Little lost dragon and I

[Ryujin13]

"Um, yes, of course I did." Guthrie said, looking at Fren with his large glowing green eyes. He looked down for a moment, embarrassed, then met Fren's eyes again.

"Fren, I wanted to thank you." He said quietly. "You helped me when no one else would. You believed me, and I... I'm really happy I met you." He said quietly. "I want you to know that I... I really like you. I'm not nervous or scared like I used to be, when I'm around you." He seemed to be getting agitated again, this time about something else, until finally he seemed to steel himself and leaned in to kiss Fren on the lips gently.

It only lasted a few seconds, but when he pulled back he was a pale green like he got when he was scared.

"I'm-I'm sorry." He said quietly. "If that wasn't ok I um, I understand, it just seemed like a good time."

 

(Short post is short. And yes you're making sense. I think they're going to be on the planet for about 10 years or so, that gives Alina a long time to grow up and learn to protect herself. She won't be anywhere near fully grown, but she'll hit maybe ten feet or so. Feel free to power play Guthrie if you want to move this along to mating or whatever. Also the way I see it the plant people will have moved up to what amounts to a classical age. Society will have evolved to the point where larger towns and even cities can be constructed, agriculture and even domestication will be prevalent, and art/culture will take precedence. Population will boom, new technologies will be revealed, and things will start to leapfrog. Think renaissance in Italy with Leonardo Da Vinci. The tablets will basically guide the civilization after that, and within 600 hundred years or so they could be hitting the equivalent of the 1800's our time. It only goes quicker after that, and within a 100-200 years they could be hitting modern or even higher.)

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled and looked at him, he seemed to be thinking then his glowing green met her bright yellow eye's before he spoke. She smiled and nodded and was about to open her mouth to speak but then his lips where against her's and her eye's went large. Not the bad large more curiosity large. She remained still for a few moments after he broke it and listened to him. She looked at him again and gently placed a hand under his chin and she guided him to look at her again before she gently kissed him on the lips. It felt natural, and gave her a warm feeling in the chest, one she liked and seemed to happen as well when ever Guthrie told her he liked her.

She broke it after a few moments and smiled "That felt nice." she said putting her arms around his head and gently pressing her forhead against his "I like you too Guthrie. And I'm glad I was able to help." she said smiling "Alina seems to be warming up to you as well, I don't know what happened, but I'm glad its so. Because I want to be with you, and your too cute to give up." she said with a giggle and a playful grin.

 

((Righto, so one idea for the time skip, we could split the years up and kind of due a summery sort of deal, example

 

Year 1

 

Fren had settled into a new way of life with Alina and the plant people, giving pointers the best she can to Gentle, helping describe finer details on the current tablets when something might of gotten mixed up or forgotten.

 

Ect ect, and we do like year 1-5 and the other does 6-10 or something, both posts are most likely going to be large-huge but would allow us to sum it up so we can resume the story of the castle. You've already given me permission to power play Guthrie, and I'll give you permission to power play Fren as well so we can do this effectively.))

[Ryujin13]

(Works for me.)

 

Year 1

 

Guthrie and Fren had been taking it slow for Alina's sake, but by now they were both being deeply intimate with each other. Alina had moved past her fears of leaving Fren's side and had grown a lot, now creating eight feet long. She was often alone with the book, staring glassy eyes into space as her parents spoke to her. Sometimes she still cried over the loss of her friends and her parents, but she seemed to be happy. For the moment she was working on flying and was always out flapping her wings to strengthen them like the book instructed.

Guthrie and Fren stayed in each other's company a lot, and were intimate with each other even more.

The plant peoples technology level had skyrocketed past what it had been, and even now settlements of much larger scope were cropping up in the trees more and more often. The people were always careful of the environment, everyone doing their part to maintain their precious forests.

The reveal of the gods actual plans had caused a stir, and not a few of the population mentioned corruption from Fren. It was only after the leaders and shamans of each clearing were shown the hologram that they began to pass on the truth to the population. The change was difficult as most of the population rejected the new ideas, but slowly it became evident that the ideas and tools were good for the races continued survival and growth.

Tools were in widespread use now, mostly being used for hunting, fishing and the like. Primitive irrigation systems were being set up to help grow larger crops, and wells were being dug so a village didn't have to be directly next to a river in order to access water. Shamans were all picking up on the different terms of the tablets and were needing Guthrie and Fren less then before. Thy were still called in for advice now and again, but it was uncommon.

It was the last day of the year, when winter was in full swing, snow had fallen and the leaves were gone. Guthrie and Fren laid in their bed entwined together. Guthrie looked at Fren with caring eyes and kissed her lips gently before looking down for a moment. He still hadn't gotten over his nervousness completely, but he stammered a lot less and seemed to be getting better.

"Um, Fren?" He asked quietly. "In m-my culture it's um, it's customary for a m-male, to ask his um, his mate to um, to bond with him." He said tentatively. "It's um, like marriage for humans, but also different. We um, we would be linked by spiritual bonds, and would be seen as true m-mates inside our law." He explained quietly. "I-I love you Fren. With all my heart, and I want to be with you forever."

 

(It's the last day of year 1 so go where you will with this.)

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled and nodded. Gentle had explained things like this more and more as she and Guthrie got closer. "If we become true mates, that would make you Alina's father by default then." She reminded him "But if your ok with that, and I know Alina has grown to accept you, then yes. I would love to take you up on your offer. I love you Guthrie." she said before pulling him in for a kiss.

 

Year 2

 

Winter was at first hard for Fren and Alina when it got windy, Neither where ready for the biting cold winds that could show up with out a moments notice. However with Guthrie's help along with a few others, they made it through the winter. Fren spent more time with Alina was her belly grew larger from a new child developing in Fren's womb, When Fren and Guthrie bonded, Fren had become pregnant however it did not seem to impede her ability to move about and do the normal things.

When word however got out that a new family was starting the responses where mixed. Some where happy for them, glad that the first of another species could co-exists with there people. Others saw it as almost equal to Guthrie willingly breeding with the spirits. A group slowly formed, staying under the radar for now, but saw Fren's intervention last year, and now this as the castles new way to corrupt them. That the places where fakes to trick them into beleive there gods where helping them. But really to get them ready for worse results the next time the castle attacked, if Fren did not first.

As the year progressed the new child was born, the child, a son was largely like his mothers race, but had some clear features from Guthrie, the eye's where a glowing green, his tiny hands a lot like his fathers as well. Along with his fathers fur color for his tiny scales. Alina was told she now had a baby brother, and he had a older sister.

It was nearing winter again before Fren showed her kinds ability to Guthrie and Alina, her mimic ability, she took Alina's form to try to help her daughter learn to fly better. But when a few saw 2 dragons flying not just the one rumors spread about. Suspision grew around as many wanted to know where this second dragon was living. As when ever the small one could be seen, the second one was nowhere to be seen, only her mother, Fren.

Winter had struck again, the plant people made more strides in advancing, however with that one group slowly growing. Things had a dark feeling, everyone could feel it, no one could put there fingure on what though. Fren and the family felt it as well and went back to laying low. the new child already displaying Guthrie's ability to float in the air.

With winter now in full swing and again, like many times before, Fren lay in bed tangled with Guthrie and she kissed his cheek. "Hard to beleive a years past already." she said almost tiredly "Lots has happened, and I'm glad to be with you." she said nuzzling his head gently as she let him rest his head on her chest "Alina seems happier with a family, a complete family." she said smiling

 

 

[Ryujin13]

Year 3

 

Guthrie smiled and nodded, kissing Fren back as they laid there. "It seems like a lifetime ago." He said, giving her another kiss. "I love you Fren." He whispered as he turned so that he could hold her in his arms while they both went to sleep

 

The plant peoples technology was still advancing steadily, and the population had boomed with the increase of both homes and products. Art was a huge part of life, with paint having been recently discovered. Medicine, while advanced when Fren had first arrived, had become even more complex, with some ailments being wiped out completely.

Aqueducts were being constructed in some areas, allowing even further expansion of both cities and population. Roads were even being created by carefully shifting trees to form them. Rocks were called up from the earth to page them, and trade boomed between different population centers. Boats were also in widespread use, and rudimentary maps were even being created using observation and techniques gleaned from the tablets.

No matter how much progress was made however, the small movement was always there, preaching a return to the old ways, and subtly trying to shift public opinion against those who supported the new form their world had taken.

Alina was now four, and she was growing all the time, her mass increasing and muscles stretching. She was eating increasingly large amounts of food and had grown another foot since the last year, with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Alina took the news of her brother in stride and loved him as much, if not more then his parents. She would lay on the floor and let him play on her, and always tried to comfort him when he cried.

He hadn't spoke yet but seemed to be making progress towards it.

Guthrie was taking being a father well, and was always willing to help with the child or anything else that needed to be done. Still, he had heard rumors of the movement against him and his family, which caused him worry like he hadn't had in years. He didn't speak of it to Fren, but kept his eyes and ears open, ready to call on his friends and the triad for help if it came.

Another winter came this one particularly bad, with a number of trees exploding from the sheer cold. The streams all froze over making life difficult for everyone. Still, food could be found near the equator, meaning that nobody starved, although everyone lost a little weight.

It was the last day of the year again, and Guthrie and Fren were alone in the house, both holding the other for comfort as much as warmth. Guthrie kissed Fren again, the love in his green eyes obvious as he pulled her closer to him. "I love you." He said to her, gently stroking her cheek. "I hope you're as happy as I am."

[little lost dragon]

Fren nodded and gently stroked the back of his head with a cold hand "Your large part why I know such." she replied her eye's tiredly but happily looking into his.

 

Year 4

 

As the winter subsided Fren began to pick up Alina's training. Taking her form and reading up on the book as well to futher help her daughter learn to fight and defend her self in prep for the day they return to the castle to rid it. However a month into it, as spring was slowly showing signs of blooming, a plant being walked into one of Fren's training sessions with Alina while in Alina's form. He looked at them then muttered a few words his hands glowing green before he struck Fren with a strange energy that bounced and struck Alina. He turned to Guthrie and bluntly told him that "This is for the good of our people." before he vanished. Then 10 others all having the same strange markings showed up, 5 kept Guthrie busy while the other 5 grabbed Fren and left.

When Fren woke and was forced to revert to her default form this sent shock waves of horror to the group, and there propaganda exploded to new levels. It was a few months of close investigations, threats and some fights as well before Guthrie with the help of the triad to make some kind of rescue effort went through. The family was relocated to prevent more trouble from pin pointing them.

Alina and Squer where both over joyed to have there mother back, however news from the triad told her of the new progress the group that was only rumors, was now being far more vocal about her being some kind of demon. This posed a seriuse issue due to the plant peoples history with the beings that come out of the castles entrance. For months Fren Guthrie and the kids where under constant watch, not because of imprisonment, but now attempts where being made now. Fren being skilled in this sort of thing, had her skills refreshed and began to make a few of her own kinds tools to combat other infiltrators.

She knew this would happen sooner or later, it was just another chapter that they'd need to weather through. To make things worse, with her emotions fully in place now, her body was in heat again, but right now was not the time for another child, her and Guthrie already had to keep 2 safe.

As winter approached once again Fren was finding it almost impossible to with hold her self, one of the things about her kind, one that needed to be suppressed at a young age to keep it down, once free the female almost can't stop it anymore. But with Guthrie, and the fact she gave him some training as well which went very well in the plant peoples ability to almost fast travel in the grounds root systems, she allowed it, letting Alina and Squer know as well.

Once again, in the dead of winter, each one seemingly getting colder and colder, both kids where now huddled up between her and Guthrie for warmth, Fren's slime layering providing some insulation for her and those it got on.

She looked at Guthrie, her face having a scare from when he had to rescue her and her prison falling in driving a thorn down just under her eye to her nose, it was closed now, but a swath of scales would never regrow again, not till medical research could completely restore such things. "Another year...... we made it." she said tiredly before hugging him holding him close but careful not to squish there son. Or disturb Alina. "With you.... I know us and our family will make it through this, and once we do, we can go back to our old home." she said "I love you Guthrie, I love our family, even with this years events, I would not have it any other way, I have you, Alina, Squer, and a 3rd child on the way." she said before sighing "Thank you, Guthrie, for everything." she whispered as she gently pressed her forhead against his.

[Ryujin13]

"I love you too Fren." Guthrie whispered as Alina gave a small snore. He smiled and leaned down to kiss Alina's forehead, then Squer's, then finally he gently kissed Fren's stomach before kissing his bond mates lips. He looked down sadly at the mention of the year however, then gently touched Fren's scar with a single finger.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do better." He whispered. "I tried Fren, I really did."

He had said this before, asked for her forgiveness, but no matter how many times she told him it was ok, to him he was a failure. He had taken over a month to recover her, and by the time he had she had been malnourished and had obviously been interrogated numerous times. He had cried at the sight of her, but that had been after the destruction.

The base had been dug out under a grove of tall trees, their roots supplying the structure. The complex itself had been a number of floors divided into a few dozen rooms. Fren's room had been at the bottom.

Guthrie's rage had been something to behold, that much could he said, and the majority of the destruction came from him. He wasn't the most subtle at fighting, but the splatters of green caused by roots growing out of the ground to impale then fling the defenders spoke to its effectiveness.

The Whispering Shadows had been following Guthrie down with over 30 of the triad guards in tow, each group segmenting and clearing each floor.

The ambush when they had returned to the surface was a nasty surprise to say the least, and a fighting retreat had to be called after the fact.

 

Year 5 came with hope when the triad managed, with Fren's help, to bring the hologram to the surface. The purists, as they had labeled themselves, lost a good deal of support now that the population could see and hear what the triad told them from the mouth of a god.

Still there remained those fanatical few who thought that Fren, and even Alina now, were casting a spell on everyone, making the glass talk.

The family remained hidden all year, but as before, the year wasn't all bad.

Technology had slowed slightly as people began to focus on raising families, advancing culture and the like. Every month or so there was an advancement that moved the peoples state forward. There was even talks of a new government that was mentioned in the tablets. Gentle and the others in the triad were currently trying to work with the revolutionists in order to create a smooth transition from what amounted to a monarchy to a more democratic solution.

Fren's child was born nearing the end of summer, and it turned out to be a girl. She was still more like Fren then anything, but her tail had the tuft that Guthrie's did, she had the same eyes, and she was thiner and more snakelike then her brother.

Squer had begun to walk and talk now, and was even more inquisitive then Alina had ever been. When Alina wasn't training she would stay with him both to play and to keep him from wandering into the woods.

Alina's training meanwhile was progressing slowly but surely. She had mostly gotten flight down and only needed to practice, something she could only do at night because of the risk. Now she was working on breathing the black fire that she could sometimes summon up. Like before the key was to work on her stamina first, then form.

Last but not least Guthrie managed to reshape their new home into something a bit more comfortable, with enough rooms for everyone. Alina was getting to big to sleep in the same room with everyone, so she moved into her own room. The baby stayed in the room closest to Fren and Guthrie's bed meanwhile, allowing them to react quickly if anything was needed, while Squer's was given a bedroom next to Alina's with a door leading between the two.

It was the end of the year again, and the purists numbers had swelled for the moment as the triad had begun instigating the new government. Their activities were mostly shouting on street corners now, but they were obviously still searching for the family, of that there was no doubt. The garden that Guthrie had created was covered with snow, and a burner with got coals kept the home warm from the family room.

"I love you Fren." Guthrie whispered, kissing his love again. "And I always will."

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled at him and kissed him back "From before now till the end of time, I will always love you too Guthrie." she said gently gently hugging him close.

 

Year 6

 

As things went on Fren spent more time with the kids as they had to remain hidden for now for there safety. With the development of the plant peoples paper though Alina was able to stay in contact with Pedals through notes and letters. With the purists intentions and the fact anyone could be one, Fren was no longer able to leave the safety of the hide out. When she went to see spring a poison tipped arrow came at her and missed her by only inches from her tail. She had to hide and go back to the hide out where she agreed with Guthrie to stay inside, at least till the purists stopped hunting her and her family down. Never again was she going to spend time in there hands. Thankfully they had no idea how to properly extract info from her kind, at least not the trained ones.

However she trained Alina when she could, played with both kids and Guthrie. Squer was very very coriuse about everything, from his own thing slime layer to why Guthrie's eye's glowed and why Alina had wings and no one else did. He took to his sister very strongly and both loved to play with Alina, playfully taclking her like Alina had Fren and Guthrie in the past when she was smaller.

It was not the easiest, but after the same old routine for almost 2 3rds of the year a letter came for them. One of the new goverment that there presents was requested to put them in seats. With the triads approval the new goverment systems some how deemed it needed to bring Fren and Guthrie into the light again, promising protection from the fanatics as well. There was uncertainty for Fren though, her self being a expert on spy and infiltration you could have a army of guards, and one can still get through. She sent the letter back asking that she be allowed to directly manage secority then, explained why and her concerns. Largely for Guthrie and her children. Even though Alina was pretty big now and knew how to defend her self, she showed the same amount of concern for her safety as she did Squer and Sarah.

After a few more letters they finally agreed and right off the bat the world out side was different. the goverment wanted the planet to know Fren and Guthrie for who they where, not for how the purists saw them. They showed Fren's scar took a few photos to send off with messangers to spread the word. Over all it was a bit confusing but they managed.

As winter came once more and with there home new and improved and burners keeping the place warm Fren sighed looking around out side watching the kids play. Alina was teaching Sarah a game she taught Squer, that Pedals taught Alina, the dragoness now, not much of a hatchling anymore, was happy to know Pedals was coming over in a few days to visit. The day before, the day before the last day of the year.

 

That night Fren lay with Guthrie gently holding him on her, his head under her chin and his belly on hers letting him lay on her with her arms around his shoulders and her legs supporting his waist to keep him from rolling off. She nuzzled him and kissed his forhead smiling "Been quite the rid, ups and downs, but being with you makes the downs not so bad." she said softly "Love you Guthrie, always will." she whispered with a gentle nuzzle.

[Ryujin13]

Guthrie smiled and nodded, kissing Fren back. He was older, both in age and demeanor. Where before there had been a nervous young man stood a powerful, confident adult. He had finally mastered himself, and even if he still stammered when under extreme stress and his eyes widened like always when surprised, he was no longer the nervous ball of energy that jumped every time someone mentioned his name. "I love you too Fren. And I always will." He said, kissing her again.

 

Year 7

 

The political environment of the plant people had changed a great deal, as had the face of their planet. The triad was more of a ceremonial position then anything, but still remained as advisors. In reality a council had been formed that governed the planet and it's laws. Of the 15 members Fren and Guthrie took up two spots, both weighing in on issues regarding future projects, but leaving the actual laws to the politicians.

The plant people cared deeply for their world, that much could not be overstated, but signs of progress were everywhere. Cities had cropped up in and among the trees, usually consisting of an upper living area and a lower business area. A capital city had been built near the triads original meeting grounds, which happened be on an important trade river.

The purist movement had indeed lost traction, and according to the intel gathered by some of he guards it sounded like out of the world there were maybe 150 total individuals.

Guthrie paid close attention to this of course, but his concerns were on his family. The world seemed to be running well on its own, which meant he could turn his attention to other things.

Alina seemed to have topped out in the growing department for the moment, her size reach a full 12 feet 3". She was extremely fast and strong, and even better she seemed to have recaptured her sense of wonder and excitement that the castle had stolen from her. Still she was growing up fast, and was training hard so that she could combat the castle when the time came. Her claws had also grown in and she had found a tall log that she used as a scratching post. Her claws were as long knives, and the log looked like it had been shredded by the time they replaced it. Still Alina was happy and that meant a lot. She and Petals still met regularly and talked and giggled together, but it wasn't the same. They were both growing still but Petals was maturing faster. She was already growing into the body of an adult, and a sweet aroma had begun to come off of her. Guthrie later explained that it was a hormone designed to attract potential bond mates, and showed that she had finally reached adulthood. Slowly Alina and Petals drifted apart over the year, until they saw each other only irregularly and usually only in passing. Alina was heartbroken at this and cried often for a few weeks before she seemed to turn her sadness towards training more and paying attention to her siblings.

Squer meanwhile, was a rambunctious ball of energy that swapped between running around and floating. He had made a number of friends through the guards and they all played together in the sun. He had the natural advantage, being taller and stronger because he was part Shatong, but the other kids didn't seem to mind. Still, they all seemed to favor fighting games, usually wrestling, but sometimes throwing things at each other. Guthrie had already tried to get them to stop, but if anything this seemed to egg Squer on more. Beyond friends there was nothing Squer liked more then finding out new things. He was always asking questions, trying to understand things around him. He had a particular fascination with the stars, causing Guthrie to give him one of the newly created telescopes as a birthday present.

Rachel was finally talking, but not even close to as much as Squer had. She seemed to have inherited Guthrie's timidness, and would often go for hours without talking. She preferred the company of Fren to anything, and was slow to take a liking to someone. Still she was very young, so she had time to grow out of it.

 

It was winter again, and the family had finally moved back to their original home. The place had been regrown to fit the family of five, with storage spaces added into the mix. Guards still patrolled the woods around their home, but Guthrie had woven a number of spells designed to detect intruders the moment they entered the clearing. It was actually a clever bit of spellwork, one which he was proud of, especially since he had created it to let friends and family through without any trouble.

The last day of the year arrived once more, and Fren and Guthrie prepared for sleep again. They could hear Alina's snores from down the hall, and the easy breathing of both Sarah and Squer.

Guthrie leaned close and kissed Fren, then looked down. "I'm worried Fren." He admitted after a few seconds hesitation. "What are we going to do when you go back? We can't just leave the kids, and I'm not staying behind without you..." He looked down at this, his cheeks turning pale green as he steeled himself for what was to come.

"Maybe we should just stay here." He said after a few moments hesitation. " I don't want to lose you, or the kids Fren. I couldn't live with myself if that happened. I know you've been training Alina for this, but... What happens after we leave? Do we risk losing the kids, or one of us? What happens then?" He closed his eyes tight, for a second then looked away. "I know your answer Fren, I just had to be said."

[little lost dragon]

Fren sighed and nodded understanding his reasons. She had also been thinking on that. Alina still had lots of training before they went, but they where largely focusing on her powers now, once once that was done, they'd be headings back to take the castle out. "I've been..... thinking on that as well.... I won't allow Squer or Rachel to come with us. They are too young and we saw the results it had on Alina and how long it took her to fully recover. We'll find a couple to look after them until we return..... I can't back out of this Guthrie..... I made a promise to Alina 7 years ago. She's kept her end, I'll keep mine." she said looking like she was decided "We still got time, its taking her some time to learn her powers, I can't help her much with that so its slower, till then, we got time to raise the family and prep them for whats to come." she said gently nuzzling his cheek "One why to look at it Guthrie, should we succeed in the endever, our family's reputation will have nothing for the purists to use. we would have removed a threat from this world that's bee there for decades." she reasoned. "For better or for worse, I'm glad I got to be here, I'm glad to be with you, my home is here, with you, with the family." she said kissing his lips.

 

Year 8

 

Guthrie was uncertain still about the whole thing but knew Fren mind was made up and firm. She continued to train Alina, and Guthrie, aim to be there for her duty's on the goverment, and spend time with the kids every day. With her cycle coming up again she focused more efforts to finding the perfect couple to foster her kids when her Guthrie and Alina went back to the castle to take it down. Though finding such was hard. she explained the situation to both and Rachel clung to her for a good solid few weeks straight besides bed time.

With the population booming all over the planet each land mass needed to create smaller governments to manage things in that area. However like all socioty's, the roots of a world conflict was starting to rise now. One did not like anothers methods, one to the south had more purist influence, another got it into there heads that something was missing from the tablets. The normal things over all.

As the months went past skirmishes did happen with south but nothing magor yet. Took all over Guthries influence to prevent a large family from demanding blood when there son was killed by a purist for calling one of the group a 'Decayed bulb'.

But as the world of politics grew and neared the stage many others did Squer would spend all night looking up into the sky with his own telescope Guthrie had gotten him quite often. At times Fren would sit by a window looking out watching him just relaxing. Enjoying the time they had still. She knew he'd get another sibling soon though she wished she could force it to wait. But her cycle was rolling still.

Was either she gave in now, birthed another child in the winter, or birthed the child next year. After talking with Guthrie, they came to the agreement it would be best to max out the time they'd all have.

As more moths rolled by and Fren got more and more pregnet once again she eventually found a couple that seemed to be the ones for her kids. Calm, very concerned about anything young and innocent. Enforced there own rules, even ran a day care as well which would give her kids an opportunity to meet others.

A dark day showed up though on the tail end of fall, Guthrie's mother, the priestess, had an accident. A careless construction worker some how grabbed a large root that formed a road as her formed a new structure. In doing so the root had snagged her foot and tossed her into the air where she landed on pile of sharp rocks where another was carefully using them to create a beautiful walk way to the new home. She had been rushed to the medical place but she had too many punctures that went too deep. Fren tried to spend every bit of her free time with Guthrie from that day forward, trying to comfort him as his mother slowly died.

They had something to look forward to as her seed was uncovered, the tiny plant a bright vibrant green.

As winter rolled in once more Fren gave birth to the 3rd child. Knowing it would be the last one untill they return from the castle. another daughter, this time with Fren's eye's and body, but her tiny scales each had a little bit of fuzz on them.

 

On the last day once again Fren and Guthrie lay in bed. She hugged him close as the kids slept peacefully. Though she knew Squer was once again at his window now with the telescope looking at the night sky. "Guthrie, as long as I have a say, I'll always be there for you, I love you dearly." she said quietly as she gave him a gentle squeeze "Alina's getting good with her powers, the kids have a home for the future, your improving every day as well." she said stroking his back. "Even if you wish to remain here, I won't hold it against you, you know that." she said incase he wanted to stay behind to care for the rest of the family.

[Ryujin13]

Guthrie hugged Fren back and kissed her deeply, gently stroking her back as he did so.

"Fren, I would be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind." He said quietly. "But the kids are in good hands. Gentle has already agreed to keep an eye on them while they're with with Felnidi and Salna. They'll have a constant guard, and having one of the most powerful beings on the planet watching them will keep them safe." He said, kissing her again. "I'm hoping that Alina will be able to return us within a few months of us leaving. I don't want them to grow up without us."

 

Year 9

 

The conflict that had been brewing for over a year now was finally coming to a head, and it was quickly turning into a nasty one. A purist had managed to come into power in one part of the world, and had slowly corrupted multiple cities, turning them into a war machine hell bent on taking over the council. It wasn't truly about Fren and Guthrie any more, instead if had turned Ito a conflict over politics, and the way things were being run. They still called for Fren's death along with her families, but now it was more symbolic then anything. Their real agenda was to stop the advancement that had taken over their culture and destroy it, allowing the plant people to go back to the way things were.

In truth the whole thing made no sense because the changes had actually helped everyone a great deal. The people were all extremely careful about how they handled the environment, but still managed to turn their society into a thriving culture.

Near the beginning of spring the conflict suddenly started when the purists invaded a city on the edge of their territory. Just like that the border erupted into near constant fighting, with neither side gaining ground, but grinding each other's forces down. The purists were outnumbered, but ironically they had been working on more powerful weapons as they prepared for the war. Ballista were common now, along with a machine that could fire dozens of arrows at a time.

The war only escalated after that as the purists pushed further into council territory by sheer rage. Eventually they stalled out as winter came on and instead settled into large defensive fortifications they grew from the ground.

Not all hope was lost since the council now had time to prepare for spring, allowing fortifications to be built and new weapons designed. They consulted Fren about this, and soon they were arming their trope with more powerful weapons.

Alina during this time was slowly gaining control of her powers, and would often sit in the middle of the meadow with the book, her eyes closed in concentration until she flickered out of sight, only to reappear a few seconds later. She was becoming more moody as well, partly because she knew that they would be going back to the castle soon, but also because she was worried about her brothers and sisters. She worried about the war, and she worried that she might not be able to get them back here after the castle was gone.

Guthrie had finally sat her down and spoken with her, reassuring her quietly before giving her a kiss on the forehead and a hug.

Squer meanwhile, was growing like a weed and had begun school. He had a few behavioral problems due to his tendency to get bored, but Fren and Guthrie managed to get some semblance of control over him. He still had problems now and again, but they seemed to have mostly been ironed out.

Sarah was now two but was still extremely shy. She had made a single friend, but beyond that she stayed with her family whenever possible.

Guthrie was still in the very early stages of his life, and had gain some length to his body, but worry lines were no present on his face. He tried to keep his anxiety under control, but it was difficult, especially with the war on.

Still the family was happy, and all loved each other, even if the children didn't quite understand why Fren, Guthrie, and Alina needed to go away. There had been a lot of crying at the news, but eventually it ended. Guthrie had a suspicion that it had more to do with the kids convincing themselves that the whole thing wasn't really happening instead of acceptance.

The end of the year arrived again, seeing Fren and Guthrie in bed together once more. Guthrie was coiled around Fren, his nose almost touching hers as they looked into each others eyes. "I love you." He whispered, kissing her again. "I always will Fren. You've made me happy, you've made our family happy. I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will never regret our time together." He said, kissing Fren again before they both made love again.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Ryujin13

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled and kissed him back "As you've helped make me happy as well." she said before they went to it.

 

Year 10

 

As the winter slowly left and Fren slowly started to show signs of being pregent once more, though this one planned so that she'd have a year's time to complete her objective with the castle and not have her cycle show up and risk bringing up a child in it again.

However as spring showed up, Fren was asked for more weapon designs and defences. After some intense debates, she was finally granted permission to make one of her own peoples spawning pools so she could make some of her peoples tech to aid them. Acid rifles where made and at first accepted with eagerness till they learned the destructive ability of the acid slugs it fired. Only a hundred of the rifles where made and given to troops along the lines. However Fren was exhausted by the time she was done.

As the months went by the war grew fierce, the purists with over all more advanced weapons where being held back by the acid weapons Fren had provided. The weapon got the name, 'Devil spit' before long due to how the slug sprayed out an acid cloud on contact.

Guthrie had to help nurse Fren back to health but thankfully no lasting effects came. Working hard for that long constantly was a move not to be made twice. From then on when she was not called into the goverment for tactical aid or something else she spent as much time as she could, sometimes needing to get after Squer from time to time. Sarah welcomed the family time when ever it was possible and Alina was able to go back and forth in time now when the summer came.

As the end of the year approached Fren gave birth to there 4th child. another son this time. She held him close to her gently rocking back and forth knowing there not much time left before she, Guthrie and Alina will be on there mission.

the new son had Fren's eye's again, and a Shatong body legs and tail, but his arms where a lot like Guthrie's and his head was shaped similar to his fathers head as well.

 

When everything was said and done. The good bye's, the hugs and crying. The 3 stood out side of the castles entrance as the cold winter wind howled around them. Fren was clad in her peoples armor, Guthrie in his peoples and Alina had some made for her as well. Along with magicly enhanced alloy claws on her paws to further increase Alina's fighting ability.

Fren gently took hold of Alina's wing, and Guthrie's hand looking at both of them "I'm not one good at speeches, so I'll keep this brief, our mission as you already know, has to do with the red cage, stop Jak, stop Narias, and then shut down the castle. Should we survive, Alina, we\ll need your help." she said "Lets finish this." she said giving Alina the nod.

[Ryujin13]

Alina gave a worried look to her mother before finally taking a breath and closing her eyes.

Instantly things began to get dark as the groups forms flickered in and out of their reality. Alina grunted as she disrupted time and pushed them into the past.

Everything was black now, then it seemed like they were moving at great speed, passing portals of light which blurred as they went by. They passed hundreds of universes until a large bright one appeared in front of them.

Just like that the three of them were in the entrance hall, appearing just as. Vita and Avira were opening a door to leave.

"Hello." Guthrie said, giving a small wave as Avira whipped around, her weapon already trained on the strange snake thing in front of her.

Then she spotted Fren and Alina, and she smiled, coming over slowly and looking them both over.

"You're back already?" She asked, stunned by how much they had both grown. Alina was about 13 feet long now, and, while still rather petite, could obviously put a lot of muscle behind whatever she wanted to do. "How long has it been for you? It's only been a few hours for us."

"Ten years." Guthrie supplied. "Oh, um I'm Guthrie, Fren's bond mate." He explained, shaking Avira's hand when she offered it.

"Nice to meet you." Avira said, giving Fren a quizzical look. "Married huh?" She asked with a smile. "I'm happy for you both." She turned and looked around, then pointed out the locked door. "So we determined that there are five keys needed to open that, and inside is something having to do with the red cage." She explained. She was happy to see the group, happy to see them safe and sound, but the back of her mind had a strange prickle. That tiny part wanted to attack the interlopers and turn their bodies into new guards for the castle.

Still, her concious mind wasn't aware of it yet, and the thought didn't present itself yet. Still the tiny whisper was still there, even as the rune on her arm flared up in pain again.

[little lost dragon]

Fren blinked as they showed up and smiled as Avira whipped around to face possible threats. She gave a wave though as Guthrie said hello. Once Avira reconized Fren she calmed down as sounded suprized at them seemingly being back so soon. "I told you, I'll aim to be back shortly after you leave." Fren pointed out "With Alina's help, such is possible." she said before looking at Alina and congratulating her on the successful porting before hse looked back to Vita and Avira as the fox lady sounded like she had not expected Fren to marry.

When the situation was explained Fren nodded "We'll where on a tight schedual, When we meet Jak next he's not going to be a child like before. Narias has turned him into some kind of war loard according to what Bor reported a few days after you returned here. Apparently when he returns here he'll have an army to search for the remaining keys for him. Enough to not need to worry about losses." she explained then looked at Vita "Sooner we can repair your constructor the better." she pointed out before she scented a faded burn smell. She looked at Avira "Smells like there's been action already." she said before her helmet opened up seemingly morphing in on its self showing her own face with her scare from a few years back "Did you guys already form a plan?" she asked "Well, what plan that can be formed." she added remembering about all the unknowns with this place.

[Ryujin13]

Avira glanced down at her arm where the burn was currently covered by her shirt. After a moment she sighed and pulled her sleeve up, showing the rune burnt into her skin.

"When we left we appeared in a... Recycling plant is the least terrible term. It looked like the castle collected the bodies of its victims there then turned them into fresh guards and servants. We um, we found Varren." She said, looking down sadly. "One of the janitor things was doing something with him. We took Varren's body back, but when we did the thing hit me with this. Still hurts a lot, kind of flares now and again which is weird." She shrugged and went to roll down her sleeve again when Guthrie floated closer and inspected the rune carefully, his green eyes squinting as he twisted his head left, then right.

"This rune is strange." He said finally, looking up at Avira. "It looks like the writing of the old ones, but it's like two different words mashed together then stylized." He leaned in closer and traced part of the rune with one long finger which caused Avira to shudder with pain. He continued working for a little while longer before finally going up straight and shaking his head. "I can't be completely sure, but the prevailing part of the rune seems to be something like exchange, but it's also completely garbled with another rune that might be power or identity or any number of other things. Like I said the whole things garbled so it could say anything." He explained to the group. Avira looked like she wanted to be sick again, and was avoiding trying to scratch the place where he had touched. She knew that it would just lead to more pain, and probably more scratching.

"Well whatever it is doesn't matter. Our plan is to try and find the next journal that was written about this place. I think there's another, and of there is, then I believe it will have the location of the next key." Avira explained.

[little lost dragon]

Fren frowned at the sight of the rune and when it was explained she got it as they took Varren's body away from the whatever the place was for corrupting body's it put a rune on Avira, Which suggested some kind of trade. But what ever the rune did she did not know.

Either way they had to move on "Alright, lets start moving then." she said before leading the way into the hall. The sooner they where done with this place the better. She wore the item Guthrie had made her, the ward. Perhaps it might come in useful here.

 

Vita remained silent as he logged the 3 newish members of the group. Guthrie, plant person, Alina, much bigger dragon then when he last saw her, and Fren, older, few differences to her appearance. Both older, Guthrie he had no other details on from before though.

[Ryujin13]

Guthrie was scared, his nervousness coming back quickly now. He could still put on a brave face, but everything about this place made him anxious. Every noise was an enemy, every air movement a demon, every door a portal to death. He didn't want to be here, in the place that was cursed, that sent monsters against his people, who killed anyone who ventured to far in. There were no plants either, no trees of sky above, just empty stone. At home being inside was alright because he knew that he could always go outside and see the sun and the blue sky. Here he was without such benefits, and he was already feeling claustrophobic. Before he had a panic attack and froze up, something that hadn't happened in years, he grasped Fren's hand, taking hold like she was a lifeline, and using her as a grounding point to strengthen his resolve.

Alina padded along near the back of the group, her metal talons clicking on the floor and the metal plates on her body rubbing together making small noises. She was surprisingly nimble in the halls, and could easily move around, her cat-like body allowing her to turn and face any direction within a few heartbeats. Both her and Guthrie's armor was extremely ornate, each one having swirling designs and patterns etched in. The plates themselves were amazingly light, but also as strong as any metal. They were made from a combination of the 'hard wood' found on their planet, iron, and bronze mixed together. It was as good as any other armor yet found, and neither had any problem moving in it.

Alina was constantly swinging her head round and round, listening and looking for enemies. She wanted badly to find something to destroy. After all she had been waiting ten years, ten long years of training, to come back to this place and avenge Varren, Kara, and Jak. She wanted to start, and if they found an enemy she wanted to kill it herself.

 

Without warning a burst of flame flared up a little ways in front of them, and out stepped Nuria, her eyes glinting with amusement.

"Oh look! My favorite groups back together!" She said, clapping her hands like an excited child with a new toy. "And look how you've grown! Is that little Alina back there? My you're big, and Fren? My oh my it's been at least a decade for you. I smell children on you though. Four of them? My you've been busy..." She smiled nastily at this and pouted her lips as though thinking. "You know I could always use more officers for the army, maybe I'll pay them a visit."

"You will never touch my children!" Guthrie shouted, summoning energy to himself until he radiated power.

Alina was right be side him, her normally yellow eyes, black now, and small whisps of shadow falling from her jaws and sides.

"Oh relax, I don't need officers, no time to raise and then train them. An army only holds together as long as they have a goal. If I leave them sitting to long then they will fracture after all. Still, since you're all reuniting again in a horribly misguided attempt to stop me, I figure we might as well make it a complete reunion."

At this she snapped her fingers, and another burst of flame went off, but this time a huge shape stepped out, wearing blood red armor and carrying the sword that he had found.

"Don't you like him?" Nuria purred, kissing Jak on the lips even though he showed little to no emotion. "I've spent 33 years training him to be the greatest fighter and general anywhere. I started by binding an amulet to him that made him regenerate very quickly, then I left him on a war world. The Fasn use it to fight wars on so their home planet doesn't get hurt. He had to fight to stay alive the whole time. Food, water, all that stuff. We managed to get rid of the ring, my magic was stronger it turns out, but little Jak lost a finger in the deal. It's been a long road hasn't it Jak? But I'm very pleased with the results, aren't you?"

"Yes mistress." Jak said, bowing his head to Nuria. "Do you wish for me to kill them now? They will be a problem when we invade."

"Oh that's alright Jak, thank you anyway though. I'm a very kind person after all, I think we can give them a chance." She turned and smiled at the group at this, her white teeth flashing menacingly. "Now listen, we may have had some problems in the past, but I think it's fair to give you fair warning. I am going to open the red cage, I will destroy my two brothers and my sister. I will rule this castle, and the universes, and all will love me. I offer you this chance. Go back to your children and your lives. Alina here can do that. Go back, live them out, and I promise to leave you all alone. I'll still rule the worlds, but I won't do anything to you. It's a good deal, just think about it." she turned and gestured to Jak to follow before a burst of flame flared up, making Nuria and Jak disappear.

Alina roared as Nuria turned to leave and threw herself at where the woman had been, her rage finally boiling over. She swiped the walls in frustration, crying at what she had seen of Jak.

Guthrie immediately came over and hugged Alina tight, letting the dragon know that he was there for her.

"We'll get her." He promised quietly. "We'll find a way, I promise."

 

(Jak is colored more like a mountain lion then anything, but he's just as muscular.)

Edited August 19, 2014 by Ryujin13

[little lost dragon]

Fren gently gripped Guthrie's hand as he gripped hers to help him. Her other hand in her weapon as she held it at the ready. Vita was the loudest of them all as always, each step a thud with his heavy metal feet. But she remembered how his weight and armor allowed him to fight head on with a castle monster, maybe not bet it but last a while doing so.

 

When Nurais showed up Fren raised her weapon. Some day, they would need to fight this woman. she narrowed her eye's as the foe looked all happy about this. She did not look the least bit pleased when Nurias spoke of her children. Though she hissed and nearly fired on the spot. Alina and Guthrie also nearly attacked as well.

Some more taunts came out of the beings mouth before Jak showed up in his armor. Fren lowered her weapon and looked right at Jak. when her found his she found her unoffical son was still....... under the spell he was placed under for.... apparently 33 years and counting.

Fren raised her weapon when he asked if he should kill them here and now. "You've trained your spell in his body, Jak is trapped in there Nurais, If you think you can fool us your wrong. And I'm not as new to magic as I had been 10 years ago." she stated. She hardly paid attention to the terms of them more or less surrendering before leaving. She came over to Alina and Guthrie and knelt down "She wants to instill rage Alina. Remember, vengence can only happen if one has them selfs under control. Otherwise one becomes reckless and becomes a threat to them selfs." she said reminding Alina of some of the training. "You'll get the killing blow, I promise you that." she said before giving Alina a quick hug before standing up "That was a taunt, all of it, she knows we won't surrender to her terms. But she does know her actions had a chance to blind us. Keep a organized mind." she said before looking at Avira "Still got that horn? If so, blow it, we need to find out what help we can get from Bor and his siblings." she said

Her time in the government and aiding in defense decisions and tactics taught her a lesson she might of never learned otherwise. When one is offered help, information. Its best to take it all, and not just what you need. Don't over do ones self, but friends, allies, some may say they pose a chance to fail, there was a reason why she trained her mate and daughter before showing up here. If they where going to face off a invasion, that may trigger the castle to go berserk with all the new test subjects, and such may severely aggravate the robotic crab things as well that seemed to live here. Making things far more difficult with almost a 3 way war happening all around them.

[Ryujin13]

Avira had watched the blatant displays of power with a shock look on her face. She had no idea that Guthrie or Alina were able to wield forces like that, and now that she did it changed things. They might actually have a chance...

Without a second though Avira swung the pack off her shoulders and rummaged in it, eventually producing the horn.

Taking a deep breath she blew into it, causing... Absolutely nothing to happen. No sound, nothing. Confused she tried again, this time blowing even harder. Finally she shook up to see if something was stuck inside and was going to try again when Bor popped into existance in front of them.

"Alright already!" He said, twisting a finger in his ear as though something loud had hurt it. "I'm here I'm here." He looked around and smiled at Fren and Guthrie before coming over to Alina and giving her a big hug, causing her to giggle like she had always done.

"Alina! How are you? Fren, Guthrie." He said, still beaming happily. "Listen I'm sorry I missed your bond ceremony you two but Medad and I have been raising our own forces to try and stop Nuria. My other sister is still sitting on the sidelines unfortunately, so it's two against one. Problem is Nuria's been casting her net wide for anyone who likes chaos and mayhem. Demons, evil spirits, corrupted fey, literally anything that has a taste for destruction is being invited. Couple humans have even been picked up. Me and Medad have been more selective although it's still not hard to find willing recruits. A lot of those baddies she's stirred up have powerful enemies on the side of good. We got two full battle chapters of white lions to join us, and last I check over two dozen Paladins of the Wall have joined up. Angels, and hundreds of others have joined us. When she arrives she's going to find it harder then she imagined." He smiled again and clapped Fren and Guthrie on the shoulder before sniffing a tiny bit before his smile widened. "Parents are you?" He asked joyfully, squeezing Guthrie and Fren into a hug. "Four of em. I thought that was just rumors but I'm glad it's not. I'm sure that you two will make amazing parents. I heard about the tensions on the planet though, that's to bad, and I wish I could help, but this is one rule I cannot break or even bend. I cannot alter the course of history, nor can I give you any advice to directly help. Those people have to handle it themselves, it's their society and they have to form it. Still, I'll make sure that you three arrive within a week of having left. I don't want you to miss your children's lives because of my family squabble." He smiled and shook Avira's hand before looking around. "So I assume you're working on finding the keys now?" He asked, gesturing to Avira's pocket where the shield stone was resting. "Seems like a good plan, how's it going?"

Avira glanced down at her pocket and shrugged, gesturing to her pack. "Well we've got the one, Nuria has one, and I think the locations are jotted down in this guys journals." She explained, holding up the holo-cube.

"Hmm, that would make sense then, you found one of them by following these, so maybe you're onto something." He pondered this for a few moments before shaking his head and looking at the group. "Ok, I'm sure you called me for a reason, so what is it? I'll help if I can."

[little lost dragon]

Fren looked around also a bit confused. Was the horn not working? On the third go Bor was showing up acting like he was having something loud in his ear. She smiled a bit as he seemed to catch up a bit with them. She nodded understanding why he missed it. A bonding was very very small compared to what was at stake here. She was glad to hear there was going to be a small army aiding them though, so that was good. She smiled at Guthrie as Bor said they'd be great parents.

When he asked if he could help with anything Fren nodded "With the possiblity of a 3 maybe even 4 way war happening in this place, Castle, robotic spiders or crabs, and the 2 army's, I was wondering if you and Medad might be able to help us with anything in prep for it. And in Medad's case, nothing that is binding." she said firmly on the last part. "Also, maybe if we talk to your other sister, might be able to enlist her help at the very least. She had a thing for Alina it seemed before." she said.

"Not sure since Vita's metal and such, but having his constructor online would be a good asset as well." she explained "And last but not least..... would you know of a way to break Nurai's spell on Jak? From what I know magic now, he's just a prisoner in his own body, what ever the spell is, its in control of his body. Break the spell, and we'd have Jak back, maybe different but we'd have him back."

[Ryujin13]

Bor shook his huge head, a strange look on his face.

"You misunderstand. My sister Canace can't be found by anyone. She's never been all that interested in power or even the castles games. The only reason she cares about it is because it presents a mystery, and that mystery is what fascinates her. The thing is, my brother and I have been trying to find her, and no one can. We even got Nuria to sit down at a neutral ground and ask if she had Canace, and she said she thought we did. That place forces us to tell the truth, and even if it didn't I think Nuria would have gloated if she had gotten ahold of Canace. So we can't ask her for help because she can't be found." Bor said, his expression now clear. He was worried, and that in of itself said something about the seriousness of the situation with Canace.

"As for Medad I don't think you'll have any trouble dealing with him anymore. This is the furthest that the game has escalated since the first move at the beginning of time. Nuria has pushed farther then any incarnation before, and the fabrics of reality are straining. There's a reason tensions are rising on any planet with sentient life. They can feel the tension, they just don't know what it's coming from, so they convince themselves that the tensions coming from someone else, and so they attack. Wars are started, the dead pile up, and still this game spirals out of control. Even the oaths binding the four of us are loosening, allowing more and more freedom of action. When the red cage opens..." He shook his head, his eyes and voice serious. "Listen, Medad's incarnation is all about order. He is compelled to make a deal no matter what. I will inform him of your wishes, and we will all negotiate a deal. More then likely it will be that you all help defeat Nuria and you get his support. I'll be here when the deals struck so I can watch out for hidden strings. Medad's getting desperate though. Nuria is his opposite you know. She is chaos incarnate, and her swelling power is worse for him. He can feel it every day at any time. He's been working nonstop to restore order but it's a losing battle until we can defeat Nuria." Bor explained. "I can tell Medad what it is you want and need before he comes here so he can have it ready, but it will take a little while before I return. What is it you need?"

[little lost dragon]

Fren nodded and wondered just what may be mystery enough to get the sisters attention. She listened as Bor explained things and she paced a little as she pondered on the information. When Bor said she would not have any more trouble from Medad she looked up at Bor, when he said he'd be there to monitor the deal or deals being made to make sure no strings where attached, she nodded. "Desprite times call for desprite measures." she said before looking at Bor "Currently...... information would be best, in this case, what would possibly catch your sisters attention to bring her over? I know she communicated with Alina briefly then left and that was it." she asked before Vita stepped over

 

"A new army entering the scene. A conflict with a new force that is unplanned grabs everyones attention. She knows of the one side, she knows of her brothers, if I could have a constructor K-bot from my own universe, I could direct it and if we find a good room, I could start making and sending out my own forces, however they'd be the size of the crab bots, but ranged for the most part." he explained before looking at Bor "I understand you dislike my kind and those like me, but an allie is an allie. Could you bring one?" he asked "Or you might be able to reconfigure a gate to lead here. But such is unlikely with out my command codes." he explained

 

Fren looked at Vita then at Bor again "Sounds like it would allow us to make our own pawns, and then we'd be closer to the same playing feild." he reasoned. Having another army to be confirmed friendlys, to at least slow down and distract enemy forces, sounded good, place was already going to be chao's.

[Ryujin13]

"A show of force won't attract Cadence's attention." Bor said, thinking hard. "She doesn't like the political maneuvering that Medad has his hand in, and she doesn't like Nuria's methods of chaos and destruction. Me she seems neutral with, but that's it. Don't get me wrong, she's happy to talk to any of us about things that are interesting to her, but she clams up otherwise. Very shy. Anyway in order to get her attention you would have to make her focus on something that is of import to her. She likes learning things, she finds cultures fascinating, she likes to study different creatures. She got along very well with the shadow dragons actually." Bor explained, stroking his beard. "That's the only way I could see you getting her attention, is to have Alina throw around a lot of shadow dragon energy until she notices. That being said you'll have to wait until I leave because she definitely won't come if she thinks I'm involved in summoning her." Bor looked down at this, his eyes lost for a moment. "That's assuming she's just ignoring this whole thing." He said morosely. "She's never vanished like this, I'm actually worried. She's either found a way to hider herself completely, a thing we all thought impossible, or something's wrong." He shook his head again, then turned to Vita.

"I have no problem with you Vita." He said. "You're thinking of Guthrie's people. No, they do hate you. That being said, I could perhaps recruit something to my forces who just so happens to be what you need." He said, a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips. "Wait here I'll be back in a little bit."

With that he vanished, leaving the group alone in a hallway.

They stood around for almost ten minutes, during which Avira started to have weird flashes of the recycle room, before he returned, depositing a small robot on the ground.

"I may have accidentally left an ally I recruited with you all, such was the hurry I was in." He said slowly, making sure they knew the official story before continuing. "That being the case I think it's amazingly kind of you all to let it join your group and apply it's talents." He smiled again.

"I need to get moving so if you've got any more questions then spit them out." He said jovially.

"How long do you think until Nuria invades?" Guthrie asked, his expression neutral.

"I can't guess. She's been working using different time speeds to build and manage her army. To them it's been about a week since they started to gather, for her it's been 30 years, for the castle it's been a few days... You see the problem. She could invade this very second, tomorrow, next century, who knows. I'm guessing within a week though, she's never been known for patience at the best of time, and she smells blood in the water. She's going to attack as soon as possible."

[little lost dragon]

Fren nodded and looked at Alina wonder just what the most efficient way would be to get the beings attention with out Alina expelling her self ideally. Maybe in a beacon like manner? Will have to try it. Though even if it does work, for all they know the castle may of snagged her. It was possible it had them all trapped here more or less. Just they could leave at times but had to return each time.

She watched Bor take off then show up with a strange looking bot, had 2 legs and a flat top and 3 visible forward sensors. Vita walked up to it and it opened his top and a strange cone came up attached to a very high tech joint that lead into its chassie. It began to spwer sparkling green things at Vita's arm as well. "Tier 1 construction K-bot Able to command a base until further notice, this one changed priority to finding me after the gate seemed to have gone wrong." he said as it he was downloading the info "It will do well. Thank you." he said

Fren nodded and looked at Bor as he explained Nurai's could invade at any time. "Alright, we'll let you get back to work, we got our own mission to do as well." she said coming over to him "I wish you the best of luck Bor, and thanks for everything." she said with a smile.

[Ryujin13]

"You're very welcome." Bor said, giving both Alina and Fren a bear hug. Alina giggled like always, then watched sadly as Bor turned and disappeared into thin air.

Avira had watched the whole thing quietly, not quite sure what to say, but finally spoke up when he left.

"He seems nice." She said. "Strange to find someone like that in this place." She seemed to consider that for a moment before shaking her head. "How long is it going to take to repair you Vita?" Avira asked. "Do we need to wait here or can that thing repair you as we walk?"

She listened quietly to the report before digging out the journal cube and activating it, flipping to the back of the book again.

"Same as last time." She said. "It ends mid-sentence. This person is talking about a..." She frowned and looked closer, her nose almost touching the pages. "He's talking about a crypt of some kind." She said finally, already looking back.

"And so it was that I found myself brought before a great stone statue, the likes of which I had never seen. An angel from above, it's hands held a sword hilt, the blade shattered. A cowl hid its features, but I knew that to look on them would have cost me a great deal. Silently the statue and the great stone that it sat upon raised high, and I was per mites to enter. My eyes fell upon a sarcophagus, the likeness of it occupant carved atop it. As I peered past it I saw a great sight, a hall filled..." Avira stopped reading and looked up, shrugging again. "Nothing else, it just stops again. I think it's safe to say that the next journals probably there though."