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Trials and Travels (Semi-lit)

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~Aketsu~

 

"Let me asked you a question milord."

 

Aketsu listened in silence to Loren. He didn't seem to notice the sarcasm. His expression was grave, but he could hardly believe what he was hearing. It seemed to him that Loren had seriously not wanted to do any of this, that he seriously felt talked into it and didn't care at all for the kingdom he had been 'drafted' (so he seemed to imply) to fight for.

 

"You may be the leader, but you do not have control over whether I put my heart into this nor not. Twice now, I tried to leave... But thanks to Cielo and Kai, they convinced me to stay. What's to prevent me from just leaving altogether? After all, I have no emotional reason or obligation to stay with you guys, I could just as easily defect... and give the shadow alliance everything I know." Aketsu's eyes were calm and he never let them leave Loren's eyes as he tried to read the man's face. In all honesty he wanted to yell, "then why by the heavens haven't you left? Go, get your sorry excuse for a warrior out of my sight! We don't need the help of someone like you, go be a pacifist while we bloody ourselves to save your pacifistic butt!" but he didn't say a thing, for those were rash and foolish thoughts, and he already didn't think Loren would seriously betray them... would he?

 

Aketsu stood at the same time Loren stood. "Make no mistake Aketsu, I will follow you... for my own reasons and personal beliefs. But don't think for a moment I'll be like the rest of them, I will never put my heart into this, and I'll kill as little as I can. And remember this..." Aketsu didn't move or divert his gaze from the distant trees as Loren approached him. His face was still grim, his jaw set tight.

 

"I. Wanted. Out."

 

Aketsu closed his eyes as Loren walked away. He had half the mind to swing around and smash Loren's skull through itself, and a quarter mind to laugh at him. But mostly he was trying to figure out why Loren hadn't said something earlier. He found himself feeling slightly guilty for allowing Kai and Cieolo to talk to Loren, even though he hadn't actually been there for either talking, and he truly wished he hadn't brought Loren along. If Loren really felt like leaving and possibly felt like betraying the Light Alliance... well, he was their weakest link. He was their trouble, the one they'd have to walk on eggshells around. He was unstable and unable to handle himself, in Aketsu's opinion. Aketsu wrinkled his nose and thought about it. Loren was a pacifistic artist. He was in a situation he had never been in before. He was a generally quiet person who didn't seem to be troubled on the outside, but apparently seas of turmoil were happening on the inside. He didn't seem like the kind of person to betray his team, but who was Aketsu to guess that?

 

He finally sighed and threw up his hands in defeat. The only comfort he had was that the beast-people seemed to see everything; they'd surely know if Loren tried to sneak away at night. I will follow you... for my own reasons and personal beliefs. That was what bothered Aketsu the most; something was keeping Loren with the group, and he wasn't willing to say whatever it was. But Aketsu realized he was probably over-exaggerating things. "It won't matter after today," he said to Kai. His moral somewhat lowered as the realization that his team was not 'together' set in. He gave Kai a quick smile and then decided to change the subject. "So, I heard a lot of thunder last night and Noe sounded pretty happy about something. Did you help her control her abilities?" He was hopeful about this; perhaps at least one good thing would happen that day before the certain battle.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~Heir of Whisper~

 

"I do milord, we don't need to worry about you or Amalia, since I'll personally be picking you up with my true form." Jahan's eyes brightened instantly at the prospect. He had only seen Betzalel once in his true form and only for half a minute if that, and Aamina may not have seen him at all. Jahan also found it rather funny that Betzalel got her name wrong, but he listened closely to the rest of the directions as he watched the map. "The exit leads to an abandoned barn, that's is we're we'll meet up, saddle up and get out."

 

Jahanshah took the map and looked it over, trying to memorize everything. He allowed the shapes and markings on the map to be carved into the metal on his stomach. Like retracing the map, it helped him remember it. "Thoughts, Questions, Concerns?" Jahanshah looked up at Betzalel and smiled, his eyes almost hungry with eagerness. This assignment was what he had hoped for his entire life. He would truly be making a difference here, changing the lives of thousands of people and putting them under an honest ruler who ruled without regrets.

 

"None at all," he said as he rolled the map up and tucked it away. Don't gloat over a victory you haven't won, son. The sudden thought surprised Jahanshah; it was one of the few quotes he remembered from his father. Usually his mother's voice was strongest in his head, urging him to be a Legend and never give up. But this one thing he remembered from his father. "Actually," he said to Betzalel, "I do have a question. What is the probability of our success?" There was no unconfidence in his voice; he doubted anything could go wrong with Betzalel's help. But the 'what if' part of everything still lingered in his head.

Edited by LadyNatasha

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"None at all."

 

Betzalal merely smiled as he began to stretch some more. After a few moments of silence, the Metal Child spoke up again.

 

"I do have a question. What is the probability of our success?"

 

For the first time since they left, Betzalal's expression was slightly grim. He paced around some more as he began to share his thoughts with Jahan.

 

"In all honesty milord, there are so many factors we have to consider. Detection, the effectiveness of our timing... And how long we decide to stay in Cumulus are the big ones. The way I see it, if we want to have around a seventy-five percent chance of success, we need to stay in cumulus for at least four days. And even then, we need to stir the public with just the right amount of propaganda. Too little and it will be just passed off as a bunch of silly rumors and gossip. Too much, and they'll figure out what we're trying to do. The way I see it, they think the light alliance is honest and fair... but if convince them they are in fact worse then us, that'll be our trump card." Explained Betzalel, the troubled look soon passed away, he was hoping S.A.I still had some agents left in Cumulus... otherwise things were going to be hard.

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Kai listened to the first few words of what Loren said, then turned back to his own thoughts, he could guess at the rest of what the young man would say, it was fairly obvious. Kai did feel conflicted over convincing Loren to follow them, it had never been about guilt, the idea of a guilt trip, was not something he even understood, though... in part he supposed he could guess what it meant. To him it had simply been conveying a truth that no one seemed to be taking into consideration at the time. If Loren felt guilty about ignoring that truth... then that was his business.

 

Aketsu then came over to him and Kai nodded in greeting. "You're right, after today everyone will come together, or they will leave, either way it will be horrible." Kai didn't say it as if it was a horrible thing, simply as though it were true.

 

"I asked Noe to marry me last night, that was what some of the thunder was about, and yes, she is gaining more control," he continued, as if the need to stop and talk about the fact that he was possibly now engaged hadn't crossed his mind. "Even with her lack of control I've found a way to use the lightning she creates in the storm, the pure lightning that moves faster than the eye can follow, a true weapon, and now I can tell it where to strike. And even I... am not wise enough to hold that kind of power, yet I have little choice in the matter."

 

A small patch of ground raised showing an open field with hundreds of soldiers lined up in columns, marching to battle. Then a small figure out in front of them, raised on a stone pillar, threw several small spears into the columns, causing explosions to devastate the ranks. Then it faded.

 

"It's not going to be decent, it's not going to be fair, and we may suffer injuries and maybe even a casualty, but... they will be slaughtered, and who's to say that they are all evil men whose hearts are corrupted by darkness?" Kai still didn't display much emotion at all, it was simply the facts, what was going to happen, and nothing would change it. "Some will be good, some evil, but all of them will die, and we will continue. It will make us a group, united by our common goal, and perhaps by our hatred for ourselves and for our true enemies. Or... we will become a family, and our desire to protect one another and those we love, will be what holds us together... love... or hate... either way we are no different than those we meet in battle, we simply march under a different color. We kill each-other over differences of belief, and prejudices of men long dead."

 

Kai paused, "and the sins of the fathers will be brought upon their children, even to the fourth generation." He smiled at Aketsu.

 

"Noe said yes." He replied, seeming to have stopped thinking to himself and returned to speaking with Aketsu. Kai didn't differentiate his philosophical self from the person he had to be, the thing he became to fulfill this mission. He would not allow himself to become hard to the truth of life of what he did, of the questions that their actions would create. To do so would be to become what they were fighting, and to have lost the battle already. Even so... he could put it asside for a time, for the battle, yes... Today I become a killer of men, of fathers, of sons, of brothers, of families, in order to protect other fathers, sons, families, brothers, sisters... who I have chosen to ally with. I cannot save both, there is no middle ground.

 

 

"Aketsu," he said finally, "If a butterfly flies into the web of a spider, do you save the butterfly out of the web, or allow it to be eaten by the spider?"

 

He paused, "if you save the butterfly, the spider starves to death, if you leave it, the butterfly dies to feed the spider. Both are merely existing as they were created to. But you cannot save both, you must choose, which lives, and which dies. Do you understand?"

 

 

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It was a good day to sit in the sun, watching the people pass by. Which was exactly what the old farmer was doing. He had hired a traveler, Eirikr, to work fields which took would take him days to plow.

 

"You're getting a bit crooked there," directed the old farmer in a scratchy voice. "Try not to trample to ground you've already worked."

 

"Yes sir," answered Eirikr returning to his work. He had approached the old man as he worked in the fields. It had been easy to get the farmer to let him do the work. The man had eagerly accepted his help and put him to work almost immediately plowing the fields.

 

I wonder how the others are doing. wondered Eirikr. Are they mad about how I left? Well hopefully they will reach Cumulus before dusk.

 

And so Eirikr continued to work in the fields until the farmer's wife called him in for a rest.

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Isa’s night had been slow to start, but once she had fallen asleep, her dreams were of her mother and how she would have been proud of her daughter for what she was doing. It was all something that was a big part of her. Her light, her joy, her anger, her pride, all of it rolled into her dream but at the end, it turned into a nightmare with a huge, black dragon crushing everything into bits. In her dream, a woman rode atop the dragon and she seemed to be enamored with the beast and loved it, but then the beast changed and as they walked over her friends’ deceased bodies, they took her crown and her father’s crown, placed them upon the head of a young boy with her crown in his hand. They then locked her and her father in a cell where no light existed. Isa awoke with a crick in her neck and in her back where she and Yuaki had slept back to back.

 

Her glossy, rainbow hair was disheveled as she stood up in her tent and quickly changed from the warm nightshift that she had been wearing. What she wore, was a pair of leather pants and a leather corset with bracers and leather armor that covered her shoulders. It was decorated with the symbols of Sola and it’s source of power in bright golden thread.

 

Once she was sure that her armor was in place, her trusty sword was placed on her hip and her hair was smoothed back and away from her face. With a deft twist of her wrist, her hair was wrapped in an inch of leather at the base of her head, then it flowed from the makeshift ponytail holder in distinct bands of color. She looked at herself in the small bowl of water that she used to rinse her face. What was she? She was just a woman…that was all. Today, she was a woman on a mission instead of a Princess or royalty.

 

Her steps were strong as they normally were as she strode out from her tent and to the center of where everyone would normally meet. Her gaze swept across and she realized that not everyone was awake yet. It was odd though since Kai had sent his ripple through the earth, but no matter, they would wake soon enough. Her brilliant eyes locked on to a disappearing from which she identified as Loren then took one glance at her love and noticed that he was tense. From there she stepped up behind him as he spoke to Kai. Her hands rested on his shoulders as she rubbed them and did her best to listen to Kai’s answer. If it concerned Noe, she normally didn’t care.

Noe awoke with a start when she felt a ripple through the earth. She had slept in way to late and she couldn’t believe that things were going like this. She, the servant girl from Sola, was now engaged to a brilliant and kind man who loved her for being unbalanced. Ha! The mere idea made her giggle but she tried to hide it so as to not wake Cielo. It took her a moment to get dressed and she was soon ready for battle in grey leather armor. If a student had so wished, they had been outfitted with armor of their choosing. Isa’s was more flashy, and Noe’s reflected her storm like element. It would allow her to move quickly and use a full range of motions to control her storms if she chose to be so showy…which she wouldn’t.

 

Before long, Noe had to brush out her hair and did so with some effort, but was done and braided her hair quickly then slipped the edge of the braid up underneath the little cavern it made and pinned it there firmly with the symbol of Weather Elementians. Each of them there were representing not only their purpose, but their people, why not do it with pride? Noe looked down at herself and was glad that the pants were slightly thicker than normal and that the armor covered her completely, but wasn’t very bulky. It was flattering to her figure, which of course was an added plus.

 

She was quiet as she walked out of her tent and to where Isa, Aketsu and Kai were. She knew that he could feel her foosteps, but she stayed back as he explained what had happened last night and also stated what he was planning as a battle tactic for their fight that day. Just the idea of her friend, lightning, to be used to kill so many frightened her. But she calmed her fears knowing that it was this or die. She didn’t want to die and she didn’t want her family to die. That would have been worse than watching a storm disappear because of well, just because!

 

Once she was sure he was finished for the moment, she walked over to the fire and stoked it a little bit before searching the bags for food. It didn’t take long to make sure that there was enough for all present. Once she was through, she stood beside Kai and quietly analyzed what he said about the butterfly and the spider. She understood what he was saying…for once.

 

 

Leith and Nerio both awoke to the rumble of Kai’s morning call. Their bodies were sore from playing with Cielo and they couldn’t move for a moment until they hit each other for what they did to each other the evening before. It took a long time for them to be stretched out, but since their tent was closest to the fire, they were able to hear all of the morning chatter. It seemed that their little sister was now engaged to that weird earth elementian. The brothers looked at each other and quickly put on their armor. Needless to say about Nerio’s armor, was that it was grandiose in it’s shape and styling. He was still able to move freely, but the coloring in different hues of blue as well as the endless decorations definitely showed who he was. Nerio Oran, noble son of Triton. On the other hand, Leith’s armor was severely understated in dark blue tones with a seafoam symbol of Water Elementians on each shoulder and on each glove. Simple, functional, easy. He and his brother exited their tent and looked at Noe who, upon seeing them blushed a lovely pink. “We overheard.” They said in unison and smiled at her and Kai before looking into the sky as a loud, pained screech filled the air.

 

 

Ayame had been flying throughout the night trying to figure out how to distract the enemy from the children but instead of being unseen, one of the soldiers had seen him and they had chased him into the mountains on the backs of something that he couldn’t identify because they were so dark. Upon the shining glory of day, they were shadow elementians and experienced ones at that. They had figured out how to solidify shadows into creatures of night that were faster than wind itself. After the elementians had figured out what he was, they turned tail and Ayame flew his fastest back to the camp. But the fastest route was directly over the enemy camp. He flew high to try and avoid any weapons, but there were weapons that flew into the air higher than any should have. It seemed that the handiwork of the city of Old Aero was already put into place for their technologies were unbeaten.

 

One of the large bolts that they shot into the air, had caught Ayame just underneath his heart and hadn’t hit anything else. The pain was unbearable and he knew that the youngligs would have to prepare as quickly as they could for their enemies came on horseback to surround the knoll that they were resting upon.

 

His screech was loud and earshattering if heard up close, but it was easy to see that he was in pain. He landed awkwardly and was panting in his Gryphon form while his wing was laid out beside him to keep the strain off of the bolt. “Children…” he coughed a few times and soon there was a woman by his side. This woman was none other than Z’fan and the pain on her face and on her battlemates showed that they were now worried about what was going to be happening.

“There are too….”

 

“Hush Ayame…do not take their hopes down. Hope is the only thing that they have to hold on to and without it, they shall die.” Battlemate said harshly as he placed a foot against his friends side and in one heave, had the bolt out of Ayame’s side. Before blood could gush out, Z’fan quickly grew several plants that soon had the wound stuffed as well as lined with a healing plant that would help Ayame.

 

As Ayame shifted to a more human form, she slowly decreased the amount of plants until it fit his person then wrapped his body (where the wound was) in a thick band of silky plants. “Why did you do something so foolish?”

 

“I wanted to help the children, and help I have…for this may change things a great deal.”

 

Noe, Upon seeing Ayame practically fall from the sky, ran to his side and stroked his feathers as Z’fan and battlemate did what needed to be done. She laid his head in her lap as he struggled to breath for a moment so that he could explain to them what was going on. He had already lost much blood and was already in much pain therefore Z’fan told him to rest until he could ‘absorb the earth once more’. Noe was confused by the phrase, but Ayame gently pulled her head down towards him and whispered in her ear what was going on. Her face turned pale as she stood up to look at the others.

 

“We aren’t just fighting men…we are fighting fellow elementians. Ayame said that he noticed a few experienced shadow elementians and a few others. No more than our numbers and no less than five…” Noe’s face hardened as she spoke. Anger brimmed in her eyes as she glanced at her best friend as he walked away to his tent with Z’fan but Battlemate lingered behind.

Today was going to be a day of death on the enemies side and a day of death on their side as well. But who was going to die? Be injured? Harmed?

Edited by LoveLost

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Loren was about ready to tie up everyone's belonging when he heard a loud screeching noise, and saw that the griffon was falling from the sky. That should have been impossible... nothing could have attacked him from that high up. He practically ran towards Ayame, where Noe and Z'fan were. He waited until the two beast men were bringing him back to the camp. He looked at Noe's face, and saw the color draining... Ayame was going to die... He needed to act now. He rushed over to Ayame, hoping to hear him before he died. "Ayame... This is important" Hushly said Loren as he walked at his and Z'fan's pace. He didn't care what she thought of this, he needed to know. "What knocked you out of the sky? What weaponary was capable of doing such a thing?" Said Loren, his stare turning steel cold. If he was going to fight, he needed to know what could knock him out of the sky.

Edited by Lore_Master

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A harsh hiss escaped Z'fan as her fin like ears flared at Loren trying to ask questions. "Give him a moment you traitor of mind." Z'fan said angrily as she slipped into the tent but tied back the flaps so Loren could enter. If Loren did enter, Ayame would be looking at Z'fan with dark eyes at the harsh nature that she had addressed Loren with. "I'm sorry. He wishes to explain to you what they were." Z'fan stood at the entrance after having made sure that Ayame could absorb enough of the earth to at least live long enough to keep it from stressing the young ones.

 

Ayame looked at Loren and took a deep, shuddering breath before coughing. Once the coughing ceased, he placed his hand on the bare ground beside him which then started to glow faintly as did his hand and arm. His voice was stronger than before as he spoke. "It was from your people Loren. From the people that betrayed our home...our people." he said and cleared his throat as pain flickered across his angular features. "The weapon was of Aeroian design. Who else would have the technology to shoot so far into the air?" he asked him and cleared his throat again. he oculdn't die! He couldn't he couldn't he couldn't! He was afraid to die and he still had to watch his little Noe become a woman and be married!

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"Give him a moment you traitor of mind."

 

Loren didn't recoil or try to dismiss it, let them think he was a traitor, he didn't care anymore. All that matter was trying to figure out how he could destroy this weapon... He wasn't surprised that Z'fan closed the tent flaps behind him, it did give him a moment to realize how tired he was... just plain tired of it all. When the tent flap opened, he saw her once again.

 

"I'm sorry. He wishes to explain to you what they were."

 

Loren merely gave a simple nod as he stepped inside, taking a seat by the corner of the tent. Maybe if Z'fan could at least see him from the corner of his eye, she would ease up. He looked at Ayame as he had a coughing fit. Once it stopped, he closed his eyes as he heard Ayame.

 

"It was from your people Loren. From the people that betrayed our home...our people. The weapon was of Aeroian design. Who else would have the technology to shoot so far into the air?"

 

Deep down inside, Loren knew that was going to be Ayame's answer. He was right, no other city had the power to control the skies, it had to be Aero. He sighed loudly as he gently placed his hands against his face. He remained silent for a moment before speaking once more. "Did you get a look at it? Tell me any details you can about the weapon. I wanna know what I'm up against if... when I take to the sky." He asked him. That's when he saw the fear in his face, the fear of dying. It saddened Loren slightly, this wasn't the Ayame he knew a week ago... this was a coward in his skin.

Edited by Lore_Master

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"I'm Yuaki Xa. I deal with weapon upkeep and moral. Nice to meet you, Zepheena and Isis! I'll tell ya it's good to see some fresh faces. Traveling for a week with the same people can get really really dry. So you two came together, right? Are you siblings? Are you staying with our group and helping us fight the Shadow Alliance?"

Zepheena watched and listened as Yuaki prattled on and on. She could tell Yuaki thought he was cute, and she wasn't one to deny it. He was attractive, but he wasn't the one for her. They were just very close friends.

 

Isis smiled as he waited for the flow of questions to end. "Yes, we came together. No, we are not siblings, we're just close friends. Yes, we are staying and helping defend the kingdom. As I understand it, fighting is not going to take place unless we are attacked."

 

Zepheena heard the piercing scream and wrinkled her brow, looking around. "What was that?" she asked. She left the giggling Yuaki and Isis to find the source. All of a sudden there was a gryphon being carried into camp by two creatures. There was blood, a lot of it. Her first thought was to help. She ran over to the tent where he was being laid down. "Let me through! Please, I can help!"

Edited by Silver_Voices

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Luna

 

Luna had been purposefully avoiding the camp all morning, hiding herself away in the forest so that nobody would find her unless she wanted them to. Her thoughts kept swirling around Zepheena. She hated to admit how on-edge that girl made her feel. The fact that nobody else felt that way around her only served to make things worse. Normally she was not this obsessive. The inner secrets of a person's mind ceased to bother her after she had listened to thousands of thoughts. To her, everyone was unique and the same. There was difference and unity all in one, but Zepheena had managed to break that pattern. It was like walking down a hallway of uniquely painted, unlocked doors. She was so used to opening them that when one was locked a red flag went up in her mind. Why was the door locked?

 

She had been alone for a few hours when she finally decided to open herself up again to outside sources of mental activity. The first thing she felt was tremendous sadness and fear. What had she missed?! A funeral? She instantly began to run back to the campsite, listening for any details she could distinguish from the rush of thoughts that crammed themselves in her head. She skidded to a halt once she made it to the clearing, using her cane to help slow her down as she took in her surroundings. The tent where Ayame was slowly dying was closed off, but she could still figure out what was going on inside. She looked up at the sky as it began to dawn on her. They were going to fight today.

 

Her heart felt like it skipped a beat. She hadn't fought anyone in a long while. She didn't know if she could handle herself, let alone protect the lives of her companions. She had been trained to the point of muscle-memory, but she knew even her clumsy nature could get the best of that. She closed her eyes as she let it all sink in. What if they asked Zepheena to fight with them? She didn't know how much she could trust the girl. Was that how other people felt when they couldn't read minds? She knew so much about everyone else that she could see all of their battle potential, but very few others had that kind of luxury. She sighed. There would only be one way to find out. She took a seat near the edge of the camp. It was obvious to her that battle orders would be coming out soon. They would all be sent to fight, but until then she would wait. There was no need to rush into the fray.

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Z’fan gently caught Zepheena before the girl could go in. Her figure was changed immediately so as to not frighten her and she looked like a normal plant elementian. Her green hair was dark and cut short and her piercing green eyes looked down at the young woman. “You cannot help youngling. It is his time to slowly pass and be one with all of us.” She said in soothing tones. It was easy to see that it pained her to watch her longest friend die of something that could have been avoided and she blamed herself more than anyone else. “Your thoughts are kind in wanting to help, but your abilities could not touch what has been done to him. Thank you though.” She said and released Zepheena as she turned her tortured gaze in towards her friend who was still talking to Loren as he tried to absorb some sort of elemental energy from the earth. He had to, to be able to speak to Loren.

 

Ayame looked at Loren and smiled. “You have grown.” He layed his head back down and in a moment, he recalled what the machine looked like. “It was made out of metal and even the string to hold the bolt looked as though it were made of metal. I have lived longer than any here, and I have never seen anything like it.” He went on slowly to explain all that it was and then he stopped. “Do not think me a coward youngling.” His voice was kind, but he also wanted to explain. “I am afraid of dying because I will no longer be able to protect those I have come to care about. Noe is like a daughter to me, and I fear for her life…I fear for yours, I fear for all lives.” He took a shuddering breath. “I only wish I had been able to lure them away so more deaths could be avoided…and so you could find more of yourself.”

 

Ayame closed his eyes and kept breathing. He could hear a tear hit the ground as it fell from Z’fan’s eyes for she knew that he was near death.

 

In moments, Noe was there after having been released by Battlemate whom had told her to stay. She ran into the tent and knelt beside Ayame, tears coursing down her cheeks. “Please don’t go…please don’t go papa.” With those words, Ayame’s eyes opened and he looked at her long and hard.

 

“How did you know?” he asked her. Noe sobbed before she smiled. “You were the only one that ever treated me like I was more than a servant to them, and more than just a person. When I saw my dad before he passed, he told me that I wasn’t his daughter and that I would know who it was because it was someone that was always near my heart.”

 

Ayame smiled and for once, the old man let a tear fall from his eyes. “My daughter.” He had waited so long to say those words to her, to let her know who he was. It would have torn her apart at any other time, but now, it would give her an impetus that she needed to fight to the best of her ability.

 

“Now that I have you…you are leaving me.” Noe leaned her head on Ayame’s chest and cried as he stroked her hair softly. She was finished quickly though and dried her eyes to look into her father’s own. “Be at peace though papa, I won’t fail you and I will learn everything I can to make you proud.”

 

Ayame smiled and asked her to help him sit up. She did so and he reached out and touched Loren on his arm. As soon as he did, Loren could see everything that Ayame had seen from the sky, except it was magnified. He was able to see every little bit and piece of the machinery that was there from weapons for the ground, to weapons for the sky. They were horrid weapons and could be taken apart, but Ayame didn’t know how and Loren would have to tell Aketsu and Kai about this. “Follow them and lead them Loren. You are great.” Ayame slowly leaned back to the ground and looked at Noe.

 

“Tell Aketsu that he is officially a prince of New Aero. The decision was made yesterday. He now has the power and ability to marry you and Kai if you so choose and I will be there.” Ayame closed his eyes as his daughter held his hand tightly wanting to absorb all of him before he passed.

 

The strange thing about Griffon shifters, was that they had more of the heart of a soaring eagle than they did a human. They had magic about them and a deep connection with the sky and world that none could explain. So, as Ayame took his last strangled breath, his body started to disintegrate into a strange glowing dust. Part of it floated towards Noe and glowed brightly around on her back and on the right side of her neck, then the rest flew out of the tent and into the sky. There he would remain, watching all of them as closely as he could and help them make their decisions if they would only listen.

 

Noe stared at where her father was then looked at Loren. “He believed in you.” She said and stood up, quiet, and solitary even as tears streamed down her face. The dust on her back was still glowing as was the dust on her neck. It started to itch terribly and she ignored it until her neck started to itch as well. From above her armor on her back, where it dipped down slightly, there was the edge of a tattoo that could be seen that looked like it was the shape of two wings. On her neck, there was a very feminine tattoo that appeared. It was a stylized Griffin.

 

Noe looked at Z’fan who was crying without a sound just as she was. “He was a good man, and one to be remembered.”

 

“Always.” Was Noe’s quiet reply. She had no idea what was on her, only that her father had just passed and had entrusted Loren to take care of them with the information that he had given him. Noe had no idea what he had told Loren, but she knew that it was important. Before she stepped out of the tent, she looked at Loren once more. “He trusted you Loren, with that information. Please don’t make him regret his last action.”

 

With that, Noe walked outside and realized that she had caused a large, rolling, thunderstorm to appear over them. It would be good though, for then, Kai could use his new found ability to kill the men that were going to harm even more today and thousands if they let them by. As a few raindrops hit her face, she knew that she couldn't hold anything in and let sobs and tears leave her body as true sorrow came over her.

((Okay, super long I know, but I left Noe’s history rather vague because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with her. Well, I figured it out! I still love how she is the most inexperienced of all of them…hehehehe!))

 

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“It was made out of metal and even the string to hold the bolt looked as though it were made of metal. I have lived longer than any here, and I have never seen anything like it. Do not think me a coward youngling. I am afraid of dying because I will no longer be able to protect those I have come to care about. Noe is like a daughter to me, and I fear for her life…I fear for yours, I fear for all lives. I only wish I had been able to lure them away so more deaths could be avoided…and so you could find more of yourself.”

 

Loren was looking almost directly at the ground, he couldn't face Ayame... not like this. He was trying to picture how such a weapon, from his home could have been conceived. Anything other thought was long dead, this was the only thing going through his head. He really had nothing left to fight for, the Aero he knew, loved and long to return too was dead to him. This alone was about to push him over the edge. But... it was replaced with several things... Just before he could realize what they were, he saw Noe coming in. It was a surprise that Noe was Ayame's daughter, a bittersweet reunion. He tried to block out their conversation, hoping to give them some privacy. He felt Ayame's hand touching his arm, and suddenly he saw an army... with machines that he had never seen. The weapon that Ayame described was clear to him as saw... it was like a giant crossbow with wheels, except it could hold more then one bolt. He saw other weapons as well, which hardened his resolve.

 

“Follow them and lead them Loren. You are great.”

 

That sentence shook him to his very core, what did he mean by 'lead them?' Loren wasn't a leader like Kai or Aketsu... but there was a reason he said those words, and that's what really scared him. To hear that he was great, not spineless, not a traitor... not useless. His eyes began to tear up slightly as he tried to keep them in. Then he saw as Ayame faded away into dust, some of it landing on Noe before leaving the tent.

 

 

“He believed in you. He trusted you Loren, with that information. Please don’t make him regret his last action.”

 

He heard Noe say those words before she left the tend. He remained where he was, looking down on the ground with a saddened look on his face. He closed his eyes to hold back the tears. When he opened them again, a look of resolve appeared. "I won't" he said to himself as he got up and left the tent. He walked towards the campsite, not bother to notice the thunderstorm above. He went over to his napsack, pulled out his sketch book and began to draw the weapons he 'saw'... Including potential weak points for him to cut down. He took a small break to fish for a pair of goggles, which he had been give to him by his grandmother when he was a boy. With these, he didn't have to worry about the wind getting in his eyes, allowing him to focus more of his energy on other thigns. "Loren, put these on when your truly ready" Those were the words she said. He didn't understand what they meant... until now. "I'm ready grandma... I'm ready to end this war without becoming like them. I'm ready to destroy those weapons, to knock everything out of the sky. I promise you that I will not let my wings be broken." Said Loren, mostly to himself as he placed on the goggles, but allowed them to gently rest on his head.

Edited by Lore_Master

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~Aketsu~

 

Things happened in a rush. First, Kai announced that he had asked Noe to marry him. Then he said some stuff which was probably important but mostly missed by Aketsu. Then Isa came and Aketsu suddenly found himself able to concentrate again, and Kai gave the spider-web-butterfly scenario. Aketsu smiled sadly; he would release the butterfly and feed the spider a cricket, but if the situation was taken to real life that would be cruel. Then he had half a mind to ask Kai what he was thinking, or if he was thinking, when he asked Noe to marry him. But a sudden screech and the shadow of a Gryphon made him turn around in shock to see Ayame land. Ayame was injured, and Aketsu's heart sank as he took in everything the Eagle said. He was stunned to hear that already Aeroian weapons were being used against the Light Alliance! He figured the corrupted members of the Council had been smuggling them for some time, and he clenched a fist in anger. He didn't enter the tent--he couldn't, and not just because it was crowded already. A strong wind blew in from the south and the fire almost died. Then it did die, and Aketsu knew by the wound that the same would happen to Ayame.

 

“Please don’t go…please don’t go papa.”

Just two minutes ago Aketsu had been ready to reprimand both Kai and Noe, but now his heart went out to her. They had known each other since they were children, though neither of them had ever really talked as more than acquaintances, but Aketsu had seen how Ayame was always kind to Noe. At the moment he was too blinded by his own emotions and thoughts to realize she was speaking it in a literal sense, and the wind picked up so he could not hear their conversations. He wanted to rage, he wanted to scream at Loren for ever being selfish and he wanted to beat himself for being selfish as well... but he was a leader, and now more than ever his people needed him. He took a deep breath, accepting the fact that Ayame was gone. A deep storm began to appear overhead. Aketsu approached Isis.

 

"Now you see why we fight," he said with a sad smile. He felt no more needed to be said about that, and he approached Kai. "Kai, take care of Noe--we need this storm gone soon so don't take your time! Zepheena and Isis, help prepare the camp to move out--pack up some tents. Eirikr--" then Aketsu realized that Eirikr wasn't around and hadn't been all morning. Immediately he wanted to blame Eirikr for what had happened to Ayame, and he felt furious... but he would have to ask the beast-folk if they had seen Eirikr go. "Luna! I need you to help clean up too, and make sure everyone else is present. Don't bother with Eirikr, he is gone. Leith and Neiro, get some food ready for everyone so we can eat and leave." Aketsu turned from where he was and began to walk, not looking back. "Isa... prepare yourself." Aketsu went to his own tent and took out his battle armor, a vest and gauntlets of light armor made of black and brown leather. The gauntlets were lined with strong thick glass and the knuckles were stone; they were fingerless. He looked up at the skies again, his golden eyes blazing with a new flame. Five of theirs for one of ours, he decided firmly.

 

~~~~

 

~Yuaki~

 

"Yes, we came together. No, we are not siblings, we're just close friends. Yes, we are staying and helping defend the kingdom. As I understand it, fighting is not going to take place unless we are attacked."

 

The way he reworded it made Yuaki curious, but she simply smiled in reply. She was about to say something else when a sudden screech made her jump and spin around. She gawked as Ayame came crashing to the ground, a gouged wound on his stomach. At once she knew it was fatal--she recognized the method that had 'administered' the wound to his stomach, though she said nothing. He turned human and Yuaki covered her mouth, her dark eyes wide. She reached out a hand to stop Zepheena from rushing over, but she was too slow and ended up grasping the wind. She slowly walked outside the little medical tent and listened. What she heard made her set her jaw firmly and lower her head, hiding her face behind her hair. She was silent so that she could hear everything that was said, and no more surprise entered her expression.

 

When Ayame died she moved away from the tent flap and watched the little grains of his body disintegrate into the air. Part of her wondered if he wasn't actually dead and perhaps was watching, and this gave her a nagging sense of guilt... yet relief. His death made her feel less caged for some reason, like he had known about her element and would have told everyone. And feeling relief made her feel even more guilty, because she knew she should be sad about his death. She decided she just had a hard time feeling any real emotions, which was good for a warrior perhaps but not the best for a friend. The skies quickly darkened and Aketsu began barking orders, although he seemed to forget to tell her or Tractus or Cielo or Loren to do anything. Yuaki immediately got herself busy by entering her and Isa's tent and packing both of their things away. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, especially not Isa or Kai, so she shut the tent behind her as she worked.

 

~~~

 

~Jahanshah~

 

"In all honesty milord, there are so many factors we have to consider. Detection, the effectiveness of our timing... And how long we decide to stay in Cumulus are the big ones." Jahanshah nodded; it was true, there were many factors to be noted. But he still had confidence in their ability to sway Cumulus."The way I see it, they think the light alliance is honest and fair... but if we convince them they are in fact worse then us, that'll be our trump card."

 

Jahanshah nodded; it was a common view that the Light alliance was good and the Shadow alliance was bad, or at least it was common with anyone outside of the Shadow Alliance. But times had changed since the first war, and Jahanshah didn't think Queen Zillah was out to just get power--he knew she had a better reason than that. After all, if she had wanted power than why was she so willing to make him her heir? A greedy leader would have attempted to live forever, or went and made a beast-person their heir, or--or something. Jahanshah had no lack of pride in himself but he was smart enough to realize that Queen Zillah had other options. Not for the first time he wondered how she and Betzalel knew each other and why they seemed to have such respect for one another, but as usual he didn't care enough to ask.

 

"Very well," he said as he stood. "We'll set out in five minutes. Surely the others are awake and preparing themselves." Jahan had very little to pack up besides his metal, but the metal was no burden to him. Besides it he only had his tent which folded in three movements. Once he had folded his tent and had all of his extra metal packed on his back so that it bulged out and extended like a coffin, he approached the horses again. His horse made a noise similar to a sigh, as though it knew it would have to carry him and all of his metal again. It was a big horse, though, so the metal wasn't anything more than annoying to its small mind. To it, Jahanshah was just an exceptionally heavy rider. The horses were all still saddled from yesterday but they did need their bridles. Jahan quickly worked to prepare his and prepare the horses of the others if they hadn't done so already. He was eager to get going; Cumulus wanted direction, and he aimed to provide it.

Edited by LadyNatasha

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Kai stood up as he felt Ayame land, and not as the bird should have, it was a staggered landing, he was hurt... or drunk, and the latter didn't seem too likely. He followed after Noe, but remained outside the tent, listening to all that was said, but more importantly... he was listening to Ayame's heartbeat, and he knew immediately... that the old bird-man, Noe's guardian, was beyond his help... and likely that of the others as well.

 

Old Man, what happened to you? He thought, but soon got his answer. The shadow alliance was close, and they were well armed, along with that they had shadow elementarians with them. That was bad news. Elemntarians they could deal with, foot-soldiers and mounted soldiers they could slaughter, but both at once was a different issue entirely. It took two different strategies to fight elementarians and foot soldiers, and both couldn't be used at once. So the new plan was simple, they would have to engage the forces separately, and as much as Kai wanted to pit himself against the elemntarians, he knew he was a poor match-up against shadow.

 

But that was his mind thinking, his heart was still listening to what was being said inside the tent, and even once it was revealed that Ayame was Noe's father... he still did not enter the tent, he would rather she spent the moment with her father, as it was his last.

 

Kai watched the clouds form and the storm roll in, he felt the charge in the air, running against his skin, and realized, that he felt Noe's sorrow. He had never known what happened to his parents after he left, but he had lost them both in a sense, and now Noe had lost her father suddenly, to a battle that hadn't even begun.

 

Aketsu said something to him, and he acknowledged it without hearing. As Noe exited the tent he had moved away from the rest, and as her footsteps brought her across camp he had moved ahead of her and stood in her way suddenly, intercepting her and hugging her frame to his chest tightly.

 

"Shhhh." He whispered, "I'm so sorry Noe, there was nothing we could do, he died a hero." Kai was silent for a moment, and shed a few tears for the memory of someone who had treated Noe with such kindness and love. And though he felt woefully inadequate in comparison, he vowed to do the same for her, from now on. "But Don't hate... them, or yourself, it's not what he would have wanted. He has given us our opportunity, let's make his death count, just as he made his life count for you for all those years, and for all of us just now." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, "I need to talk with Aketsu now, come find me when you're ready."

 

He let her go then, and hid his face, wiping it against his arm, he found Aketsu further into the camp and approached him. He found him readying his armor, having already tasked the others, good, Kai needed him for that part.

 

"Aketsu." Kai called to him as he approached. "We can't use our original battle plans, we can't fight an army and shadow elementarians at the same time, they compliment one another in numbers and skill. We can only fight one of those advantages at once, numbers, or skills. We have to split the group, my plan is to take Yuaki, Noe, and Loren and bring battle to the enemy army, you take Isa, Z'fan, Battlemate, and the rest and deal with the shadow elementarians, lure them away from the army, and kill them, then come join us."

 

Kai nodded his head and continued, "Yuaki and Loren would be in danger if they went with you because of their abilities or lack there of, but Yuaki is a weaponsmaster she can deal with soldiers and Loren can watch her back with his wind. I can stall the army by manipulating the ground and use Noe's weather to inflict damage to large areas from distance. We are no match for the whole army, but I know that even by myself I could stall them for several hours if I had to. That should give you and the others time enough to finish off the elementarians and come back to support us. What do you say?"

 

 

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Isa listened to what was going on with Ayame and Noe and had to admit that she felt bad for the girl. The loss of a man that had been in her family and with her family since before her father was born, struck her to the core and caused a multi-faceted tear to slip down her cheek as she looked at the ground. To lose someone so precious not only to others, but to herself, was a shock to her system. “So it begins.” She thought as a righteous anger grew within her until her eyes seemed to whirl with it. When her love told her to be ready she nodded at him and shivered from the cold wind that blew thanks to Aketsu’s anger and Noe’s sorrow. This would be a battle that went down in history as a battle that started the next Elementian War.

 

Isa watched Aketsu get ready for a moment then walked over to where Leith and Nerio were quickly trying to start a fire. “Move your hands.” She said and they looked up at her with surprise as she suddenly caused a fire to sprout from the wood with a focused beam of light. It was a strong fire after she quickly placed three more beams into the fire. As leith and Nerio found what they needed, Isa helped them making sure that they could get it done quickly until she found herself doing what needed to be done. She quickly packed Leith and Nerio’s tent for them since they were doing the meal. She was able to pack the tent that Aketsu and Kai shared as well and made sure that all was set with their tents. She set off at a jog and herded the horses that they rode to the camp and quickly saddled as many as she could on her own then noticed that she hadn’t saddled some, but they were already saddled. On the other side of one of the horses, she spotted gray armor and noted that it was Noe.

 

Noe sobbed once more when Kai held her in his arms. It was a comfort that both helped and stung at the same time. “I won’t hate.” She promised him firmly and watched him walk off towards Aketsu after Aketsu barked out orders to most of them. This death set everyone on edge and it made everyone tense including Yuaki who was taking care of hers and Isa’s tent. Noe decided to pack hers and Cielo’s tent and did so as quickly as she could then made sure to pack the last tent.

 

With their fortresses of comfort torn down, she knew that the time for war was approaching faster than ever. They were in a valley and there was no route for escape. They would have to fight or die trying. Her gaze was drawn to where Isa was herding the horses to camp to get them saddled and she was glad that Isa had the presence of mind to think of that. With tears still on her cheeks, she walked over to the horses, her mind numb as she saddled and bridled them then tethered them to the ground. It took a moment for Isa to notice her, but once the Princess did, Noe heard her say that she was sorry for her loss.

 

“that’s the first and only kind thing you have ever said to me. Thank you.” She stated to Isa who frowned and the two worked in silence. The best part about training every day, is that their strength had grown to allow them to be able to pick up the tents and place them on the pack horses. Those horses they led to where they could eat while the battle horses were quickly brushed and made sure that their shoes were good.

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~Aketsu~

 

"Aketsu." Aketsu shifted to face Kai when he approached, but he didn't look up from the final straps he was strapping on his leather. He listened absently to Kai, all the while realizing that Kai was right... they couldn't carry out their original plans. The fact that the Shadow Alliance was already aggressing was a sign that the war was starting. Still, Aketsu did hope to stop it before it started; he just knew if somehow they could ward off this first force, they could win. "We have to split the group, my plan is to take Yuaki, Noe, and Loren and bring battle to the enemy army, you take Isa, Z'fan, Battlemate, and the rest and deal with the shadow elementarians, lure them away from the army, and kill them, then come join us." Aketsu looked up in surprise at Kai. The idea of splitting up hadn't crossed his mind, as more than ever now he felt unsure about their chances for success. But as Kai spoke on he realized the idea was a good one, if not desperate.

 

"I can stall the army by manipulating the ground and use Noe's weather to inflict damage to large areas from distance. We are no match for the whole army, but I know that even by myself I could stall them for several hours if I had to. That should give you and the others time enough to finish off the elementians and come back to support us. What do you say?" Aketsu thought for a moment, frowning. "Eirikr disappeared this morning," he said quietly. "I fear he may have betrayed us to the enemy. If not, it is unfortunate he left because he would have been a good asset to your team. I don't feel comfortable sending you with so few; chances are that even if the Shadow Elementians are traveling far in front of the army, there is probably one that is leading the army and will stay with them." Then Aketsu realized his thoughts were going nowhere; unless he was to send Zepheena and Isis with Kai, there was no more help he could give him. He looked Kai in the eye and nodded. "Very well, we shall split up. You four go on ahead, don't bother waiting for us to finish packing up. The moment we are assured victory I shall send Z'fan for you. Ride well, and may the skill of three-hundred be with you."

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As Loren was tying up everyone's belongings onto the windraft, he overheard Kai and Aketsu's plans for dealing with the closing threat. The images came back one more. The giant crossbows, the flying shadow elementians... He had an idea of his own, but he needed Kai to allow him to work on his own. He was confident in Garula, he was confidence he could out-fly the shadow elementians. With a sigh, he finished tying up the supplies and jumped off the windraft. As he approached Kai and Aketsu, he did his best to keep his head up.

 

"Kai, Aketsu... I know I shouldn't be asking you this... But before Ayame died, he showed me images of horrible weapons from my home." Explained Loren as he tried his best to keep his voice clear and audible. "Those weapons will destroy us if we allow them to exist... Let me take care of them and the shadow elementians." Said Loren, almost shouting it out of nervousness. He then stopped, took a deep breath and contiuned. "For the past week, I have been training in secret... To create something that could not be rivaled." Finished Loren as he placed the goggles over his eyes and focused the wind to coil around his arms and legs. He lifted his left foot and gave it a push downwards, causing him to soar thirty feet into the air. He stopped and easily made his way down before he hovered in front of them. "This is the result. Its called Garula, or true flight. I'm confident in my ability, so let me do this... for both me and Ayame's sake." He pleaded, he knew this is what he wanted to do.

Edited by Lore_Master

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The screech pieced the quiete morning. Eirikr paused on the step and snapped his head around. He turned back to the old man and his wife.

 

"I am sorry I must go," he said already headed towards the road. "I will see you again is fate dictates it."

 

Off he ran. As he ran he mounted the pickaxe head on his forearm. The screech sounded to him like a bird and beast in one. Yet there was something human about it to. He figured immediately his allies were in trouble. They had yet to earn the name of friends but they were still allies.

 

A chant began to build in Eirikr. A chant that had been used by the Terran armies for generations. he began to whisper it. Before long it grew to a roar for is seemed that even the earth itself sang with him. The Battle Chant of Terra.

 

We come, we come with roll of drum: ta-runda runda runda rom!

We come, we come with horn and drum: ta-rūna rūna rūna rom!

 

We come, We come for war

We come, we come for death

 

ta-runda runda runda rom!

ta-rūna rūna rūna rom!

 

We come with death

We have chosen death

 

ta-runda runda runda rom!

ta-rūna rūna rūna rom!

 

We are blood bound

We are forged in war

We are tempered in battle

 

ta-runda runda runda rom!

ta-rūna rūna rūna rom!

 

We are Earth-Born!

Edited by Nasa13

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~Aketsu~

 

Aketsu had barely finished speaking when he noticed Loren approaching. Immediately anger flared up in him. If Loren was going to make some smart remark about not having his heart in the battle...

 

"Kai, Aketsu... I know I shouldn't be asking you this... But before Ayame died, he showed me images of horrible weapons from my home." Aketsu immediately realized he had mistaken Loren's attention, and at the mention of weapons from Aero he turned his full attention to Loren. His golden eyes stared hard at Loren and he listened carefully. "Those weapons will destroy us if we allow them to exist... Let me take care of them and the shadow elementians."

 

Aketsu was stunned at Loren's change. It didn't occur to him at that moment that often the death of a comrade changed his friends, for better or worse. The fact that he wanted to take care of the horrid weapons and the shadow elementians was almost unbelievable to Aketsu. Then Loren explained he had been training in secret, and all of a sudden wind surrounded him. He stomped the air and shot into the sky like a dart, stopping about thirty feet up. Aketsu's mouth opened slightly in surprise as Loren easily glided down to a hovering position. Aketsu could sense how concentrated the wind was. He had heard of other Wind Elementians being able to fly, but apparently it was something that either only masters could do or a few gifted individuals who happen to be born with the right genes. It was something Aketsu would never be able to master, but apparently Loren was one of the fortunate few.

 

"This is the result. Its called Garula, or true flight. I'm confident in my ability, so let me do this... for both me and Ayame's sake." Hearing Loren mention Ayame made something tighten in Aketsu's chest, and without a second thought he nodded. Loren was sincere. "Yes. Yes, you have done well Loren... but I can't send you alone. Take Luna to predict the enemy movements, and Z'fan to distract the enemies. Prepare yourself, my friend... surely if Ayame showed these things to you he must believe you can do this. And if these weapons are truly from Aero... you cannot fail." He gave a firm nod to Loren, almost as an apology for his earlier thoughts about the lad. Then he turned to Kai. "Kai, take the twins Leith and Neiro and Noe and go ahead now. The rest of us must finish preparing here--we will come as soon as possible to back you up--" Aketsu stopped suddenly as the earth vibrated wildly and a voice could be heard, a loud rumbling voice. Immediately Aketsu recognized Eirikr's voice through the sound and he feared the worst; here would come Eirikr to attack with a legion of Earth-Elementians. But he looked to Kai and didn't see the same fear; it seemed perhaps Eirikr was coming back peacefully?

 

Using the wind to speed him, Aketsu rushed in the direction the sound came from. A moment later he recognized the song; it was the war song of Terra, the oldest war song in remembrance! In the distance he saw Eirikr. "Eirikr!" He called, raising a hand in hopes of a peaceful confrontation. "Not a moment to soon! Where have you been all morning?" There was a hint of anger in his voice, but he was more angry at the death of Ayame than he was at Eirikr; this was just a way for him to release some of that anger. Yet he was also relieved--Eirikr's skill with earth would be a great help against the soldiers with no elements.

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Kai nodded to Aketsu but instead of rushing back into camp to grab the others, he rushed towards Eirikr, giving him a huge smile he slid to a stop in front of him. "Well my mining friend, how would you like to put some of that mining knowledge to work? I'm going to go stall an army of around three thousand troops using a earthen barriers, mazes, and traps. I could really use your help. I already know you're more skilled than I with the ground and your past jobs makes you the foremost expert. If you're interested, Aketsu can point you in the right direction, I've got to fetch the rest of my team."

 

And with that, Kai took off again, back through camp, using the earth to push off his feet to move him faster. He quickly slid to a stop by the two water users that he'd come to both love, and hate... considering that he hated being wet, so sparring with them had been a lesson in humility to say the least.

 

"Listen up you two, drop everything you're doing and grab your gear. We're going to go stall the army while Aketsu and the others deal with the shadow users, I'm going to get Noe, meet us at the front of the camp in 3 minutes." And he took off again, this time to find Noe, and it didn't take long, she was packing the horses with Isa.

 

"Noe," Kai slid up to them, "grab whichever five horses are most prepared, you and I and Neiro and Leith, and hopefully Eirikr are doing to hit the front of the main army right now, and stall them, so Aketsu and the others can deal with the shadow users, we've got to hurry." He urged, feeling bad about rushing her at a time like this, but there would be time to mourn their friend, and her father, later. He finished tacking one of the horses and swung into the saddle, grabbing the reigns of another horse as he did, knowing Noe would take the other two necessary, and he rode back in Eirikr's directoin.

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"Tell Kai that I have headed towards the cliffs over looking the valley," said Eirikr before making his way through the trees. He wanted to check out the terrain before making plans. He could already hear the tramp of the soldiers marching through the valley. What fools they were to march through the valley from which there were only two exits.

 

"Let's see how much stone is in this valley," whispered Eirikr, placing his hand against the ground. There was much stone, that was good. He worked best with stone. Already he was coming up with ideas to destroy the enemy. Rock slides were good as were spike pits or spike throwers.

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Zepheena continued to stand in the tent, tears welling in her eyes. The creature was right, she didn't have enough power to heal such a wound. A single teardrop trailed down her cheek as she listened to the exchange between Noe and Ayame. She stumbled out of the tent to where Isis was. "I don't know what I'm doing," she wept. He caught her as she collapsed in his arms. "What am I doing?"

 

Isis pulled her close as she cried into his shirt. "Listen, Zepheena. They started the war, not us. They started this battle by killing that woman's father. Think of your father. You'd do anything for him, you have done everything for him. What if he was taken from you in such a tragic way?" He paused to let the last question sink in. "That is what the enemy would do. They would take everything that you love and destroy it, just because you are different. Do not fight on the wrong side, Zepheena." Isis drew a sharp breath after speaking this last sentence. He had finally said it. He had finally stood up to his worst fear; that Zepheena could be on the path of Shadow.

 

Zepheena pulled away slowly. She nodded, then looked into his eyes. "I understand... And I won't. Not in a thousand years." She turned and started packing up cooking utensils and such.

 

Isis sighed with relief. He believed her. He would never doubt her word. He folded up a tent and started taking down another.

 

Zepheena carried a bag towards the horses and slowly approached Noe. "Noe?" She dipped her head, speaking quietly. "I'm sorry for your loss. I understand your pain."

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Isa looked at her sword as she listened to the exchange between Kai and Aketsu. She would be able to handle two of them easily without any problems, but more than that and it would be incredibly difficult. She didn’t know what else to do other than listen to them speak and paid attention. Before long, she realized that Kai was talking to Aketsu about splitting the group which alarmed her, but they were right. Isa took a deep breath and reached deep within her to pull forth the courage she needed to get through this day and through this battle.

 

“Aketsu, we can leave our supplies on the horses. Z’fan can speak with them and ask them if they wouldn’t mind running to the forest over that way. It would make it easier especially with the pack horses gone.” She strangled her desire to look at those that had become her family despite what it may seem. Even the twins seemed to make her happy but they both seemed to have a sense of foreboding on them, or at least Leith did.

 

Noe looked up as Kai skidded to a stop near her and told her to grab two other horses for they needed five for their group of warriors. She looked around and noticed that the smaller horses were ready since they were easier to handle, but they were fast and she knew how to fight from atop a horse and a small one made that harder.

 

With her decision made, she quickly grabbed a horse and was about to swing into the saddle when a gentle voice caught her ear. She turned and noticed a girl that she hadn’t seen before at all. Her hair was a beautiful blond and her eyes an entrancing orange color like that of a fire. Her face seemed innocent enough, but her eyes held something that made Noe think that she was hiding something.

 

What the girl said made her smile though. “It’s sad to hear of another that knows my plight. I am sorry for your loss as well.” A smile lit her face in a kind and loving way as she placed a gentle hand on the girls shoulder. “Be safe today as you are an ally, and you are a fellow human. Don’t watch the battle if you cannot stand it…no one would blame you.” Her words were kind and voice soft as she closed her eyes and sighed. When she turned around from Zepheena she placed her foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle easily as she itched her neck at the tattoo wondering why it was so itchy. She still didn’t know…

 

She grabbed another two horses and quickly led them to where she had seen Kai go. It didn’t take long for her to get there and watched as Leith and Nerio rode up to them on a wave of water.

 

After a moment, they mounted the horses, a very serious look on their faces.

Leith looked at Noe knowing that she had already had far too much loss. But, but there was still something in the back of his mind that told him someone else was going to die whether or not they liked it. Someone, or several someones were going to die. The back of his head tingled with anticipation of the fight to come, and it both thrilled and frightened him. “We are ready Kai.” He stated but noticed that his brother was extremely quiet. When he looked at Nerio, his brother was as pale as death out of fear and Leith knew in that instance that something was going to happen to his brother. He rode his horse next to his brother and spoke in a fast whisper and his brother shook his head. “if I am to die, then so be it. But I fear the same for you brother.” He stated then looked to where Battlemate was.

 

“Kai, my mate is to go with the other youngling leader. I will go with you.” It was more of a statement than it was a request and Battlemate stood with them. Noe offered him her horse but he shook his head with a small grin. “Mer-people are fast in the water and on land. The land does not hold us back.”

Edited by LoveLost

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Luna

 

Orders! Luna jumped up and quickly began to follow her commands. At least it was something simple for now. She wouldn't have to pull any mind tricks to take care of this part. She took a mental head count, taking note of how many voices drifted through her head as she hurriedly packed away the tents and stuff the extra food away in storage bags for later. She didn't know how many of them would be able to catch and make food once the battle was over, let alone how many of them would be left. It would just be better to stay on the safe side. Once that was done, she picked up her cane that she had left leaning against a tree and hit the switch on the side. Its hidden blade instantly released from its protective barrier, popping out from the bottom of the cane in glimmering, sharp beauty. Luna turned her cane so that the blade was facing up and began to run where the others had headed.

 

Wait, they had horses. She skidded to a halt and turned around. Where had hers gone? Had they already taken it? She finally saw the dark bay mare and jumped on bareback. There was no time for saddles now; she had to catch up to the others. As the horse galloped beneath her, she began to mull over the situation. She knew just the job Space Elementians had in battles, and she wasn't too eager to participate. She wouldn't be fighting so much as predicting, and any foul call would be her fault, especially if it caused serious damage. She didn't like that kind of pressure, but there was more at stake here than her own personal preferences.

 

Luna slowed her horse down once she found Kai, Leith, Nerio, and Noe were gathered together. She nearly started in surprise once she felt the presence of Battlemate. Part of her relaxed with the knowledge that he was here while the other part tensed up, preparing herself for his watchful eyes. She just knew he would be paying attention to what she did today.

 

"Are we almost ready to go?" Luna said after she stopped a few meters away from them.

Edited by BlueApollo

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"Yes. Yes, you have done well Loren... but I can't send you alone. Take Luna to predict the enemy movements, and Z'fan to distract the enemies. Prepare yourself, my friend... surely if Ayame showed these things to you he must believe you can do this. And if these weapons are truly from Aero... you cannot fail."

 

Loren nodded, he promised his grandmother he would do this, and Ayame. He casually glided over to where Noe and the Twins where gathering. He noticed Luna coming up to them, asking if they were almost ready to go. "Luna... Um..." Loren tried to speak, but was finding the whole thing nerve grinding. He landed on the ground and cleared his throat. "Aketsu said to come with me. We're going to knock the shadow elementians out of the sky and destroy a few things of theirs." Loren said with a newly found firmer voice. He would, of course make sure their landing was only hard enough to knock them unconscious. But he didn't bother sharing that information with them. He would need to get Z'fan to come with them as well... but it seems she was still a bit mad at him.

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