Dark Age Legends

[Dude Man]

- Nymphadora's Ship -

"Oh...I'm sorry." Duilin sighed as Nymphadora walked off, but then shrugged it off. He then noticed the crusader approach him.

"Nice to meet you two Geomarcus. I'm General Duilin Talonscar, Helternia division." Duilin introduced himself. "But yeah, Miss Nymphadora seems to be upset about something."

"But yeah, let's just get this ship moving."

[Xorlak]

- Southwestern Tjed, highway -

Kelmarr waited until he was a good deal up the road before pausing to inspect the blade.  Unwrapping it from the cloth, he could tell right away that the dingy leather scabbard it was in wasn't its original sheath, as the fit was not quite right.  No big deal.  Not like he paid for it.

The sword itself was beautifully ornate.  A gleaming silver blade with a golden hilt, etched with intricate designs.  A blood red gem glowed dimly within the handle...

The skunk mage pursed his lips and whistled.  He would get quite a bit more than a few meals with this...  He tentatively slashed at the air a few times, suddenly unsure if he wanted to sell such a fine piece of craftsmanship.  But no... it was much too heavy for him.  Knives were his taste, anyway.

He replaced the weapon on his back and then threw the cloth over it, lest some other bandit see the gaudy thing and try to steal it from him.  Blast... heavy thing.  Ah well, he'd be weighed down in gold for a while after this.  Smirking, he lit another cigar and continued on his way.  He probably should wait until he was out of the country to sell it.  The old hag probably stole it from someone around here in the first place.

He couldn't help but chuckle at his good fortune today.  It was about blasted time.


A nearby bush rustled...

[Drannic_Lord01]

- The Blue Sancta, out to sea -

"Alright then, We seem to be pickin' up some speed. Should be there in a matter o' minutes!" The Paladin headed to the from of the ship and looked ahead as the ship picked up it's pace. There was another Paladin atop the mast of the ship with an eye glass, looking ahead of them. A few moments later, he put the glass away and shouted, "LAND HO!!!"

Doriana came back up from her cabin and approached Duilin once again. "Get your squad and load them on another ship. I would take you myself, but as you can see, she's quite full. I will meet you on the southern coast of Terian. Good luck." With that, they sent Duilin off the ship and on to the island of Helternia. The ship turned around and loomed away towards the horizon.

(Way to bored now. I'll update others later.)

[Ted Der]

- The Dead Island -

“Hey, Captain, come and look at this!”

Akran looked around and saw one of his men motioning for him to come over to one of the crumbling houses. As he made his way over, something caught his eye. A piece of cloth was lying on the ground, half buried by ashes. Curious, Akran picked it up and brushed it off. It was ripped so it only showed a small portion of a picture. All that he could see was a red eye staring back at him.

“Sir, what did ya find?” asked the man running up to him.

“Oh, it’s you Martin. It’s nothing… just a bit of cloth,” Akran replied, “But it does look familiar. I just can’t think of where I’ve seen it before.” He put the piece of cloth into his pocket. “Does it remind you of anything?”

“No, never seen it before in my life,” Martin hurriedly said, “but you have got to see this. It might be a clue to your family’s death.”

Akran told his crew that he was looking for evidence of his family’s murderer instead of telling them the truth. He didn’t like to trust people too easily anymore. He thought back to his encounter with Kronos. I wonder if he still seeks the Majeuri Spinel.

“Okay, sure, show me.”

--- --- ---

“I know where I’m going lad,” said Royen Beastkeeper to his first mate, “that gypsie lass told me everything.” He chuckled. “Aye, everything. Har, har, har.”

Royen trekked across the ashes southward.

[D. Ein]

- Someplace at Gaian's south, close to Sovereignty's current borders -

-"Acting-lieutenant Keshel! The town has been taken!"

-"Gooood... Inform the captain, and request that we stay here for the night."

Keshel couldn't believe this. They were on a crusade for the past month, without as much as a two-day break. What's more is that they had practically zero casualties, due to the fact that most of the towns here are peaceful and took almost no effort to capture. They had only encountered a competent military force once, and those were dealt with quickly, anyway. And they call him Keshel the Voracious!

-"Acting-lieutenant Keshel! The captain requested to remind you who was in charge of this operation, and she commands that you collect the forces and move on to the next town."

-"Grr..."

Captain Flora Goethe this, captain Flora Goethe that... so what if she's the captain of the brutal attack regiment? Why couldn't she stay back at the Citadel like normal captains do? Sheesh! What's next, the General herself showing up?

With a heavy sigh, the stocky man headed to the town, and collected his troops for the next battle... or, rather, slaughter... He honestly felt sorry for these little towns.

--- --- ---

- A random medium-sized Kandarin town -

"After this Nex finished explaining his situation to me, I became slightly more interested. It's certainly a challenge to my profession. My "companion", as he amusingly calls her, told me that as of now, he poses no threat to us. Very good... since we need a replacement for a Captain of the Seventh Regiment, anyway, I guess I could stick him in there for now. He almost killed him in a fair fight, anyway... Speaking of whom, Kaineng seems to be adjusting to his new lifestyle as an Augment quite nicely. Since I already have five captain-level Augments with me at almost all times, I decided to donate him to one of my faithful Necrolytes. Which one, though, is another question. Hmm... A contest?

-"M'dear, please take Mr Nex here to the outfitting rooms. Make sure Mr Nex is wearing the appropriate garb, and present him with the Captain's Mark. Thanks."

I think I should stop these unplanned appearances. Such walks with no one but her by my side tend to be rather dangerous, especially if my enemies were to find out about them. Regardless, I'm deep in Kandarinian territory. The chance of attack is quite small... but as long as it's there, I think I'll keep to myself. There won't be much use for this, I suppose... I'll just put the logbook somewhere on a shelf in a library. Good-bye for now!"

---

-"My name is Gwenivere. Learn it now, because this is the first and last time you will be hearing it."

The woman's speech was suffering from a heavy, yet indeterminable, accent.

-"I am the General of the Sovereign's forces, and that is all you will need to know about me. Now, come."

//Assuming Nex follows\

The two entered a small underground warehouse, of sorts. Below were shelves which contained suits - Kandarinian battle outfits - just like the General's. The suit was quite thick, made of some sort of wool. It resembled a trench coat, but it was a little shorter than that, as well as having slightly wider sleeves at the end, while being thinner at the arm. The suits were coloured all black with red trim around the edges.

-"Since you will become a member of the Kandarinian Sovereignty, you will be required to wear one of these. Additionally, you may have noticed that every Kandarinian employed by the Sovereign in some way wears red gloves. Although under special circumstances, the battle suit may be neglected, as a captain, you must always wear the gloves. That is invariable."

There were also stacks of very similar looking amulets on the shelves.

-"Due to a strong demand for precious metals, Kandarin no longer has its warriors wear armour. Instead, these amulets are used."

Gwen took an amulet and threw it to Nex. The ornament was of a triangular shape, with three spikes (or fangs?) at the triangle's points. A dark red gem sat in the middle, with the Kandarinian symbol engraved on top of it. Oddly, there was no lace on the amulet.

-"It concentrates your aura into a shield around you. Naturally, the stronger your aura is, the tougher your shield will be. If you want one, apply it to your chest."

With the slightest hint of a hurry, Gwen made for the exit. However, just before pulling the doorknob, she stopped.

-"Last thing."

From somewhere in her suit, she produced a familiar object - Kaineng's scythe. Without turning around, she threw it in front of Nex. Up close, a few details were revealed - the scythe was made of a dark, almost black material, which glowed with small lava-orange veins.

-"As a captain, you are entitled to a Thoridium weapon - also known as the Captain's Mark. They are nearly indestructible, and, with enough skill, you can unlock the Thoridium's latent powers to create an exceedingly powerful attack. Kaineng's "coiling shadow", as he called it, was an example."

She then continued walking out the exit.

-"Do try and accidentally kill yourself with it. If it were up to me, I wouldn't let scum like you become as much as a lieutenant, much less a captain."

[Xorlak]

- Kesnar, Southwestern Tjed -

Kelmarr never did like larger towns.  But since the giant beam of death from the sky started blowing random cities away, he'd gained a whole new reason to avoid them.

It wasn't like Kesnar was large enough to warrant such an attack.  But then again, it was a port town, and the Kandies were feakin' insane.  He just wanted to get a ship and get the heck out of there.

Besides, it was crawling with humans.  Eww...

He wandered up and down the docks for a while, haggling with the merchants and shipowners or whoever sailed in.  He just wanted a ride so he could get off this blasted island.  Of course, half turned him down on sight, and the others wanted a ridiculous amount of coin.  Ugh...

Normally he would just consider stowing away.  But with his precious cargo, he figured it best just to pay and avoid infuriating the dimwitted sailors.  He'd more than make up the difference when he sold the blasted sword, anyway.

Finally he found a greasy old sailor that let him stay in the cargo hold of some stinking little creaky ship.  Ugh...  It looked like a shipping vessel with all the nets attached to the sides.  He didn't really care.  The ship was Ariosis bound, which was good, since he heard that country was a lot richer than Tjed.  He'd probably get top dollar for this sword there...

In the dark cargo hold, the only light bore from the many cracks in the wood above and a small port side window.  He sat down and leaned his head against one of the boxes, shutting his eyes.  Once he arrived, he'd have to find a buyer... he'd have to be careful, but if he took his time, he wouldn't have to worry about meals for a long while...

[Dude Man]

- Small underground Kandarinian warehouse -

"Well, I guess I might try on a new outfit." Nex said, he looked at the battle suits. "Hehehe, these might work."

Nex caught the amulet. "Ah, some sort of protection amulet? Well, I suppose a little more magical enhancements wouldn't hurt." Nex clenched the amulet and it disappeared into his invisible pockets (as some people call them).

Nex then caught the scythe thrown at him. "You know you can just pass things to me. It's not like I'm going to bite you... I've got this mask covering my mouth." Nex examined the scythe, it was indeed some impressive work. He may actually use this.

The demon simply gave an overly friendly wave good bye in response to Gwenivere's exiting insult. "And it was just lovely meeting you too, dear."

Nex then gave the battle suits another look. "Now...let's see here..."

--- ---

- Helternia, River Town -

"Ahh...It's been awhile since I've been here." Duilin said to himself exiting the ship.

"General Talonscar." Greeted a guard at the dock. "It's a pleasure to see you sir. How did the meeting go."

"Not bad. Glad I went, I needed to catch up on some sleep." Duilin smiled.

"Of course sir." The guard replied. "We have a horse cart prepared to take you to Fort Klawvorn, whenever you're ready, sir."

"Oh really? I didn't even ask for one."

"Consular Rink requested it for you."

"Aw, how nice of him. Anyways, I'm ready so let's get going."

--- ---

- Helternia, Fort Klawvorn, Mess Hall -

Lagart got up to get seconds on his food. He ate a lot, even for a lizard man. He just loved to eat ever since he joined up with the humans. They made such great food, most of the other lizard men don't like human food but Lagart loves it.

As the lizard man was filling up his plate with various foods, that didn't exactly fit together he was patted on the back by somebody.

"Hey, Lagart ole' buddy. How's it going." Said a human voice from behind him.

"Firstman! Get back here! You're being a fool!" Marshall's voice shouted.

Lagart grumbled and then growled at Firstman behind him. "What!?"

"Whoa, whoa man. I'm just getting some seconds myself and I thought I'd just talk to my buddy Lagart. What's the problem?"

"You not my buddy."

"Because I'm an Aspye, isn't it?"

"No. Because you annoying."

"Then why don't you like Marshall."

"Marshall fine. He just hang out with you all the time." Lagart finished filling up his plate and then walked off to join the others.

"Oh..." Firstman looked blankly into the empty space that was formley filled with Lagart and thought about that. "Bah, what does he know? He's just a stupid lizard man." He then returned to his spot.

[Drannic_Lord01]

- Ariosis, Azzkan Endor -

"Well, well, where the hell did I leave the ship?" Jacobie, followed closely behind by Karma, walked over to the side of the river. His elite lizardmen were waiting for him in a very large, old Dark Empire vessle. He boarded the vessle along with Karma and began raising the anchor. Within moments, the ship took off and left the river.

--- --- ---

"General Zabel!" A low-ranked officer ran up to the General and saluted, "My lady, we've got your ship ready. It is by the river. The men are prepared for combat!" The officer then bowed and ran off to the ship. It was a large, brown ship with small, white sails. On the side of the ship was a thick black line rimming around the rail, and on the rail in white letters, it bore the name The Orion. General Zabel boarded her vessle and rose anchor shortly after Jacobie. She would merely follow his ship as they made their way to Terian.

[Ted Der]

- The Dead Island - In a crumbling ruin of a house -

On the wall that Martin was pointing to, there was a large painting of a symbol that Akran indeed remembered. He took out the piece of cloth and held it up in front of him.

“Ah… yes,” he said, “You see this?”

Martin looked at the cloth and then to the mural on the wall. “Is that one of its eyes?”

“Yes, I think so.” Akran replied, “Three years ago I travelled with a man named Kronos. You probably have heard of him now, since he managed to defeat the Dark Emperor.”

“The Sovereign of Kandarinian? Yes of course I’ve heard of him. You actually travelled with him?”

“Yes, for a while. We went to island and there we saw this symbol. It was their flag. It looked exactly the same; the same black and red six eyes and everything. I have no idea what it is doing here.”

Akran scratched his chin. “Look,” he said, “See the right and left top eyes are missing?” He reached forward and pressed the piece of cloth to the wall where the left eye should have been.  Akran quickly withdrew his hand, for the eye started to glow red. The cloth dissolved and left a print of the eye on the wall.

“How did- What the hell?” Martin looked bewildered. The two stood staring at the wall; at the still incomplete mural. “We just need the right eye now.” he finished.

Akran snapped to. “Come.” he said, motioning to Martin.

They ran back to the rest of the crew and Akran started to talk.

“Okay! Everybody!” Everyone turned. “We need to look for a small piece of cloth. It’s about this big,” Akran showed with his hands. “And will probably be buried around this crumbling house. Let’s get moving!”

A voice came from the crowd, “Why? Why look for it if I already got it aye?”

A figure roughly pushed his way through the sailors. He was followed by a bunch of mean looking, laughing pirates.

“I am Royen Beastkeeper,” he growled, laughing, “And I am looking for a stone, Akran, the very same you are I hear.”

Akran stared at Royen. Akran’s crew stared at Akran.

“Har, har, har! Can’t speak? Didn’t the lovely Gwenivere tell you? You need the help of another!”

[Dude Man]

- Helternia, Fort Klawvorn -

Grant Zimmerman was a new soldier in the Helternia division. He just got out of training and was exciteded to get into action, but at the same time he was a little worried that he'd get hurt. He didn't really know anybody in the army, since none of his friends joined. But it's always been his passion to travel the world and have adventures, so that's why he joined.

Grant was about an average height and had clean red hair. He wore the standard armour for the federation soldiers, and currently had a basic sword as his weapon of choice. It was what he trained with.

The rest of the soldiers were all about the fort. Getting briefings for missions and warming up for battle. Marshall and Firstman were walking together, heading towards one of the briefing rooms, where they were to meet up with General Talonscar. The rest of the squad had already left. When the two got there, the rest of the squad were sitting around talking, apparently General Talonscar hadn't arrived yet.

Meanwhile at the entrance to Fort Klawvorn, Duilin's horse cart pulled in and the General exited. He was greeted by the guards and then walked in. Grant was walking along with his face buried in a map of the fortress, when he bumped into the General.

"Oh sorry, sir. I uh..." Zimmerman then looked up at who he bumped into, he noticed the wings and assumed this must be General Talonscar. "Oh, General Talonscar. I'm am terribly sorry, I'll try and watch where I'm going from now on."

"Don't worry about it. What's your name?"

"Grant Zimmerman, sir. I'm a new recruit, just got out of training, sir."

"Nice to meet you. You're doing a brave thing, joining up."

"Oh, well thank you sir. I actually haven't been praised like that before."

"Well, you're welcome. So, where are you from?"

"Rivertown, sir."

"So do you have a position assigned to you yet?"

"Yeah, I've been assigned on guard duty."

"You excited about that?"

"Honestly. Not so much, I'd rather get into action. However they say guard duty is just where I should start."

"That hasty eh?"

"Well, of cource. I mean, I joined the army to travel around and well...battle. Standing around doesn't seem that interesting to me. No offence to the other guards who actually choose to stay."

"I hear ya, kid. I was pretty hasty to get into action myself. I actually fought for the Dark Empire nine years ago, after they released me as a slave. Mostly because of how battle hungry I was."

"Really?"

"Well yeah, that and also because I thought it would be best for my own survival. But I quickly realized it wasn't my place to be with them. I hated the empire way too much to fight for them, so I turned against them and fought for Romme."

"Well that's good to hear, sir."

"Hmm, you know what? There's something about you I like about you, kid. You kind of remind me of myself, just a little bit. Would you like to come with me and my squad on a mission? I'll warn you, it's going to be dangerous."

"I kind of worried about getting killed, but what the hell. Sure."

--- ---

- Small underground Kandarinian warehouse -

Nex had on his new outfit. He kept his mask/helmet and his hood. The robes were slightly different, and had a grey overcoat with red trimming and the Kandarinian Insignia on the back. His gloves were the same, but now red.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

"Hmm...yes...this is indeed...different. I may learn to like this..."

The demon then exited the warehouse and went back into the town. As he walked through he still got a few odd looks, yet he did get a few nods from some Kandarinian soldiers who were already starting to recognize him as one of them. He arrived at a garden where he saw General Gwenivere.

"Oh hello there, my dear General." Nex said in his mocking tone. "So, what shall my first assignment be?"

[D. Ein]

- A random medium-sized Kandarinian town, gardens -

-"Drop the "dear". I have no affiliation to you," the General answered. "If you're begging for an execution, we always could use a few more Captain-level Augments."

She rose from the bench that she was previously resting on.

-"Whether you like it or not, Captain Nex of the Seventh Regiment, you are now a leader. Captains rarely go out in the field themselves - pawns are both more effective and more expendable. Soldier!", she called out to a nearby spear gunner.

-"SIR YES SIR!!!"

-"What regiment are you from?"

-"SIR SECOND REGIMENT SIR!!! SIR UNDER CAPTAIN SUN'S COMMAND SIR!!!"

-"I see. Get my lieutenant, Wing, for me. He should be around the city square."

-"SIR RIGHT AWAY SIR!!!"

After furiously saluting the General, the troop left. A moment of awkward silence followed, though it was somehow dulled by Gwen's commanding presence. A few minutes later, the soldier returned with a ridiculously tall and skinny-looking character. His arms were so thin that even the tight part of the battle suit hung loosely around his elbows. Despite this, he looked almost frighteningly handsome. An odd axe with three blades, resembling a clover somewhat, was peeking out from behind his back.

-"Wing, Three Blade, reporting." The man's voice sounded unusually gentle. "How can I help, General?"

-"Help 'Captain Nex' here get started on his regiment, if you would."

Wing came up to Nex, inspecting at his face - his mask - with a calculating look. For a split moment, his eyes widened - but he quickly regained his posture. He turned around to Gwen, and gave her a warm smile.

-"Of course, General. Anything else?"

-"That'll be all."

-"Yes, General."

Gwen saluted the two and left somewhere toward the city square. Wing looked at her leaving, and then turned his attention back to Nex. His expression, once again, switched from pleasant to shocked in an instant.

-"Nex? THE Nex? As a Kandarinian Captain? Do my eyes deceive me, or has fate smiled upon our forgotten little town, at last? Well... Regardless, now that you're here. Excellent!"

Wing seized Nex's hand, and shook it vigorously.

-"I'm Wing, entitled "Three Blade" - hence the axe. You have absolutely no idea how long I was trying to find you for! Even though all I had were oral descriptions, I still tried, but ultimately failed. Why did I try, you might ask? Well..."

Wing's warm smile turned to a sinister grin.

-"...let's just say that our 'tastes' in the choice of our food is somewhat similar. BUT ANYWAY," he continued, as if he didn't just say anything. "We can talk about that on the way to the local registrar. You will be recorded as the new captain of the seventh regiment, inheriting all of the troops and equipment assigned to that squad. Feel free to add your own conscripts to the list. That's why we're going there, right?", he laughed.

--- --- ---

- Somewhere around the southern border of Kandarin -

-"Shalis, damnit!"

-"Yes, captain!"

-"Where are you going? I haven't even started to annoy you with my tales yet."

Shalis relaxed. Him and Captain Sun were on familiar terms, something that can't be said for most lieutenants and their captains.

-"Right. Where were you, anyway? You left for almost six hours, the regiment started to worry!"

-"Eh," replied Sun casually. "Shen called. He wanted to set up a meeting. It was me, him, and Flora."

-"Captain Flora Goethe?" Shalis was somewhat taken aback. "Her? I've never seen her in person, to be honest..."

-"Really? She tends to be quite sociable, I wouldn't imagine why. Anyway, Shen received them strange creatures from the Arctics - beautiful things - only one shipload instead of two, too... Wonder what happened to that other load? Anyway, he told me that he could try and..."

The two continued talking to a soothing background of a burning town behind them...

--- --- ---

- The edge of the southern Kandarinian border -

-"YES! FINALLY!!! HAHAHA!!"

They finally got a decent task! Keshel was beside himself with joy. Apparently, some foreign ships were sighted off to the south coast of the Continent. The Fifth regiment was sent in to investigate. A decent enemy, perhaps? At last...

[Drannic_Lord01]

- Dark Empire Vessle, out to sea -

Jacobie held Karma by his side and held her hand with his free hand. The occasional gentle splash of water from the open ocean was somewhat calming, as well as the slow currency of the waves far below them. How they rose and splashed against the ship seemed to be calm and loving. The ocean was only being kind to them for just today. At the deck of the Vessle lay a blue crystal that seemed to make the waves around it more calm and smooth, rather than rough and vicious.

"Ah, the open ocean is so calming during this time of day. How are you feeling, my love?"

"How serene the waves are... it's like a feather in the sky, falling softly until it hits the ground. What makes this so?"

"It's the ship. I had a very special friend of mine design it for me. The blue crystal below deck keeps the waters around the ship calm and quiet." The burly lizardman began to feel the softer skin of his wife as he caressed her neck with his hand around her back and over her shoulder. The smooth motion of the ship brought her peace, which was all he really cared about.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were just another slave girl, yet when you stayed back when I freed you, I knew you were smarter than the others. Just how much you've grown in three years... I'm amazed at your progress as both a mage and a human."

"When I first saw 'you,' I thought you were just another evil lizardman. You proved me wrong in the very instant you got to the camp. Immediately, I fell in love with you." Karma turned around to face Jacobie and put one hand on the side of his face. She brought his mouth closer to hers and her lips pressed against his. She then let her arms rest over his shoulders as he held on to her.

"I'll always be there for you," Jacobie said after breaking off, "No matter what. Death cannot stop our love." The skies ahead began to grow darker as the ship drew closer to the Dark Continent. The lizard did not need the lookout to tell him that land was ahead. He knew already by the sky that they were damn near right in front of Terian's southern coast.

//Blargh, I'll keep going later.

[Xorlak]

- Fishing vessel, sea west of Tjed -


Kelmarr awoke with a start, hearing a blood-curdling scream on the deck above.  What in blazes...?  He was on a ship full of haggard old fishermen.  To hear a scream like that was totally unexpected.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and grumbling.  Silence.  Nothing but the creaking of the ship and the rasping of the waves.  The blackness of the cargo hold was all that greeted him.  Ugh.  Probably some moron fell overboard or something.

He lay back down and curled his tail over his body, shivering.  Blast, it was cold down here.  He'd better not get sick from this moldy wreck.  He hadn't closed his eyes a full minute before a second scream resounded above, this one closer than the first.

He bolted to his feet, swiveling his ears to pick up any semblance of movement around him.  Nothing.  The waves returned and the saltiness of the crisp ocean air stung his nose.

Snapping his fingers, a small wisp of flame appeared.  He normally used the spell to light his cigars, but it served just as well to light the way.  Holding his burning fingers up, he surveyed the cargo hold, now bathed in the dim orange radiance.

Boxes, fishing nets, and whatever nonsense the humans carried around with them surrounded him.  He was alone, a feeling that both comforted and frightened him.

Something was going on above.

He paused, holding his breath as foot-falls creaked the wood panels above.  His dispersed the flame as he eyed the location of the sound, his entire body tense, before it disappeared with the monotonous creaking of the ship.  What should he do?  What could he do?

Maybe he should just wait down here.  The humans could handle it, right?  He sat down again, rubbing the fur under his muzzle.  Yeah, it was probably nothing at all.

Then he heard the third scream.

He clenched his teeth, his heart fluttering and hackles raised.  Blast it.  What in blazes was going on!?

He could very well wait in the darkness, but a nagging feeling told him he should at least check.  At least peer out the door to see that the humans were doing something stupid that involved screaming...

Or at the very least... if there was a... *gulp* ... something out there... he'd rather meet it in broad daylight, rather than the dark confines of this cursed cargo hold...

He stood, taking up his pack and his stolen sword.  No way he'd leave that behind.  Carefully, he tiptoed to the hall that lead to the deck and slowly made his way up the creaking stairs...

[Dude Man]

- A random medium-sized Kandarinian town, gardens -

Nex accepted Wing's handshake. He was slightly temped to put some effort into it and snap his twig of an arm off, just because it looked so easy, but he was feeling a little nice today. Plus he wanted to know why he was so pleased to see him. He had no idea he was already famous.

"Well, it's nice to meet a fan of mine." Nex replied.

So this guy has a similar interest in food as he does? It seems surprising that this composition of skin and bone would have any taste in food. It looks like he hasn't eaten a full meal in his entire life. Although despite him being so skinny, he did indeed look quite delicious.

"So yes, lead the way to the registrar." Nex waved his hand.

Wing lead Nex through the town. Nex had trouble keeping his eyes off of him, he was just so skinny, it was eye-drawing. The demon just let his mind trail off though. He was rather surprised at how easy it was for him to join and for Kronos to agree to what he requested him to do. He was already starting to grow fond of these Kandarins, the Sovereign seems like his kind of guy. There is this 'hard-to-get' female general, and this skinny, yet good looking lieutenant who is a big-fan of his. And what makes this sweeter is the fact that he's heard things about him from other people, which means there must be more fans of his. Perhaps they would be ideal for conceptual demonic experimentation? Or perhaps they would also be interested in some other sorts of experimentation? Nex laughed to himself at this exciting thought.

"We're here." Wing said. "Okay, so just sign up."

--- ---

- Helternia, Fort Klawvorn, Briefing Room -

The briefing room was a simple, yet classy looking room, with log walls and with a finely made wooden chair and some cozy chairs.

"Sorry, I'm late, everyone." Duilin said entering the room. "The meeting went on a little longer then I thought it would."

"Oh, it's no problem General." Vaughn said.

"Uh yeah, no problem at all General Talonscar, sir." Firstman added.

The others gave Firstman a look, but then shrugged it off.

"Subtle." Marshall whispered.

"Anyways. You know how a few of said you've wanted some fresh meat on the group? We'll, this is about as fresh as they get. This here is Grant Zimmerman, he's a new recruit who just got out of training."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Vaughn shook his hands and stood up.

"Is there a problem, captain?"

"Well...I mean, are you sure having a newbie on the team is such a good idea? I mean, Firstman barely matches up to us and he's a captain."

Firstman was about to snap back at him but Marshall held him back and shook his head.

Duilin shook his head at Vaughn. "Listen, I'm general, THE general, and I can allow whoever I want in this squad. Now sit."

Vaughn sat down. "Now, let me introduce you to everyone, Grant." He pointed to Vaughn. "That is Vaughn. He's a real tight-ass, so don't piss him off, because he's cocky and macho two."

Everyone laughed, and Vaughn looked around seeming a little insecure, but then laughed along with them, yet a little nervously.

Duilin then motioned to the black skinned elf "This is Hance, he is our ranger." He pointed to a rather generic looking soldier. "This is Ryan." He pointed to Firstman. "That's Patrick, he was with the Aspyes. So was our other captain, Marshall." He then pointed to Lagart. "This lizard man is Lagart. He's actually a great guy." He pointed to purple skinned woman with a dark indigo coloured hair. "This is Zuhani, she is a demon/drow crossbreed. I've been teaching her how to control blood rage and such, she's very controlled." He then pointed to a blond woman is an earthy coloured robe. "And last but not least, is Sheri, who is our elementalist."

"Anyways. Now that we all have that out of the way, let's get onto the mission." Duilin went to the end of the room, which had a map of the known world on it. "Alright, so Aaron from Arosis, has organized us and a squad with General Nymphadora. We are too meet here." He pointed at one of the south-east points of Terian. "And we are to disable any and all necromancers in the area. Any questions."

The group looked at each, but nobody seemed to have any questions. Until Grant spoke up.

"Yeah, um. How dangerous are these Necromancers?"

"Well, they've been dubbed 'Necrolytes' by Kronos himself; probably just meaning they're not fully trained. Unless they have officers there, this should just be a walk in the park for most of us. Necromancers are usually not skilled fighters themselves, but they summon zombies to fight for them. Zombies aren't that strong, unless you get your guard down. However they usually come in groups, large groups. But don't worry, because I've got your back on this one. I wouldn't want you to die on your first mission. The rest of you guys can take care of yourselves, right."

"Of course." Hance replied.

"Right. Alright, so is everyone ready?" Duilin asked the team, everyone nodded. "Excellent. We'll head Rivertown and take a ship to Terian."

[Drannic_Lord01]

- Terian, Southeastern coast -

"General Nymphadora, we've sighted land! I believe it's Terian's southern coast!" Geomarcus walked up to the Drow General and saluted. "Should we ungarrison the army?"

"Yes, tell them all to get out there and start killing whatever's there. These undead should be easy enough to handle, even with a single paladin. I'm sure this'll just be another damned cake-walk." Geomarcus left Doriana and went back into the ship to muster up the men. After a few minutes, they docked and landed on the shore of Terian. To their surprise, Jacobie and Zabel were already there, along with the Drannivolkan Firemages. Aaron was there too, with the Drannivolkan Elites.

"Wow, I suppose we're expected." Doriana got all of her troops out of the ship and went down to meet up with Aaron. He merely waited with his company of ten Drannivolkan Elites. As they saw General Nymphadora approach with Geomarcus swift behind, they made way for them.

"High General Nymphadora of the Drannic Republic, reporting." Doriana made a short bow and stepped to the side to let Geomarcus through. "Lieutenant Geomarcus, here, sir."

"Tell me, Geomarcus, why were you not at the meeting?" Aaron placed his hand on his chin as if to exagerate his impuzzlement. The Lieutenatn did not but simply shrug off the question. He made a swift reply.

"I was attending to my men, lord Grey."

"Bah. I am no lord. I merely lead you on this very day because it was my plan. We all agreed upon it anyways. I am your Consular and nothing more. None have lordship these days. All are free, at least from evil."

"But there were Monarchs who weren't evil, such as yourself, my leige!"

"Tell me, Geomarcus, where are you from?"

"Dranniville, sir."

"Hmm... were you not at all angry when I took over Ariosis and Conquered the lands?"

"Not at all, sir."

"Meh, still trying to suck up, eh? Well then, let me ask you this. Why did you join the Drannic militia?"

"To... to fight back the forces of Ariosis, sir."

"Ah, now I get the truth out atlast. And tell me, who was it that ordered the Ariosian force to Dranniville in the first place?"

"Um... you, sir?"

"Yes. Now, one last question. Seeing as how I asked the Ariosians to declare war with Dranniville, what was the king's response?"

"He... left the crown, sir."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't-"

"Want to see his people suffer. Precisely, Geomarcus. Who was to blame for his downfall? Certainly not the people of Ariosis, they were simply following orders. Why would you join the militia if you weren't angry at the war, if you didn't want to stop it?"

"..."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Do me a favor Geomarcus. Next time we talk, don't lie to me. Either way, if you were telling the truth in the begining, you still lied about the story afterwards. See to your men. I would like to have a word with General Nymphadora here." Geomarcus ran off to a bunch of people all wearing crusader armor and bore the insignia of Dranniville; the double star and cross. Those were the paladins of Doriana's ship.

"That was quite entertaining, Aaron. I almost couldn't hold my laughter!"

"Meh, I just love messing with the 'higher-ranked soldiers' from time to time. I was still anoyed at the fact that Geomarcus never showed up at the meeting. Has he any idea of the importance those meetings hold?"

"I really don't think he does. If he did, he would have showed up, but rather than that, he just stayed on the ship all day, readin his books. I swear, that kid just gets on my nerves at times."

"Don't let that happen now, especially not before battle. Besides, I think I can feel those necrolytes comming."

"Feel? You and I both know the column of light blocked all senses."

"I don't know, I just have that weird chill down my spine. Like there's something lurking out there, you know?"

"I get that feeling every time I set foot on this god-forsaken land. It's still bares scars from the Empire days, and the Kandarinians are no kinder to it than the Dark Imperials."

"I suppose you have a point, but I don't want to just sit here and wait for them. The army's getting edgy; they want to destroy them. Almost as much as the Consulars don't want war. Shocking, eh?"

"Not really. I'm kind of looking forward to another battle. Haven't had one in three damn years. We need to fight or we loose our strength."

"True, I guess. Well, that's all. Dismissed."

"Dismissed? What, do you have nothing better to do than dismiss me?"

"I suppose not. Go inspect your troops for combat." Doriana walked off after Geomarcus and Aaron merely resumed inspecting and instructing his elites. They were all blood-thirsty and ready to fight; John and Marrik especially. While waiting, they would wave their swords around and practice sword forms. It could get on your nerves quite easily after a while.

"Consular Grey! I want to ask you something!" Jacklyn Verrandel was running towards Aaron. She stopped directly in front of him, trying to catch her breath. Once she did she stood up and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Consular Verrandel? What do you want with-"

SLAP!!!

Jacklyn had slapped the living day-light out of Aaron. The Drannivolkan Elite quickly surrounded her and drew their swords, but Aaron waved them off.

"It's rather alright... ouch... I probably deserved that one."

"DAMN RIGHT YOU DESERVE THAT!!! I should beat the shit out of you right now, but we're at war. I would have done so before, but we were at the meeting!"

"I'm terribly sorry! Honestly, that was before I even allowed Drannivolkans in the guard. I thought you two had gone rogue. Please, I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, sorry doesn't help the fact that you killed my sister and nearly killed me! Do you know how long it takes to haggle with the Reaper to get a soul back? It was nearly a year before I got Jelka back on her feet!"

"You're both alive and well, though! Nothing's that bad anymore!"

"Bah, you really don't get it, do you? Sorry doesn't cut it when it comes to murder!"

"You killed several of my troops by landing on them! And you tell 'me' that murder is wrong!"

"I thought you were about to attack Tjed! How was I-"

"You thought wrong! And because of it, several MORTAL men were killed, not in battle, honorably, but by a bloody airship landing on them! That has go to be the worst and most dishonorable ways to die EVER!"

"Whatever, just shut up and stay away from me and my sister, you got that?"

"Fah! You're the one who came up to me!"

"WHATEVER!!!" The Drannivolkan Female stormed off and inspected her troops. The battle was about to begin. The only thing left was for the pieces to fall into place. General Talonscar would be there momentarily, though, as would be the enemy.

"This ought to be one hell of a battle..."