life's love. Similar cries arose from Erithe and Jade who beamed at him, and, to his surprise, Saffyre.

Both female chieftains ran towards him and embraced him with alerons. They hesitated for a moment with Saffyre, but whatever happened was "Nar'hana", behind them. The four of them embraced, happy to finally be complete, but their joy was short lived.

An entire mountain flew apart, sending large blocks of rock towards the Ceree encampment with lethal speed. Saffyre acted on impulse and erected a wall of air around the camp as Klakkra began streaming from the gap in the wall.

Ceree began a frantic descent into the sea, the currents swallowed them, and a few younglings panicked. It was normal, though, in times of trouble, as history dictated.

The klakkra broke through the wall without effort. Just as it seemed that they were going to overrun the Ceree, a group of Traighluhn appeared from nowhere. They practically attacked anything that was within the vicinity.

Saffyre and the few remaining Ceree made a break for the sea in the chaos that ensued. With Traighluhn streaming from the north and the Dark one in the east, their last hope was Malleithen.

"Pray that the wards around Malleithen hold up..." muttered Jade absentmindedly as she entered the Languid Sea. She was the last to enter the currents and behind her a salty wind rose. The currents retreated towards Malleithen, leaving a dry seabed behind. In the distance, a wall of water roiled, it was where the Languid Sea ended, but no one could now enter Malleithen. Or so they hoped.

Radu was still standing on the shore watching the army coming, he sighed... He was foolish and too young, he wanted to protect his people but he had made a stupid choice and nearly killed his people, where it not for malkuthe and saffye's stopping him... He deserved to let the army over run him. He looked back at the sea and saw liara amoungest the waves...

He drew tanik and it glowed with energy that rivaled saffye's, the blade was slashed through the air sending a massive wVe of energy that pushed the army back... His body slumped his body drained with exhaustion to near death. He fell into the water and the waves carried him after the highwind he woke up eventually and blinked coughing out water. He purposely lagged behind far behind the highwind

Seraph returned to normal and went a little away from the rest. He wove his magic and he saw his tribe. " How is everything council? IS everything ready for the hidden assault against the Dark One?"


The council was surprised at seeing their leader appear before them. " Leader!" When their cheiftain asked the question they were dreading, they answered with full confidence. " Yes chieftain. We have our best wielders ready for the magic assault. We have put the women and children in hiding. We strengthened the barrier around the city. Our warriors are standing by outside the city. We are ready."


Seraph was pleased at the reply. " Good Counil. I will fight with the Highwind and the other tribes. I am the representative of our tribe, the Sacred Wings. Best of luck. May Kaldreiia be with us." He waved his hand, and the connection was cut. He was now in Malleithen, and he had no idea what was going to happen next.

Malkuthe gave a start as fresh air hit him when he rose up on the shores of Malleithen. His fur was drenched, but he was able to shake it all off. A few moments later, Malkuthe spotted Radu surfacing, a melancholy expression on his face. He felt a pang of sympathy and disregarded any other thoughts. He would have to deal with the little jealousy that plagued him later.

Walking over to the purple, Malkuthe said "You may be young, Radu, but you are not foolish. You simply acted on impulse. Allow me to teach you how to govern the highwind properly..." He proferred an aleron to the younger.

Radu looked at him, a powerful mix of emotions showed in his eyes, trying to pick a certain one out would over proven maddening. He swatted the aleron away "bah! I am way to young and I am far beyond foolish. I used to think you where smart yet For no reason you make me your heir to be cheiftan, someone who before that point basically only talked to you! Even know I barely know how to talk to or interact with others. In your stupidity you chose the exact worst person for this job! I have no idea what you or anyone else see in me, I can't do this job, on impulse and overconfidence I nearly lead this clan to destruction... My imcompetince can prove fatal, I know you want to be with saffye but the highwind need you or someone other than me" he growled and turned walked off. As he walked off accidently the kliuimu on his tail brushed malkuthe's face leaving a small cut.

He continued walking until he just dropped onto the ground. He curled up and sniffed a few times. He hated himself and he had yelled at his only friend

Malkuthe was taken aback. The words hurt him as much as they seemed to have hurt Radu. He had no doubts about having chosen Radu as chieftain, but how long it would take the purple to get molded to that position, Malkuthe knew not. He knew the younger would have to do it soon. He and Saffyre weren't going to remain on Azalar for long.

He considered going to the newly anointed chieftain, but decided that that action would just make things worse. Let the child get banged on the head a few times, after all, without pain there's no gain; whether in intelligence or physically though, let time decide. He strolled over almost entirely casually towards Saffyre, but again, he was proven to be a bad liar. "What's wrong?" she asked innocently; although he could bet that she was eavesdropping.

"Nothing..." he said morbidly. He gave a start when he noticed a blue-haired elf carrying two swords. He craned his neck to see better and knelt once he came into full view of the elf. Saffyre looked at him questioningly, but he pointed an aleron to the elf, a motion that seemed as though it attracted the elf's attention. "Lord Salkethe, how has your time in the mortal realm been?"

The elf went closer and inspected him and Saffyre. "Two beings of power greater than can be achieved in Sylfe. One is almost to my level and the other surpasses me by far. Why bow to me, Malkuthe? Consider me an equal. And if you really want to know my answer, terrible. I never thought he could move this early. Seems he has grown in strength too. I'd be careful if I were you." He had a sheepish grin on his face. "Now tell me, where is this Cael that I've been hearing about? The one that ran from home to find adventure? I see myself in him."

"He is somewhere in the camp, Salkethe" said Saffyre without forethought. She did far surpass the other in power and that was what the magical hierarchy was built around.

Salkethe scratched his scalp and trudged off to find the elf.

elsewhere radu had descended into his own personal hell, filled with his doubt, worry, anguish, and all the other painful emotions he had so often locked away. admist this he barely noticed as his head drooped and he passed out... in this state he was basically like that of a breathing rock, unable to be stirred...

in a blaze of flame amteth appeared before malkuthe and saffye. he smiled "ahh yess o i finally get to meet you in person, radu talks about you all the time" he said and without warning grabbed malkuthe's paw off the ground and shook it with vigor. he let the paw go of a confused and surprised malkuthe while ignoring saffye to a painful degree....

he glanced at the tiny cut on malkuthe's face with a sad expression "it's better that you don't pay much attention to what radu said to you... he was blowing off steam as the expression goes. radu is a bit unstable at the moment, his body is still adjusting to his new powers and it's affecting him mentally, which needless to say is my fault" he paused making a small fire in his hands "right now radu is like a average fire, throw wood on it it burns brighter, throw water on it it shrinks or even goes out... when the dark one nears radu it's like throwing a fresh load of wood on a fire.... though the dark one was still far off it was enough to affect him." he smiled "it'll pass though since his powers are almost fully developed"

he stood and looked at saffye "hello saffye, i have heard equally as much about you.... though little of it is good. for malkuthe's sake he won't try and fight you though he really wants to, he hates you to a degree, yet since he thinks of malkuthe like a brother he also slightly considers you a very bothersome sister... and for the sake of the other ceree and the surrounding area i'd suggest you refrain for getting to close to him" in one hand appeared a powdery black substance rather like magnesium "because you messing with him would have an impact like this stuff to fire" he dumps the substance into the fire sending and explosion of fire into the sky

with that his body trned into blue fire "nice talking to you both" he said as the fire dissappeared... immeditally after word radu became conscious again... he went back to his misery. in this he failed to notice a just barely visible barrier of energy around him. if you studied it long enough one would see it had the general shape of a true dragon and not a ceree

Seraph saw the two ceree, the blue and the purple. He could sense in them, immense power that he could never imagine. " Hey Noundele, who's the female?"

Noundele was surprised for the kid asking the question " The ceree is an Eternal or Astrailun in you tongue. They surpass even our power. They created the planes of Shah'Haien. They even created Sylfe, though it was a barren wasteland, so we had to modify it. This one however, only became an Eternal recently. The eight of us, including the Dark One had to battle an Eternal, Destiny. By the way, I need to talk to Rubian, may I use your body for a while?"

This was the second time Noundele was going to use Seraph's body, but he agreed. " Sure, why not."

Just then, Seraph's eyes turned bright red and walked toward Rubian. " I need to tell you something."

All the time Amteth had been in their midst, Malkuthe was nodding his head politely. He wasn't paying attention, though. He was dwelling on how far the Ancestors actually were from the images of Fiery Gods of Life and Destruction that they were fed as they grew up. They were just like any other eccentric but serious Ceree.

"It'll pass, though, once his powers are fully developed." That sentence drew Malkuthe back to reality and he shot a questioning glance at Saffyre. There was no reaction. He sighed and continued nodding. The metal links that had suddenly appeared on his collar, tinkling with his head's every motion.

Saffyre's fur caught the wind and seemed to ripple with it. It was one of those effects that made her seem all the more godly. Amteth was unfazed. She gave a start at the suddenly fiery explosion that singed part of her muzzle. She almost laughed when the Ancestor has left. "To think, we once thought they were beings of great power, godly and majestic in all that they did..." she said wonderingly.

"I never thought they'd be so... Normal, for lack of a better term" continued Saffyre. It truly was startling, how a few hundred thousand individuals could be so wrong about one thing. Saffyre trotted off into the distance, telling a protesting Malkuthe to stay behind. It was something that she had to do to settle her nerves.

*** *** ***

"Radu..." she said in as sweet a voice as possible. It had always worked with the Agador copy, but she doubted it would work on the real one; even so, it wasn't her loss to try. Her graceful body flowed with every step she took towards the curled-up ball of purple fur.

She lay beside him, and spoke softly "I know you are angry, but please don't take it out on Malkuthe." Her voice was almost musical and it seemed to hum to the flow of the wind. "I meant no harm, those years ago, but I had to do it. The call of power would have killed me had I not answered it." No response. She breathed a long sigh.

She lay her head beside Radu and hummed gently, hoping to allay his self-inflicted pain. The spirit of Sa'Maihan Sar'Haiel took over and suddenly spoke. "Foolish child. Did you not know that all purple Ceree are sworn to me? Did you not know that the first Purple spoke his oaths to me of fealty under the hope of his rebirth in the Great Mother's arms? You are Agador, dear child. That is what your color means."

Frantically, Saffyre searched for Amteth and begged "Tell Raducan that it was not I who spoke though what she says is true!"

saffye would find herself unable to sense amteth's preasence anywhere nearby... "do i care?" radu spoke without moving "weither my color means i'm an agador or my markings mean something else entirely... i don't care to much abut what i am, who people say i am, or anything on the matter!" as he said this the flat side of his tail's kliumu smacked saffye across the face rather suddenly, amidst this see would be able to see the true dragon shaped aura around radu... it's golden eyes where glaring at saffye

he got up his fur raised in anger "you said you had to do that or you would of died!? that is your excuse for everything you've done! if i had the choice of doing what you did or dying i would of died! i guess saving your own skin was some much more important than the lives of the ceree you disposed of or turned into mindless agador, even malkuthe." his words where full of anger and pain

"and while we are on this subject... you slept with the other agador me? disgusting... but even a child would be able to figure that a false copy that never had a real body to sustain it's soul would eventually crumble into nothing" he spat on the ground, his eyes turning red and slowly his markings as well, as they turned red he suddenly cried out in terrible pain, falling to the ground and shaking terriblely "i-it hurts" the dragon aura around him seemed to be shrinking around him, closing around his body

suddenly amteth's voice came into saffye's mind "okay sorry i'm late, don't listen to what he said, becuase you sure didn't listen to me.... anyway when i told you to stay away it was for radu's safety... see that dragon like aura, it's his final power, but his body can't handle it yet. if it's used like this it could kill him, please just stop it" amteth pleaded slightly "you just being there pushed him beyond my help"

"If you truly were concerned, you should have been faster" Saffyre spat in disgust. She raised an eyebrow at the squirming Radu. Her lips trembled, as though to say something and she made as though to stand up. It was only the tone of pleading in the Ancestor's voice that held her down.

She brought the flat of her tail's klimnu with full force down Radu's cheek, leaving an imprint that would evidently hurt the next time he awoke. The end of her tail cracked as it broke the sound barrier and left an area slightly redder than the surrounding. Purple fur was stuck to Saffyre's tail in a number of places, but on her face was a contemptuous smirk.

"As you wish, Amteth" said Saffyre, standing up and walking away. She took an elven form and snapped her fingers even as a shadow crossed her face. As the sound of the snapped fingers reached Radu, his convulsions stopped. The aura dissipated and his labored breathing turned to the even, deep and smooth breaths of sleep. With a curtsy fit for a court, she bowed, hand to abdomen.

She walked along the grass, purplish-red skirt with golden lining swaying as she moved. Intricate designs of black embroidery ran up and along the golden lining. Golden spirals and floral decorations seemed to move with every stirring of the dress, the almost-crimson bodice framed her body well. A golden circle supported by a band on her forehead was linked to two golden threads from which hung translucent purple veils that fluttered in the wind she whipped up. Along her arms were the voluminous sleeves of her dress made from the same fabric of the veils.

She looked behind her with a stern expression.

---

Cael was sitting upon a rock, staring towards Alriiea. He had always thought that Malleithen was shrouded only by moonlight, but now, sunset was just beginning. The world truly had begun to change. His daggers lay on his legs and they glittered in the light of the reddening sun.

His head whipped around at the crack of a twig behind him. "Hello, Cael. I've heard about you."

Silvery-blue hair and two blades of white steel adorned the elf that was before him. Cael immediately knew who it was. He fell to his knees "Father, what might I do for you?"

amteth sighed and rubbed his temples... 'women' he thought to himself 'but what can ya do?" he sighed and thanked saffye. he looked at radu and shook his head, even as he lay there the bruise area from saffye's tail *an unneeded action* was healing. amteth looked towards saffye "they definatly act like a brother and sister though" he chuckled as he faded

in his mind's eye radu found himself in a black void, a sea of unending darkness. he floated there his markings peeled off him and floated to another figure. he turned towards it in shock. he saw the figure for the first time as his markings attached themselves to it's body. the creature was far larger than radu, it's body covered in dark purple scales now adorned with his very markings. radu saw before him a true dragon version of him.... he stared in shock and awe, trying to back away before it tried anything, but he found himself unable to move in the void

it's golden eyes, which had been closed, opened and stared at radu.... the dragon spoke "raducan, do not fear me... nor shoulder you doubt yourself so. malkuthe gave you your duty for a reason... everyone makes a mistake at one point, but a true leader learns from it and moves on" this made radu sniff, but before he could say anything he slowly awoke watching the dragon and the dream fade

he rubbed his cheek with a groan and looked around...

The strained flapping of wings suddenly seemed to fill the entire area. Ceree ran all around, panicking, because it was simply not normal. Two shadows appeared from out of nowhere and seemingly began to grow smaller. No one even tried to look up, their eyes were affixed on the ground, their ears locked on to the sound.

The sound stopped and from the sky dropped two dragons. One silver and one white. The white one spoke "My children!" running towards the nearest Ceree and ebracing it. The Ceree's face became an expression of delight and utter calm. When the white let go, the Ceree almost swooned.

Saffyre looked at the white with a wistful expression as she hugged every Ceree she could find. "Malkuthe, could this be the Great Mother?" Her alerons moved with agitation at not knowing, but that was not the face she would want the Great Mother to see on her.

"I think s-- oof!" Malkuthe was cut off abruptly as Kaldreiia went over to embrace him. His expression eased from a pained one to a blissful one. Saffyre could only imagine what was going on in his mind at the moment. She looked at Kaldreiia, hoping to get an embrace too

The Great Mother walked up to her and twined her arms around her. But there was something about the hug that set Saffyre's mind astray. It was more of a hug between sisters. Kaldreiia whispered to her "I always knew you would do great things..."

Saffyre sighed as the embrace ended. She looked at Kaldreiia stunned. The white winked at her.

radu paced for awhile, feeling bad... he felt he should go back and applogize. he started to walk back. he was walking up behind when he noticed a white and black dragon... he blinked in surprise as the white began to hug every ceree she could get her paws on while the black just sat there, amused. the white who was obviously female even hugged saffye and malkuthe. she looked at radu and smiled

radu immeditaly knew it to be kaldreiia, the great mother. despite himself his tail wagged in anticipation as he waited to be embraced. his eyes turned purple and he spoke in amteth's voice "don't you dare kaldi.... i mean it... you know i hate hugs!!*radu took over as kaldi embraced him.

radu's negative feelings melted away and he smiled as she set him down "hello kaldreiia" he smiled and wagged his tail
a spectral image of amteth formed behind radu.... this further surprised the stunned ceree that where watching, two ancestors in the same place. amtetrh sighed "kaldi you know i hate hugs" he looked around her and waved to the black "i see you brought your husband" he remarked... for some reason kaldi's husband never had liked amteth... he couldn't see why

while the ancestors spoke radu walked over to malkuthe and saffye. he bowed his head in shame "i'm sorry about earlier. i was mad with myself and i shouldn't of taken it out on you both" he applogized

Kaldreiia scoffed at Amteth "Bah! How should I have known that the child was your vessel." She puffed a plume of spoke at the other Ancestor and smirked. Her eyes glimmered just like when they first left Aznala. Of the Ancestors, only she was the one to keep her name.

"I see you brought your husband" remarked Amteth, flashing what could have been a confused glance at Sielvoth's direction. He remained an almost ghostly apparition to Kaldreiia's eyes, probably because of the lack of a mortal body.

"What about him? Oh, yes, the mutual animosity. What is it with the two of you anyway?" Kaldreiia mused. She craned her neck around "Wait, don't tell me, I'll find out myself."

She walked towards Sielvoth with a pronounced happy step in her gait. She had sorely missed being able to actually feel the earth beneath her feet. Kaldreiia entwined her neck around Sielvoth's, placing a peck upon the silver's cheek. She was the smaller of the two, but that wasn't anything that bothered her.

The silver's scales were glimmering in the setting sun and his talons were embedded in the ground. His fluffy mane whipped about in the wind and his powerful wings creaked against his side.

"Hello my love..." said Kaldreiia almost teasingly. It had been long since time and mortality had allowed any intimacy between the two of them. Kaldreiia was sure, though, that Sielvoth was still fertile. No dragon became infertile.

"Yes, Kaldi?" said the other. When Kaldreiia got a better look at her husband's situation, she noticed that the larger was surrounded by a large group of giggling youngsters. All were female. She should have known, Sielvoth truly was handsome, even in his old age.

"Not--!" Kaldi was cut off as her ears perked up. Her tail went still and it felt as though waves of negative energy crashed through her body. "What is this grim force?" She spoke with gravity. In the distance, she saw Maetesk and her eyes narrowed in anger.

---

Saffyre nodded her assent to Radu's apology. Malkuthe went as far as transforming into his elven form and ran over to Radu and hugged the purple. Radu really was like a brother to him and the hug was more of warm acceptance than anything else.

"I understand... but will you now accept my tutelage?" said Malkuthe, still as an elf. His cloak was swaying in the breeze. The sun was now almost three quarters of the way down the horizon. Tiny green sprouts had begun curling up through the ground.

Malkuthe did not wait for an answer as he began to trod back towards Saffyre. The sprouts were now beginning to elongate as the sun sank lower and lower. He twined his arms around the purple's neck as she began to shrink and turn into an elf. They held each other there, watching the sun set on a new beginning for the Ceree.

The stems elongated and buds began to open. Glowing petals filled the area as far as the eye could see. A strangled shout came from somewhere above "The Moonshine fields have never come this close to the ocean!"

As the flowers opened, a white mist seemed to rise into the air. The smell was intoxicating and downright addictive. Malkuthe felt his hackles rise as his most primitive of instincts kicked in. He suddenly drew Saffyre in for a passionate kiss. Only the Great Mother knew what happened next.

---

Cael had been talking with Salkethe for a time outside the major group. His pale arms were moving in strange circles as Salkethe tried to demonstrate how to use two blades at the same time. Cael was almost completely befuddled.

For the past half hour, they had been working on swordsmanship, though Cael was better off using knives, the older seeming to enjoy it as much as the younger. However, when they came to double-sword forms, Cael was nearly incompetent.

Strange noises rose from the distance. Cael could discern them as Ceree, but the noises were entirely enigmatic for him. He caught a whiff of the white mist that had risen in that distance and he wrinkled his nose in annoyance. Salkethe's reaction was completely different. He had a look of horror on his face.

Almost immediately, the noises seemed to make more sense. They were pleasured cries of sensual ecstasy. "What happened?!" he said, horror-struck.

"Moonshine. The scent drives Ceree completely ecstatic, and maybe even lustful." said Salkethe. His worried expression drove home every word. "They won't remember it come morning... DON'T Go there, you might get caught in the chaos."

---

The Traighluhn had made easy work of the Klakkra, but they were too late to give chase to the Ceree. Furious clacking was exchanged, but fell to silence as the leader of the small contingent came up before them.

His face was unlike many Traighluhn, because it was covered by a mask-like bony substance that made him look like a totem. Glowing blue markings covered the substance and ran down to his mouth.

Traighluhn had either three mandibles inside their mouths or none at all, the leader had none. "Brothersssss... Sistersss..." he began. "We feassst tonight!!!"

---

Thrown back by a small contingent of creatures, the Dark One was furious. His roars shook the fortress walls and any unfortunate being to happen upon him was destroyed. Tapestries burned and buttresses crumbled as his rage made reality convulse.

Down below, a tiny fraction of his army remained, but the gates were still open. Beings were still pouring in from every world and every time. Soon, he swore, he would reign supreme in Sylfe.