Round Robin - ELEMENTOPOLIS - Legacy of the 6 Elements

Karl 67 · **Posted:** September 13th, 2007, 3:41 pm

Night and Skyrate walked straight south, towards the seemingly tiny smoke tower that signified the volcano of Fie. During the travel, Skyrate lectured Night about the more complex skills of a Shadow Warrior. Usually Shade Himself teaches the Shadow Leader, but in this case, Shade was more under lockdown. Skyrate, being one of the elderly of the shadows that Night has met, worked almost as well.

The term "Lockdown" basically means that the God of an element has been hit with a certain spell that can actually "stun" or "disable" the god, forcing it to have to recover after a time.

There are spells that can force Gods into lockdown, but the more permanent ways consist of a thing called "Destroying the Altar of the Element".

The Shadow Altar that Shade Himself is connected to is more unique than other Altars in the fact that those Shadow Warriors that do die can be resurrected much in the same way as Night.

The reason that Night could have that done to him while Shade was in lockdown was hard to explain, but Shade said that the Shadow Stone that Night had in possession gave Shade temporary God Powers again.

Unfortunately, leaving it with the Shadow Altar would be too dangerous. There are those that like trinkets like that and may make off with them. So Night takes it with him.

Skyrate was rather impressed with the young Shadow Leader's quick learning of the Shadow Ways. He was also impressed that Night was one that was once from the Wind Temple, as Night's cape morphs into a pair of phoenix wings.

Skyrate, being one from the Fire Temple (since he's both Fire and Shadow) can morph his Shadow Cape into dragon wings. They allow a balance of fighting, defense, and movement capabilities. Not as much as the Water, Earth, and Wind, however.

The fastest kind of movement is by that of a phoenix, which can fly at blinding speeds naturally.

The most common Shadows are those from the Fire and Earth, since they were once allies with the Shadows during the Second Elemental War, when the six elements were split into two teams.

Occasionally, Skyrate would set up camp and Night would use his flight abilities to fly off at fast speeds and return a minute or two later with a dead, yet edible animal.

Four days passed and they finally reached the Fie Volcano.

"You know, all of the elements are not allies with Shadows, no matter the heritage," said Night, "I was mainly planning to go south out of Elementopolis and gathering other Shadows."

"Ah." Skyrate simple said. Night was the Boss, and he most likely thought about this plan quite a time ago, back in the Infinos University.

-----

A disrespectful student had his head slammed against the wall by Donoluth's magic.

"The Shadows do not want to see or be seen by anyone, no matter the reasons."

"What the hell, man? You can't do this, I'm a student!" the kid shouted stupidly. Donoluth just pushed the kid further. A crack was heard, indicating that the kid's nose had broken.

"I'm not, nor am I a teacher. I'm an outcast, and as an outcast, I can do whatever I want and everyone will still consider me an outcast. I say again: The Shadows do not want to be seen."

Donoluth released the kid and watched as the kid's nose bled. He made a beeline towards the nearest medical wing.

However, the truth was that none of the Shadows were in the room Donoluth was guarding. In fact, they weren't in the university, period.

They all left, but not to join Irwin. They left to do mercenary work for the nearby kingdoms.

Only two shadows remained near the university, but they were playing a small game on the roof... which technically is not IN the university.

The game they were playing were with cards, they called it "Go Fish." Since the faces of the cards were all things that usually reside in the Water Temple. One of the Shadows managed to sneak into the Water Temple undetected a few years ago and "stole" the deck. He left the cost in gold coins on the counter though. When he got back, the two shadows he were with laughed at the hilarity of the success.

"Got any Shade Fins?" One asked, referring to the type of card that depicted a Shadow that was once from the Water Temple, with his cape morphed into fins.

"Go fish." The other replied.

-----

The other five shadows stuck together. They were surrounded by an escort and were being brought to the castle of the Kingdom of Tallyar.

The King examined the five Shadows once they entered the throne room.

"Any jobs?" One of the Shadows asked suddenly.

The King was one who knew that it was stupid to tick off a Shadow, no matter how adventurous and carefree they seemed. He was a bit taken back by the suddenness though, but answered.

"You five are to help us fight this one kingdom."

"Is it okay if our Living quarters are back at the Infinos University?"

"... Uh, yes..." The king mumbled, "Wait, isn't that all the way in Elementopolis?"

"Oh no, it moved. Couldn't stand the city life." One shadow said

"Earth Mages moved it." a second added.

"A lot of them, too." A third finished.

The King then got confidence in the shadows again. "You'll be doing the kingdom of Tallyar a good service. We'll pay you greatly."

"We mainly like the action, but the pay's good too." another said.

The Shadows made a quick bow and left the throne room to allow the king to recover his senses, since he most likely never encountered the carefree shadows before.

Adbot · **Posted:** September 13th, 2007, 3:41 pm

Rune Beast0 · **Posted:** September 13th, 2007, 4:03 pm

Feriag burst through the door of Borgarath's hut. He shouted, "RISE!!!" at his son, who rolled out of bed onto the floor. Borgarath stood and rubbed his eyes. "What in the world are you shouting for?" he asked groggily. "The earth leader has arrived early, and I know that the hammer is not done yet!" It was terrible for Borgarath. Bleary eyed, he reached for a shirt and pants on a table next to him. After dressing he pulled on his custom made boots and followed Feriag. As they walked Borgarath felt the earth shake beneath him with the beat of the chieftain's drums. They walked until they saw ceremonially dressed men in their path. One of them turned and said, "Greetings. Are you the men that are to see the Lord?" Feriag nodded, and introduced himself and Borgarath. Feriag led his son through the crowd of advisors and drummers until he kneeled and indicated for Borgarath to do so as well. A booming voice called out, "Wroak! Adi! Bring these men to me!" Two advisors placed their hands on the shoulders of Feriag and Borgarath. They rose and walked up a few yards further, then kneeled again.

Feriag didn't let Borgarath speak until after he was finished explaining why his son had failed. "Stand, Hruk Borgarath and Hruk Feriag," said the earth lord, using the term for warrior. The men stood, but didn't look the lord in the eye. Borgarath ached to look at the lord, but Feriag had warned him not to look at superiors in the earth tribes. "There is only one way you can now prove yourself and bring honor to your family. You must go into Ariac. Ariac is the most brutal dungeon, formed by the late corrupt light captain known as Lywer. Lywer loathed Shadows so much that when he was discharged from the higher rankings of the light army because he was torturing those who helped the Shadows, he made a castle. He built it purposely near a small village of Shadows. Lywer enslaved them and forced them to tear down their village and use it to build up his. Most of the castle was subterranean dungeon, and once the whole village's resources had been exhausted, he stuck them down into Ariac and tortured them until they eventually died. He enslaved helpers of the shadows and forced them into Ariac. Then, he researched monsters, and put many monsters into his dungeon. The slaves eventually died, but Lywer continued to hunt Shadows and put them in Ariac. When Lywer was too old to hunt any more, his monsters saw the opportunity to strike. They took over the castle, and bred, and got others to come there. The whole place is basically a haven for monsters. However, to become powerful in my earth tribe, you must go through Ariac and leave a marking on the earth shrine there. I then go through, and once I see the marking I promote them. Ariac is in Shadow territory, but you have to go through Light territory to get there from here. If you want glory and renewal in my eyes, I suggest you take me up on my offer. Borgarath nodded his head, weakly at first, but then stronger.

Borgarath was readying himself. He wondered if he'd ever be ready to tackle Ariac. His perfected battleaxe was on his bed along with his clothes, bedroll, armor, and as much food as he'd been able to get the past few days. He was hoping that he'd get through. The lord of the earth had given him a map, showing where Ariac was. Borgarath stuck on his armor, rolled his other things, attached the roll to his clothes, and walked outside, where a horse was provided. He mounted and rode down through the village. Feriag was standing at his door, and when Borgarath's horse trotted by, he saluted. Borgarath fumbled and managed to sort of salute back. Then he grabbed both the reins and slightly spurred his horse. They cantered steadily into the rising sun.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** September 17th, 2007, 9:51 pm

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ON THE FIE AND SHADE TEMPLES' BORDERLINE
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Like the sentinels, Sopheara was the mage leader of a group of female warriors. However, instead of maces they carried flaming axes and side-arm swords, usually for parrying or quick and lethal fighting. Some of them even had bows and a full quiver of charcoaled arrows - partially burned so that not only were they harder and less flimsy then with wood, but that they could also be located along with their hunted prey by their smell of burnt wood. Their heads were usually covered in oil, which partially filled the quiver, as they were lit before firing for added effect.

Sopheara was just like Rando remembered her from however many years ago: Red hair that just blazed and flamed to reflect her mood and emotion, dashing hazelnut-brown eyes, and flowing red robes; long, though thin enough for some melee work unlike what mages usually wear. She also wore thin leather gloves and boots that helped give the idea that if she was not carrying that shining, red expert training staff, she was a fighter rather then a mage. Her hunting knife and close-range dagger helped with that illusion.

When they went on adventures together (once in a blue moon), Sopheara was usually the better, but she would rather more train Rando in her methods and abilities then show off to him and make him look weak. In a way, she was even the main reason Rando was any good in the wilderness at all. She also learned a few things from Rando, like basic alchemics and a few useful tips his dad taught him. Between them both, Rando was the faster runner, but Sopheara was definitely the more agile; leaping into the air to get the drop upon enemies and using her full weight combined with her knife to bring them down.

Rando didn't recognize any of the highly-trained, light-armored blaze=soldiers accompanying her. Like her, they also had flaming red hair, mostly concealed under light-weight metal helmets. Red was usually the color of everyone's hair who lived there because, as Sopheara explained it, the light of the lava reflected off it in such a way that over the generations it turned the natural red so as to reflect rather then absorb it to prevent overheating. He only sort of understood it, but never really decided to care.

The sentinels' cart was now theirs. Would've been mean to just leave the horses stranded out there, so Sopheara and her warriors added it along with Rando and Mitzol to their party.

"So where are you girls going?"asked Rando, unable to resist adding a charming tone to his voice.

A couple of Sopheara's warriors giggled to themselves silently, but they were masked by Sopheara's response.

"We are heading back to the Fie Volcano after a hunting trip. You should check out the size of this Black Hythoan we have in our cart."

The Black Hythoan (Hi-th-own) was a strange-looking cross-mix between a bear, a boar, and a vulture. It was large and somewhat round, but long strong legs and a sharp beak make it lethal and dangerous. If one was able to dodge the beak, he (or she) would still have to get past both long frontal talon-like claws and dodge a kick from its rear hooves. Its fur was fairly thick, making it difficult for hunters to score a lethal blow by ranged weapon, and its hide had an impressive resistance to magic, making it the base material of the many types of anti-mage armor. Though tough and big, they weren't very rare, and were in fact encouraged to be hunted in fear they would diminish weaker and rarer species causing extinction.

The record size of Black Hythoan discovered and hunted currently stands at 9 feet long, 7 feet tall, and 1600 pounds. Sopheara's was pretty close to that.

"That thing must be 8 feet!" Rando shouted in surprise, "HOW in Wie's name did you kill it?"

"Let's just say it wasn't easy." Sopheara replied, rubbing her left forearm a bit.

The Black Hythoan was one of three, accompanied by some common boars, bears, and even an unlucky hawk, which hung by its talons by a string from the canopy. Rando quickly jumped off the cart, fearing that with his added weight, it would break down. The 4 strong-horses grunted for a second as he jumped, and then continued unhindered.

The soldiers walked in an orderly fashion, forming 3 lines with Rando and Sopheara in the front. Mitzol, happily trotting to the side, was apparently trying to get the horses to play with him, somewhat unaware that they were tethered and pulling carts.

"Come on! Let's run around! Wanna race? Let's race! Let's do something! Let's jump around! Who can jump the highest! Let's climb trees! Let's play hide and seek, or tag! Yeah, tag! Let's play tag!"

"Can 'e really clahmb trees?" Sopheara asked Rando.

"Unfortunately, yes." Rando replied, trying to keep the experience out of his mind.

"Hon, that's one impressive dragon, if yeh ask me." she complimented.

"Yeah." Rando replied, "Now if only he knew why he shouldn't ..."

"Speakin' of," Sopheara perked up, "Ah was prob'ly imaginin' it, but didn' 'e call yeh 'father' at some point?"

No need to hide the truth from Sopheara, he thought, "Yeah, he did. He wants me to be his father in replacement of his parents who, as he thinks, are 'sleeping'."

"Ah, yes."

"One thing strikes me as odd, though. When he was telling me about it, he said there was a white human there that probably caused it, and he did call sentinel's 'white humans'. If it was a sentinel, why would he be hunting a forbidden-to-hunt species?"

"Yeh, it WAS them tha' finalized the law after request from us." Sopheara replied, pondering, "Though why theh would defy it 's beyond me."

"Perhaps they had a motive."

"Wha sort of motive would theh have for killin' dragons?"

"Well, when I was in the forest with him, my firebox failed on me, so I asked him to breathe fire for me. But instead of fire, he let out this strange orange gas that sucked the nutrients out of everything in the campsite converting it to a desert-like state. I have no idea what happened to it all, but I'm thinking Mitzol might have absorbed it into him or something."

"... are you serious, hon?"

"Dead serious. Would I lie to you?"

"Only 'bout yoh crossbow skills, kiddo." she said with a hearty laugh, "Yeh honestly think yeh could hit a roden' at 600 feet? Crossbows don' even shoot that far!"

"I wasn't kidding! I've done it before! Measured it and everything!" Rando retaliated.

"Suuuure yeh did ..."

They spoke no more about it.

Karl 67 · **Posted:** September 18th, 2007, 5:11 pm

Night waited for a moment at the tree line before the charred field that lay before the Fie Volcano. Skyrate was wondering why Night wasn't moving.

"Is something wrong, Night?" Skyrate asked.

"Not really. As a leader, I need to worry about the ones whom I lead."

"What's your point then?"

"You know where the Infinos University is, right?"

"Yes. I went there before trying to find you."

"I want you to stay there with the other Shadows. The University will be a new meeting place for the remaining Shadows."

"Wait. Why do I have to leave?"

"Because this is a test for me as the first thing I must do as the Leader of Shadows. I want to be able to do it by myself if I ever want to look myself in the eye."

"Is that the only reason?" Skyrate asked after a few seconds.

"I also have this Shadow Stone, which allows Shade to keep in touch with me through the lockdown for some reason. If any Shadows stayed with me and we were attacked, the Shadows that may die around me won't be able to be revived until the Shadow Temple is re-built. The Infinos University is filled to the near-brim with talented and powerful magic-users. The Shadows themselves will be well-protected by not only their great skill, but also the skill that is rare among them."

"And that's magic." Skyrate finished.

"Yes." Night thought for a moment. "I sense that you can use magic as well."

"Not as much as what you can do." Skyrate replied. "I can use only a few spells. I see much greater magical potential in you than I could ever hope to reach. You also, if I'm not mistaken, mastered the three basic Shadow techniques within a week. That's pure talent right there."

"So you do understand, right? I need to do this alone because I don't want to risk the loss of brethren."

"I understand." At that, Skyrate disappeared using the Shadow Jump.

Night turned towards the Fie Volcano. "I doubt I can sneak in there, as the magma causes a natural light. There can't be any way that I can Blend in any way in there..."

He suddenly saw a group in the distance. Behind them was a cart filled with a few assorted animals, even one Night didn't recognise.

"Stupid idea which just might work." Night muttered. He disappeared into the shadow of the trees and attempted the Shadow Jump for himself.

...

Night nearly lost grip of the underside of the cart when the Shadow Jump ended for him. The horses suddenly exerted slightly more force. and caused a slight, seemingly meaningless commotion.

"Shoot." Night thought. He then dropped silently and crawled quickly with the cart.

"Did you something?" a female's voice said.

"Not really." a boy replied.

Night couldn't care to see who was among the group, since he was silently trying to keep up with the speed of the cart. Pretty soon, the cart made it to the top of the hill path that went right to the Entrance to the Volcano and ultimately, the Fire City.

"Nice kill. It doesn't beat the current record though..." One of the two guards said. Both were apparently males.

The cart started to move on and Night started crawling quickly while under it again. It wasn't long before the heat of the volcano started to engulf the party. Only harmlessly anyways. Night ironically liked the heat as well.

Pretty soon, the cart stoppwed and Night managed to blend into the shadow of a building. The lake of fire was mainly on one side of the city.

The whole city itself was littered with assorted torches, magma troughs, and quite a few natives of the Fire Temple, what with their red hair. Night also noticed that the majority of them were female.

Night made a low, yet unnoticeable whistle towards the women all over the place and moved on while in the shadows of red, stone buildings. He laughed to himself after realizing what he just did. At one point, Night even got into the shadow of another person and traveled with the large man while doing his best to be unnoticed.

By then, he succeeded and managed to find the inn. Night got into the shadow of the building and climbed up through a higher window from there.

"Man, this is tough..." Night muttered in exhaustion as he sat down in the vacant room.

There was sudden work being done on the door across the room. Night swore under his breath and rolled under the bed, blending into the shadows again. The shadow Blend didn't take energy anymore from him, it was mainly the fact that he used the Shadow Jump, crawled under a moving cart without being noticed, and moved across the city in the shadows of what few things casted shadows bold enough for him to hide in that left him very tired.

The door made an unlocking noise and opened...

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** September 18th, 2007, 7:40 pm

Skyrate appeared near Infinos.

"Though I don't want to disobey him I can't stay in one place doing nothing. I'll check in with the Shadows here and then find Timrak." Skyrate thought to himself as he approached the gateman.

"You again? I hope you know who you want to visit this time." the guard said.

"Yes, its me again. I'm here to visit a mage friend of mine, he doesn't like me using his name with other people. Besides, you couldn't keep me out last time so you might aswell let me in this time. If you're afraid i'll cause trouble here's my longsword." Skyrate said as he handed the guard his Light City Longsword. Even though he was a Shadow he was one of the few who could live in the Light City and actually partially worked for them. Noone in the Light city except for Jason know that he is really a Shadow.

"You may pass." The guard said as he took the sword and opened the gate. Skyrate smiled at the guard as he walked through the gate, this made the guard uneasy.

Having been there before, Skyrate didn't have much problem finding the room. He did have a bit of a problem finding Donoluth though. Donoluth was talking to some of the teachers at the university when Skyrate found him. Donoluth motioned to Skyrate to wait a minute and in a few minutes he finished the conversation with the teachers and he and Skyrate started talking as they walked back to the room.

"Did you find Night?" The Mage asked

"Yes, we talked and traveled awhile and then he dispatched me here to stay with the other Shadows." Skyrate replied

"Irwin left to do mapping, as you know, five of them went to do mercenary work for the Kingdom of Tallyar and two of them are somewhere around here." The mage replied as they reached the door and entered them.

"Hmm, seems like some of them are like me. I think i'll wander around and try to find them." Skyrate said going to the balcony and then looking back at the Mage "I would like to talk to you about a few things later though."

Skyrate then jumped up over the balcony and started climbing to the roof. If there was one thing Shadows knew how to do well, aside from fighting, it was climbing, for some reason or another all shadows have an innate ability to climb almost as good as a spider. When he reached the roof he saw two dark figures sitting down a few hundred feet away, these were the two shadows who were playing "Go Fish".

When he got closer he said "I've always wondered why we like heights so much."

The two shadows dropped their cards and instantly jumped up with their hands on their hilts. After a minute they relaxed when they saw that the man was Skyrate, who they'd met earlier.

"I thought you left to talk with the boss." One of them said sitting back down.

Skyrate came closer and sat down near them and replied "I did, he sent me back here to stay with you guys and keep you out of trouble."

"Trouble? Since when have we gotten into trouble?" The second shadow said jokingly to the first.

"Trouble? I hardly know the meaning of the word." The first replied.

"All young Shadows purposely get into mischief, I know I did." After a long pause and watching the two shadows play "Go Fish" Skyrate said "Do you know how many hundreds of games there are you can play with a deck of cards?"

The shadows looked at each other and then the first said "We know of rummy and go fish, didn't know you could play anything else."

"Hand me the deck and i'll teach you some." Skyrate said taking the deck and shuffling, he then began to deal and tell them about a game.

Karl 67 · **Posted:** September 20th, 2007, 6:22 pm

"I was wondering where you'd be hiding next." said a voice of one of the people that entered.

Night didn't say anything, just in case he was talking to someone else. Suddenly a light-infused sword cut through the bedsheets and mattress and impaled the ground an inch from the shadow's skull. Night rolled out from under the bed and slammed his sword into the way of another light-infused sword of a Sentinel. There were three of them altogether, according to Night's quick glance around the room.

"Just accept it. Your race is going down You'd best just join your people." The one closest to Night said.

"Pah, I prefer to be not like Ultima." Night said as he punched a clenched fist into the chest of the Sentinel. Light emitted from Night's hand and blasted the sentinel across the room.

The other two suddenly realized that they underestimated the shadow.

"You're their new leader. You can use magic." One said.

"It's an extremely rare trait, but still slightly common among a few. But yes, you are correct." Night pulled the Shadow Staff from nowhere and slammed one end into the face of one of the other two sentinels. The one Night whacked solidly hit the ground, lifelessly.

"You're mad." the third shouted as he attempted to attack Night.

"Mad? Not mad."

"What you're doing! This is madness!"

Night blocked the shot and stepped back. He pocketed the shadow staff again.

"Madness?" Night asked. The sentinel nodded slowly.

"THIS. IS. ELEMENTOPOLIS!"* Night screamed as slammed his foot into the sentinel's chest and watched as the sentinel smashed through the stone door.

Night then unfurled his phoenix wings and leaped out of the window. He then shot up towards the top of the volcano, shot out, and then flew off at a rapid pace.

-----

The three sentinels were all dead, save for the one who got blasted in the chest with the lightning spell.

"What happened here?" The innkeeper asked.

"We found their new Leader... He's young... UGH!" The innkeeper handed the Light warrior a beer. The sentinel downed it in one gulp, cleared his throat and continued.

"He's young... and powerful... I never experienced magic like that..." The sentinel lost consciousness soon afterwards.

The innkeeper was about to turn when the rest of the Sentinel squad arrived.

"What happened here?" the leader asked hurriedly, "We just saw a shadow fly out the window and escape before we could move an inch."

"According to him," the innkeeper replied, "That was the new Shadow Leader. He's a young and powerful one too."

"Powerful, eh? Too bad Lige's too busy to be His Godly self, otherwise he's be down here smiting that Leader until he stopped existing. Get them back to the Camp."

The Leader stormed out of the room. Deep down, he was furious. Not only was this the second time shadows have gotten away from him, but the Shadows have gotten a powerful Leader. The fact that the three Sentinels caught him by surprise and still managed to beat them down without getting scratched is something they shouldn't underestimate.

And this shadow could FLY! That's a slight rarity among shadows, as most of them came from the Earth and Fire, not as much the Wind and Water.

"This was merely a coincidence," he thought to himself, "There's no way a wind person could get this powerful by being raised by the Wind alone. Lige Himself told me that Shade has somehow used some power to anoint a new Leader not a week and a half ago... He couldn't have known much about the Wind if he was drafted..."

He turned towards his right-hand man.

"We'll need to pay a visit to the Wind Temple."

"The Wind? Why?"

"They have a haunted house which is what makes their tourism thrive. They said it was home to a famous Shadow. I have a hunch..."

"Well, we'll have to send a message to Guardian Manya, otherwise we won't have permission to search their town."

"Wait, you remember that boy that was with that cart that the Shadow was hiding under?"

"Yes. He looked like someone who could be a good runner, and probably from the Wind Temple to begin with. We could send him."

"Do that. I want to get that search started as quick as possible."

-----

OOC: *- reference to 300. I have a slight obsession with it, mind you.

Adbot · **Posted:** September 20th, 2007, 6:22 pm

Alex 43 · **Posted:** September 21st, 2007, 10:46 am

"Guardian, isn't life fascinating?"

"Hm? What makes you ask that, brother?"

"It's so unpredictable. Every mind, every consciousness, every soul to existence. All of them had differences. Different beliefs, customs, values, and strengths. None of them are the same. It's just amazing!"

"I would naturally agree. After all, the design is my own. I merely placed them into worlds of reality to become manipulated by unknown force and influence, and over time they evolved into something different. Essence. Essences of existence."

"Tell me, Guardian, what is life to you?"

"Life is precious to me, of course. Life is, as you said, unpredictable and fascinating, but at the same time it is moral. I feel there is a reason to everything - to every event, every passing, every change of season, and every influence created to change the living world completely around."

"That's very intriguing. I didn't think it had that much meaning to you."

"How about you, shadow? What is life to you?"

"Food, of course! I like them soaked in G-vinegar and roasted! Yum yum! The rotten and corrupted ones are the best. I savor them as much as I can."

"Yeah, I figured as much. You like nothing more then reigning death and snacking on your spoils."

"If I were you, I too would think it is interesting. I get to meet them first-hand and even fool them into thinking death is a better place. I love how they are just so content when I swallow them whole. Hee hee."

"You really ought to watch your weight, you know. You don't want to have to go on a diet."

"Hmm ... yeah, I guess you're right, as you always are."

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THE ENTRANCE TO FIE VOLCANO
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The Fie volcano wasn't nearly as tall as Mount Wie, but it still towered over them, blocking out the setting sun and casting the land around them in deep shadow. Unlike the Wie Mountain, the Fie Volcano was literally hollowed out to form a series of diverting tunnels and large housing dormitories. There were 5 levels - the top one actually on the surface. They were separated by a large central staircase that ran around a giant support pillar, as well as several smaller emergency stairways around the sides and inside buildings.

Inside the caverns, the building pillars stood tall. An eerie red glow illuminated the area, caused by several enclosed lava pools mirrored to reflect light in the surrounding areas. To where the lava-light couldn't reach, there were torches, crafting to be used either by magic or re-suplimenting fire-lighter to create a variety of colors so as to maintain an interesting environment. Bright light from more concentrated torches and lamps shone out of the many hollowed-out windows dotting the buildings here and there, and in addition, a high level of fog hovered over the populace to craft some very delicate light patterns in the air.

The level in which someone lived determined their status. The rich lived on the upper levels while the poor took refuge in the lower ones. The detail, keep, and craftsmanship of each floor reflected their ways of life. Entering the central pillar, Rando couldn't help but notice the poor quality of the buildings all around him. Boarded up, caved in, windows mere holes in the wall, and some feeble attempts at stonework but abandoned half-way through. The difference between the next floors was pretty clear - they were brighter, cleaner, less vandalized, and more well decorated. They were even more populated and active on the higher floors, giving the idea that there was more rich then poor people, and the economy was actually doing pretty good. Looking around, Rando even saw a number of dragons in a variety of species - some that walked around like humans and wore clothes, bring the average human size, some that walked on four legs, were giant, and were used for cargo-carrying, and even some tinier ones on leashes being guided by their know-it-all owners.

However, with wealth and luxury negates skill and ability, mused Rando, and he couldn't help but think that the 2nd floor was a lot better then the 3rd. Although poorer and in fewer numbers, the people there did move around a lot more, giving the illusion that there were several of them, but as he learned through experience in his town and hers, the richer one is, the less traveling they have to do. Only to an extent, of course.

"The drag'ns make up the majority of ahr males." said Sopheara, "Sometahmes we even begin to considah makin' the Light Temple discard the restrict'n of direct relations between the both of ahs and just let everyone 'have at'."

The fifth and final level housed buildings and markets with a large stone staircase that led to a sixth and indefinitely higher level - right up to the temple grounds and the base of the volcano's mouth. Rando had been inside twice, both times with Sopheara's invitation. It was very similar in layout, size, and construction method to the Wind Temple, and just as old. The only difference was the symbols all over the walls depicting the past events that shaped and changed the peoples of the elements through progressions alike. The Guardians of the temple still wrote on the walls, stooping down sometimes having a crew hollow the inside out or add onto it just to add some more wall to write on.

It was the staircase where Sopheara bid well to her warriors and cart of prey and escorted Rando up. Rando dismissed Mitzol to go look around and hopefully get himself lost with his own kind. Neither of them minded trudging up seemingly countless steps, and they made it to the top in continuous conversation, not even stopping for a breather. The large stone doors towered over them, impassable and impossible, but it wasn't their destination. Instead, they found sanctuary and privacy upon a stone bench over to the side, to which they unconsciously took to instantly.

"See, hon? Not manah people come up heah because it's a killah to climb up all these stairs."

"Indeed."

"So tell meh yoh story. Why were yeh out neah the Shadow Temple?"

"It's a long one."

"I ain't goin' anywhere, an' you know I love a good storeh."

"Alright, then. ... I turned 12 two days ago."

A pause.

"Well, tha' wasn't too long. Yoh obviously didn' want to be a temple Guardian, so yeh fled. So lahke yeu, kiddo."

"Yeah. I, uh, kinda shouted at my dad, ran back to my house, and I was so angry with him as well as myself that I grabbed my stuff, barred my door, leapt out my window, and took off while everyone was leaving the party."

"Dang, you wahlked out ah yoh own partah? Tha's cold."

"I know. I guess I just wasn't thinking."

Another pause. Sopheara looked Rando right in the eyes, more as a counselor then a cousin.

"Hon, we all make mistakes when presented with overwhelmin' situations. Weh put the prioriteh on ourselves, not everyone else. 'S human nature."

"But what could I have done? I wanted to be a scout, not a mage."

Yet another pause.

"Well ... wha not be both?"

Rando stared.

"What do you mea-"

An eruption of flames shot out from the ground only a few feet in front of them. They curled up for a second, and then shot back into the ground, revealing a small, thin, fidgety-looking humanoid dragon in tight, lightweight garments that wasn't there earlier. It looked from Sopheara to Rando with its large, innocent-looking beady eyes, and turned back again to Sopheara without missing a beat. He approached Sopheara as though she was a queen, tail twitching and claws fumbling for something in its leather pouch to the side, trying to get it out as quickly and smoothly as possible while at the same time not tearing it in half.

"Messa'e for yeh guest, m'lady." it said, bowing and offering a slip of parchment it finally gripped to Sopheara rather then Rando. Its voice was quick and unconfident, and accented like Sopheara's.

"Thanks, Vinny." replied Sopheara, taking it.

There was another burst of flame, and the dragon vanished.

"What did you mean by being both?" asked Rando.

"Vinny theh, he's a scout, too." replied Sopheara, "Though a little hypah sometahmes, he's a good one."

"But he teleported, didn't he?"

"Vinny is a Mage Scout. Not very common. Takes a lotta trainin'."

"A ... a MAGE scout?"

"Thas what I said. Wha, yeh didn't know yeh could do tha?"

"No, I ... I didn't. Well, that changes everything!"

"It's amazin' what a few minutes of sittin' down and talkin' about somethin' does. Of COURSE theh ah mage scouts. It's almost lahke a whole new class a' people. Theh learn special magics lahke teleportin', bodeh enchantmen's, even sense enhancehs."

"Wow ... and here I thought it was all about being as civil, tame, and intelligent as possible. I've really let everyone down over nothing ... but then I sort of wish he told me there was that option ..."

"Look, hun. I's not too late. You can still go bahk to yoh father. How is he, bah the weh?"

"He's good. Knowing him, he'll be thinking that I'll be back on my own."

"Yon go ahead and read that mess'ge now. Mus' be pretteh urgen' if Vinny had teh deliveh it."

Rando did. It wasn't very long. Just was a request to take a message from the Light Temple and head back to-

"The Wind Temple. I have to deliver a message to my father."

"Well, tha's quite convenien', isn' it'?"

"Yeah. ... you know what?" Rando stood up, a kind of accomplishment feeling flowing through him, "I WILL go back. I'll return, I'll apologize, I'll start my training as a Mage Scout, and everyone will forgive me. Everything will be fine."

Sopheara stood up as well, triumphant in her charismatic skills, "Tha's the spiri', Rando! Yeh go do that."

"Thanks, Sopheara. You're the greatest!"

"Ah, I know that already, hon."

Excitement and confidence brewing up inside him, he dashed down the steps, nearly tripping the whole way, and ran over to the meeting point on the 4th floor. Maybe he should've at least slowed down for Sopheara, but since she didn't even try to follow, she must have wanted to stay up there for a while. Still, it would've been gentlemanly to invite her for the walk. ... who was he kidding? Urgent message. Get there as fast as possible. He's a scout, he should know this.

"Rando Wie, reporting in." Rando said, dashing right up to the sentinels with a salute. No sense in concealing his identity anymore since he was heading home anyways. The last names of the Temple Guardians and their children always matched their correspondent Gods, just to be honorable.

Recovering from the sudden surprise of Rando's unnecessarily quick appearance, they told him about the episode in the bar and their conclusions derived from it as well as offering a scroll they already wrote up.

"You're going to be investigating that place? Wow, I totally want to watch you guys do this."

"I'll take it you've accepted our request."

"I'm heading back home anyways. It won't be a problem."

"Good. We will not be expecting a reply. This letter is merely for Guardian Manya's preparation that he will be having visitors. Off you go, now."

Taking the scroll and sticking it in his backpack, Rando raced for the stairs. He would've broken the record time for traveling throughout the city had Sopheara not stepped in the way.

"Aren't yeh forgettin' somethin'?"

Oh yeah. Mitzol.

"I just figured that since it was now- sorry, HE was now here with his own kind, he could find himself some real adoptive parents or something."

"Hon, you don't jus' bring a dragon heah and let im' walk around and hope tha' someone will adopt im'. E's your dragon. E's already decided it. You know the dragon's natural code, don' you?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't at that time." said Rando. It was natural for dragons to, should they lose theirs at a young enough age, select a parent and stick with them until death or maturity. Seeing as death would probably some sooner, it wasn't very good.

"Don' be irresponsible. Be honored. Dragon's don' normally accept humans as parents."

"Dragons also don't normally think that just because someone calls them a dragon that they now have a last name, but you're right." Rando said, accepting it, "Do you know where he is?"

"Nodda clue." she replied.

"Shouldn't be too hard to find, then." said Rando, taking off in another direction.

Sopheara just stood there and laughed to herself. Always on the move, that boy.

"Theh you ah, Soph." came a voice from behind.

"Hi, Mom." she replied.

"Remembah, yoh 18. Yeh call me Mistress Eprita, yeh heah?"

"Yes, Mistress Eprita."

___________________________________________________

Rando was now searching the third floor. So many tunnels, so many places a dragon could go. He was so exhausted from running and calling that he suddenly found himself in a fish stall, craving some lovely grilled fish.

"Three, please." said Rando, reaching for his pack.

"Comin' right up." replied the plump red-haired woman. Red hair and an accent. Must be the dragon's influence on the people.

"How's business?" asked Rando, naturally striking up sly conversation with one of the opposite gender.

"Amazin'. Sold sev'ral dozen fish-cakes this hour alone."

"I don't suppose you've seen a blue-scaled dragon around here, did you?" asked Rando. All the other dragons of this volcano had scale colors ranging from red to brown to black and everywhere in between, so it should be accurate enough.

"Yes, ah did. Poor thing, wha with 'is bandaged wing an' all. Went raht for mah garbage bags, and eat'n all the fish 'eads. Mental case, that one."

"Where did he go?"

"Ah, don' concern yohself with 'im."

"No, no, I'm curious. It's, uh, not every day I see a blue-scaled dragon around here."

"Ah, well, I dunno. Wen' tha' way. Should prob'ly ask the other stall owneh's. This teh go?"

"Yup, thanks."

After paying, Rando darted down through the marketplace, listening for something. Mitzol singing, shouting, talking ... he was noisy only when he wasn't supposed to be. What an annoying-

"Yo, Mark! Looki' this! Our Hythoan head garbage problem's tak'n care of!"

Rando quickened his pace.

_________________________________________________

"I'm glad I don't have to feed you now."

"This place has so many heads! I love it here! Is this heaven? Ma always said heaven tasted good."

"Yeah, me too, but we gotta go now."

"Where are we going? Are there heads there too?"

"We're going to my house. It's quite a distance from here."

"Ooh, are there heads there?"

"Yup." Wasn't a lie, the grocer always had to through away unused animal parts.

"Are there trees there?"

"Lots of them." Also true. The base of the mountain was covered in forest.

"And what about white people?"

"Not a single one." That ... well, he'll have to figure something out when they get there.

"Sound's good! Let's go!"

And he started singing.

NOW he sings, thought Rando.

_______________________________________________

"Yeh sure you don' wanna wait til' the sun's out again?" asked Eprita.

Sopheara's staff was alit and illuminating only up to the gate to the city as well as some of the bridge to the mainland. Night had fallen and the moon had risen, casting the land in a deep black. Rando and Mitzol was packed up and ready to go - Mitzol with a new strap ad bag for carrying food and provisions. They even took the time to cut the head off of Sopheara's newly hunted near-record Black Hythoan and shove it in as well. Sopheara stood there, saying her farewells to Rando, with Guardian Eprita standing behind her and observing their relation.

"Don't worry, I like to travel during the night. I'll go a distance, set up camp, take a powernap, and head off again. Urgent message, you know."

"Yoh dedication's inspirin'." complimented Sopheara, "Yeh take care, hon."

"See you again, Sopheara. See you, Guardian Eprita. I'll use the new abilities I learn to make sure it is soon."

"Yeh do that, kiddo."

And they were off. Cool, nighttime air, partially illuminating stars, no worries towards surviving wilderness (Rando DID remember to grab a new firebox) ... the only thing that would make it a lot better is if they were running. Getting Mitzol to run was perhaps the easiest thing to do with him.

"Race you there."

"Oh YOU'RE ON!"

And, side by side, they dashed though the night towards the place Rando had, for a while, thought he would never see again.

Karl 67 · **Posted:** September 21st, 2007, 3:26 pm

The castle of Tallyar was all peaceful and quiet, even though the typical guards there were on high alert for any signs of the enemy kingdom.

The rest of the army, however, envied the peace and quiet at the castle Tallyar. They were marching across the border and on towards the Castle of the Other Kingdom

The kingdom was literally called "Other", as in the one lost language that meant "Order", which in turn, was made up by people with the worst accents on the planet. Those people are more literate now, but that still call it "Other"

Amongst the cohorts, the five shadows blended into the shadows cast by the carts and the occasional crowd. They made sure that they couldn't be seen early by the enemy side.

The Castle Other was already propped with hundreds of guards and surrounded by an army of pikemen. Archers littered the area in the castle and outside the castle and swordsmen made the bulk of the outside defenses.

The archers of the Tallyar side fired their volley and watched as the swordsmen gottheir shields up and the pikemen get pelted. The archers in the castle fired their volley, but didn't score any hits.

Then the Tallyar Army charged. And then the Other Army charged.

Both collided and ensued war. The five Shadows got off early and regrouped. They then sneaked around and ran towards the castle. The three fire and two Earth Shadows morphed their capes correspondingly and used their abilities to fly up onto the battlements of the Castle Other, while the Earth Shadows slammed the huge elephant-like legs into the sides of the wall. Claws protruded out of the ends of the legs and dug deep into the wall. Both Shadows then started to climb up the wall, while slamming their "legs" into the wall, causing structural damage. They then started pulling stones out and smashed their way right into the castle fortress.

The three Fire shadows with their dragon wings used the pitch-black scales to block arrows and used their swords to cleave through the ranks of the people stationed on the battlements.

The three fire shadows saw a hold be smashed through the floor as a result of one of the Earth Shadows throwing a guy through said floor, causing said hole, and jumped down as well.

All five were reunited again and were at the ultimate advantage: It's next to impossible to take down a Shadow when he's in the shade and in close quarters at once.

Before the Other Soldiers could react, all five disappeared.

Half a second later, random soldiers suddenly got cleaved right through and occasionally splintered or crushed.

The Shadows liked fighting, but didn't kill unless ordered to by their paying "employee", or their leader. Both, of course, are optional.

The third option is if the enemy attacks first, which they did when they fired the second volley. The five shadows were among the crowd that was rained upon. Though they weren't damaged, they took that as direct attack and they could kill them whenever they wanted to.

The mysterious hand of death moved through the castle wall and tore through many of the defenses. The Earth Shadows even smashed holed through the base of the wall, allowing the rest of the army to pour into the inner castle yards.

The five burst into the courtyard and could be seen again. The two Earth Shadows took cover around a corner while the Fire Shadows used their wings as shields. They also took cover.

"We need a hole again." One Fire Shadow said.

"We're way ahead of you." An earth shadow said.

So they moved into the much-wanted hole in the wall, and blended into the shadows again...

-----

Night was in the Arctic Zone. His cape was folded around himself like an overcoat, keeping the heat in. His hood was up and his sword was unseeable. He wore a protective mask to block the blizzard that he was in.

"Hail Shade!" He shouted into the storm. He occasionally shouts that to see if any Shadows are around and go out to investigate.

"Any luck yet, Night?" Another shadow asked.

Night had already found two shadows. By luck too. They were both camping out in the cordillera two miles north-west from Mount Wie.

"Not yet. I suggest you guys go to the University of Infinos. It recently moved to the outskirts of Tallyar, I think that's the name anyways. I sent another shadow named Skyrate over there."

"That old geezer's over there?" The second asked.

"How old is he?" Night asked.

"He's a veteran and was rumored as being the advisor to our first Leader. He's way older than that though."

"So you don't know how old he is."

"We never really cared. He was a good guy anyways. I was surprised to see Ultima gain Leadership over Skyrate."

"Because Ultima was more powerful in magic."

"He's a bloody good swordsman too, that Ultima. He was just a greedy good-for-nothing !@#$% that got us in this whole Exile business in the first place."

"Anyways, we'll be off now. Hail Shade!" They saluted to Night and ran off towards the East.

"Hail Shade." Night called after them. He didn't have a sense of direction, unlike the two other shadows. Night was probably better off finding someplace to rest until the blizzard passed by. Either that or take refuge in one of the few cities that dotted the map in the Arctic Zone. The Shadows had a good resistance to cold, so Night thought they would be likely to be hanging around an area like the Arctic Zone.

-----

"How long has that boy been gone?" One Sentinel asked the squad leader.

"Two days now, we should be moving out as well."

"Why so soon?"

"They're faster than us, so we'll take longer to get there anyways. I find it to be more efficient if we follow them at a slower pace after giving them a head-start. We could get this Shadow Leader's possible info quicker this way."

"Ah. Understandable." The sentinel replied. He then turned towards the rest of the squad, which consisted of twenty-one members, including the leader.

"Alright, everyone. We're moving out towards the Wie Temple. By the time we get there, they should be prepared for our arrival."

They all stood, got into traveling formation and marched off away from the Fie Volcano.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** September 24th, 2007, 1:07 pm

-------------------------------------------------
Delteria
-------------------------------------------------

The next morning Marina went into the village to tend to the other sick and Timrak went with her. A disease, other then Sandronen, had recently come through the village also, fortunately it wasn't a fatal one. Maiko had gone out earlier that morning to hunt for his Breakfast.

"One thing that's been puzzling me," Timrak started as He and Marina were going to the next house "is how or why you and Maiko are so close, he treats you like he's your son and brother at the same time, didn't the Lige city put a restriction on that kind of a relationship?"

"Well, its a long story which I might could tell you when we get back to camp. The main part of it is that I found Maiko before the Light city had put that restriction out. Also Maiko and I don't live by any City's rules because we do not belong to any city. We travel between every city healing people, and we're generally welcomed everywhere." She explained

Timrak pondered what she had said. He'd heard stories of a healing group of people but he thought it was just a few clerics, not a young Elven girl and her Dragon. A few hours later Timrak and Marina returned to the camp where they found Maiko sleeping.

"Sleeping on the job?" She said with a giggle as she woke him up.

"Ye-awww-es." He said with a yawn "Have you gone to everyone in the village?"

"Everyone who was sick, the disease wasn't a very serious one." She said sitting down.

"Where will you two go next?" Timrak asked as he sat down and began to sharpen his sword.

"We have received word that a few other villages are also suffering from a sickness just like Sandronen. Its probably the same one but we'll go to one or two of the villages first. If it is Sandronen," she paused "then we'll have to discuss how we can best help re-balance the world." She finished with a sigh.

"What towns have been reported as having it?" Maiko asked

"Wentilnoch and the Kingdom of Tallyar." She said

"Tallyar? I'm surprised to hear that anyone there would need your help. They're known for having good Medics." Timrak said

"If it is Sandronen," Maiko said "then anyone can be hit by it, even the best cleric in the world."

"We'll go to Wentilnoch first, its only 10 miles or so away." Marina said as she started to pack up her gear.

-------------------------------------------------
Light city, Guard and army main discussion hall
-------------------------------------------------

"I'm sure you all know why we're here." An elderly man said as he sat down at the long table.

Nearly all the Captains of the Guard, including Jason, and almost all of the men of army ranks were there. Those that weren't there were most likely either at their posts or out looking for Shadows to capture.

"A few of us don't, Lord Mahalee." A tall, broad shouldered man said, he was one of the five Coriaunts of the Light army. A Coriaunt is the second highest rank in the army and one of the highest ranks in the city.

"Then I shall explain some." Mahalee said "We are here today to discuss the best course of action to take against the Shadows. We have received word that the Shadows are moving and that a new Leader has been appointed over them, a young but very strong one. Infinos, the great University that recently moved away from here, is harbouring them. We don't know if Infinos has anything to do with the Shadows or not, this is one thing we will discuss."

"The first matter of discussion is about their new leader." The man who spoke before said. "We know he's young and strong. He couldn't of gotten that strong by himself, Lige has told our priests that Shade has somehow communicated with him. Aside from that this new leader has learned old Shadow skills which one of the oldest Shadow warriors must have taught him, this is very bad news." his last words he spoke in a tone as if he was actually scared of this news. A few of the younger men there thought that the Coriaunt was a little scared of these recent events.

"We are not afraid of the Shadows' movements." Another of the Coriaunts said looking at the younger men "The reason my friend Kaldon spoke in such a tone is because we don't want our younger members to underestimate the power of the Shadows, like last time."

"That is correct. The only reason we still have the annoying Shadows is because many of our men underestimated the Shadows. We can't afford to let this happen again." Kaldon said

"Are you implying that we must make war against the Shadow temple again?" One of the army commanders asked. "We already have scout parties out day and night looking for all remaining Shadows."

"Though many people would die, another war might be the only way to completely destroy them."

"But what about the other Clans? If we start a war i'm sure a few of the other Clans will oppose it, the Eares atleast. We cannot afford to fight them and have Shadows backstabbing us." The commander of the 5th Battalion asked.

"We did it before, we can do it again." Kaldon said

"We had the Wie and Wate Clans helping us then, we would not survive against both Eare and the remnants of Shade, especially without the University's help." The first commander said

"I think he's right, Kaldon." A third Coriaunt said, his name was Regidye "We cannot start a war against the temple again. Scouting parties are the best we can do right now, but nothing is stopping us from increasing the amount of people in them and the amount of them we have out."

"You have a point there," The second Coriaunt said "we can increase the amount of people in each group and the amount of groups we send out without arousing many suspicions."

"And what about their new leader and this veteran who's teaching him?" The commander of the 27th Battalion asked. "It will be nearly impossible to find either of them, especially if they're together."

"We'll have to put some of the most skilled magi into the scout groups." Regidye said

"We know that their new leader is good with magic, he might have a cloaking spell on and we don't know which Veteran is still alive and teaching him, there were a few and most were good with magic, all except one which I doubt is still alive."

"And what shall we do for finding out if Infinos is a part of the Shadow regrouping?" Kaldon asked

"I think we should set spy groups around there." Zelnor said, he was the captain of the spys or 'informers' as they called them.

"Too dangerous." Mahalee said, he had been silent up till now because he usually let the Coriaunts do the talking. The only reason he was there was because by law one elder must be at every discussion. "We cannot afford to arouse a battle with Infinos, we all know they are much more powerful then us."

"We might could have some of our students do some investigating though." Kaldon said "We have quite a few students attending Infinos."

"That might work, but don't force them. If they don't want to help then we'll leave them be and investigate Infinos by other means." Regidye said

The discussion kept going on for a few hours but the significance of that part of the discussion is not very great.

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

"Should we intercept yet?"

"No, we don't need to intercept until the Lige Clan finds all the remaining Shadows and starts killing them."

"But that's what they're starting to do, won't it be too late once they find them all?"

"No, they won't find them before Night does. We're here to get rid of Sandronen not fight for one side alone."

"I want to fight someone."

"Then let's duel, let's see if you can beat me yet."

Karl 67 · **Posted:** September 29th, 2007, 5:22 pm

Night entered a city in the middle of the blizzard. It was a small town with a huge, translucent dome of ice covering the area. Night was thankful that the blizzard didn't get into the city, as he was starting to freeze himself.

He entered a nearby inn and looked around. The bartender was covered head to toe in a thick, warm fur. A single opening in it was where his eyes were.

"Hello. We don't normally get travelers here."

"I can see why." Night replied.

"What can I get you?"

"Got any tea?"

"Yep. We've got ourselves a load of warm drinks. Beer freezes you more easily, so we're not serving that during really cold weather."

"I'd like some tea then." Night finished. The bartender went into the back to heat up the kettle. It was all silent until the bartender returned with a teapot and cup in hand.

"Milk is to your right." The bartender said.

"Thanks."

"So what brings you here?" He asked, "I thought Shadows were in exile in Elementopolis.

"I'm looking for other Shadows. Since they have a better resistance to cold, I logically thought I could start searching here."

"Why are you searching for them?"

"If you know of any, I might tell you why." Night replied, gulping the tea almost instantly.

The Bartender thought for a moment. Then he turned towards a collection of tables.

"It's okay to come out now." He called.

Almost instantly, four Shadows materialized out of the shade of the tables. Night nearly fell over and accidentally spilled his tea.

"Hey Barkeep. He's our new leader." One shadow said, noticing Night's Shadow Staff

"Oh really?" He asked.

"Hand-picked by Shade Himself, eh?"

"Yep." Night replied.

They exchanged handshakes. The bartender filled up five cups, including Night's

"I thought you'd be older," another said.

"I thought you'd be elsewhere," Night retorted.

"It's okay. This city's cool with shadows. We've got quite a large group. We managed to find all of the Shadows we know of."

"How many of you are here?" Night asked, impressed.

"There are fifty-one of us in this city, Including the two Elites."

"You found Elites?!" Night nearly choked on his tea.

"Yep. They were the ones that built that dome around this town. After that, they just sleep in the shadow of the town hall. It's the only place big enough for them to Shadow Blend under."

"How about the others?"

"They just sleep on the roofs of all of the other houses. Like normal."

"Why do you guys sleep on roofs anyways?" Night asked.

"You must be a new Shadow. We always sleep on high places. Even though we had buildings in the Shadow City, we always slept high up onto the trees of the Shadow Forest. The leaves they bored were huge, thick, and couldn't come loose, even during the Winter. Since the Shadow Forest is dead, the Leaves just disappeared, leaving huge dead trunks that had bark too thick for hatchets to make marks in. That was the past though. What news does Shade bring us?"

"Shade's still in lockdown, but I can still access him with this Shadow Stone."

"There are only two of them and Ultima had both. Did you meet him?!"

"He and I fought, but he killed me with unexpected magic. Otherwise, I would've killed him. He left me with this Shadow Stone for some reason... Anyways, Shade revived me, trained me, and now I'm here to give you guys some orders.

"Oh really? What are they?" One asked.

"There are eleven other Shadows at the Infinos University, which recently moved to the Outskirts of Tallyar. One of them is out there in the world, mapping the whole entire thing. I trust him enough that he'll get it done. I want us to regroup at that university, and then we'll make future plans then."

"Sounds good, Sir."

"And I also get nervous when I'm being called an authority."

"Understandable. but we don't know your name."

Night sat for a second, wondering if he did introduce himself or not. He then nodded and introduced himself.

"I'm Night."

"Great to meet you, Night." a shadow said.

"Lets move out." Night said. Then all four others left to inform the others.

Night turned towards the bartender.

"Is that okay that I take back all of the Shadows?"

"They did great things for this town. It would be a shame that they had to leave. But if they don't get out of this whole exile deal, there won't be anymore shadows in the world. That, in my opinion, is a world I don't want to live in."

Night nodded his thanks and reached into his pouch to get money to pay for the tea.

"It's on the house. You'll need it during your campaign." The bartender said.

Night stood for a few seconds. Then he shook hands with the bartender.

"Thanks."

Alex 43 · **Posted:** October 4th, 2007, 10:25 am

There were a number of things that Rando didn't foresee during this trip. He didn't foresee himself getting lost, he didn't foresee himself getting in close relations with another species, he didn't foresee himself going to the fire temple, and he didn't foresee himself going back to deliver a note to his father with newfound purpose. Each one of these events came with their own level of surprise, some greater then others, some more expectant then others, and some more accepted then others.

But one thing that Rando definitely did not foresee himself doing, which came as an extraordinary level of surprise; something that he totally didn't see himself doing ...

Was singing along with Mitzol.

"Veraaha va evaraia von a va heralio-a he-ay hahlouhaa ..."

"It's hah-LOO-haa, Dad."

"Oh, sorry. What does that mean?"

"It's a direct representation to something in regards to wha-."

"No no, not 'that', the word hahloha?"

"Oh, that. It means 'watches'."

"Watches?"

"Yeah. 'Cometh the Great One, over thee the eye watches.'"

"Cool. Where did you learn that song?"

"It was a bedtime song. Mom knew several. Sure wish she'd wake up, then she could sing you some."

"Yeah ... me too ..."

The familiar Wie Mountain towered overhead, casting its ever-familiar morning shadow over the surrounding western forest. Several times over, Rando had explored that section of forest until he knew it inside and out, and could hunt there without relying on the aspect of luck to come home not empty-handed. He knew where the game lived, where they went through, what their daily routines and 'safe-paths' (not anymore) were, and how to escape should he get lost in some thick foliage. Unfortunately, since it was so familiar, Rando lost interest in it and instead began exploring the eastern forests to the extent that he felt he had completely lost his abilities to navigate the western one now. Perhaps it was simply because he hadn't entered it for a while.

Unlike the other mountains, the smaller, lonelier Mount Wie did not support a large snowy peak. It was simply a small glacier tip, more ice and rock then snow, that capped the Wind Temple. Rando understood that before the other mountains forms, Mount Wie stood alone - the tallest mountain in the entire region of Elementopolis. But after the war against the Earth temple so long ago, they sunk the mountain by forming larger ones behind it so they could access and fight there much more easily. In the end, the Wind won a ceasefire, and the war ended before it could be broken.

Rando hardly slept last night. He wondered how he would confront his dad once he set foot through those gates or, more importantly, how he would be confronted by him. 'Hi, Dad, sorry I left. I have a message for you.' sounded pretty tempting, but it didn't acknowledge the fact that Rando knew he was in trouble, making him sound senseless. "Look, before you say anything, I just want to say that I'm sorry for my immature behavior." was more of a forgiving edge - something Manya would expect from him. He stuck with that. He was in enough trouble as it was to be anything else but disciplined.

The walk up the side of the mountain seemed to take longer then it usually did. Rando was pretty sure it was not because the mountain stretched upward or because Mitzol was entertaining himself by sliding down the side ("That's a TREE, Mitzo- oww ... never mind."). He thought he was ready to come back, but the fear of what he would have to go through was holding him back. Each step seemed to just keep getting heavier and heavier, and Rando knew that at this rate he would probably fall over.

He dropped to his knees, catching his breath. He ran all the way to the mountain almost nonstop once they woke up. He was sore from excite, and carelessness left him just like that. He was all serious now. He will confront his dad, give him the message, tell him he's made his choice, and stick with it. There is no downside. All will be forgiven. Pressing down on his knee, he forced himself up and continued his long stride up with Mitzol hurrying behind him to catch up.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of forcing at his confidence, there stood the long-awaited gates. They were old and cracked in several places, but still plenty strong enough to withstand a basic ram. Fools to who would have to haul one up here, anyways.

Rando let out a quick whistle and the slow, uncaring Flaren poked his head out of the watchtower window, half-concealed in long, messy hair.

"Oi, Rando. Cud ye at least wait til' I've ad my tea teh return from yer adventures?"

"Sorry, Flaren. You know how I return on my own accord."

"Yeah, yeah, old' your horses."

The gate opened by the automatic wheel system activated at the pull of a lever. One would have to close it by hand, but it was a lot faster to do it that way. Rando hardly waited for the doors to part when he summoned all his remaining strength and bolted through the thin, exposed crack, leaving Mitzol to wait until the gate opened more. Flaren was a little too late to realize it.

"Hey, I think yeh forgot someth...ing ... Ran...do! ... ah, that kid can't sit still fer a sec. CemAAAHhn, yeh stubborn kettle! Boil!"

______________________________________

There he was, just standing outside the temple, looking at the large phoenix statue in the center of the entrance stairway. Rando could never tell if he was praying, meditating, or talking to the statue when he stood like that, because he was muttering something in some ancient language, but in a more serious and commanding tone of voice. It was almost as though he was disciplining the statue when he spoke to it. Was it that the Guardians had more power then the Gods themselves? Naaah.

Manya didn't turn when Rando entered the courtyard. No heads turned to stare, no crowd gathered behind him, waiting for this interesting moment. Someone he forgot the name of looked at him for a moment, smiled and nodded, and continued with his work. ... Jenna, that's what her name was. It was as though he was invisible to the town.

He was 2 feet away and stood there for nearly 10 minutes when he finally got the courage to speak.

"Hey, Dad."

Manya turned. Nothing had changed about him, either.

"Ah, Rando. Glad you're back. Listen, I got a job for you."

What?!?

"A ... a job?"

"Yeah. A mission. I was going to send Frederick, but now that you're here, I can send you instead."

Rando was shocked. He ran away from a traditional ceremony, barricaded his room, ran from home, and got lost for 3 days, and Manya is acting as though he never left!

What was going on?!?

"Uh, but Dad ..."

"Yes?"

"I ... I ran away. I disappointed you."

"... and?"

"Well ... aren't you going to lecture me? Discipline me?"

"Why would I do that? You're back, aren't you? In fact, you were only gone for 3 days. I expected you to have left for at least a month."

Rando was flabbergasted.

"You ... you EXPECTED me to run away?!?"

"Yes. You were so bent on your resolve that I knew that nothing I would say would change your mind, so I got you angry enough to actually run away so you could figure out what you wanted for yourself."

"You're saying it was all a part of a plan?"

"Well, of COURSE! Why else did you think I told Flaren to let you out of the town? Why else do you think I didn't send out any search parties? Why else do you think nobody was shocked and disappointed at the result of your birthday party? The next morning, I explained everything to them along with the reason why you had to do this for yourself. It was all a test - your first task as this temple's new Wind Mage."

Rando tried to speak, but couldn't. He did it again. Manya was ALWAYS able to make any situation he screwed up 'part of his plan'. HOW was he such a good thinker?

"Now then, what do you have to tell me from your experiences? Have you accepted this responsibility?"

A few deep breaths, Rando thought to himself.

"Yes, Dad. I have decided to become a Mage Scout. A combination of mage and scout."

Manya smiled.

"Good. Just as I hoped. Now, if you're not tired, I would-"

"Wait, wait, wait. If Mage Scouting was a profession you knew about, why didn't you just tell me I could do it in the first place?"

"Overconfidence, my boy. You wouldn't have taken being a Guardian seriously at that time. But now that you are of age and mature enough, starting this role would be perfect for you."

Well, that was that. All is forgiven, and Rando was going to learn the abilities of a Mage Scout.

Cool!

"So, will you accept this mission?"

"Yes, of course, Dad. But first, I have a message for you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's right ... no, it's not. ... oh blast, I left it in my backpack."

"Where's you're backpac-"

*CRASH*

A loud rap of plywood struck the rocky ground with a loud bang, accompanied by the noises made by several dozen metal containers all hitting said ground with similar effect almost simultaneously. Nobody heard the yell of surprise until after the inanimate objects made their say in the world.

"It's over there." Rando replied fairly casually.

Father and son rushed over to the metal-work stall, where Berald the Blacksmith worked. He was standing in the doorway holding a hammer, looking in shock at his product stall. The stall itself, now devoid of products, was collapsed from the weight of the dragon on top of it. Its face was stuck inside one of the pots, and it was swinging it around, trying to throw it off. Rando had to duck several times in an attempt to get close, but ultimately gave up and tried talking to him.

"Hey. Mitzol. Stop. Hold still!" Rando ordered.

"I don't have a still to hold!" his muffled voice replied, "Or do I? What's this in my claws? Is this a still? I'm holding it! My mouth forgot how to breathe again! HELP!"

"Windarium Sinato!" Manya called, brandishing his staff towards Mitzol's head. The jar popped off, revealing his soaked head.

"What happened?" Rando asked.

"The jar came off my head! It was like magic!"

"No, no, why was your head in the jar in the first place?"

"I saw a dragon inside and I tried to help him get out."

"You sure it wasn't just your own reflection?"

"Now that you mention it, it probably was."

Manya stared, half-bewildered, half-disgusted.

"Rando, what is this all about?"

"Sorry, Dad. This is Mitzol, a companion I picked up while being lost in the forest. He, er, likes me."

"Hey, Da-Rando. Who is this?"

"This is my Dad."

"Ooh. Hi, Dad!"

"No, MY dad."

"Hi, Dad!"

"No, this-"

Manya held up his hand to silence their argument. Ok, thought Rando, YOU give it a try, then.

"My name is Manya, the Wind Guardian." Manya introduced himself with a partial bow, "What is your name?"

"My name ... oh yeah! Mitzol. Mitzol the dragon! Isn't that such a cool last name? Rando gave it to me. He's my dad, but don't tell anyone, because it's a secret."

Manya looked at Rando. He looked embarrassedly at the ground.

"Dare I ask just what happened in the wilderness?" he asked.

"I found him and saved him several times from himself. He asked me if I would be his dad because his real ones are ... well, he doesn't even know. He was just so pitiful and I was so tired at the time that I couldn't say no."

Manya chuckles for a second. Rando looked up into his eyes.

"Well, on the one hand, I am a little bit ... puzzled by this strange predicament. Usually dragons don't announce such direct relations with humans because of their own natural laws and the laws of the Lige Temple. But on the other hand, you accepted responsibility over him, and that's not an easy thing to do, especially with a creature at this intelligence level and age."

"Age? How old is he?"

"I'd say about ... 4 years old."

Well, that explained everything. Dragons usually didn't leave their parents until 10. This one didn't receive the education from them that it should have because they were killed by what sounded like a sentinel.

He really DID feel sorry for him. Poor creature.

"You do, of course, realize what would happen if a sentinel found out." Manya warned.

"Yes, dad, I do." replied Rando, remembering the paralyzation spell from the Sentinel mage yesterday. He won't tell Manya about that. Not yet.

"Your message, then?"

"Yes. Mitzol, hold still a sec." Rando said, reaching for his backpack which was ties on Mitzol's back.

"I told you, I don't have any." he replied, somewhat annoyed at the requests.

He was about to detach the backpack when he was tackled from behind by something nearly half his size. Quickly-reacting, he was able to catch himself on the ground behind Mitzol and prevent Maloonia and himself from experiencing a wipe out.

"Rando! I missed you! I was so worried!" she said, not wanting to release Rando from her hug.

"Maloonia. It's nice to see you too."

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"Oh, I thought it would be fun to get captured by renegade sentinels and get rescued by beautiful women." Rando said, jokingly.

"Oh, you're so funny!" she said, finally releasing herself and striding over to Mitzol, "Ooh, and who's this?"

"That's Mitzol." Rando replied, watching her hug Mitzol's face in what looked like a death-grip.

"Aw, he's so cute!" she said in a more high-pitched voice then normal.

"You think EVERYTHING is cute." Rando retorted.

"Yeah, well he IS." she shot back.

Well, Rando thought, amidst his stupid-looking grins, mindless expressions, and tattered-up scales, his large, sparkling, innocent eyes DID make him feel good whenever he looked right into them.

"Ith thith yoh thisteh?" Mitzol said, lifting her up off the ground playfully. She held on, laughing with joy.

"Nope. Close, though." Rando said. It was true that they weren't related, but it almost seemed like it.

"Thee likth meh fayth." he replied.

With the both of them now distracted by each other, Rando nipped his backpack off of Mitzol, fished in it, and pulled out the message he received from the sentinel at the Fie Volcano. He handed it to Manya with and air of importance and the proudness of a job complete.

"Hmm ... ah ... oh, I see. That's interesting. The sentinels wish to investigate the Midnight House." said Manya.

"Yeah." replied Rando, "I think they wanted to find some connection to the shadows and learn of a few weaknesses and whereabouts."

"I would imagine they must be pretty brave." Manya commented, looking at a particular spot on the scroll, "Not even I dare to enter that place."

"No kidding. It's like it blows you backward when you approach it." Rando replied, nodding and looking out towards the abandoned shack. It had only one floor, but it was fairly tall regardless. The windows were either tinted or boarded up, making it impossible to tell what was inside.

"One thing's for sure, though." Rando continued, "If they do actually enter it, I want to check it out with them."

"Well, that depends if you can get back in time." Manya smiled.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you said you had a mission for me."

"Yup. I require your skills of exploration and adventure for this."

"Sounds like my kind of job."

"A few days ago, the Infinos University was lifted away from the Light Temple by several renegade Earth magi. It was said that the event was orchestrated by shadows."

Rando immediately lost interest in the Midnight House.

"It was rumored that it was places somewhere around the boundaries of the Tallyar region. Your mission is to locate it and give this message from me to the High Principal. And, if you can, see if you can figure out just what's going on with that place."

"Roger that." Rando accepted.

"Good." replied Manya.

__________________________________________________________

Prying Maloonia and Mitzol apart proved to be a challenge, but it was done and conquered with appreciating success. Rando restocked his backpack with supplies, taking his time with choice unlike last time. A good, well-ordered firebox (the one he purchased), some better crossbow bolts for his crossbow, a few emergency salted provisions, and several, more well-made tools. Before they left, they had a quick, hearty lunch of fish, vegetables, and, in Mitzol's case, left-over fish heads.

"Why, in the Lord Wie's name, do you only eat animal heads?" asked the fishmonger.

"They feel funny in my mouth. I like that. ... wait, what did you say about me being in Lord Wie's name?"

"Never mind."

"Why does everybody say that to me?"

Now, they both stood at the gate, waiting for Manya to actually give them the message so they could head straight for Tallyar. He came, striding down the stairs in their direction in long, proud steps. He certainly looked old, but in truth he was young at heart. Maloonia had already said her farewells (which involved her begging to come, but she was literally dragged away), and everyone gave their blessings. All that was left now was Manya's farewell. And his came with a gift.

"This is that staff I tossed to the ground." Rando said, taking the long, grey magical stick.

"And take this too." Manya offered, handing Rando a large book. "Beginners Guide to the Wind Magiks" was sprawled on its brown leather cover in large, dark grey letters. The pages had yellowed with age over the many years, but it still remained legible and readable.

"Let me guess, this is so I can start practicing the basics of magic while I'm out there."

"The best way to learn is to start with the book so you can learn the basic idea for yourself, and then it will be so much easier to teach you the more complex aspects." replied Manya.

"Thanks, Dad." Rando replied.

"Here's the message."

It was large. Rando thought that it would take him half an hour to read if he decided to break the seal out of curiosity. Best leave that until delivery. He shoved the book into his backpack and squeezed the message in beside it. Now, he felt, he looked like an adventurer.

"You both going to be OK?"

"I guess ... why do I have to take him with me, anyways?"

"Because he's your responsibility. Plus, this mission can only be regarded as dangerous. It would be good if you travelled with a companion. One that DIDN'T use a wooden sword."

Rando had thought about Maloonia, and how much she wanted to come. but as there were shadows and enemies afoot in that perimeter, he couldn't take care of her as well as Mitzol.

"I understand. Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. It's a learning experience. Be thankful that you are willing to put yourself in this situation."

"I am. Thanks. I'm off."

"Before you go, Rando, a word of advice. If you meet a shadow, don't attack them unless they attack you. Even though we were on opposite sides of the war, in secret the wind and the shadows were allies with each other. Why else do you think we have that non-aggression pact?"

"I understand. I never wanted to be killing shadows anyways." Rando replied, tightening his backpack.

"Wind-speed to you, and may Lord Wie follow in your tracks." Manya fare-welled.

"You too, Dad." replied Rando, making a quick salute and taking off. Mitzol, surprised at seeing his 'dad' run off, also took off to catch up.

Manya watched him dash through the gate and around the mountain. It was all downhill the mountain from there, and he would not want to stop running until he reached the bottom. And even then, he would want to keep on running, through the forests, picking out his own trails and detours, and ultimately make his way to Tallyar in record time.

And he smiled, not at anyone, but himself. That boy was going to make a fantastic Guardian of the Wind. He always was part of it.

________________________________________________

"Hey, Guardian. Wake up!"

"Hmm? What is it, brother?"

"I had a bad dream last night. It was scary."

"So why did I have to have been waken up too?"

"My dream. I dreamt that you died in your sleep and wouldn't wake up. It was horrible!"

"Ah, my brother, that is a dream that will never come true for as long as you live. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah ... yeah, you're right. What was I thinking."

"You were thinking I sleep. You know that's not true."

"Oh yeah. I sleep, not you. You just ... well, what do you do?"

"It's like a meditation. I focus my mind all over the universe, recording all this events and acting whenever I feel the need."

"Really? What do you do?"

"... how many times have I told you?"

"This will be the 17th. "

"Are you implying to me that you can't remember something if it is spoken to you 17 times, brother?"

"Of course not, Guardian, I just enjoy hearing it come from you."

"Thanks, I suppose. Ok, this is what happens. Should the forces of life become unbalanced, I will appear on the surface of the location, clothed in black and yellow. An existence, striving to protect, not fight against. I do not fight wars, I fight alongside them as an undefeatable soldier, casting away those that oppose my ability and the rebalancing of all."

"If that's the case, then why don't you fight alongside the shadows?"

"They are regrouping, brother. They do not need me just yet. They still have Shade, remember?"

"Oh yes. Shade. He's annoying."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, he's just so ... self-centered. He'll do anything to ensure that he and the shadows will not be bothered. Sometimes he'll even lie to his own kind with false, though believable truths."

"I dunno, brother. Though he is as you say, he isn't power-thirsty unlike his brother Lige is."

"Pah. Lige. Don't even mention that name to me, Guardian. He only says what he believes to be true, even though there is no proof of it. A complete opposite to Shade, who knows what he's talking about and has reason behind everything."

"Ok, I'll admit they're not my best, but they are still playing their part in the existence of reality. If the mortal beings can handle them, I'm certain that you can."

"Don't expect me to try."

"Anyways, go back to sleep. I shall awaken you if something interesting begins to happen."

"Yeah, OK. See you in a few years, Guardian."

"And no more bad dreams, OK? If it doesn't feel like truth, it isn't."

"I know, I know."

Karl 67 · **Posted:** October 4th, 2007, 6:56 pm

Two days of pure combat. the Other Army received reinforcements and have the Tallyar army outnumbered ten to one.

The five Shadows finally made it to the Throne room, but there were two problems:

The room was filled with elite guards, and the King wasn't there.

"Huh, now where's the fat guy we're meant to kill...?" an earth shadow muttered to himself. The five of them were blending behind a statue on the upper level of the Throne Room. Two guards were standing; alert, yet oblivious to the five "doom bringers" they stood in front of.

Unfortunately, the shadows not bringing doom to anyone because these certain guards were not attacking them and the intended target is missing on the scene altogether.

"The King needs to return here sometime, We recently searched the dungeon, so he can't be there." the other earth shadow replied, "Lets just be patient"

Screaming was heard from outside. Soon after the screaming, the earth shook from some powerful force. All of the guards had confused looks.

Suddenly, the roof of the castle was shaved off by a huge pitch-black warhammer. Shadow warriors burst into the room, cleaving through the guards that were in the other room. All of the elite guards attacked instinctively. At that, the other five shadows joined the mayhem to help their brethren.

The throne room was filled with shadows and dead bodies in seconds. The surprise attack was so intense and unexpected that none of the shadows received casualties.

"We heard you guys were fighting this place. We decided to help you out." the commanding officer of the new shadow group hailed to the other five.

"How'd you know of this?" a Fire shadow asked.

"Night told us. And just so you know, there are fifty-one shadows in our group, including two Elites. How many do you guys have?"

"Technically, nine. But Irwin is elsewhere and Night is searching for more of us."

"So there's sixty-one of us so far. Plus another two Night found before he found us."

"Correct... Wait, no. It would be sixty-two, not sixty-three." an earth shadow replied.

"There's also Skyrate."

"That old geezer's still kicking it? Huh! He's a good teacher. Wouldn't surprise me anyways if he still was kicking it." One laughed as they finished off the enemy forces.

"At this rate, we'll be out of exile in no time." Another cheered.

They all regrouped on top of the ruins that was the Other Castle. Both the Tallyar and Other armies were crushed. The Tallyar army crushed by the Others, and the Others by the Shadows. There was next to nothing left, save for a huge group of men dressed in black cloaks and capes.

"Where to now?" One Elite asked. His voice was deep and colossal and slightly shook the earth.

"The University. I doubt that Tallyar guy will pay us since his army's been crushed anyways. Not like we really wanted to get paid though."

The fifty-six shadows marched back to the Infinos University, where they know four other shadows and Skyrate will be waiting.

-----

The blizzard was over and Night could fly again. Since the shadows informed him that the entire arctic region was searched, he could go back to the temperate area and search further down from there.

Since the blizzard was over, Night could fly freely. After morphing his cape into phoenix wings, Night shot southward.

It wasn't long before Night could see the cordillera that bordered Elementopolis from the west. He did, however, spot a group of sentinels. He recognized them vaguely as the ones that attacked him earlier at the Fie Mountain.

He shot downwards into a tree quickly. He still kept an eye on the sentinel group.

It seemed that the group was moving towards the Wie Mountain. "I wonder why..." Night muttered to himself. He leaped from tree to tree cautiously towards the group as they marched on.

Four hours passed and the Sentinel group finally made it to the gate. All of them tired out from the climb.

"Ahoy. You guys mest be the sen'inels Manya told me about. Come on in." The gatekeeper said as the gates started to open again.

Night climbed over the wall and blended into the shadows. All the while watching the sentinels. The leader was talking to a townsperson.

"The Midnight house? Good luck getting in there. It's all the way on the far corner." the person said, pointing a thumb in the direction of it.

"Thank you." the leader said.

Night couldn't help get this feeling out of his head: He could've sworn that he heard the name "Midnight" before. What really got him curious was the fact that the Leader of the sentinel group looked familiar.

Either way, the sentinels want to search the house. If they want to search it, so should Night.

Night burst into a sprint towards the house. He started to run faster when a scream was heard. Someone had spotted him.

Night swore and leaped right towards the door. The door swung open as Night quickly flicked the doorknob around. He slammed the door shut afterwards and locked it.

"Where is he?" a sentinel's voice called out.

"Calm down, we've got him surrounded." The voice of the Leader said.

"In the Midnight mansion? How'd he not get thrown back?"

There was silence. Then loads of people started muttering. Most likely plans to take on the house and Night once he decided to leave.

During which time, Night had all the time in the world to find out why the sentinels wanted this house so much.

Everything was dusty. There cannot be a single thing that could pass the white glove test. Even the stuff inside a trunk was covered in a thin layer of dust.

The door suddenly started shaking.

"Open up, Shadow!" The Leader's voice boomed.

"How about I don't and say I did." Night retorted.

"..."

"No, seriously. How about I don't and say I did?"

"... Is that you, Night?"

Night was then the silent one.

"... If I was...?"

"You have to be. You and I are not affected by the enchantment."

"What enchantment."

"The one your father cast on this place before he died... my father as well."

Night suddenly got a recollection of memories.

"... Long time no see... brother." Night grinned as he said that. "I thought you just died four days later and rotted."

"Alas, you are mistaken. I never liked you shadow filth. Dad used to be one. You were an infant back then, but he and I argued over everything."

"Are you saying that you had those dragons and mysterious soldiers attack us and kill everyone?"

"No. Deep down, I loved Dad. I just hated his guts for being a shadow."

"And yet, you left me to rot after Mom let us escape! I WAS THREE YEARS OLD BACK THEN!"

Night and his brother began an argument on two sides of the door to the Midnight house. The sentinels all lined up outside the enchantment boundary, watching their Leader shout at the door, where Night was.

"And how is it that you survived anyways?"

"Ironically, I was picked up and raised by dragons."

"And that's a direct violation of Lige laws AND their own laws."

"Those dragons were already outcast from the rest of their kind. Why else would they be on this side of Elementopolis?"

"Open up and let us search this house! If you don't, I'll have to break the door myself!"

"You sure you want to do that? You're the elder son by four years. You'd be breaking up your only inheritance from Dad."

"IF what you say is true, then it's mine to break!"

"If that is the case, then the ownership of this house falls to me. I don't want this house door to be scratched, let alone broken in.

"Then let us duel. We'll duel and die just like I wanted you to do; except for the duel part."

"Very well, Day. Just let me finish searching this house."

"Fine!" The leader, named Day, stormed back to his cohort. The Wind Guardian walked up to him.

"You're a son of Midnight?" the Wind Guardian asked.

"Used to be. I feel insulted to be a son of him and a brother of that weakling."

"What about your brother?"

"Stubborn as he was when he was a bloody infant..." Day sat down, glaring at the Midnight house. "He did the exact same thing when he was two; albeit by accident."

-----

Night continued his search. More and more dusty things. Night then entered the studio.

Instead of dust, there was ash... but there was still dust. the ash looked fresh too. The source itself seemed to be a birdcage with a charred blanket.

Night threw the blanket off to see a rare sight.

A sleeping phoenix. It was alive, young, and well. Which was a really odd thing indeed. Phoenixes were immortal to age, but Night doubted that the phoenix had anything to eat ever since the incident fourteen years ago.

Night reached for the gate and slowly opened it. The phoenix woke up in shock and burst into flames. It calmed down almost instantly once it say Night. The flames stopped and the bird stared innocently at Night.

"Hello." Night said, semi-nervously.

The pheonix looked elsewhere and pecked on a plaque. night read it.

"Your name's Tregora." Night said, reading the plaque. The phoenix nodded.

"You remember me?" Night asked. The phoenix nodded again. "Because I don't..."

The phoenix pointed towards Night's shoulder. Night then allowed Tregora to grasp onto his shoulder like a pirate's parrot.

"Hurry up, Night!" Day's voice shouted out. Tregora seemed to recognize Day's voice as well and urged Night to see him. night walked back to the entrance room, took a deep breath, and then exited.

Day stood up, along with his cohort. By then, everyone in the tiny Wind Village was watching. Some gasped as they saw a Shadow warrior for the first time. But everyone gasped because there was a phoenix on the shadow's shoulder.

"Tregora's still alive, eh?" Day asked.

"She's standing on my shoulder, so yeah."

"I never liked fire either." Day muttered.

"Is there anything in this world that you DO like?" Night asked.

"Yeah, your blood staining my armor." Day retorted as he unsheathed his light-infused sword. Night nodded to Tregora and let her fly eastward.

"What was that?" Day said, pointing at Tregora's foot, which had a note attached.

Before anyone could do anything, Tregora shot off at hypersonic speeds like phoenixes were born to do.

Night then pulled out his own sword.

"You want to fight? Very well. Bear in mind that I received training from both Shade Himself and dragons."

"No wonder you beat those three back at the inn. Of course, I received extensive training for a longer time. I doubt you'd win anyways."

"Only one way to find out." Night replied and got into a fighter stance.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** October 10th, 2007, 7:58 pm

Once their gear was packed and on Maiko they walked to town and said their goodbyes. As they were getting ready to leave a little girl, only 4 years old or so, ran up to Marina yelling "Merna, Merna wait!"

"What is it, dear?" She asked the child

"I drawed you and Maiko, see." The little girl said as she held out a piece of paper to Marina. Marina was quite surprised at how well it resembled them, you couldn't tell that the picture had actually been drawn by a 4 year old girl.

"That's very good, Tilkia. Keep drawing people and I know you'll be the best artist in the world."

"You mean it?" Tilkia said excitedly

"Yes." She said handing the picture back.

"You keep it, i'll make another one." She said as she hugged Marina and then happily ran off.

Marina folded the picture and put it into one of her bags then helped Timrak onto Maiko. Once Timrak was situated Maiko picked up Marina and flew off to Wentillnoch.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Lige city Armory, Scout Wing
-----------------------------------------------------------

There are many wings to the Lige Armory and only two of them have arms or Armor, the others house the barracks and training areas of the many divisions of the Lige army. Unlike most armies which rely mainly on infantry and cavalry the Lige army also has a vast array of artillery, mainly catapults, ballistas, and trebuchets with only a handful of units called Gelthernills which fire heavy metal balls out of large steel pipes. (These require special powder which only the Eare's can mine and they don't sell it cheap.)

Talon, one of the Coriaunts, was giving instructions to the Head of the Scouting division to increase the amount and size of scouting parties and to add 3 mages to each group.

"Why do they want the number increased? If we increase it much more there won't be any protecting the city from sneak attacks."

"The Shadows are gathering and we must find them before they find each other, that is all I can say. We want especial concentration around the new Location of Infinos but don't go to close and don't let yourselves be seen."

"I'll put the best groups there." The Captain said as Talon walked off.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Infinos
-----------------------------------------------------------

"I didn't know there were so many games you could play with a deck of cards." One of the shadows said as he handed the cards back to Skyrate.

"There more then the ones i've showed you-" Skyrate stopped in mid-sentence "Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" The second shadow asked

"That." Skyrate said turning his head and looking as if he were day dreaming.

"Uhhh. I don't know what you're talking about, I only feel the wind and these annoyingly hot shingles. Why do they make shingles black anyways?"

"You can't feel it because your young." Skyrate said putting the deck down and standing up "I'm going to go look around."

"Alright, we'll be here."

Skyrate climbed down to the balcony then jumped down to a bridge one level down (There are many breeze ways like this in Infinos) then made his way to a balcony on the outside of Infinos. He jumped off this and then glided down to the ground outside the University.

"That felt like," He thought to himself "another Shadow. I know its not Irwin or one of the five that went to Tallyar for its too strong." He started looking in the woods infront of Infinos, the feeling started getting stronger as he came closer to some bigger trees. Looking around he couldn't see anyone but if it was a shadow he wouldn't see them.(Unless it was a very young one, but one that young would've been captured already by the Light city.)

"Now I know who that is, its one of my old students." He thought to himself as he walked closer to where he felt the person and then walked out of the shadow of the trees.

"Well if it isn't Skyrate." A voice said coming from the spot where Skyrate felt the person.

"I thought it was you." Skyrate said walking over and shaking hands with the speaker who was the Captain of the group of Shadows. "You never were very good at hiding your presence, but you're not who I originally felt. You've got a few companions eh?"

"55 Actually." He said motioning to the other Shadows that it was safe to show themselves.

"I didn't think there were that many of us left." Skyrate said looking at all the shadows, most of them he had seen before but he only actually knew a few.

"Night said we were grouping at the University, that's it over there right?"

"Yep i've just come from there."

"Won't we have some trouble getting in though? From what I remember they didn't like Shadows either." One of the shadows from the larger group asked

"You heard wrong then, Infinos is actually neutral. No element has control over it and anyone who has a racism issue has to control it or get punished. We should go inside and talk more when we meet up with the other Shadows."

"Don't worry about the guards," Skyrate said as they approached, none of them were hiding now.

"Oi, now how'd you get out there?" The guard asked

"I've gotten past you before and now you ask me how I do it? Would you rather me use this gate next time?"

"Humn, well who are they?" he asked looking at the Shadows.

"Friends of mine, you still have my sword and you know who i'm going to see. I'll make sure they don't make any trouble."

"Hmmph." The guard said as he opened the gate.

"I thought you said they were neutral?" One of the Shadows asked

"They are, but they still have to be careful who they let in."

They were able to get to the room where the other shadows were pretty easily since all the classes were in session, they only saw one teenaged boy who was late for his class.

Skyrate opened the door and the shadows went in, then he shut the door. Noone except the new shadows and Skyrate was in the room so Skyrate asked one of the 5 originals to go up to the roof and tell the two up there. Once the shadow came back accompanied by the other two the room was full of talk.

"Wow! So there's what? 60 Of us?" One of the shadows who had been on the roof said.

"63 In all," The Captain of the Shadows said "Night found two more before he found us, they should arrive here soon."

"That's amazing that Night was able to find so many. With so many Shadows we should have the temple back up in no time!"

"Many Shadows does help but that isn't nearly enough to re-create the Shadow City and rebuild the temple." Skyrate said "The light city knows we're gathering here and as everyone knows, the Lige followers will do nearly anything to carry out their god's will."

"We could get Eare and Fie to help, i'm sure they'd join us again." One of the Fire Shadows from the larger group said.

"Maybe, but I don't think Shade wants us to fight in another war, we would lose too many to have any chance at rebuilding our city. But we should wait for Night to return and any other shadows he might've found before we hold any counsels." Skyrate said

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

"Why do you have to be so good?"

"Because i'm older then you."

"But we're the same age."

"Hmm, you're right. Its because I train instead of scrying on people."

"Scry? I don't scry. I uhh, guard..."

"Sureee you do, I bet you can't stop watching them for a minute."

"I can too."

Silence.

"Is there going to be a war?"

"I told you."

"Told me what?"

"You can't even stop watching them for one minute."

"Ok, so maybe I can't. But will there be a war?"

"I cannot foresee, only Guardian knows. We merely keep balance in the world."

Alex 43 · **Posted:** January 7th, 2008, 9:58 pm

"Windariam Sonati- Sonatra ... no ... darn it, WHY doesn't this book tell you how to PRONOUNCE these terms?!?"

Two days of traveling brought Rando to a forest bordering the Tallyar region. He ran nearly 85% of the way, stopping only to let an exhausted Mitzol catch up. His wing had healed, and the bandaging was taken off, but Mitzol still complained of a sharp pain whenever he tried to flap it, so he didn't fly anywhere yet. Instead, he's been bounding and panting up a storm in an attempt to match Rando's speed, but he was just not agile enough.

Several times, he would shout for Rando to wait up, to which he was either too far away to hear or deafened by the rush of the wind. When Mitzol couldn't get his attention, he would slow down to a comfortable speed and just keep going until he met Rando further on when he stopped, either to rest or to hunt. But Mitzol would only get a few minutes to catch his breath when Rando was off again and he struggled to keep up.

"Why don't you wait for me?" he asked.

"You don't get stronger when you don't try. I don't want any son of mine to be lazy." Rando said, pretending he was Manya for a bit. It was strangely satisfying.

Now, they were in this thick forest, forced to keep the pace down to a steady walk. Unlike the bluish-green forest he encountered Mitzol in, and the black Shadow Forest, this forest was relatively normal. Large pine trees towered over them, hardly able to hide the sun, keeping the forest bright and navigable. The shrubbery wasn't very thick, but the trees were quite tight, and Rando was afraid that Mitzol would sooner or later get stuck.

That was why he was trying to teach himself a spell powerful enough to uproot a tree.

"Windarium ... no. Windar- ..." he attempted.

"Can I see?" asked Mitzol.

"Uh, sure." Rando said. He was lucky in the past.

Mitzol looked at the book for a few minutes.

"Turn the page." he said.

Rando looked at Mitzol for a sec. Perhaps he was onto something. He obeyed.

"I knew it!" Mitzol shouted triumphantly.

"What? What?" asked Rando.

"There ARE pictures in there!" Mitzol announced, and started prancing about, singing.

Rando froze, lost confidence in Mitzol, and turned the page back to the spell, trying to think back to when Manya used the spell himself the many times he did.

"Windarim ... Windaria ... darn. He DID say it, that time he pulled that jar off your head. Remember?"

"What? What jar? Where? WHERE? I HATE jars!"

"Two days ago. Your head was in a jar. Before it came off, my dad ... MINE, not yours, shouted something."

"He did. He did." Mitzol said over-dramatically.

"Do you remember what he said?"

"Yeah."

"... you do?"

"Nope!"

"Not at all?"

"Windarium Sinato! That's what he said."

"... really?"

"Not really, but it's a good guess. ... I give up. What's the answer?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Then why did you ask me if I didn't know?"

Rando picked up his staff. Well, failure never did anything horrible to him.

"Windarium Sinato!" he shouted, mimicking Mitzol's answer and waving his staff towards a target tree.

He felt something. Like a force building up and then suddenly leaving him, all in one spontaneous moment. Something large and invisible shot out from his hand, seemingly joining it to the staff, and the tip erupted into a distorted wave of air. The tree in front of him took a blast of air, blowing some of the leaves off, but otherwise, it didn't move.

"Aw, cool! How did you do that! Show me! Show me!" Mitzol begged, the happy, excited look back on his face. Rando was used to it be now, and chuckled to himself when he looked Mitzol in the eyes. He did it again, blowing the branches around in the explosion of air splattering invisibly against the merciless tree trunk. Once again, the tree was hardly damaged, but the excitement of creating the supernatural with nothing but words excited the both of them.

For hours, Rando practiced the spell, trying different accents, voice combinations, and volumes to produce interesting effects, and Mitzol never got bored with any of them. Knowing his father, he would probably have let Rando try it twice, and then move onto something completely different and, ninety percent of the time, boring. But he wasn't with his Dad right now, meaning he could do whatever he wanted. So he took one spell and practiced it for hours, casting it over and over again, sometimes at different targets, and sometimes pretending he was shooting it from his crossbow with over-dramatic effect.

Mitzol tried doing it himself, but it didn't work. Human and dragon magiks were foreign to each other.

"Sorry, Mitzol, it just won't work."

"Aw, that smells! Hey, what if you use yours on me?"

"That would just blast some air into your face."

"Oh ... DO IT! DO IT DO IT DO IT!"

"I'd rather not, you might get-"

"DO IT!"

Rando could swear he nearly flipped Mitzol over.

_______________________________________________

For a while, it seemed the entire trip would be uneventful. They haven't met anyone, haven't encountered any villages or farms, and they even rarely encountered wild game to shoot. Mitzol had finished up his supply of skulls and Rando, just about everything else. If he didn't find wild game soon, he would start getting worried.

Now, they were on the edge of the road, looking in towards the trees. It was one of the best positions to stealthily locate wildlife, when you weren't noisily rooting through trees.

And that is where this odd conversation took place:

"Mitzol, any sign of wild life?" he asked.

"No, only tree life." replied Mitzol.

"Ok, have you seen and rabbits or ... stuff that looks like rabbits?" he tried again.

"Where? Where?"

"Have YOU seen any?"

"Oh, no, I didn't, but I did see plenty of trees. In fact, I can still see them."

"We're looking for rabbits, Mitzol."

"I like looking for trees. It's easier. See? There's another one! And another-"

Rando sighed and shook his head. If he was going to ever progress, he would have to start doing something he never saw himself doing at any point in his life.

Educate Mitzol in the ways of the sane.

"Ok, come here. No, YOU, come here. Close to me."

Mitzol obeyed, thank Wie.

"Listen. How much food do we have?"

"There was a lot of fish at your home."

"How much food do WE have. Right now? Right here?"

"Oh, uh ... not much."

"Ok. What do we do if we don't have any food?"

"But we have SOME food."

"Ok, yes, but soon, that food will be eaten."

"By who?"

"By us."

"Can we? I'm hungry."

"After we finish talking, ok?"

"Ok, then shut up so we can eat."

"No, we need to talk first. I need to teach you something."

"Will it take long?"

"It won't if you stop asking questions."

"Ohhhhh! THAT'S how it works."

"Yes, Mitzol. Now, just pretend we don't have any food."

"That would be horrible!"

"I know, just be quiet for a minute. Pretend we don't have any food, and we need food. Where would we get it? ..."

"..."

"... Mitzol?"

"Ssh! I'm supposed to be quiet."

"You can answer my questions."

"But that's not being quiet."

"You're allowed to not be quiet when answering my questions."

"Ok, I think I got it. I have to be quiet when not answering your question and I have to not be quiet when I am."

"That's right, Mitzol. Doing that is called 'listening'."

"Neat!"

"Now, pretend we have run out of food. Where do we get more?"

"The fish stall."

"No. That's too far away. Pretend we are in the middle of nowhere. Where would we get food?"

"... um ... not the fish stall?"

"... OK, do you remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"We had no food at the time, am I right?"

"Yes! ... ooh, listening is fun!"

"So what did we do to get food to eat?"

"I know! I know! You found dead rabbits!"

"Exactly! When we run out of food, we look for more in the form of dead rabbits."

"Ohhh! Now I understan- wait, that wasn't a question! Oh no, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, you're still getting used to the idea."

"Oh good."

"Now, here's a trick. If we are ALMOST out of food, but not quite, we look for food anyways. Do you know why?"

"... um ... uh ... because dead rabbits are attracted to food and we will find them more?"

"No, because if we find food for ourselves even if we are not out of it, it would mean that we will NEVER run OUT of food."

"Aw, nice! You're so smart!"

"Thank you. So, do you remember what we were just doing?"

"Yeah, I was listening. I still am!"

"No, no, before that."

"We were looking for trees."

"No, we were looking for wild life."

"Trees are wild."

"Yes, they are, Mitzol, but you don't eat trees."

"How do we know? I've never tried any before."

"No, just ... don't try. When I say we are looking for 'wild life', I mean we are looking for things like rabbits, bears ... anything that runs around that we can eat."

"Oh! ... but that's hard! I haven't seen any yet. Looking for trees is much easier."

"Exactly. If we want food, we must do something hard. Everything comes at a price, Mitzol. Remember that."

"Ok. I can do that. I'm good at remembering. Remember how I remembered when we first met when you asked me to remember that? See? I remembered that you asked me if I remembered that!"

"Very good. So remember. When I saw we should look for wild life, I mean 'animals' and stuff we can eat. We are looking for ... uh ... heads. Heads still attached to the bodies. Not trees."

"Ok. I can do that."

"Good. Now, would you like to go look for some 'wild life'?"

"Sure!"

And that was done. Rando smiled to himself. That didn't take as long as he thought it would.

____________________________________________

Thanks to Mitzol's cooperation (finally!) and keen senses, Rando scored a few kills to eat when camping for the third night in a row. Nothing big, but at least they would be able to start rationing themselves effectively. Now, the sun was converting the horizon into a distant painting of several different colors, and the duo finished another long sprint and decided it was time to call it a day and continue towards Tallyar tomorrow.

"Tell me if you see a good place just off the road where we can camp." Rando commanded.

"How would I know it's a good place?"

"It would be a large spot where there aren't any trees."

"Oh, NOW you want me to look for trees!"

"No, I want you to look for NO trees in an area beside the road."

"Ok, I can do that. It's just as easy."

A sufficient spot was located a mile away. Although it made more sense to camp out in the forest, hidden from the main road, Rando always figured it was better to sleep somewhat in the open rather then out of view. He would rather take his chances with robbers rather than carnivores, especially in Hythoan territory. Besides, they haven't met anyone for 2 days, so why would they meet anyone now?

Rando pitched his new tent, larger and more sturdier, and could even fit Mitzol if it had to, but so far Rando was lucky. Mitzol took up the hobby of counting stars while sitting in the middle of the road while Rando prepared a fire to cook their kills.

"One, two, three, ... uh, what's after 3 again?" Mitzol asked. His eyes reflected the firelight, making him look menacing.

"Four." replied Rando.

"Oh yeah. Four, five, ... where was I?"

"Five."

"Thanks. Six, seven, eight, ten, eleve-"

"Nine, Mitzol."

"But I'm on eleven!"

"No, you forgot nine."

"Really? Where?"

"Between eight and ten."

"Oh yeah. Eight ... NINE ... ten ... wait, where was I from there? Shoot, I have to start over. One ... two ... three ... four ... ... four ... darn, I knew it, but I forgot it. What's after four again, Dad? ... Dad?"

Rando wasn't paying attention to Mitzol. Instead, it was diverted over towards the distant road. Something was approaching them at high velocity, sending up a cloud of dust in its wake. Whatever it was, Rando felt it better to be safe then sorry.

"Mitzol, get out of the way." Rando commanded, stepping back from the road.

"But I'm not in your way. You're going the other way." Mitzol argued.

"No, get off the road for a minute."

"But I'm already at three."

"No! Look out!"

"What-"

*WHAP!*

The high velocity something splattered onto Mitzol's face as he turned to look where Rando was pointing. It was small and red, but Rando was unable to completely distinguish its species because Mitzol was shaking his head around, trying to get it off.

"I found a wild-life, Rando!" Mitzol said triumphantly.

His crossbow in one hand for safety measure, Rando approached Mitzol and instructed him to stay still, which he obeyed (it involved the mention of 'pretending he was an ice cube') and almost literally peeled the small humanoid dragon off his face. It was shaken and confused, but otherwise OK, but Rando still held onto his crossbow until he finally recognized the dragon to be who Sopheara called Vinny, the dragonoid mage-scout who inspired Rando to return to his father in the first place.

"You should watch where you're going." Rando advised, straightening the little dragon's tight robes out.

"Ee shoul' watch where ee's sitting, m'lord." replied Vinny, his accent, for some reason, not reminding him of Sopheara's, "S'pposed to be open road this time a' day."

"Are you going to be all right? You're not hurt anywhere?" Rando offered.

"Nah, I'm good." Vinny replied, "Shoul' be fine distance now, anyways."

"For what?" Rando was curious. Mitzol, on the other hand, was counting stars again.

"Shor'-range teleport, o' course." replied Vinny, "M'lady don' like me usin' drag'n teleport magiks, so I'm restricted teh using them old fashioned block-spells to teleport. Bit ova pain, really."

Rando knew what block-spells were. Stones enchanted with previously summoned spells cast in such a way that it was encased inside a rock, slab, or solid, sturdy object along with a containment spell. To release the spell, one would simply say a certain word that unleashes the containment spell and thereby allows the main spell to be cast. Such a containment spell was so simple to use that literally anyone and anything with the ability to speak or sound words out could use it. Sometimes if a mage was down on his luck, he could easily just make a bunch of spell-blocks, write the containment spell directly on the rock and then sell it to the public.

"Why doesn't Sopheara let you use dragon teleportation magiks?"

"Thinks der unreliable and does bad things teh magically-sealed packages- wait, how d'yeh know m'lady? ... ooh, ah know now, yer that cousin of er's! I recognize yeh now."

"Yup. What did she call you back then? 'Vinny'?" Rando held in a laugh.

Vinny was not amused, "Name's Vint, bu' she calls me Vinny. Yeh call me Vint, though, 'kay?"

"Sure." Rando liked 'Vint' better, anyways.

"Right, thanks fer stoppin' me, but I gotta go now." Vint said, reaching into a pocket, then another, then felt around his robe for a bit, and then went into a full boy search that gave the impression that he just wasn't able to find what he was looking for.

"Wherezit? Wherezit? Wherezit? AH, FOR FIE'S SAKE!"

It then burst into a swear-fest, which Rando hopes Mitzol wouldn't decide to follow.

"You ... lost your teleportation block-spe-"

"NO, I didn' 'lose it. I jus' FERGOT IT, THA'S ALL!" it shouted, unable to control its rage or the volume of its voice, "FIE, what am I s'pposed t' do NOW?"

"Retrace your steps?"

"When yer' in a blind run half the time, that ain't easy teh do." it replied.

"Ok, don't panic. Let's think of some options here." Rando offered. He quickly glanced over to see how Mitzol was doing and was, for some reason, pleased to see it had dosed off and fell asleep in the middle of the road.

"Wha' options? I fergot my block-spell home, an' have no idea which way it is. What CAN ah do?" it asked.

"Well ... can't you use a dragon teleport just this once? Seeing as the situation demands it?"

Vint hesitated, "Uh ... no."

"Why not? Are you carrying an important package?"

"No, ah got nothin' but mah robes."

"Then you can use a teleport."

Another pause. "Uh ... ah ... ah can't. Jus ... can't."

Rando saw where this was going, "Because you actually can't use it because of insufficient training."

Vint looked at his feet in shame, "... yeah. Ah can't teleport on mah own. No matter how hard I try, I jus can't do it. Yeh realize how embarrasin' it is teh be a mage-scout, bu' can't teleport?"

Rando bit his lip, "Yeah, I can imagine ..."

"Wha' bout yer friend? Y'mind lettin' me borrow 'im and we fly there?" it said.

"Um ... hmm, yeah, that's actually a pretty good-" Rando began, but hesitated.

Rando thought for a moment. Indeed, Mitzol's wing was healed by now, and if he needed to, he could fly. In fact, he probably should have been flying with Mitzol the whole time and then they would have gotten there a lot faster then by running. Darn, thought Rando, why didn't I think of that before?

... oh yeah. He just remembered that this was MITZOL he was referring to. The reason why he didn't decide to fly him was because of the risk. For something that didn't even know when to hunt for food unless taught the basic concept, he was almost afraid to try riding him thousands of feet in the air for the fear that he would become distracted or just decide to pull off a manouver that would send Rando falling, and no matter how he shouted for Mitzol to catch him, Mitzol would most likely try to teach HIM to fly as he pummeled to his inevitable-

"No, bad idea." he said, and was surprised to hear Vint say it at the same time.

"Why do you think that?" Rando was the first to speak.

"I recognize that one too. Ee's the one tha' made a big mess 'round town while singin' "Ode to a Daylight Candlelight". Any sort of drag'n does that in public deserv's a scoldin', but nasty. Must be mad insane t' do't in the first place."

"Don't you have any wings?" Rando asked.

"Nup." Vint replied, as though the question was a popular one, "Ain't born with 'em. Why else yeh think I teleport an' run places?"

Rando thought some more. His fire was going out and darkness was beginning to drown the lingering sunlight.

"Sorry, I'm out of ideas." Rando said, giving up.

"Well, ahm stuck, then." Vint announced, giving up as well.

"Ok, look." said Rando, getting one more desperate idea, "Mitzol and I are heading to the Infinos University. If you tag along with us, we can get you a teleport block-spell from there or at least a map back that you can follow. How does that sound?"

"I gotta geh' back as soon as ah can." he replied, somewhat in a panic.

"Well, what other choice do you have? To me, I think this is the fastest way, and certainly less risky."

Another pause. Vint pondered it, then approached Rando and bowed low to him.

"Very well, I accept and thank you for your assistance, m'lord." it said gratefully.

"You can call me Rando." Rando replied. The last thing he needed was a second dragon who regarded him in high status.