Dark Age Legends

[Xorlak]

Melface darted from shadow to shadow in between the buildings of Tjedon.  Other than the occasional knight rushing past to aid in the battle going on in the castle courtyard, and a villager rushing in the opposite direction, the streets were relatively deserted.

"Hmmm, a delicious idea.  Even if we cannot find anyone close to him, a random chamber maid would serve as an excellent hostage."

He licked his lips.

"Or lunch."

They came to the edge of the castle walls.  The nightmare demon waited for a group of guards to run past before leaping the whole twenty feet straight up and landing where they just trod.  He pressed his back against a wall next to a door that lead to a spire, shrinking into the shadows to wait for his comrades.

----

"Then we shall begin."

The voice came from behind Grav, who startled-ly turned to see the Dark Emperor stride though the door and onto the balcony that overlooked the arena.

The mages took their positions around the circle, and as they silently walked/floated, the two massive doors on either side of the arena rumbled as their gates were pulled up.  Shadows emerged, the dim torchlight revealing them to be a handful of elites entering from each side.  They were a brutish lot, a Demon Lord, two S-Class Lizard Men, several burly fighters of various species.  Then came two Dark Dragons, their dragonmasters dressed in pointy black armor and helmets, and a handful of green skinned ogres, standing twelve feet high with massive clubs.

Last came the enforcers.  They were black-cowled like the summoning mages, but these had a red stripe down either side.  The twenty of them worked independently from the summoning, and would serve to subdue the beast and enslave its mind as soon as it began to cross into the Gaian plane.

Once the massive assembly was positioned around the circle, all eyes turned to the lone summoner woman...

----

As soon as the doors burst open Vincent let loose an intense spray of flame from his weapon, bathing the forerunners of the assault with a crimson glow.  The humans were repelled very quickly, but it took several seconds of a concentrated blast to slow a Lizard Man down, and the alchemist found himself having to slowly back up.

"I'm surprised to see humans still fighting for the Dark Empire."  Vincent yelled to his side.

"Depends on whoever the general is, I suppose." Ven shouted back.  The silver knight's blade was glowing brightly, and he cleaved the air to send shock waves of the light element hurdling into his foes.  Still they were loosing ground, and close combat would come in seconds...

----

The pile of boulders did not explode, but rather the ground twenty feet directly behind Anti and Drake erupted like a volcano, a geyser of magma shooting skyward as Draven punched through the earth.  Balanced before his forward-aimed right hand was a surging sphere of crimson some five feet in diameter.

"Troublesome... die!!"

With that, the orb launched forward like a ballistic missile.

[Dude Man]

One of the Tjed knights was tackled by one of the dark angels. The evil being lifted it's sword ready to stab the knight in the chest, but he was grabbed by the neck, by somebody from behind. It was Duilin, he tightened his grip and pulled the dark angel off of the knight and tossed him on the ground, he then smashed the evil sprite with his mace a few times until it stopped moving.

"Thank you sir Duilin." The knight said in gratitude getting back up.

"Don't mention it..." Duilin replied modestly.

"Do you know what these things are?" The knight asked, assuming he'd know.

"Nope." Duilin shrugged. "But I intend to make sure they will leave." He jumped into the air and spread out his wings and soared off. Duilin was pretty sure he'd find those fox-men somewhere

---

Ophelia and Rufokanno speed their way through the shadows at a blurring speed. Ophelia had cast a speed spell on the two, which obviously made them run faster.

"Hey, what's that?" a Tjed guard asked himself as he spotted the two moving blurs. He jogged towards where he saw them stop. He could see two figures in the shadows.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing? Get inside, its danger--" Suddenly he felt the top rims of his armour being crushed into his neck, causing him to choke. He started struggling to breathe, and he was trying to squeeze his hands under the neck rim so he could pull them away from his neck, but it was too tight, in a few seconds he passed out, just as Rufokanno stepped from the shadows, with his hand out as if he was crushing something with his hands.

"Enough, he is dead. Let's go." Ophelia ordered.

Rufokanno nodded and the two zoomed towards where Melface was waiting in the shadows.

Melface was completely visible to Ophelia "You ready? We search through the castle, and we'll try to find somebody who Duilin may come to protect. He seemed to have some sympathy for even me, so perhaps somebody of the female variety will work best."

She opened the door, of the spire. "And try not to eat her soul until we've lured Duilin."

---

Goldolf who just exited the king room where he had put Henri to temporally rest, approached Rink and Belle.

"Hey there feller." He said to Rink. "Ma'm." He nodded to Belle.

"Hi, Goldolf." Belle replied.

"So, did Duilin come back, or is he still out there?" Goldolf asked Rink.

"He's still outside." The imp replied. "He's likely seeing how the dark angels are rampaging all over the place and he's venting out his anger on them."

"So, what do we do now?" Belle asked.

"I dunno, wait here and if anybody wants to know about the king then we can explain what happened, perhaps sugar-coated at the least."

[Mikado]

Suddenly the man fell. The cat jumped scared of his shoulder while the man fell on his back. Blood came out of his chest, and right hand, it was crimson blood, it was beautifull blood. The man muttered some spells, and the blood stopped flowing but the wounds weren't healed.
- "I guess she will be here soon.. And this must be the price for my last stunt.."
The man closed his eyes and a white aura covered him.
"If I'll keep this position for a while, nobody will find me.. nor hurt me."

~~~~~~
((I'm going for 2 weeks))

[Jenia]

Indher smiled, her grin slightly devilish.
She spread her arms.

"All right, mage lot! Transfer your power either to me or the runes. Either will do, as long as you hold nothing back!"

Some of the lizard mages nodded, and while the others remained still and silent, Indher assumed it to be a sign of agreement.
She bent down to her knees, placing her hands on the floor just outside the drawn circle.

"Haaaah..."

She took a deep breath, and violet light began to spread across the runes, from Indher as well as several of the mages, following each line to the exactness it was drawn in.

"...Hmmm..."

The circle was now brimming with pulsating violet light, which suddenly turned ghastly blue. The torches began to flicker and the chamber began to shake lightly.
The air was filled with dust from the cieling, and Indher's expression made it obvious that keeping this up was not easy.

"...mmmHAA...!"

The familiar feeling of impending doom spread once again across the surface of gaian. The runes changed quickly to a bright crimson and then to a deep, bloody red.
The shaking grew violent, and several mages collapsed, either from the great strain on their bodies or the inability to withstand the mental shock. Or perhaps even a combination of both.

"...AAAGkhth...!"

All of a sudden, the torches went out. The only source of any real light were the runes themselves, now burning in grayish flames.
A green ball of fire appears not too high above the runes, and a loud CRACK is heared.
The cracking noise continues as small fissures spread from underneath the green flame in all directions, stopping after soon after they reach all four walls.
A shadowy figure slowly becomes visible within the green fire.
It appreas to have wings, and isn't much bigger than a class S lizard.
The atmosphere it radiates is not even demonic - It holds no Malice.
Only a deep, hollow feeling of everything of everything being plunged into oblivion...

...It... It must be it...!

Silence. The being did not speak, and yet it's words were obvious to anyone with the slightest bit of a sixth sense -

Why am I here?

[Xorlak]

Melface kicked an imaginary stone with his foot.  "Drat."

He followed the two into the building, except he melted through the wall instead of taking the door.  Keeping to the shadows, he followed the corridor to its end where it intercepted a perpendicular hallway.  He pressed his back to the wall when he heard voices.

"We cannot find the King anywhere."

"Did you check the council chamber?"

"Not yet.  I will see to it immediately.  But we need immediate orders, Chancellor, and the tasks falls on you."

"Very well, but keep this quiet..."

The knight and robed man continued down the passage, out of earshot.  Melface grinned.

"It seems we have come at the best time possible."

----

One of the red-striped mages jumped out in front of the beast.

"You will bow to your master, The Dark Emperor Retan!" he hissed, as he pointed a bony gray finger.  The other enforcers lifted their arms as a cage of glowing red bars formed around the summoned creature, which slowly began constricting.

The mage made whipping motions with his arm.  "Bow, bow, BOW!!"

Retan merely sat on the throne with his head resting against his hand, looking only mildly interested in the spectacle from the balcony high above.  Beside him, Grav stood with a wide sneer, leaning forward on his staff.

[Dark Spartan]

Alex struggled to keep himself awake in the dead of night. It seemed like he hadn’t had sleep in days. Staking out a location was easy enough…with plenty of sleep beforehand. With no sleep for at least two days, it was insufferable.

The fact that the P.C.S. had a cushioned interior that acted as ballistic padding made him more comfortable, which he didn’t need right now. Any sense of comfort would make him fall asleep in his state. His stomach rumbled. He was hungry, too. He had forgotten the last time he had a good meal.

Biological necessities aside, sheer boredom overtook him. What else could he do but sit and wait for the attack? If he went out looking for him, he could fight himself into a corner. The Shroud was being quiet, and he and Midna separated when she ducked into cover during the fight. He was all alone.

He sighed. He hadn’t been this bored in years.

“Wish I at least had someone to talk to,” Alex complained.

“Why not talk to me?” Midna said, appearing from around a corner.

“Thank God you’re okay,” Alex sighed. “They ran off after I whipped their sorry asses.”

“What if they come back?”

“Doubtful. I got at least three of their guys in the fight. Unless they acquire some kind of magical prodigy that can heal wounds in moments, we’re fine.”

“What about de Sade?”

“Wha?”

“De Sade. What if he’s back? That blue guy WAS a Lilithian, after all…”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t de Sade…he attacked in very much the same way, though. Maybe he’s family?”

“Possibly. Whatever the case, he was powerful. I hope we don’t run into him again.”

“You and me both. One Lilithian is bad enough.”

“So, what, are they going to wait until morning?”

“I guess so. The Shroud can’t be used in bright light. They don’t have any artificial way of making sunlight, so we should be relatively safe until then…”

“I don’t like this, Alex. It seems like they might be setting us up for something.”

“The only thing that’s being set up is their downfall,” Alex said. “They’re on the run and down to three.”

“Three? I thought you said there were only five of them…”

“One of the other guys wasn’t a KAF soldier,” Alex explained. “He looked like some kind of assassin. Fought like one too. He could teleport short distances quickly, which made him rather hard to hit.”

“That worries me even more,” Midna sighed. “With an assassin on their side, the next attack could come from anywhere.”

Alex yawned. “On second thought, underground or at least inside seems like a much better idea.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Midna said, taking his shadow.

Saying nothing more, Alex returned inside to the safety of Kleiner’s lab.

“Alex, did you find them?” Izzy asked.

“Not yet,” he replied. “I think I’ll wait until morning to go looking.”

“Very well,” Kleiner said. “I can’t imagine who would be after you, and why. You’re such a likeable fellow!”

“Apparently they don’t think so,” Alex sighed, taking his helmet off. “What I don’t understand is why they, who outnumbered me six to one, ran from the fight. They could’ve easily killed me there, but they didn’t. They’re setting us up for something, and I’d like to know what.”

“Just be careful,” Isaac said, taking out a clipboard, “and you’ll be fine, I have no doubt about it.”

“Hey, what’s that for?” Alex asked him.

“Oh, this? It’s a checklist for the Borderworld portal, just to make sure everything is running properly.”

That was it. They couldn’t track him down in another dimension. If he hid out in the Borderworld until morning, he would be safe. But the dimension’s deadly aura would no doubt have an adverse effect on him long before then. The Borderworld was out. The Twilight, perhaps?

“Izzy, you’ve given me a great idea. I know exactly where I can rest until the time comes. Thanks a lot, Doc, you’re a genius!” Alex went back outside.

“Goodness me,” Kleiner chuckled, “no one’s ever said that to me before, and I’m a scientist!”

Midna immediately emerged from his shadow. “I think I know what you’re thinking.”

“Hide out in the Twilight until morning and we can move safely?”

“I’ll cast the portal. While we’re there you can assure the Elders you’re okay.” Midna flicked her wrist, and like that, the portal opened.

On the other side, the Twilight was bathed in perpetual dusk, which suited Alex just fine after a long night. Finally, a safe haven in which to hide. He breathed a sigh of relief. Amazingly enough, the realm was completely untouched by the war with the Kandarinian Sovereignty. Not even the foremost Kandarinian sorcerers could determine the proper spell to get there.

Safe and sound finally, he headed toward the Temple of Dusk to speak with the Elders.

[Dude Man]

Goldolf took out a cigar and lit it up, by casting a spark of flame in his hands with his magic. "I dunno, I think we should just tell everyone in the castle about the king getting killed. What if they suspect us?"

"I don't think they would. We kind of are regarded as heroes to the nation." Rink replied. "But I see where you're getting at."

Belle leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor, she wrapped her coat around herself. "I'm feeling kind of scared about everything going on."

"Why?" Rink asked.

"I dunno, suddenly I don't feel like wandering the halls. Like if I'm moving whoever killed the king is going to sneak up behind me and attack." Belle replied, shivering. "I'm sorry, if I'm being a pain, but can you guys just wait here with me, until Duilin comes?"

Goldolf noticeably rolled her eyes. "I ain't seein' what the big deal is. However killed Henri is obviously gone, they'd be stupid to stick around 'ere."

"Goldolf, Belle's scared." Rink said sounding annoyed with the drows rudeness. "Unlike you, she hasn't been alive for over a hundred years and hasn't accomplished everything she has set out to do. She's young and has a lot to live for."

Goldolf shook his hands. "Sheesh, sorry then." He took a puff of his cigar and leaned against the wall "Who'd think an imp would have such compassion for humans..."

"It is weird actually." Belle said looking at Rink. "Like, Duilin's half human so that explains how he's a nice guy, but you were born and raised in hell, how come you're so nice?" She then coughed.

"No idea." Rink then fanned away some of the cigar smoke with his hand. "Goldolf, you mind putting that out?"

The old drown sighed and pinched the end of the cigar with his fingers.

---

Ophelia nodded in agreement with Melface's statement. "This will make finding a suitable hostage easier, with all the knights out of the way." She then started to walk through the hallways. "But we still have to be careful. If Duilin finds out we are here, before we find a hostage, then it will likely encourage him to get the innocents to a safe area. He's too powerful for us to fight directly."

Rex Vondran's death at the hands of Duilin was fresh in his memory. Such a powerful warrior, Rex was, he was even being considered for promotion to a general, but Duilin just ended his legacy with that encounter.

"Come now, we still shouldn't waste too much time." Ophelia ordered as she continued moving the halls.

---

Duilin and Lagart met up with each other and started fighting side by side with the oncoming dark angels. With Ben's magical boost, Lagart's fighting skill was greatly increased making him more than a match for one of the dark angels. However, he was still out shined by the half demon.

Streaks of flame glided through the air as Duilin swung his sword at the dark angels clashing swords with him. Shockwaves of golden lightning shot from his mace as he smashed into the dark angels.

Duilin was clearly trying to make up for failing to protect the king, by making sure non of these dark angels could harm anyone on Tjed. Inside he could feel his anger being stirred up. A lot of the anger was towards himself, yet a lot of it was for the Dark Empire. Ever since he was banished from Gaian, by Retan to when he found Henri's dead body on the floor, he been given more reasons to hate the empire.

He thought back to helping Renard, and then finding out that he was with the Dark Empire. And not just a member, but one of the personal warriors of a high general. He probably insured the deaths of hundreds of people by allowing that fox man to live.

Next time, he won't be so lucky...

[Drannic_Lord01]

The dark shroud thickend as the battlefield swelled with more and more dead bodies of the Dark Empire, along with a few elven bodies and very little Drannivolkans. A horn sounded outside the walls as a dragon flew down towards the gates. He clenched his red fists and pounded the wall down to nothing.

"MEH! You are such a fool to oppose the Dark Empire, Aaron Grey! Now, you will face my true power..." Belrok sat atop the Red Dragon, steering the mighty beast with a glowing red crystal shard.

"What the... Oh god, no!" Aaron raced out to attack the dragon, but it merely flung him aside with a flick of it's giant claw.

Behind the walls, Justin and Tiberius were taking the shape of a dragon to fight back at the enemy, but they would need to buy time. Aaron got back to his feet and saw what they were trying to do.

"Attack the dragon! Distract it!" Thousands of arrows ripped at the sky and flew towards the Dragon. He ignored them and continued his assault.

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

The last of the Dark Angels retreated to the skies, and the land reobtained some sort of peace... at least for the moment.

"Duilin! Lagart! We should head back inside and rest... Unless you'd like to stay out in front of the gates and keep those safe from further attacks...

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

[Jenia]

Indher quietly back away towards the wall...

I'd like to watch, but I wouldn't want to be cought in this...

In the meantime the cage of red bars steadily constricted.
The green flame inside continued to burn.

... Foolish ...

Suddenly, the bars turned bright blue, hardened into ice, and then fell apart.
The green flames wre no longer as concealin and the figure within appeared as a mishmash of black and megnta, but was still not clear.
The ice floated helplessly in the air, only to suddenly shoot at the red-striped mage who stood before him, piercing several body parts as he is hit against the wall.
It did not seem like the intention was to kill him...
The being rose into the air, stopping in front of the balcony, and appeared to have turned in Retan's direction.

... You must be him ...

The creature spread what appeared to be long, thin arms.

... You are already powerful enough to rule this pathetic world ...

The bony wings were stretched, making the already large wingspan appear greater.

... You do not need me, so I will give you this one chance to tell your slaves to unbind me from this world ...

[Trent]

"Tricky little sneak..." He could feel the ground behind him vibrating. Something not so good was bound to happen. He whirled around to see what was up. Hmm, big red flaming sphere of fire. As Draven's words floated through his hypothetical ears, he pushed Drake away, then immediately bent over backwards, smacking the ball upwards as it passed over him.

He snapped back to an upright position, but decided not to counter. "Tell me more about your... issues."

Drake halted himself in the air, a few feet away from Anti. Thank the gods... Well, Anti. If it weren't for him... Actually, it might not have been so bad. Is that demon actually... concerned for me?

[Xorlak]

The child-like demon trotted down the hallway, stopping suddenly with one foot in the air and turning his head.  He jogged over to a heavy set door and pressed his pointed ear against it, smiling widely.  Voices rose from past the door.  One distinctly feminine, one an old man, and the last higher pitched.  The glint in Melface's eye returned, and he pointed to the door as his traveling companions caught up.  This is the one.

With that, he was gone.

----

The room became different.

It would have been the type of thing Goldolf only could have noticed had he been paying careful attention to whatever it was that changed.  Perhaps it was a chair in the corner.  Perhaps it was the grain on the stone wall.  Perhaps it was a different temperature, or humidity.

It was certainly darker, however.  Not in the immediate vicinity of him, the woman, and the imp, but windows at the far end failed to cast their light, and the flames of the torches muted.

But Belle and Rink were still with him.

Of course they were...

Belle folded her hands, her bright eyes looking upon his in awe.  "Oh, Goldolf," she sighed seductively as she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.  "You're so strong and... fearless...  Are you afraid of anything at all?"

She paused.

"What do you fear...?"

----

"Oh, no missssy..."  A huge Lizard Man clasped Indher by the arm.  "Yer not going anywhere until thisss iss over..."

"W-w-well my duties as an 'extra' seemed to be complete! By doing nothing."  Kelmar began to scurry towards the exit, but another Lizard Man stepped in front of him.

"But I must use the restroom!"

The lizard shook his head, and the skunk was sent back to the sidelines.


Grav took a few shaky steps back, before hiding behind the Dark Emperor's throne.

Retan didn't move, but remained leaning his head against his arm, his eyes burning red slits.

"You fail to grasp my intentions.  I do not seek to subjugate only this realm, but all planes of existence.  Those realms that I do not deem worthy will be expunged, such as the miserable plane I just pulled you from.  You have been brought here because, in my infinite generosity, I have decided to allow you to continue existing.  As my servant.  I do not need you in the slightest."

Those burning embers glowed with a crimson fury.

"Now bow.  Or there will be consequences."


Kelmar began biting his nails.

"Holy crap!"


The yellow-skinned Demon Lord threw off his cloak, revealing a massive toned body that stood at 13'5" and weighed over six hundred pounds.  His golden hair stabbed skyward in large spikes, his two gleaming horns protruding from under the mess.  With a permanent scowl etched across his face, he unfurled his wings slightly and floated up behind the summoned entity, his pupil-less white eyes fixated on the monster.

----

"HYAAAAHHH!!!"

Ven raised his glowing sword high and charged the red dragon head-on.

"OOF--"

With a flick of its tail, the beast sent Ven spiraling into a group of Lizard Men, knocking them aside, before slamming into a pile of boulders from the collapsing wall.  He dizzily pushed the rock off as he rubbed his head.

"Probably should stop doing that..."


Vincent threw off the top cartridge on his weapon, replacing it with another larger silver one.  No, fire won't work against a red dragon...

He attempted to flank the monster aiming his weapon at it as it began to hum loudly, but at the last instant a horde of Lizard Men appeared in his path, and he was forced to point his weapon at them.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!  A series of explosions ripped forth from the shotgun's nozzle, tearing deep holes in the lizards' armor as they flew back and fell in the mud.  He stood his ground, spraying them in a wide arc as they tried to break his wall of explosive force.

----

Draven grinned, attempting to brush off the dust amassed all over his cloak.

"I suppose you passed..."

He began floating skyward, his arms folded before him.

"Follow.  I'll fill you in on the way."

With that, a crimson aura engulfed him, and he blasted northward...

[Jenia]

Indher nearly spat at the lizard, but held herself back.

"Look..." she whispered "Either let me stand in some corner where it's safer but I can still see, or YOU go stand in front and act as my shield!"

Indher shook her head.

"It's not like I'm leaving the room..."

Meanwhile, the figure inside the green flame did not seem too impressed by Retan's little lecture.

... How very typical ...

The green flames began to fade, and the room began to tremble once again.

... In your eternal folly, not only have you sentenced yourself to a life of ultimate dissapointment ...

What was green flame before was now thin, green mist, revealing the being's true form -
It's skin was pitch black and appeared somewhat like rubber. Various pointed magenta-colored shapes were drawn all over it's body, all pointing at the face.
The thinckness of the limbs was not much greater than the thickness of human limbs, but each was at least three times longer. The face itself had two bloodshot-red eyes with tiny black pupils, a mouth so thin it could hardly be seen and no nose.
It's head - covered in thin, blue jetting spikes, each pointed backwards in a slightly different angle. Together, they almost looked like hair...
The wings were nothing but purple-colored bones, and seemed completely useless when it comes to flying.

The trembling grew fierce, and pieces of the cieling began to crumble off.

...And now, you have challenged a god. Your stupidity has brought about your end...

A large, black dent scythe formed in it's hand, which was pointed at Retan.
At that moment, a great shockwave spread across the room, causing all of the mages still standing to be flattened against the walls. But the shockwave's force was almost completely directed upwards, resulting in the roof being blown off and the once-underground chamber to be exposed to the grim, cloudy sky.

...YOUR CONCEIT SHALL BE YOUR UNDOING!!!

[Drannic_Lord01]

Justin and Tiberius had taken form of much larger Blue Dragons. They shot greatly sized ice shards at the Red Dragon, some of which pierced through his scaled and caused him to bleed. The Red Dragon colapsed and fell on the Dark Empier's forces, crushing a few lizards and humans.

"How dare you! You ignorant fools!" The black-scaled man leapt from the dead dragon and threw himself at Justin, still in dragon form. He merely grabbed Balrok and held him away from his head, looking into his eyes.

"How dare I? Pathetic for such a stupid little human like you to say..." He reached back, wound up his arm, and threw Belrok with full force. It sent him flying with a thunderous speed as he sped across the reaches of Ariosis. Finally, he crashed into a lava-crusted landmass... It was the Dark Continent.

The others continued to drive off the Dark force that attacked them, and they were soon finished, with their morale lowered greatly after their leader was easily taken down.

[Dude Man]

Duilin let out a sigh of relief but then shook his sword in the air. "That's right, you run!" He shouted.

Lagart sheathed his sword, and Duilin followed sheathing The Iduran.

Duilin looked up towards Bjendell. "If you don't mind, I'd actually, like to talk with you and Lagart for a moment."

"Duilin?" Lagart asked.

"Yes?" Duilin replied.

"What you want to talk about?"

"Um, just follow me over here; I don't want to have to say this too loudly and to many times. If people over hear it might cause panic." Duilin replied, walking over to the statue of the king in the middle of the court yard. There were a few steps leading up towards it, and he sat down in the middle one. He looked up at Bjendell. "Coming, Ben?"

---

Goldolf suddenly felt extremely confused. "What in blazes is going on?”

Suddenly Belle's skin paled and her teeth became sharp and pointed, with two long fangs. Goldolfs first reaction was to push her away, but Belle had too strong of a grip around him.

"Rink! Help me out 'ere buddy! C'mon!" Goldolf shouted, getting in a panic.

Suddenly the room was filled with people, pale skinned with blood shot eyes, and sharp vamparic teeth.

"Don't fight it Goldolf…" Rink smiled floating towards him, exposing his vampire fangs. "There isn't anything to fear, you won't die."

But that is what he did fear. Goldolf didn't fear death; he feared a cursed immortality, like that of a vampire. Having his soul consumed and being only left as a shell of the man he once was, was the only thing the old drow still feared. Goldolf's worst nightmare started to come true as Belle dug her teeth into his neck. He shouted in terror as his grey skin brightened to pure white, his eyes bleed over. Belle let go of the drow and he slowly fell to the ground…

[D. Ein]

//@Xorlak's last post: Retan rocks.\

"Well, the first step to an invasion: collection of information.

I was lounging in my throne room, as the servant I summoned half an hour ago finally showed up.

-"You... called, Sovereign?"

-"Damn straight I called. What were you doing all this time, exactly?"

-"Uh, lord Damien Roth called me after you did... I told him you called me but he just said "oh well, come here anyways"... Then lord Ryleh called me, too... I told him that you called me as well, but he just said "well, be quicker, then..." Sorry, Sovereign..."

-"Fine," I groaned. "I'll deal with those later. Anyways, what did I call you up here for, again...? Oh, yeah. Summon Damien to my chambers. Off you go."

The servant bowed and left. I stretched, accidently knocking something off of my table out the window. Turning around, I obviously missed the object that fell down. Oh well. Probably nothing important, anyway.


Another half an hour later, Damien finally graced me with his presence.

-"ROTH! What took you so long? I wasted an hour trying to get you up here! Have a seat."

Damien complied, sitting down onto a nearby bench.

-"Anyways," I began. "We need to do something about this invasion other than talking of it. Obviously, first, we need to inspect the land carefully. What do you suggest using? I'm thinking small parties of soldiers, wyvern-mounted... They all know Necromancy, don't they?"

-"Yes, sir. However, such a massive amount of soldiers abroad will leave us vulnerable. I have a different suggestion."

-"Oh?"

-"Our first full Stalker batch is ready, sir."

---

The Colonel was instructing a squad of newly-recruited Vanguards in the academy:

-"...and LIFT! Not like that, you idiot! Put the mortar on your RIGHT shoulder, not your left one! That's 20 with me on your back!! And you...!"

That's when four cloaked Stalkers entered the arena. The Colonel, having heard them, turned around in rage.

-"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO INTRUDE DURING A LESSON?!"

One of the Stalkers came forward.

-"Aether, Colonel. We are departing for --"

-"That's Colonel, SIR!!! Drop down, give me 20!"

The Stalker lay down, and began doing pushups. The Colonel began counting off.

-"1, 2, 3..." Suddenly, the Stalker put away one of his arms, and continued the pushups with the same ease on one arm. "4, 5, 6, 7... Quit showing off!" The Stalker stopped. "Did I tell you to stop? DID I?! That's another 5!" With these words, the Colonel took a mortar from one of the Vanguards, and put it on Aether's back. The Stalker did not appear to notice the change, doing pushups on one hand with a 200-pound hunk of metal on him. "8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24... 24, 24, 24, 24, 24... 25." Remaining on the ground, the Stalker took the mortar off of him with his free hand, while keeping himself up with the other one, and jumped up to his feet.

-"30 pushups, sir. Anyways, we were told to report to you."

-"Report to you, SIR! Do you want another 30, soldier?!" Without letting Aether answer, the Colonel continued. "Anywho, the three of you - Aeganon, Ophion, and Aether - you are to scout the Dark Continent, and make notes of all potential targets. Do not engage. If you didn't hear me, that's DO NOT ENGAGE! This is a recon mission ONLY! If you are attacked, flee. Do not let the enemy measure your strength in any way."

The Colonel turned over to the fourth Stalker.

-"And you..." He took out a scroll, and quickly scanned it. "...Antaeus... you are to go to the kingdom of Tjed, and locate major strongholds and points of defense. Same applies to you, soldier. Do not engage under any circumstances."

The Stalkers saluted the Colonel, and left, in silence.

-"Damn showoffs...", the old soldier muttered, and turned back to the Vanguards-in-training. "DID I TELL YOU TO TALK? DID I?! Pick a partner, 40 pushups with your partner on your back! Rotate four times! NOW!!!"

--- --- ---

A thin, robe-clad teenager was running through the streets of Gros Morne. He appeared to be muttering something to himself.

-"...damn flesh golem... Why won't it move? Why, goddamnit?! If the Scribe fails my Necromancy class, I'm screwed! Grounded for 2 months from the M-Grid! Urgh... I gotta find a way to make that thing think for itself... So good now... wings, claws, fangs, talons... It's got everything... other than brains... goddamnit...."

Just as he was passing under the main citadel, something painfully hit him on the head. He yelped, and stopped to rub his head, picking up the object that fell on him. It appeared to be a relatively small black stone, with a hole for a string to wear around the neck. Inside the stone was what looked to be a person in a cloak and hood.

-"Wait... what's this? Isn't this a soulstone? Hmm... maybe I can use this for my project..."

He put the little gem in his pocket, and continued running.

--- --- ---

Carmine continued to care for the wounded, while Hannibal was out hunting food. De Sade stood at one place as if rooted to the ground. This seemed to annoy Carmine a lot.

-"De Sade, you healed Les, and didn't have much trouble with it. Why can't you heal the other guys?"

No answer.

-"Hello...?"

No answer.

-"...de Sade?"

No answer. Carmine came up to de Sade, who seemed to be either sleeping or dead, but in a standing position. Very carefully, Carmine tried to touch the Lilithian... and was blasted two feet back by his life sheath.

-"Don't touch me, insect! I am trying to see beyond sight, a concept not even comprehendable by your inferior species. I will find Alex. Do not disturb me."

-"De Sade, sir, can you heal our wounded first?"

The Lilithian, finally moving, appeared to sigh.

-"Frail... so frail..."

He almost glided to over to Victor Sig, who was groaning in pain. When the latter saw de Sade's fear-inspiring talons reach for his stomach, he groaned even louder.

-"Silence," de Sade snapped. "The code of honour demands that you fall on your blade for making a whimper like that."

The archmage's clawed fingers took off the bandage. The wound was all but gone.