The Forbidden Art

"Something... Big?" She pondered then sighed, "I'd feel safer around them if you're nearby, to be honest..."

"I'd feel safer around them if you're nearby, to be honest..."
"Dont worry about that." Azirak laughed. "Im sleeping in a tree too. Ill be a few metres away."

She nodded then picked a tree she could tell was strudy enough for her and curled up somewhere in it's branches. falling sleep, unable to wake 'till the morn.

Azirak quickly turned into his energy form, and shot to the top of another tree, curling up somewhere inside it. HE was asleep in seconds.
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Darkness.
Some called Secarion a city of light, but they had never looked at the underbelly of the city, where people lived their lives in darkness, ignored by those higher than them. Left to die like animals.
Maybe they would have cared a little more, if they knew what was going on underneath one of the houses.
If you were to go down into it, you would see two Dynari. One was a young and inexperienced lieutenant in the Kyren, a rising man.
____________________
Azirak turned in his sleep, moaning about something. Above him, the storm began to become more violent.
_______________________________________
"Hello?"
One of these sat on a chair, his arms tied behind his back, terror in his eyes.
"HELLO?!?!"
The other man stepped forward, a smile on his face.
"Glad to see me?"
The man on the chairs eyes turned from confusion, to outright terror.
"Y….you?"
"In the flesh. Thought you could get away with it?"
"Get…away with what?"
_____________________
Azirak gave a pathetic whimper, and a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, exploding mere metres from where the rest of the rest of the group were.
_____________________


The second man snapped his fingers, and a bolt of lightning hit the man in the leg, causing him to scream in pain.
"You think I am fucking joking?"
"You…have no idea…" the tied man said, dropping his act. "That bitch…you can do better than her…you are a rising man in the Kyren…give you a few decades and you could be commander…"
His speech was cut off, as he received a fist to his face, breaking his nose like it was glass.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU HAVE NO IDEA!" He said, kicking his captive again, causing him to fall to the floor.
"Ha…" The tied man said again, his mouth filling with blood. "You wouldn’t dare…you know who my uncle is…kill me and you will be in pieces before the end of the week. They will hang your organs on decorations…they will make you beg for death before the…"
He didn’t finish again, as his captor held him by the neck, and smiled.
"Ill take my chances." He said, as he ran energy though his fingers, and running into his captives body. The man screamed as his clothes and hair caught fire, and his captor gave a laugh of glee.
The captive concinued screaming, trying to put the fire in any way possible, but unable to do so as it fed on his body, burning him to ash. Dynari are hard to kill, as the constant energy current in their bodies can keep them alive while they heal, but the downside to this, is that when you are dying slowly, you stay alive for much longer…
The captor knew this. He was trained in it. And he was never wrong.
As the man died, and the captor looked into the flames, he laughed.
And in the reflection of the dead mans blood, Azirak Dynari laughed back.
____________
Azirak screamed, a single piercing cry that drilled into the heart of any who heard it. Lightning bolts were falling from the sky like rain now, obliterating anything they touched.
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He slept, and he imagined.
"did they know? Maybe…or maybe not…you know Azirak…why would they promote you to captain…did they feel sorry for you…or maybe…you always wondered…captain…the lowest rank for a kyren to be sent on a mission to lore…all your friends in the kyren…how respected you are…who would they side with…all the chosen…how powerful they are…why would they harm the Dynari…who thought they would…and their power…why…only one kyren against the whole chosen…too few…why...how would I complete that…

The answer came to Azirak in a instant, in the depths of his mind.

"They don’t want me to."

The Naelashi awoke to a storm and gulped, "Wow... He wasn't kidding..." She muttered to herself. Her calmness was met with worry as she turned to see what she thought was Azirak wrapped in a nightmare... She picked her way through the trees towards him and looked at him, "Azirak! You alright!?"

"It’s a suicide mission…they cant kill you…you are too well connected…riots will break out if you are executed…but if…the chosen were to kill you…no one would bat an eyelid…never mind…all the innocents who might die in the crossfire…just as long as the kyren get their man…

Azirak whimpered again, then let out one final scream, throwing himself back into conciousness. As he woke up, the storm subsided, as suddenly as it had escalated.
Gasping, he looked around, and found himself looking into the eyes of the Naelashi. Even in his shocked and terrified state, he couldn’t resist making a stupid comment.
"Im sorry, did I wake you up?"

The night before, after the girl had flopped down and asked for a place to stay, Vonton had gotten up left the camp and the roasting squirrel to her and went on his way with nothing more then “It`s yours!” He had picked up the gemstones before he left, but there still might have been one or two stray ones rolling around the camp. Why had he given her the camp? He didn`t even know her name!

He had written it off to his depressed state. He had spent the rest of the night traveling to Smog. Close to dawn he had been attacked by muggers, at first when he saw a warrior come in the distance he thought he might be coming to aid him, but in truth it was a paladin who saw his runes, and began to thrash him with his sword. His hood had been ripped, his armor ripped apart, and his pants torn and shredded.


He had one large gash no his face, a scratch on the back of his head, gashes on his chest, arms and legs He had managed to run away but not before losing blood. He had found his way into the cave, and into the city. The main platforms to the city had all crumbled away.

He had used a small series of tunnels that had once been used as a sort of express lane. It took all his will power, and tolerance of pain and dizziness to make it to the bedroom in his uncle’s home before passing out on the bed, and dropping his bags of runes on the floor.

"Not at all," Marneila said with a little giggle, "Very few things can wake me... but it looked like you weren't having a good dream..." She hugged him again, "Do you want to talk about it?"

June slowly woke up. That was such a crazy night. She practically crawled over to her shoes and put them on. Off in the woods was a squirrel the man had left to cook for her. It was a nice gift but kind-of creepy. She didn't want to eat it and it would be wierd to try and sleep knowing it was just there watching you, so June had thrown it as far as she could as soon as he turned his back.

Now that she thought about it, he didn't seem as bad of a person as she thought. Maybe she should find him and thank him for all he did. After all, he did save her life. As soon as she got up and made her decision, June could hear some of the mana-phobes from before shouting something.

"I got 'em! I caught the raven!" Jeez, did these guys spend the entire night looking for her?

"Wait, nevermind. It's just another stupid rock!" Apparently, they had been looking for her all night.

She picked up her hand mirror. The guy who helped had some kind of special gems with him, didn't he? It took only a moment to detect where he was. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be a sizable mirror along the route to wherever he was. Trying to be as cautious as possible, June slipped out of the forrest.

It seemed to take hours to get there. While her ability to track reflective objects was quite accurite, it seemed like she had severely misjudged the distance.

After finally making it there, June barged in. The man had horrible, bloody wounds over his body. Suddenly, June noticed the trail of blood on the floor where he had dragged himself onto the bed. Maybe if she was carefull, June could steal his gems an- no! She pushed the thought out of her head.

June just stood over him for a while, hoping he would come through. Unsure what to really do, she slowly stuck her ear twords his mouth to try and feel if he was still breathing until thier heads were less than an inch away from each other.

Falks was breathing heavy after three hours of climbing the mountain. He had managed to find a beaten down path that was level enough for him to walk on. The entire time he kept his hands ready to draw his swords should he be acosted. He looked up to see the full moon in all it's glory. By it's position, he judged the time to be around half past midnight, and his location to be about three fourths of the way from the village.
snap
Falks spun around to find Cee standing there, a grimace on his face.
"It's done." He slid the bag of his shoulder and handed it to Falks. "How were you sure that kid wouldn't just forget about your message and keep the money?"
"Let's just say Fate works in mysterious ways." Falks said with a bit of a grin. "The villagers ready?"
"Pfft. Villagers?" Cee scoffed. "These people are more than that. The talk you gave them a few days ago pushed them beyond that. Within hours at least five different towns had formed their own militias. Years of hard work and determination have made these people the warriors they deserve to be called, and each one is at your command." Cee said as he bowed slightly and the pair was instantly surrounded by a hundred warriors who all poured out from the forest.

There were archers, swordsmen, rogues, all them clad in armor, granted it all mismatched and looked cobbled together, but Falks could see fire in the eyes of everyone of them... the fire to save their world. The crowd that surrounded him and filled the fores began to part ways. A massive chest carried by two men was brought forth, followed by a man with a massive hammer who appeared to be a blacksmith.
"Milord..." He bowed the same as Cee, then went to unbuckling the chest. "Your requested armor." He moved to the side and Falks peered in. He ran his hand across the shiny surface of the golden knight's armor. He picked up the helm and tested it's weight. "Nicely done. I will make sure to wear it proudly."

The group parted once more, this time on the other side. A man walked forward and Falks recognized him to be the rather short and old blacksmith that he had bought his armor and swords from. He was carrying a very familiar sword and shield, the wrappings on the sword hanging loosely from the tip.

"It was the strangest thing. I was working in the lava flow deep below the village, when lo and behold, a sword and shield magicly come popping up out of nowhere. I remembered you saying something losing a weapon that was dear to you when you came into my shop and thought maaaybe, just maaybe it was yours." He held the items aloft and Falks took them, a wide smile on his face.
"Thank you my good sir. You have returned something very dear to me that I was foolish to throw away." Then there was the final piece of the puzzle. The clip clop of hooves echoed up the beaten mountain path and a horse came into view. Who was riding it, but the alchemist who had the created the concotion that had allowed Falks to protect his friends. The horsed was armored in gold, just the same as the armor the blacksmith had made him and his cherished broadsword. "For you, lord Falks. The finest steed in the land, just as you asked." He hopped down and Cee ran his fingers through the animal's coat. Falks turned back to the crowd.
"You shall all be reward for your courage!" He shouted in a commanding voice. "Your descendants will talk of the day their parents saved the world from true destruction!" His word word were met with incredibly loud cheers. He turned to Cee. "My friends are at the base of the mountain. Take six men and escort them up. Our plan is in motion, old friend." Falks said with a grin as he clapped Cee on the shoulder.

Azirak took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. He was surprised when the Naeleshi hugged him, but he certainly wasnt ungrateful for it.
"I...no...it was just a bad dream...im sorry."

It was morning by the time Cee and the group of soldiers were at the camp. Some time during the journey he had chnaged into some interesting stone armor, abandoning his jumpsuit in the woods. He held his hand up to signal for his men to wait, then walked over to where Kailyn and Drake were. "It is time..."

She smiled and let him go, "What... do you plan to do now?"

Azirak thought.
"I...dont know. If i go to sleep and have another nightmare, ill raze this whole area to the ground. Maybe i should just leave..."
As he said that, he noticed a group of humans, led by a man in stone armour. Putting this knowldge to what he had heard in the meeting, he smiled.
"Actually...maybe there is something else for me to do."

She smiled finally letting him go, "Well... I got nowhere to go so.. I think I'll tag along with you, if you don't mind~"

Azirak smiled.
"No, i dont mind at all."

Drake slowly got up, and woke Kailyn up aswell. He grabbed his things and got ready, now noticing the army of mismatched warriors, and villagers. His eye twitched, and he felt total annoyance. These men would be no match for the chosen, They would provide a distraction, but they would be slaughtered.

"...Who are they..., and why are they here? You know that these people will be slaughtered by the chosen, and they have almost no chance of making it against a magic user..., This is... At best... A big distraction for them..."

Cee just looked at Drake. "These people are better warriors than you think." He laughed as one of them darted, and quicker than the eye could detect had a sword against Kailyn's neck. He then took it way and walked back to Cee's side. "But you see, we need you and that cursed weapon of yours."

Drake's eye twitched once more, now angry with the villager. He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palm, and felt the blood dripping down. His face was that of pure anger, and hatred for the man.

"Don't... Do that... Again."

He slowly walked over to the man, and looked him straight in the eye. In an instant, Drake brought his knee into the man's gut, and when he bent over in pain, he brought his hand down to the back of the man's head.

"That was a warning... I Dare you to touch Her again, I'll Break Every bone in your body, and make sure you stay concious during... That wasn't a threat, that was a promise."

He walked back over to Kailyn, and checked to see if she was hurt, and upon inspection, she wasn't. He turned once more to Cee, I'm ready whenever you are..."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Robin had just gotten into the clearing, while pulling Azreal with her. She saw another group of men, and then Drake assaulting one of them. She walked over to the man who looked in charge. She got uncomfortably close, and whispered into his ear so that no one else could hear.

"Don't make him mad, he will follow through with that."

She walked over to Drake, and gave him a hug. "Morning!" She said cheerfully.

Azirak jumped down from the tree, Marneila following him. He watched with some level of amusement as the man he vaguely recognised from the duel he missed beat the crap out of some other guy who had held a blade to the throat of the girl from earlier.

How sweet.

He walked to the group.
"I dont believe i have met any of you, which i think will be best if it stays that way. So if you are attacking the chosen, count me in."

Even though Azirak knew the Chosen were intended to be his exectioners, he didnt care. He had nothing to live for. He could never go back. He would die the way he wanted, with lightning in his hand and a storm above his head.

Cee smiled. "We'll do more than attack them. We're going to destroy them." He turned to Drake and the hot chick that appeared out of nowhere. "It's good thing you agreed. I wasn't sure what Falks would do if I came back without you." He stepped over his warrior, who was keeled over and puking. "I told you to just tap him on the shoulder.... fucking moron."

Kailyn’s sleepy eyes opened as Drake woke her up. She gave him a tired smile and stretched slowly. It smelled of rain and she wondered if she slept through a storm. Everything seemed to happen so fast. She got out the tent, stood up, and looked around. There was an army around them. Drake was talking to Falks and some newcomer who looked vaguely familiar. Before she knew it, there was a knife at her throat. Blood rushed into her veins, fueled by her outrage. There wasn’t much she could do about it though, since Drake took it into his hands to incapacitate her would-be attacker.

“What’s going on?” She asked, her suspicion growing.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Vera watched Cee’s retreating back with her fists clenched. Her mind and her soul felt torn apart. There was a storm brewing, she could feel it deep in her gut. Things would change, and soon. Much sooner than what was originally planned. Her memories flicked back to the group she met. Why was Anne doing this? This was not how it was supposed to happen! And how did Cee get involved?

She looked behind her, towards Tellas and Vexoz. She kept her face passive, which, in and of itself, gave her emotions away. Her face was usually a book and to be blank… well, it couldn’t be good.

With a resigned sigh, she lifted her chin up. She took in a deep breath and then expelled it as she boomed, “IMPENDING ATTACK!” She used her magic to carry her voice throughout the village, making it sound like a village wide speakerphone. Regular Chosen villagers would wake up and prepare in case the attack would be soon.

“Meet at the South Border,” Vera added, only sending that message to Council members and Asinoir.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Asinoir checked out the window and his eyes widened as he noticed the mountain barrier was no longer there. Vera’s voice echoed throughout the streets. He looked at Ret; his eyes narrowed in indecision.

“I’d say stay here, but you wouldn’t want to miss out on the action, would you?” Asinoir asked with a worried smile.

Mira slowly got up and out of the wagon, still a bit sleepy while looking around and seeing the army that was there "What I missed?" She mumbled while walking towards Kailyn and Drake, seeing someone threaten her with a sword "What?" She didn't have time to ask, the man removed the sword from there and moments later Drake incapacitated him.

"Good morning Kailyn and Drake" Mira said "What happened here?"

Azrael managed to form back the top half of his suit and had his wings folded in before Kailyn or Drake saw them. He yawned again, hugging Kailyn in a loving embrace.

"Morning sister." He ran a hand through his hair, getting his hair in place. "How was your sleep?" Azrael took a finger and wiped some of the vampire blood from the side of his mouth. He tasted it, and shrugged. "Could use more salt."

"The Chosen defense system is down. We must act now before they can regroup." They all just stared at him. "Oh right, I haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Ceros Kimball, or Cee as you may call me, and I've just betrayed the Chosen so you people can save this world." When they all seemed satisfied with the answer. He led the group away from the campsite. He kicked the man who hunched over in the side. "Pack up things here and bring the wagon to the camp site."
"Yes mister Ceros."

=-=-=-==-=-=-=

Falks sat in his tent, contemplating his strategy and polishing his armor. "Today is the day I take those bastards down."