Dragonsouls-The Sorrow of Tarasque (Open LSU's)

[Weasel Overlord]

Dragonsouls-The sorrow of Tarasque (It Starts! Limited LSU's only)

A mighty roar shook the earth and shattered the silence of the volcanoes around Tarasque’s lair.

~Gone!~ She howled ~He’s gone!~

And the fires burned brighter...


The riddle of the Fire-Children goes as such:

Dominatus Tarasque
Gemellus absque Chiono
Privatio per privatio
Infans ignigena
Accedo ubivis insum.

Passed down throughout the centuries, the riddle has been translated from its original Latin form into modern-day English.

The translation reads:

The power of Tarasque
Twinned with Chiono
Released through release
To the child of fire
It will belong.

It is suspected, however that vital aspects of the riddle have been lost in translation...


First born was Beowulf of the Earth, and the Earth was created upon his arrival. Next came Tiamat of the Air, and the sky above was created. Third was Sigurd of the Seas, fourth Marduk of the Storms, then Eurythion was born. Darkest of all, of the Darkness he came and the Darkness of our world did he create. For balance, Indra of the Light was born and her purity did compliment the Darkness of Eurythion. Last came Tarasque of the Fire, and Sastrugen of the Snow. Twins. Bonded, unlike the rest through their souls. This bond is unbreakable by normal means and powerful beyond all belief. Direct opposites are Tarasque and Sastrugen. Together they cannot be, but apart they cannot live.

Upon the births of the Dragons, a group of humans were created at various points in time to live with them.-The Wind Riders they are named. They share a telepathic bond with their Dragon and they are created with aspects of their Dragon’s natures. They are mostly permanent companions for the Dragons. The Wind Riders live in places easily reachable by their Dragons that corresponds with their element.

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Oo-kay...basically dudes, you can be one of three lots of characters; Fire-Children, Dragons, or Wind Riders, it’s your choice! I also could do with a player wanting to be someone important…if you want this part, then just say and I’ll tell you the details. One person only, though!
Sooo...here come the Dragon descriptions and feel free to use your creative licence, but try to use colours that correspond with the Dragon’s elements, ok? I’m not gonna go into too much detail on their appearances, it’s up to the player what they want them to look like!
Each Dragon can transform into an animal as camouflage from Human eyes. Suggestions for the animals are with the Dragon descriptions, creative licence is allowed but try to keep appropriate to the Dragon’s element. The animal is the Dragon’s choice. Each Dragon also has a gem which the Wind Riders can summon their Dragon forms with. Most of the time the Dragons stay in their animal forms, unless they are somewhere out of sight.

Dragon Descriptions.

Beowulf of the Earth-First born.

He commands the Earth. (As in rocks etc.)
He has a calm and steadfast nature and he is rather slow-thinking. Beowulf has a small wingspan, as he rarely leaves the ground. He is quite stocky and exceptionally hard to budge.
Animal suggestion-Wolf, naturally, chameleon, mole, etc.
Gem-Amber.

Tiamat of the Air-Second born.

She commands the air and the winds.
She is light-hearted, she has a kindly nature and she is extremely quick-thinking. The total opposite of her brother, Beowulf. She is fast and she has slender wings.
Animal suggestion-Bird, duh!
Gem-Sapphire.

Sigurd of the Seas-Third born.

She commands water.
She has a changeable nature, being sometimes calm and other times rough.
Animal suggestion-Marine animal of some sort, preferably land capable. Eg: seal, otter etc.
Gem-Aquamarine.

Marduk of the Storms-Fourth born.

He commands thunder and lightning.
He is tempestuous with a stormy temper and he is heavy but very fast in flight.
Animal suggestion-Bear, possibly. It fits with Marduk’s personality, anyway.
Gem-Obsidian.

Eurythion of the Darkness-Fifth born.

He has breath of pure darkness.
He has a huge wingspan with slender, sharp claws like black daggers. He is cruel and unpredictable and quite vengeful when it suits him.
Animal suggestion-er, something black? Possibly a panther...other ideas welcome.
Gem-Jet.

Indra of the Light-Sixth born.

She controls light.
She is small and lithe, very agile in flight with feathered wings and opal eyes. She is calm and loving with a peaceful nature.
Animal suggestion-Snowy owl.
Gem-Opal.

Tarasque of the Fire-Seventh born.

She controls fire.
She is fiery tempered but she has a warm heart.
Animal suggestion-Red fox.
Gem-Ruby.

Sastrugen of the Snow-Seventh born.

He controls ice and snow.
He has cold mannerisms and a quiet nature and he likes to live in seclusion.
He is sometimes known as Chiono.
(Tarasque and Sastrugen are twins, hence they are both Seventh born!)
Animal suggestion-Arctic fox, as he and Tarasque are twins, try to keep the animals similar, like different types of fox etc.
Gem-Diamond.

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The sect of the Fire-Children are worshippers of Tarasque of the Fire, and they follow a riddle passed down through generations. The riddle concerns the soul-bond between Tarasque and Chiono and its breaking. They believe that the severance of this bond will result in the Child of Fire, or the Fire-Children, obtaining ultimate power over humanity.
The Fire-Children sect is broken down into four different classes. These being; Bard, Warrior, Monk and Sorcerer. Each has it’s own abilities and specialities, weaknesses and strengths.
All of the members have an affinity with fire and certain abilities that are there because of this affinity, however there are also some so-called ‘rejects’ who haven’t any skill with the conjuring of fire, instead, they have a negative effect upon it. They act as sort of…fire extinguishers for want of a better word!

These are the class descriptions for the Fire-Children:

Bard.

Creates fire attacks when they play their music. Intensity and power varies upon talent, music type and threat. Because of this, all bards need an instrument, either a physical one or they can use their voices. The bards act as the recorders in the sect. They teach the Riddle to new members and record new information in the archives. The first bard of the Fire-Children is said to be the one who first recorded the Riddle.
For the ‘reject’ type characters, the bard can extinguish fire when they play. They have the opposite effect on it!

Warrior.

Has limited magic use, this being fire or other related magicks. Warriors rely upon their physical strength in battle and they tend to use various types of sword, axe or exotic weapon. They are extremely skilled in the usage of their chosen weapon. Usually having a fair few years of practice under their belts. The warriors carry out all the Fire-Childrens' various jobs or ‘dirty work’.

Monk.

Uses healing magic rather that offensive. Their healing is fire-based and they tend to dislike fighting, preferring to stay on the sidelines and looking after the wounded. The monks act as the seers of the sect, most of them having some form of psychic power which is usually used to obtain information which is of use to the sect.
Monk ‘rejects’ tend to use other means of healing besides fire, having no skill with it.

Sorcerer.

Uses all offensive, fire-based magicks and they have only limited healing powers.-Usually one spell, if that. The sorcerers form lines behind the warriors in battle, firing spells over their heads at the enemy.
There are very few ‘reject’ sorcerers, as their class means that they have to be powerful and proficient in their use of the fire magic.

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The Wind Riders are the soul mates of the Dragons. They aren’t with their Dragon from the beginning, however. Instead, they are born at various points in time, unpredictable in where and when, however, but the Dragons know when they have been born and they find them as soon as they can. When the Wind Riders have been Found by their Dragon, they undertake training by the Dragon in battle, lore, and various dangers of being a Wind Rider. The newly Found Wind Riders are given weapons which suit their abilities and the affinities of their Dragon.
The Wind Riders share a telepathic bond with their Dragons which allows then to communicate without the use of words.

Now, as there's only one Dragon left, I'll only post the Dragon form...Any takers for Sigurd?

Dragon form.

Name:
Sex: (Beowulf, Marduk, Eurythion and Sastrugen are male and Tiamat, Indra, Sigurd and Tarasque are female.)
Appearance: (See descriptions and use own ideas)
Personality: (Keep to character traits and use own ideas)
Element: (Beowulf-Earth
Tiamat-Air
Sigurd-Seas
Marduk-Storms
Eurythion-Darkness
Indra-Light
Tarasque-Fire
Sastrugen-Snow.)
Animal form:
Powers: (3 powers each, ratio of offensive:defensive
2:1
1:2
[3:0]-For the more, er, violent character.
[0:3]-For the more peaceful character. These two are for if you feel strongly one way or another!)
Gem: (Beowulf-Amber
Tiamat-Sapphire
Sigurd-Aquamarine
Marduk-Obsidian
Eurythion-Jet
Indra-Opal
Tarasque-Ruby
Sastrugen-Diamond.)
Other:


Fire-Children form.

Name:
Sex:
Age:
Class: (Choose from Bard, Warrior, Monk, or Sorcerer. Alter due to preference with one base rule for each class; Bard-Needs an instrument, whether voice or physical.
Warrior-Needs a weapon.
Monk-No offensive magicks at all.
Sorcerer-Needs staff, wand, implement for performing magic.)
Appearance:
Personality:
Weapon(s): (If any, must have a ruby incorporated somewhere, must be class-applicable)
Speciality: (Offensive or defensive. Also must state if the character is a ‘reject’.)
Powers: (If any, must be fire-based, class-applicable only. Include ‘reject’ powers.)
Relationships:
Other:

Character list.

Dragons: Sastrugen - Weasel Overlord
Tarasque - Bulbasaur4
Indra - Sakura12
Marduk - Bamm
Eurythion - Nabooru23
Beowulf - Emotional Faun chiko-sai
Tiamat - Ciaobat
Sigurd - Open...Anyone?

Wind Riders: Yxe (Sastrugen) - Weasel Overlord
Kalani O'Morain (Tiamat) - MarshmallowEgg
Seiryn Kerne Dashun (Indra) - Sakura12
Akingara Zamouto (Marduk) - Bamm
Siyann Eerie Tierney (Sigurd) - Vulpix.ck87
Stephan (Eurythion) - Nabooru23
Athanasius Pound (Beowulf) - Emotional Faun Chiko-sai
Minh Rho (Tarasque) - Ciaobat

Fire Children: Sairi Fiero (High Mage/Sorcerer) - Bulbasaur4
Malic (Warrior) - Weasel Overlord
Anoma (Warrior) - tiger_2007
Ignis Trucido (Sorcerer/Reject) - Djinn
Cen Meraera (Bard) - MarshmallowEgg
Oriyen (Bard) - Amdir Mallorn
-What! No monks? Whyever not?!?

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Dragon.

Name: Sastrugen of the snow. Sometimes known as Chiono.
Sex: Male.
Appearance: Sastrugen has pure white scales and a creamy underbelly. He's got silver talons at his elbows, at the back of his legs, and on the tips of his wings.
His wings are medium-sized and the membrane is a translucent silver colour. There is a line of silver spines all along his wing ridges which follows the line of his wing muscles and then down his back to the tip of his tail. His ail ends with two spiralling horns that twist around each other. These horns are very sharp and coated with small (and I mean tiny) triangular spines that lay overlapping across them. (Think like a monkey-puzzle tree). The scales on his body are the same apart from a space between his wings and head that is completely smooth for Yxe to sit on.
Sastrugen is quite a small dragon in comparison to his siblings, but he is no less fierce.
Personality: Sastrugen is cold in manner and he tends to dislike the company of anyone but Yxe. The only one of his siblings that he actually gets along with is Tiamat, who acts as the mother of the family. Obviously, he loves Tarasque but that goes without question as they are soul-twinned.
Sastrugen loves the peace of the snowy plains of his home and he hates being away from them, unless he is with Yxe.
He can get very angry and vicious when something he loves is threatened, such as Tarasque or Yxe, stopping at nothing until the threat is removed.
The only person he tends to talk to is Yxe, not because he’s anti-social, just because there’s not usually anyone else for him to talk to. None of his siblings enjoy staying in his lands, mainly because they are a little on the chilly side!
Element: Snow.
Animal form: Snow leopard.
Powers: Ice shield- Icicles stab up thorough the ground, surrounding Sastrugen like a shield. They are clear and anything that touches them is frozen instantly.
Blizzard touch- An icy wind surrounds Sastrugen’s claws, freezing on contact with an enemy.
Frostbite- A layer of ice and frost covers Sastrugen’s teeth and mouth, allowing him to breathe icicles and when he bites, his enemy becomes frozen, making the wounds heal a lot slower, if at all.
Ratio of offensive: defensive: 2:1
Gem: Diamond.
Other: He speaks telepathically with Yxe.
His snow-leopard form has white fur with dark brown leopard spots. His tail has a dark brown tip and he has blue eyes.

Wind Rider.

Name: Yxe.
Sex: Male.
Age: 18.
Steed: Sastrugen of the Snow.
Affinity: Snow arrow-The arrowheads frost over during flight, thus making the resulting wound heal much slower.
Ice blade-The blades of his throwing knives resemble icicles and are much harder for the wounded to remove.
Appearance: He has medium-length hair in a rich chestnut brown colour. Yxe usually has his fringe swept to one side, the left, and his hair is quite messy at the back. He has one long plait behind his ear that reaches to his shoulder, twined with pure white ribbons and feathers at the bottom. The ribbon is plaited in with his hair and he wears a single silver bead just above the feathers, holding them in place.
His eyes are a pale, frosty blue colour, mostly devoid of emotion unless he is in the company of his beloved Sastrugen.
Most of the time, Yxe wears simple riding gear in pure white-linen pants and a simple tunic, tied at the waist with a silver belt. The belt is lined with a set of throwing knives, all with identical diamond pommels and bleached bone, hiltless handles. Over his shoulder he carries a longbow and at his waist, attached to his belt is a quiver of arrows.
His clothes are fur-lined because of Sastrugen’s cold and he wears white, fur-topped riding boots.
Personality: Yxe doesn't really resemble Sastrugen in personality, in that he is slightly warmer in the company of others. He actually quite likes company, as long as people don't intrude upon Sastrugen's privacy. He loves the cold of his home and if he is anywhere else he feels too warm and quite ill at ease.
He is gentle but absolutely ferocious when roused. If anything threatens his Sastrugen the transformation is sudden and he gives no mercy.
He rarely laughs, but when he finds something funny, you can't shut him up. He has quite a strange sense of humour and he has a tendency of finding things funny which other people wouldn't even think of as being so.
He is very soft-spoken when he decides to talk, which isn’t often. Most of the time he is happy with his telepathic conversations with Sastrugen.
Weapon(s): Piercing throwing knives with diamond pommels and bleached bone handles. These knives are very sharp and quite long, in fact, they are almost dirks but for an inch of so. They have excellent balance and Yxe rarely misses with them.
Piercing longbow and arrows.
In addition to his knives, Yxe also carries a longbow. It is white carved ash, very supple and extremely well-strung. His arrows are long with white feathered fletching and diamond-tipped arrowheads. The diamond only covers a fraction of the arrowheads but it is enough to make them deadly. Yxe is highly accurate, even with a moving target, as he trained as a Deepwood Sniper as a child. He never usually misses his targets with both longbow and knife.
Relationships: Yxe is in love with Tarasque’s Wind Rider-it’s something to do with the soul-twin thing. They aren’t related, just the Dragons are. Don’t worry, it’s nothing sick...
Other: He grew up with Deepwood Snipers and learned all of their skills before being Found by Sastrugen. The Snipers, finding him alone and orphaned, took him in, gave him one of their names and accepted him into their order of the Elite after seeing his innate skills with a longbow.

Fire-Child.

Name: Malic.
Sex: Female.
Age: 17.
Class: Warrior.
Appearance: Malic has long red hair which she wears in plaits tied back with a dark, purpley-red bandanna. The front half of her hair (inc, fringe) is left loose and it flops over her bandanna and partially covers her right eye.
She has golden-green eyes and bold facial features with a long, white scar running from the centre of her forehead to the tip of her nose.
She wears a long, patchwork red skirt with bells on the waist ties. Surprisingly, this doesn’t interfere with her fighting at all, instead making her more graceful. She goes bare-footed and wears a Japanese-style top, which is red with gold embroidery, fitted at the waist with broad, short sleeves.
Malic is tall and graceful and a deadly warrior.
Personality: Malic has a fiery temper and an extremely stubborn nature. Once she has decided something, she is highly unlikely to change her mind afterwards, no matter how persuasive the argument. She likes the sound of bells and so she constantly wears some about her person. She is especially fond of her bangles, gold with tiny, tinkling bells dangling off them. In some parts, she is known as the Musical Warrior, as she is constantly tinkling during battle.
Weapon(s): Edged broadsword.
She carries a huge broadsword, completely unexpectedly. Malic is slight and the weapon looks exceedingly heavy but she wields it with incredible grace and skill. Her combat skills are unmatched. The sword has a ruby set into the pommel, round and smooth, it makes a good club when the sword is turned around.
Speciality: Offensive, physical.
Powers: Flame blade-A raging fire surrounds Malic’s broadsword and sears anything it comes into contact with.
Relationships: She doesn’t form close friendships usually, but she can have a relationship with another Fire-Child if there’s any offers?
Other: She has tiny bells in the ends of her plaits.
Malic acquired her scar due to an encounter with the Wind Rider Yxe and his steed, Chiono. She has sworn to slay the pair, hence her alliance with the Fire-Children.

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~He's Gone!~ The cry in the night. A plea for help to all who will listen...to the Sorrow of Tarasque.


~The Forests of Russia~

Yxe drew his longbow, a diamond-tipped arrow resting against his cheek, sighted on a far away bear. From his perch in a snow-topped fir, Yxe could not be detected by his unwary prey. He checked the tension of the bowstring, once, and then twice, and pulled back the arrow until the longbow creaked under the strain.
"Argh!" Yxe felt a blast of surprise and pain pulse through his brain as he jerked his arm upwards in defense. The arrow whipped off into the undergrowth, passing the bear on it's wayward path.
"Sastrugen!" He cried, slinging his longbow over his left shoulder and scrambling down the fir in an ungainly manner. He set off at a sprint towards the cave he was currently residing in. In the direction of Sastrugen's cry.

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~Sastrugen of the Snow~

Sastrugen, in his full dragon form, stretched out on the snow-capped plains of Russia. His wings spread out, he rested his great head on his foreleg and drifted into a peaceful mind-sleep. He exhaled, feeling content and safe in his surroundings.
Strange. He felt particularly sleepy this night - almost too sleepy.
Suddenly, the air was full of red mist and then people. Swarming all over him, subduing him with their fiery bonds.
Sastrugen had time to send a message through his mind-link with his Wind Rider, and his Soul Twin. Then he was gone, the air slightly warmer.

[Bulbasaur4]

Name: Sairi Fiero
Sex: Female
Age: 24
Class: Sorceror
Appearance: [Lookie HERE (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7169). She looks just like that... 'cept excuse the little exposure down below. lol... think Bikini. But anyway, she looks just like that and wears the same clothing except the black robe is fully tied about her body. Her skin is a bit more tan as well.]
Personality: Some... might call her a bit crazy. She tends to say things that 'apparently' do not make any sense. Occasionally talks to herself or things that 'aren't there' (or are they? mwhahaha.) Yet, she's very kind and always smiling. Rather cheerful and bright... but yet, she can be very dark and sadistic. So she's sorta bi-polar.. but not in the medical sense. That's just her personality... and it has a lot to do with her status and the power she weilds. Don't mistake her though... she's a bit crazy but she's very skilled and if you mess with her... well, her sanity might be lifted for a time.
Weapon- An intricate staff-like spear. It has a rod of silver, clearly embroidered with many ancient markings upon it. On the very end of it's handle is a red, spiraling jewel of red marble. In the center core, there is a ruby. Upon the opposite end, instead of a normal staff, is a three bladed-pronged spear made out of a diamond-clear jewel.
Speciality: She's the Leader of the Fire Children. Strange... because she's so young. But some how she has a tremendous amount of power and is smart. Seriously. So she's equally balanced.
Powers:
Crimson Strength- The power of fire bestows itself in a weapon. CAn be her staff... can be some one elses.
Warmth of Soul - A healing-based power. Needs a source of heat. The stronger the source, the better healing. If some one is terminally ill... the only way they can be cured is using the heat from Tarasque. Not easy to get or do... 'specially cuz she no likey them right now. ^^;
Fire Call - Manipulation of Fire. Usually consists of forming fireballs in the palm of her hand.
Mores de Fuego: A powerful defensive... slightly offensive attack that creates an almost wall-like creation. It can be formed to create cages or domes and has intense heat. Once she starts this, other Fire Children can add their powers to it willingly.
Relationships: She's friends with Affy! Even though they're not supposed to be friends...
Other: Nada. She might know a few more spells... but she doesn't use all of them. Oh, s he's got a Gyrfalcon named Shniier. He's kewelies.



Sairi Fiero
~ High Mage - Fire Child - F ~

"Shhh... quiet now, like little rabbits eating grass! We wouldn't want to alarm a blizzard... " Sairi whispered to a few of her kindred, as they slowly began to enter the cave of the Dragon of Ice. It had been a plan... not designed by Sairi, but of several others who were also high ranking in their tribe. It was designed, in whole, to kidnap or capture Sastrugen. Sairi knew that with this... they were supposed to gain more power. As soon as the bond between the twins of Ice and Fire were broken.

"Now!" Sairi called out, immediatly- like a beautiful dancer- she swung forth her staff-like spear. Instantly the jewel inside of it began to flush with red as the diamond knives upon the top began to flush with the color of blood. Sairi's own body was thrown into motion, and no longer was she the 'goofy little Fire Child'. No. Now... she was a force to be reckoned with, she was Sairi- the High Mage of the Fire Children.
"Fire Call!" She said and instantly her other hand which did not hold the spear began to burn with a driving power. Soon a sphere-like shape of fire formed in her hand, as she instantly thrusted a few of the gathered collected energy about the cave. The other Fire Children simply attacked the Ice Dragon head on... with various spells and other things. Sairi warmed the cave with her magic instead- using the power of heat to calm the creature and to eventually cause it to submit to their power.

It went very fast... swiftly like a summer's storm.
"Mores de Fuego..." Sairi softly changed, her eyes instantly swirling with a maddened color of crimson red. Her entire staff let off a humming aura of silver as she swirled it about her head... the aura growing, flickering like a hungry fire until eventually she smashed her staff's end into the ground. Like a chaotic chain of events, a bubbling, eye-splitting screen of semi-transparent red uprooted from the ground. Swifter than the eye could follow, it formed all around Sastrugen and over took him, sealing his body inside so that his powers could not free him. A few of the sorcerors added their own power to her spell, so that it grew stronger. Of course... the Ice Dragon was out, unconcious for now.
The battle was won and he was captured.
Sairi's form still radiated heat from her magic, but softly and slowly her eyes faded to normal and her normal personality overtook her.
"So... where and how shall we move this one? We should hurry... before his siblings notice some thing's wrong."





Name: Tarasque
Sex: Female
Appearance: [See HERE! (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7168)]
Personality: Tarasque, although very kind and caring, has a fiery temper. If some thing goes wrong or some one messes with her emotions or allies, she tends to get pissed off fairly easily. When her temper reaches full 'anger', some times the fire from her body almost erupts from her body... which is when anyone who ticked her off should run. Although she's easy to anger, she does care deeply for those who are her allies and although she tends to be stubborn and bold, she tries her best.
Element: Fire
Animal form: Siberian Tiger (Her form has a definate reddish hue)
Powers: 2:1 (O-D)
Summon Red: Allows fire to be summoned from the closest source. (some times it must come from Tara's body.) It usually is gathered to form a wall... for defense. Occasionally however the wall must be summoned... in things... so then it destroys it. lol
Birth: Tara's body become inorganic and turns into some form of heat or fire. This can be anything from just a body of intense heat (you'd see her because the air would ripple) to a fire form of blazing flames.
Fuego en los Cielos: Only happens when Tara because extremely... and I mean extremely angry. Fire... just... comes from everywhere. Bah, you'll see if she gets that mad.
Gem: RUBY!
Other: Tarasque is probably the dragon with the best idea of humans. She can't speak their language, but she can read.




Tarasque
~ Dragon of Fire / F ~


Tarasque was sleeping, dreaming peacefully in the night in her slumber. Her cave radiating heat not only by her, but because it resided into a dormant volcanoe. It was warm, comforting and near her element... so Tarasque was at peace. Her wings were folded tightly and neatly along her strong back, so that they almost halved their size four times. Her long neck was wrapped about along with her tail so that she was curled up in the main cavern of her cave. However... suddenly a message, a horrible image of distraught came to her mind. It split her thoughts and her dreams like a knife stabbing into the flesh, and instantly her eyes opened. Strangely... Tarasque's eyes were normally blue, perhaps a symbolic showing of her bond between her brother. However now... they were red, glowing with red as if to foretell her inner rage.
"GONE!" She suddenly roared, her body's temperature rising so rapidly that it caused a few things to catch a flame. Swifter than imaginable for a creature of her size, she uncoiiled her tail and neck and rose to her clawed feet.
"He's GONE!"
The earth about her trembled, as her rage was rised. Her body's temperature and the fire sac which harbored with in her rapidly rose so much, that the air rippled about her from the immense wave of heat. She instantly charged to the mouth of her cave, and to release her anger and hatred she opened her gaping jaws. Her fire sac heaved, and instantly an immense, seering channel of heat spewed from her mouth into the air. Flames licked at the air, only seising when Tarasque closed her mouth. However... just as she closed her mouth, the volcanoe suddenly was no longer dormant. Her huge outburst of rage had awakened the fire that had resided deep with in the volcanoe. With a shake of the earth and a trembling before it's power, the volcanoe exploded into the sky. Magma spurted into the sky as large chunks of rock and magma flurished about, as lava began to dribble and flow down the sides of the volcanoe's mouth.

Tarasque's rage had been awakened.


( ^^;; I thinnk perhaps it'll take a while to calm her down... and probably only her own Wind Rider could do it. Oh... and the eruption of the volcanoe was rather... big, so I figure it'll catch the attention of others. )

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

OOC: I'm on my mom's realllyyyyyyyy slow office computer cos my home one blacked out for no good reason. Just to say my posting may be a bit sporadic for this week, until I get my stupid comp to a technician..

Muahaha. Sastrugen captured.

Dragon form.

Name: Beowulf
Sex: Male
Appearance: A very big dragon. Actually, the biggest one, since he's the oldest and everything. He's brown all over, muddy earthy earth brown, with greyish bits here and there, and the odd patch of lichen. If he isn't moving and closes his eyes (which are amber), he could qualify as a very big rock, or a small mountain range. Rather stocky, and obviously not built for quick movement. Beowulf has a single horn rising from his forehead, shaped like an obelisk. His tail ends in a club with very jagged-looking pieces of rocky spikes. His claws and teeth seem to be hewn out of solid rock; they're not particularly sharp, but meant more for crushing. His wingspan is immense, and his skin is very thick even by dragon standards, making him an effective siege weapon. When he rears up on his hind legs, he is exactly the kind of dragon kings would definitely not want to burn down their citadel.
Personality: Most of the time, he does everything slowly. Sarcasm, even in the bluntest form, doesn't work on Beowulf. He takes everything at face/word value. Rarely changes his mind about anything, and hard to convince. Relies heavily on others to make snap judgements for him, although he'll make his opinions heard if he does have any. Perfectly happy to hear his brothers and sisters squabbling in a loud manner; he figures it means they're all alive and functional. He likes living in secluded, uncivilised areas, where the only thing visible is the mountain range a couple of hundred miles away; it helps him think better and quicker - he literally derives his thought from the earth. To prove this, just lead him into a town, or any human settlement; you can actually see his eyeballs dimming as the brain cells evaporate away...
Element: Earth
Animal form: I thought, for a slow-blink-long-thought processor like Beowulf, something that looked equally slow but wouldn't cause too much comment... could he be a one-horned water-buffalo?? Or, by extension, any member of the bovine family..
Powers: Offense-defense ratio= 1:2
Earthquake~ Just what the name says. Magnitude is variable.
Club-everything-into-smithereens~ (Beowulf's really very slow) What the name says ^_^;
Wall~ A thick wall, of whatever earthy material is most plentiful in the area (ex. mud/clay in a farming village, shale/loose rock in mountainous places), piles up around the targets. A defensive tactic. it also helps Beowulf to think.
Gem: Amber.
Other: He's really, really stupi- er, slow when he's in a town. Especially a town full of people milling round and confusing his thoughts. And you may eat me if I in some way fail to post/satisfy/did a typo... >_<

Wind Rider form

Name: Athanasius Pound; most people, after attempts to remember his first name, eventually drift around to calling him 'oi, Pound' instead. The more creative prefer 'Affy'.
Sex: Male
Age: 24
Steed: Beowulf
Affinity: Earth. This does not apparently help him in fights, except that Affy always seems to have something rocky (or sand in the face, if he's in a sandy place, etc - it changes with the environment, though around buildings, it's almost always a brick) on hand to club them on the head with, even after they've very ostensibly taken away his sword. And when he actually hits someone with his crossbow, they always land on the ground. Hard.
Appearance: He's about 5'10", or 5'11", with a thin wiry build. He's generally scruffy and gives off the impression that he doesn't get enough hot meals. Complexion tends towards the tan side, with lots of scar tissue all over. His hair is a boring dull brown, straight and slightly too long to be called neat; he tries to comb it back with no visible results. Affy's eyes are nondescript brownish-green and his ears are a bit pointy, although he's certainly no elf. Often needs a shave.
He wears dusty, dark-coloured pants, held up with a belt and the regular cotton shirt, with sleeves rucked up to the elbow. Sometimes it's grubby white, sometimes it's pinstripe, or basically whatever he's got that's clean. He carries his sword on a wider belt of brown leather. His boots have seen better days. He's got a multipurpose long coat for when it's raining.
Personality: Of average intelligence, and can parse a few languages, though nothing too fancy. Athanasius usually picks up on things quickly, unless he's deliberately being stupid and wooden. He believes common sense is a necessity. Thinks and talks in straight lines, and it is very possible to piss him off. Has a bit of the philosophical cynic/pessimist in him. When he smiles, which is to say turns the corners of his mouth up, there's probably something bad happening.
Weapon(s): His rather ordinary-looking sword that is nonetheless sharp has an amber grip. And the crossbow (rarely in use) is a normal-enough one with an amber catch; it's mostly there for threatening people. If possible, he'd rather settle things with good old-fashioned dirty street-fighting, or, in desperate situations, just running away.
Relationships: Knows the other wind riders well enough to talk to them... except Stephan, whom he knows well enough not to talk to. 'Casual friends' with Sairi.
Other: Smokes. Tries not to drink. He likes the city, which gives him problems, what with Beowulf and all. He met Beowulf when he was eight, by accident - he ran into a rock while running away from street bullies, and the rock apologised. It turned out to be a buffalo, which turned out to be a dragon. He wasn't ever bullied since.
--------------

Compound Post - Beowulf and Athanasius Pound
Both Male|Earth Dragon|Its Wind Rider
"I'm dreaming of a whiiiiiite christmas..."
------------------------

On the street, or rather, in the gutter, Athanasius Pound stirred, whisky bottle in his hand.
Oh dear. He'd been trying so hard not to even take a treacherous whiff of the stuff, too. Because, as every alcoholic knows, just one whiff can mean just one bottle.
The extremely large gaur in front of him snorted, and stamped its hooves. Beowulf was at large, and Beowulf... Beowulf was worried. Athatnasius could feel it in the cobblestones of the pavement. The very silicates seemed to be trembling, either in anticipation, or in fear. He couldn't have told you how he'd know, even if he'd been inclined to. It was just one of those things he knew for certain.
Sastrugen, bellowed Beowulf. Beowulf didn't so much mind-speak as rumble; his voice sounded like different kinds of elements depending on his mood. Currently, it was as cold and hard as marble cliffs. Sastrugen is.. gone.
Oh dear oh dear. Beowulf was sounding alert, very alert. Normally, within city walls, he was dimmer than a dead bulb. He'd have trouble remembering his own name. He'd ask what a chilli was, then eat it, and have bowel movements. But here he was, sounding purposeful, vengeful, wrathful even. Sairi must have done something really stupid this time.
Even without the ruminations, even through the comforting golden haze of alcohol which made everything fuzzy round the edges, Affy himself could feel it: somehow, the world was a little bit warmer, a little bit more rouge, and a lot less crystalline. He was aware of Beowulf's gaze boring into him as if he expected him to say something apologetic, maybe, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have friends like these, I should've whacked her on the head when I had a chance and buried her alive. What he wanted to say was, I've known her for ages, she's cute, you don't just go and bop twenty-year-old friends and off them because they don't think like you, anyway they aren't doing anything apart from mildly irritating things, only now they aren't just mildly irritating but bordering on crisis-causing...
Instead, he said, "So what?"
The mastermind is, I presume, your ... acquaintance.
Beowulf was using words more than two syllables long. Bad, bad sign. "So what do you want me to do about it?"
Suddenly, Athanasius was mind-achingly, unwillingly stone-cold sober. Help. We have to go help.
"We can't help! Reason being, he's captured already! And I've gotten fireballed way too many times for me to keep count!"
Everybody will help. Beowulf said this with absolute conviction.
"We'll have to meet somewhere. And I am NOT going to that freezing place Yxe calls home."
You won't have a choice.
"We're going now?"
Yes.
"Do you remember how to fly? You haven't flown for absolute sodding ages. You sure you can keep in the air?"
At the sound of 'air', Beowulf winced, then steeled himself. For my kin.. anything.
"I get airsick, you know. Just so you won't comment if I throw up."
Yes.
"And we'll have to see all of them.. Even Steph- oh bugger."

[Weasel Overlord]

By-the-by, has anyone else noticed a distinct absence of those editing buttons on the reply page? i.e, centre, color, etc...it's very hard to remember all those codes!
---------------------------------------------


~Malic...Fire Child and Warrior~

Malic knew that she was only here for one purpose. She, like Anoma, was a bodyguard. Her strength was of no use in the magical-based capture of Sastrugen, as much as she would have liked it to be...she did hate that dragon...Almost as much as she hated his rider, Yxe. One day, she thought. One day, I will have my revenge. For now, however, she was satisfied with watching Sastrugen struggle under the dome of fire created by Sairi. She managed to tear her eyes away from his suffering and back to her task. Watching. For Yxe, or any other potential interferers. She turned her back on the struggle and scanned the frosty horizon. Nothing...yet. She tuned in to the words of her leader.
"So...where and how shall we move this one? We should hurry..before his siblings notice something's wrong." Malic turned back to the wonderful scene of a captured Sastrugen. He was bound tightly under a complex dome of fire magic, which was obviously causing him some pain. Good, she thought. Now to attend to the problem of getting him away from the cave...
"Can't you use some sort of dimension magic?" Piped up Anoma.
Malic thought about this and chuckled to herself. She didn't think that the Fire Children's magicks extended to such things.
"What about a helicopter?"

[Arnen]

Even though it is against my norm, I shall psot in third-person becase that's what everyone else is doing, and it seems it would be easier. And I, uh, decided to make Stephan a bit older.

~Name: Eurythion of the Darkness
~Gender: Male
~Appearance: He's a slender medium/large dragon with midnight-black scales and an indigo underbelly. A ridge of long, thin spines run down his black from just below the base of the neck, with a space at the base of the head where Stephan can sit. He has two large horns on his forehead above each eye, each of which is scorched black bone like the spines. His wings are large and sport several tears, giving them a battered appearance. His tail is long and ends in an arrow shape like a devil's tail. His claws are serrated except for the innermost opposable ones on the front paws. He has a deep scar across his left eye. Said eyes are a glaring white color with no visible pupil or iris. They turn a cloudy deep grey when he's angry or about to breathe darkness.
~Personality: Usually silent and calculating, with a great taste for vengeance. He is often snide and vulgar in his speech, and is the type to finish something off without mercy. He rarely speaks kindly of others and never admits to his faults, because in his opinion he has none. He is also a terrible brat and an eternal pessimist -- silver lining never appeals to him. The only person he doesn't feel contempt toward is Stephan. Eurythion has little respect for life and generally thinks human beings are worthless sacks of flesh. He has a very quick temper and sometimes gets angry over small things, and can hold a grudge for centuries. When he gets pissed off, it's a good idea to run for the bomb shelter and stay there for a very long time.
~Element: Darkness
~Animal form: Raven
~Powers:
Dark Breath: His breath is pure darkness. This can function like a smokescreen as well as a weak acid.
Shadow Meld: He can blend in with shadows and virtually disappear.
Astral Project: He has the ability to leave his body and see and hear things far away, as well as spirits and other souls also lingering outside their bodies.
~Offense : Defense Ratio: 2:1
~Gem: Jet
~Other: His powers all work best at night. He can also see perfectly in the dark... does that count as a power? Cuz I can change one if need be.

~Name: Stephan (pronounced Steff-ON')
~Gender: Male
~Age: 18
~Steed: Eurythion
~Affinity: Darkness - Darkstrike (which, yes, I stole from Final Fantasy... Shaddup! XD) His blade turns completely black and darkness swirls around it. An enemy stricken by it will be either be surrounded a smokescreen, or the wound with be laced with biting acid.
~Appearance: He's rather tall for his age, and thin but not skinny. He has an athletic build, sort of muscular but not a lot. His hair is blonde, very curly, and hangs about shoulder-length. His eyes are a stunning shade of violet and framed by golden lashes. His eyebrows are very fine and also a gold color. His skin is quite pale and with little to no flaw. He dresses in elaborate 18th-century clothes: a black velvet frock coat with gold cuffs, a white satin shirt with lace at the neck and cuffs, black wool pants, and sturdy black boots. The sheath for his rapier hangs at his side.
~Personality: He's a stuck-up spoiled-rotten brat. He knows he's gorgeous and flaunts this endlessly. He acts the gentleman, but is vicious and cunning at heart. He is easily frustrated and can't stand to be put down or bettered. He can turn around a conversation to insult almost anyone he's talking to. He is very intelligent. Often times he will badly wound someone emotionally and not know it.
~Weapon: He has an arm-length silver rapier with a large round jet stone at the base of the hilt, a teardrop-shaped jet in the middle of the hilt, and a pattern like > > [teardrop shape] in jet at the end of the blade to balance out the heavy hilt. The sheath is black leather.
~Relationships: Ha! *spits on relationships* Although he is rather, er, unfond (eh, I think I just made up a word) of Athanasius, who he likes to call "the dirty hobo".
~Other: *poke poke other with rapier* He has a lilting French accent.


+'~Eurythion of the Darkness and his Wind Rider, Stephan~'+

Stephan was content to hanging about his lavish hotel room. He was bored to say the least, and was presently lying back on the bed, his golden hair a halo spread bout his head, as he mutely stroked the large black raven that perched beside him on the bed. The lack of activity left him bitter, and as he sat up, intent on going outside for a bit of a walk, the raven froze, staring straight ahead. It positively emanated foreboding.

"Eurythion?" Stephan uttered as a sinking feeling overcame him. The bird, who was in actuality the dragon in animal guise, turned its head and eyed him with lucid white eyes.

Sastrugen is gone. Can you not feel Tarasque's rage, her grief? The question was not vocalized, of course; rather Stephan heard it within his mind as surely as if it had, in fact, been stated aloud.

Now that he realized it, the air did have a certain hotness to it that shouldn't have been there. The sharpness of objects seemed to have blurred somewhat, as if seen through a thin veil of heat. Stephan leapt lightly from the bed, his brow furrowed. Outside it was the dead of night, prime time for Eurythion to fly unnoticed. The dragon himself alighted onto Stephan's shoulder. The boy turned his head to the large picture window at the far end of the room. Sizing it up, he figured a large-winged dragon would not fit through even if he kept his wings half-furled.

"I suppose we must meet up with the others eventually, in the face of this tragedy..." he exhaled loudly, shaking his head. "Oh, parfait..." Eurythion knew what to do. He flew from Stephan's shoulder and perched momentarily atop an unlit lamp. Stephan backed up a few steps, thrust forward his shoulder, and ran towards the window with full force. The glass buckled and cracked, and he broke through with minimal damage to his expensive wardrobe.

He rolled as he hit the ground a few feet below the windowsill, going straight into a standing position. With a sneer, he brushed off the dusting of dirt, glass, and grass from his clothes. Eurythion passed into the night air, content to breathe it in, and transformed into his true form behind a tall hedge. Stephan sauntered over, in no hurry to see the other Wind Riders and their mounts. As he neared the huge black form before him, Eurythion bent his neck so Stephan could climb up into the hollow there.

Soundlessly rider and mount took off into the night.

Note: Parfait is not a food, it is actually French for "perfect"... My proofreader had issues with that XD

[Weasel Overlord]

What ho, they're back! Wonderful little shortcut buttons....*dances in a circle*
----------------------------


~Yxe, Wind Rider of Sastrugen~

Yxe ran as hard as his legs would carry him towards Sastrugen's cry of pain. He was in trouble, Yxe just knew it. If only he hadn't have gone hunting. If only they had chosen a less obvious place to stay. If only...Yxe slapped himself around the cheek.
"Snap out of it!" He cried to himself. "You can't help Sastrugen by blaming yourself..." He slid to a halt at the cave's entrance. He knew what he would find there, before he even went inside. Nothing. No Sastrugen, laid down, asleep. A feeling of dread washed over Yxe as he realised that he would have to call a meeting with Sastrugen's siblings and their various Wind Riders. There was sure to be trouble. There always was when Stephan and Affy were together for any amount of time.
Yxe gathered his senses and mind-called Minh. Although she was bound to know what had happened to Tarasque's twin, it helped to have someone to turn to.
-Sastrugen gone. Kidnapped. Call others. Meeting place, discuss.-
He leaned back and waited for an answer.

[Ciaobat]

Name: Minh Rho
Sex: Female
Age: 17
Steed: Tarasque
Affinity: Fire
Warmth- The swords are heated to high temperatures. Any contact for as short as a second with the blades will begin burn. Cut wounds are sometimes sealed by the burning, so they won't bleed, but they also won't heal to their original state. And, they hurt more.
Appearance: She's just a little on the small side, at just over 5'4". She's thin but not tiny, and has a little bit of muscle on her; more than most girls her size anyway. Her hair is silky and pitch black, hangs to her shoulders when down, and has some small braids scattered throughout. She keeps it drawn up into two ponytails or buns, depending on if she needs it off her neck or not. A few long loose strands hang around her face. She tends to wear clothing that lends itself to warm temperatures, like shirts with no midriff, and shorts. Much of her clothing is red, with some blue accents. She either wears no shoes or some type of sandal. If she absolutely must be in cold temperatures, she'll bundle up. Her eyes are a chocolate brown and are slanted.
Personality: She smiles a lot if she's in a good mood, and if she's not it's just as easy to tell. She can easily get into a one-track mindset, and tends to be determined about things to the point of what some might call obsession. She will occasionally boast, but doesn't really mean it; she isn't haughty, just a little playful sometimes. She hates to let herself or anyone down, and takes a while to recover from blows to her confidence. She's quick to meet a challenge, and she gives her all to everything she does, which is why she's so disappointed if she doesn't meet a goal.
Weapon(s): Two butterfly swords, such as these (http://www.ultimateforce-mas.co.uk/acatalog/pc19s.jpg) with similar patterns on them. A large ruby is at the bottom of each guard, and tiny rubies are sporadically incorporated into the pattern on the blades. They're made for chopping. :D
Relationships: Is close to Yxe, right? And she hates Stephan.
Other: She.. likes peanut butter? And she's pretty good with a hand-sized harp that she has, but doesn't like to play for people.


Minh Rho
~~~~`~~~~`~~~~`~~~~
~TARASQUE!~ Minh was hauling herself up a tall tree near the base of the volcano, hoping it would be strong enough. She had a strip of cloth tied around her face, in a quick attempt to protect her self from the ash that was cascading through the air. She was beginning to take on a dull grey look, like she was turning to stone, as the ash settled on her. Apparently.. apparently Sastrugen was gone. She didn't have to ask; it wasn't hard to figure out. ~Tarasque!~ Minh could do little to get to the dragon. She huddled close to the trunk of the big tree as chunks of cooling magma and little volcanic rocks fell around her. ~Calm down! Everyone probably knows now, we need to figure out what to do-- ~ She winced as a higher branch on the other side of the tree cracked loudly. Lava was beginning to ooze around the trunk of the tree. -Sastrugen gone.- Minh jumped. -Kidnapped. Call others. Meeting place, discuss.- Yxe's familiar voice interrupted her worries about the tree. ~Calming Tarasque. Meet where?~

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi
~ High Mage / F ~


"A ... helicopter?" Sairi said lightly, raising a brow at one of her comerades as if she had suddenly grown another eye upon her forehead. Sairi made a slightly strange 'clicking' noise with her tongue as she shrugged and danced away.
"... I... was joking.." a faint mumble could be heard as SAiri clambered onto one of the large rocks in the cave. The ice dragon and fainted, obviously from lack of strength and from being attacked so swiftly.
"Alrighty... I gots a plan." Sairi stated, her language and voice turning back into it's reverted child-like state. Humming softly to herself, she twirled her staff in her left hand this time, slightly above her head as she began to chant softly.
"I think our little friends... the Feiros will help us."
With the calling of fire, suddenly two forms emerged from the earth. At first, their bodies seemed to be nothing more than a white, misty fog that seeped upforth from the ground. But with a sudden shout and a slamming of Sairi's staff, head-first into the ground, the bird-like shapes burst into flames. They were Feiros... spirits of dead Fire Children who had not been put to rest because they died at the hand of the Ice Dragon and it's rider.
That was what happened if you died by the opposite.
" Mai'tornak, maleonai feirgo fuego dira'kah!" Sairi chanted cheerfully in her native tongue, and instantly the birds gave a cry and with their own forms of magick... they seemed to attach themselves to the fire-like barrier that formed all about the dragon. With ease and great power by their fiery wings, the birds flapped into the air and instantly the ball of fire rose, along wtih the body held captive inside.
"Let us move now... towards our location." One of the others spoke, and Sairi gave a nod as she followed the others.





Tarasque
~ Dragon of Fire / F ~


In the heavy, almost intoxicating state of rage... Tarasque heard a voice inside of her head. A commanding, yet some how reassuring voice... a call, as if to bring forth peace. The rage inside of Tarasque's mind tried to grow strong, but like a cool stream of water the voice began to wash away the rage... the pain... the turmoil.
Tarasque's eyes seemed to fade lightly, the soft piercing blue flushing back into her gaze. The firey red color faded away... and soon she could see with a level vision again. The volcanoe still brewed and flowed... but as Tarasque's anger vanished, the volcanoe became less explosive. Still, Tarasque's eyes rested upon Minh, who was struggling in a falling tree.

With ease and grace that far surpassed expectations of a creature of her size, Tarasque went over to Minh. The trunk of the tree was cast into flames just as Tarasque reached her, and before her body was claimed to the heat Tarasque lowered her neck so that Minh could clamber on. Instantly as her human body landed upon her neck, soon to slide down towards the base of her neck and between her shoulder blades, her warmth could be felt.

Tarasque's body gave off a natural heat, which rose with her emotion and it was a bit hotter than normal but if anyone could tolerate such heat, it was Minh. The heat was slowly cooling to a more 'warmer' state now anyways, so it wasn't an apparent problem. Minh sighed as she seemed to be communicating with some one... and Tarasque simply out of the lava. Her giant claws easily sloshed through the thick lava, the heat having no affect upon her repellent scales.
" Yxe wants a meeting with the others... you're brother-"
{ Gone, kidnapped... I know of this. Let us fly and meet my siblings. Perhaps it will calm the rage that I suffer to stifle in this moment. }

Tarasque's strong yet some how poetic thought stretched to Minh.
{ I will notify my kyn. }
As Tarasque opened her large wing span, knocking over a few trees in the process, she took a few large and stealthful steps before suddenly thrusting her wings downards so that her body rose in flight.
{ My siblings... we must have a meeting. Flock forth to our calling spot. }

[Arnen]

Er, I can't think of a decent post right now but Eurythion and Stephan are on their way XD

[Ciaobat]

Name: Tiamat
Sex: Female
Appearance: Her body is thin and a little elongated. She's covered in tiny pearl-like scales, white with a slight blue tint to them depending on the light. Two enamel horns curve from the back of her head, and a short pale blue mane lines the back of her neck, stopping just before her shoulders. Her long tail tapers, unadorned and whiplike. Her wings are slender and feathered along the fingers. Her eyes are different shades of blue; usually sapphire, but they lighten if her mood intensifies. Some of the scales along her back are a bright blue, making a brilliant dappled pattern.
Personality: Usually happy and optimistic. While her outlook is as light as her element, she's not the type to ignore problems in favor of pretending everything's alright. She likes to tease, but is adamant about not hurting others unless it's necessary. What she does find necessary, she doesn't hesitate to do. She's just as adept at cutting as she is at caressing, so to speak.
Element: Air
Animal form: Peregrine Falcon, with very pale coloration (can't think of anything else fast and not too tiny x_x)
Powers:
Chinook- Tiamat's every motion is extended and strengthened tenfold through the air around her. If she swings her tail, a scythe of air may hit and break a tree 30 yards away. A flap of her wings while standing would throw colums of dirt into the air.
Weighten- The air around Tiamat becomes very heavy. The effect lessens with distance, but she can maintain it for probably 80 yards or so. Within maybe 10 feet of her, the air is very difficult to even pull into one's lungs, and movement forward takes great strength. She can still move easily, as the air will part for her. This power takes a little time to build in any one area, so if she moves too far she'd have to start again.
Mistral- Tiamat's body takes on the properties of air. She becomes essentially weightless, and can move with startling speed as such. She can also disperse into the air. To see her would be like seeing a ghost, which can disappear and reappear at will.
Offensive Ratio: 1:2
Gem: Sapphire
Other: Likes fish. Also, she enjoys an immense freedom of movement in the air, and she feels horribly constricted if she has to move through any other medium, like, say, water.



Tiamat of the Winds
~''~'.~''~'.~''~.'~''~.'~''~
Tiamat could feel it. The winds that flowed around her were suddenly warmer, just slightly, and then even more so. She pulled herself up from her resting place, her pearly claws scratching at the rock under her. Her resting cliff was lightly vegetated, with sparse grass on the jutting rock that was the perfect size for her to stretch her long body as she lounged. She scanned the valley and mountain slopes before her with sharp eyes. This was not right. She could feel the collective anger of her siblings flowing through her as well. This outrage was not only for Tarasque to be furious about; an attack on their own brought the wrath of all of the siblings. As she scanned her mountains for a swish of yellow hair, Tarasque's thoughts called to her. {My siblings... we must have a meeting. Flock forth to our calling spot.} Tiamat realized that the one she searched for may not have known of the situation. :~ Kalani, we must go with speed. Where are you?~: Her usual mirth was replaced with simple urgency. She moved forward smoothly and dropped off the ledge of the rock, letting her wings catch her before she began to fall, making a smooth, level transition from the earth to the air.

[MarshmallowEgg]

Name: Kalani O'Morain
Sex: Female
Age: 17
Steed: Tiamat
Affinity: Air Blade - Kalani's sword feels almost weightless and is incredibly easy to wield though it is so large and she so small.
Appearance: Kalani's skin is lightly tanned and very smooth. Her hair is thick and white-blond in color; it reaches to her knees and she leaves it free and loose. Her eyes are the color of the sky - light blue and sparkling. She's small, standing at only 5'1", and very thin, but has surprising strength for one of her size and is lithe and agile. She can often be found barefoot. Around her left ankle are several blue and silver metal bangles that make a tinkling, jingling sound when she walks. Her usual attire is a light, airy, sleeveless white tunic tied off around the waist with a blue sash and tan leggings only a shade darker than her skin. Her longsword hangs in a white sheath at her side.
Personality: Kalani is not one of many words. She is very quiet, and a deep thinker. She is very sensitive, not only to her own feelings but to others as well. You could call her intuitive; she can tell when someone is upset and on the rare occasion when she speaks more than a sentence or two at a time to someone other than Tiamat, it is usually because she's trying to help someone out. Kalani usually feels responsible for what happens to her friends and allies, even though she is rarely put in leadership roles. If a friend is wounded/dies in battle, she blames herself, though usually she couldn't have done anything to prevent it anyway.
Weapon(s): An edged silver longsword which she handles with ease though it is nearly half her size. There is a band of small sapphires around the hilt and one larger one embedded into the blade.
Relationships: Open
Other: None, unless I think of something. XD

Kalani O'Morain - Wind Rider of Tiamat
----------

Something's wrong.

She felt it before Tiamat called to her. Something was wrong. Tiamat was... distraught. But it wasn't only Tiamat. There was something bigger. Something was going on on a much larger scale. What it was, she did not know. But her normally accurate intuition was insisting to her that something terrible had happened.

<Kalani, we must go with speed. Where are you?>

Tiamat's voice was in her mind. She sounds upset.... Her intution had been correct. Kalani rose to her feet, scanning the skies. She spotted Tiamat not far from where she was, circling the area. Her hand rose into the air.

<I'm here, Tiamat,> she replied, running forward. The bangles around her ankle jangled without a care. <What is it? What's happened?> she asked. Her mind speak, though only heard in the head, gave away her concern.

[Weasel Overlord]

[Weasel Overlord]

It took so long to write out my post, and then when I posted it, it went to the wrong link...I went back, and it had all been deleted! That is so annoying!


~Yxe, Wind Rider of the missing Sastrugen~

-Calming Tarasque. Meet where?- Came the reply from Minh. Her voice filled Yxe with relief. He hated the feeling of loneliness that was pervading his mind. It felt strange and unreal, despite the fact that he had spent about 15 years alone and blissfully unaware of Sastrugen’s presence and importance. That, however made no difference to the way the he felt now. There was a void at the back of his mind that was usually filled with Sastrugen, and it was taking a lot of getting used to. He probably wouldn’t ever be used to the sinking despair that was washing through his heart.
Yxe shook his head to snap himself out of the depression and linked his mind to Minh’s.
-Meet in Russia. You know where. Tasasque to tell the others. Make haste.-
He snapped his mind away and sank to the snowy ground to await his Dragon-kyn. There would probably be trouble. There always was…especially when Affy and Stephan were together. They just didn’t get along for some reason. Then again, Yxe and Minh seemed to be the only pair of Wind Riders to actually be genuinely friendly towards each other. Although that could have been something to do with the fact that their Dragons were Soul-twinned. And that they were in love. That always helps! Anyway, the meeting was bound to be strained, and Yxe was determined not to let them squabble. There were higher things at stake here. Such as Sastrugen’s life. Yxe found himself shaking with pent up emotion and he bit his lip to stop himself from crying out. He shook his head and got back into control over his feelings. There was time for grief later.
Yxe glanced at the sky and gasped. They were here. And so swiftly. He gave thanks to Minh and Tarasque’s organisation and the favourable winds that had carried his Dragon-kyn here so quickly. First in the convoy was Tarasque, naturally, closely followed by Tiamat. She was the oldest of the female Dragons, and the one most likely to show Yxe some compassion for his situation. Soon after, Beowulf winged into view, his great, brown bulk blotting out some of the chilly, Russian sunlight. Then came Sigurd and Marduk, with Eurythion following them. His body like a patch of pure darkness on the air. Next to Eurythion flew Indra, the sun glinting off her flawless silver scales. The Dragons swept in to land, the draft from their wings stirring up a dust cloud that covered Yxe from head to foot. He brushed himself down as Tarasque and the rest landed. As soon as they had touched the ground, Minh leapt off Tarasque’s back and ran towards Yxe. She leapt at him and embraced him warmly.
“Don’t worry.” She whispered in Yxe’s ear. “It’ll be alright. You’ll see. We’ll get him back for you.” Yxe relaxed and embraced her back, crushing her to his chest as if she was being snatched away like Sastrugen had. He stepped back, out of the encirclement of her arms, and gazed round at the assembled Dragons and his fellow Wind Riders.
“I should have been there…” He whispered. “I…I was out hunting, when they took him from me…I should have been there for him…” He trailed off and looked at the ground.
“So if you had have been there…what would you have done?” Spoke a quiet, slightly lilting voice. There was a gasp, and Yxe looked up and into Stephan’s eyes.
“What if it was the Fire Children again? Not like you could have taken them on your own, is it?”
Yxe could have sunk into the ground and disappeared.
<Don’t take any notice of him, dear. He means no harm.> Spoke the gentle voice of Tiamat. Yxe took a deep breath and stood up straight.
“Will you help me?” He asked, shyly.

[Amdir Mallorn]

Name: Oriyen
Sex: Female
Age: 16
Class: Bard
Appearance: She has long, light brown hair that falls over her shoulders. Her eyes are a greyish-blue, and her facial features are plain. She is slim, and about 5'6''.
Personality: She isn't outgoing, but isn't particurly shy either. She mostly takes things as they come to her, whether she accepts them or not. She is very expressive, and you can usually tell what mood she is in by the look on her face. She tries to treat everyone the same, if she can.
Weapon(s): None
Speciality: Defensive; Oriyen is a 'reject'
Powers: Extinguish: When a tune is played on her Ocarina, she can extinguish regular fires, and to some extent magical ones.
Relationships: None as of now
Other: She hasn't quite accepted that she is a reject. She is frightened of her magic, but can't bear to be apart from her Ocarina for long as it was an heirloom given to her by her mother.

~Oriyen, Bard Reject~

She was there just to lend a helping hand when it was needed. Her magic was of no use to them, as she just could not get it right... therefore, she had kept it secret from the High Mage. Oriyen dreaded the time in which Sairi would learn that instead of creating fires, she put them out. So for now, she was there, a presence noticeable yet quiet.

Her Ocarina was tucked safely in its case, inside her pocket. Within reach in case she needed it, out of sight if she did not. It would only give the Mage another reason to notice her, if it was out all the time. And it was safer there, anyways... inside her pocket, it would not get scratched or broken.

'Now!" The word caught Oriyen by surprise, she had not been expecting it. Even after the Mage's first comment. And then... It all happened so quickly, and the fact that Oriyen had been startled did not help. She almost missed the whole thing, taking only glimpses of what was happening. It ended, to her it seemed, almost as quickly as it began. As the Feiros carried the great Dragon away, Oriyen watched them leave in awe, not daring to think of what would have happened if Sastrugen had had time to react and protect himself.

"Let us move now... towards our location." One of the others said. Oriyen nodded, glancing up at the sky once more, and then followed.

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

My computer is still AWOL... Currently, I'm hogging my aunt's computer as my mother refused to let me waste her office clerk's time xD;; So, yeah.. Just to let you know I haven't given up on this rpg.. I'll hopefully be posting a full length one on Monday...

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

*drools all over newly restored computer* Now we're cooking with charcoal...
------------------
Athanasius Pound|M|Wind Rider of Beowulf
"Argh, Argh, Argh"
------------------------

There was cold, and white, and snow, all over.

Usually, the flights were bad enough, what with the vertigo and the weather conditions and the wind wailing and the yuk, but the landings were quite possibly worse.

Beowulf was big, which meant he had a lot of mass. He was also heavy. And while he wasn't the quickest flyer in the world, once he started he didn't stop very easily, and all that energy had to go somewhere, which was... all over.

Momentum kicked into action, and there wasn't a thing that Athanasius Pound could do about it, except try not to scream. He couldn't, even if he'd tried, because Beowulf hit the slush and the tundra with a whooph and Affy hit Beowulf with a thud and all the 'aaaargh' was winded out of him. The next thing, or things, they hit, in order, were a snowdrift, a pine tree, a rock, another snowdrift, a quite larger rock, a longer snowdrift and, rather finally, an icy cliff.

Since Beowulf was harder than most things, not much actually hit Affy, but the thudding and the whomping made him feel as if he'd been streetfighting, without a proper weapon, for a week and seven days flat; or in other words, mildly concussed. His dragon, of course, hadn't noticed a single thing and shook the snow off his lichen-covered shoulders nonchalantly. Affy lit a cigarette. (Not to show that he was still cool, calm and collected after what he'd just gone through, mind- if this was the case he'd had attempted to stop the shaking of his fingers. It was more of a reflex action that he performed every time he thought things were going a little too soddingly for his taste.)

He vaguely thought he heard Yxe say: "Will you help me?"
Beowulf thundered, Of course, and telepathically, looked at Affy expectantly.
"I'll say yes because oh gods I never want to go through that again," said Affy, on auto-pilot. "Maybe if I tell Sairi I'll withhold the candy for a month she'll surrender instantly. Oh, how I wish."
There was a telepathic glare from Beowulf, and it hurt. Athanasius sometimes disliked it when the dragon's senses were working properly; Beowulf made him do things his way when they were. He took a drag.
"What I meant was," said Affy quickly, rearranging his sentence, "sure I'll help because I want to save Sastrugen and the world's balance from certain ruin."
There was a soft noise, like the padding of a honey-pawed cat. Stephan had somehow moved nearer to him without him noticing it.
"Why, hobo," he said, with a voice that was several degrees higher up on the food chain than Affy's. "What a charming notion."
"Shut up, Stephan," said Athanasius automatically.
"Um, how about everyone else?" Yxe stepped in, albeit quiveringly, in order to avert the inevitable avalanche.

[Bulbasaur4]

Tarasque


With a billowing flow, Tarasque arrived just before a few of her other bretheren. She landed gracefully, her wings beating down against the air so that snow seemed to rise but instead of nailing Yxe like the others, the snow instantly melted. Usually half of the snow would melt, and half of the snow would stay in an arrival such as this... but her brother was gone. He was not near.

The snow would melt before her.

Instantly as her clawed feet met the ground, the snow sizzled and instantly turned to puddles at her feet, giving her about a two foot radius of girth. The water soon evaporated as well, and Tarasque seemed not to notice. Minh stayed upon her back, and at the hearing of Athan (short heh) she curled her head towards him. Her eyes narrowed for a bit, but her temper (usually controled) was a little at both ends. She bit back her fierce words that boiled inside of her, but she glanced at Yxe.
[ My brother is half of my soul. With out him, it feels as if my own self is lost. I will find the ones responsible and destroy them. ]
At those words, anger flared up within Tarasque which caused her body temperature to suddenly let off an extreme heat. Minh gave a slight cry of dislike, edging away from Tarasque (she had returned to her) along with a few of her siblings. The snow also seemed to disappear from around her.
<< Calm down Tarasque... >> Minh replied, and Tarasque gave a snort.
[ The more we talk, the less time we have to plan and the more my brother's life is gravely endangered. I suggest we hurry things up. ]
Tarasque withdrew a sigh, awaiting.

[Vulpix.ck87]

Siyann/F - 17/Windrider to Sigurd

With a relaxed stroke of her tail, the water dragon was propelled snout first through the ocean. The current flowed over and around her body, and soon the creature seemed to melt into the water itself, and was barely distinguishable, except to trained eyes. Sigurd literally purred her song, a series of slow clicks and deep throated rumbles, and she practically rippled with happiness. Not only was the water her home, it was her being, and she instantly felt at ease with the world.
As her lifelong dragon companion bathed in the ocean, Siyann bathed in the moonlight upon a low, grassy overhang of the coast. It was a beautiful night, and as the stars twinkled above her in the dark of the gloaming, she daintily dipped her toe in the lush warm water. It barely disturbed the surface, and neither did the dragon snout that emerged a few seconds later. Sigurd lifted her windrider's foot back into the air, and Siyann took pleasure in the gentle touch of the soft velvet flesh - moist yet not slimy - and the warm air upon her legs as the dragon exhaled the deepest of breaths.
Siyann smiled as Sigurd slipped away again, and her foot sunk back to the water - but only for a moment.
"Ahh!" Siyann gasped in shock, and by reflex she backed away from the water. Had she been stung? Her skin felt like it had been branded with a scorching hot poker. Instantaneously, a large sea otter landed on the shore beside her and shook its pelt violently. Flecks of boiling hot water stung her flesh once more. The peaceful mood was broken in an instant.
I am greatly worried.. I feel fire, and that fire is certainly of Tarasque. No matter this, fire does not belong in the ocean. She is ferocious.. Sigurd spoke through that sacred mind link, and Siyann could sense her pure fear. This alarmed Siyann greatly - mostly because it worried Sigurd, and Sigurd was well used to her sister's fiery temperament. Siyann's heart sank as the otter gazed up at her with it's deep black eyes, almost quivering.
"We should go check it out then," Siyann said decisively, and scooped the otter up in her arms. Sigurd was restless though, and squirmed until she was free. Anxious, she ran down the grassy cliffs and across the beach back to the village, with her windrider hurrying behind her. They reached her grandmother's inn, and Siyann crept up the stairs silently to her attic bedroom. There, she stuffed all the money she had into one of her boots, and put them securely into her white bag, which she slipped over her head and onto her shoulder. All the while, Sigurd made small piteous noises, very unlike her usual calm self. The reason? She had just received a message from her siblings of her brother's plight.
"We have to go.. they have Sastrugen, we have to leave.."
"Hush.." Was all Siyann could say to this, as shocked as she was. Sastrugen? This meant serious trouble. "Hold on."
She picked up a piece of parchment and put a pen to it, though had no idea what to write.
Grandmama.. She winced at the thought of the truth, started to write the opposite, but shook her head. The truth it was. Or something make-like.
The gods have summoned me, and I must take my leave of this place. I love you, and though I wish it wasn't so, I have to do this. Do not fret for me, as I rest safe in Sigurd's talons.
Wish me luck, Siyann. xx
Her grandmother was old, and believed every single legend of the dragons of yore. Siyann smiled - If anyone would accept the unlikely truth of this, it would be her grandmother. She placed the letter on her bed, picked up her harpoon, and departed back to the ocean.
Here Sigurd waited, her great beautiful head watching Siyann as she swam out to meet her. Siyann heaved herself out of the water to sit at the nape of Sigurd's neck, just in front of the sail like fin that ran along her spine, and the ridges of her long slender wings. With her arms around Sigurd's sinuous neck, and with a beat of her tail and a sweep of her wings, the two alighted not into the air, but into the water. The water was pleasantly cool once more upon Siyann's skin, and she grew sleepy in its light warmth. With the rhythmic beating of Sigurd's webbed tail and wings, so much like her own heartbeat, the water-rider (for that's what she truly was) was lulled into a trance. Her mind floated, and she felt her body sway and dissolve into a million water particles, and all she knew was the water: it's currents and temperature; the tang of the salt and it's roar; and as far as she now knew, the ridges of the sea bed far beneath her and the place were sea met land and air.. they were the very edges of the world.
North.. Said the dragon, calm once more.
What seemed like hours later but were mere seconds, Siyann felt herself come back to her body - her lungs ached and her eyes stung from the salt. Her flesh froze in these freezing waters so unlike her native land's, and with a lurch she was forced upon the grit of a rugged shore. Sigurd stood in front of her stretching her wings as her rider hacked up the water from her lungs, and then nudged her to her feet.
Now we fly.

It was a brief flight into the heart of Russia, as fast as Sigurd was. Siyann was almost freezing to death above the clouds that threatened snow, and the two hastily glided down to land. As they neared the ground the air seemed to warm, and Siyann spotted Tarasque and almost smiled and called out from relief.. But Tarasque looked heartbroken (not to mention murderous), and Yxe looked uncommonly forlorn, so the girl and her dragon curled up together silently to listen to what Tarasque had to say. Greetings could wait.

I'll probably take Sigurd if no-one butts in ^^ but i might not post for her too much. She's under Siyann's watch anyway ;)

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of the missing Sastrugen~

Minh left yxe and walked back over to Tarasque. He felt her words through their mind-link but he couldn't understand their meaning. That was secret. Only for the Wind Riders and their soul-mates, but with Minh and Yxe's close relationship, he could understand at least some meaning, albeit vague, but it was still more than the rest could muster. Ah yes, the rest. Yxe had confirmation of Tarasque's help. That much went without saying, but as for the rest of Sastrugen's siblings and his Dragon-kyn...well, he wasn't sure. Obviously they felt Sastrugen's loss as he had done, but whether they would help him...
"Um, how about everyone else?" Yxe ventured. "I know that I can count on Tarasque and Minh's help but..." He looked around expectantly. "What I'm trying to say is, can I count on the rest of you?" The latter of the sentence came out in a rushed breath, and Yxe felt nervous as he waited for affirmation. Almost instantaniously, he felt a rush of warmth flow thorugh his mind. <Of course we'll help you.> That was Tiamat. <Is Sastrugen not our Brother too?> Yxe felt a ripple of agreement flow through the rest of the Dragon siblings as they nodded. Yxe exhaled in relief. How could he have ever doubted them? He smiled around at the Dragons assembled.
"Now, we need a plan."



~Malic-Fire Child and Warrior~

Malic looked up as the fiery imps carried off he nemesis. She knew not what the imps were, but she felt thankful that they were there to assist in the transportation of the Dragon. After all, he was quite a burden, and no doubt she and Anoma would have had to do most of the carrying, as usual. She didn't mind her place in the sect. SHe enjoyed doing the 'dirty work' as it was called by the magic-doers. It made her feel useful at least, and she didn't resent the magic-users, she just didn't understand it. At all.
As Sastrugen, bound and helpless, was borne ahead, she followed with Anoma, a good friend from the very beginning of her experiences with the Fire Children. They had joined at about the same time and, both of them having the same job to do, they found common ground. This was odd for Malic, not having many friends for most of her life, but she was drawn to Anoma in a strange way that she had never experienced before. For one thing, they were both warriors, which helped. Malic broke off from her thoughts and looked around, realising that she should have been more alert. The company had been walking for quite some time now and suddenly, they had stopped. Sairi was looking at the floor. She looked like she had lost something, when suddenly she sprang into a crouch and brandished a small, red stone with a cry of triumph.
"Found it!" She cried. Then, she put the stone back on the floor, to Malic's puzzlement, and walked around so that she was facing the other way. She held out her hands above the stone and chanted some words that were unintelligible to Malic's untrained ear. She clasped her hands to her chest, and suddenly flung them out in what seemed to be a dismissing gesture. However, a large portal materialised out of nowhere, with a loud whumph. The flaming portal shouldn't have surprised Malic, thay had arrived in one, after all, but the use of magic always made her jumpy. You couldn't fight magic with a sword. Sairi clapped her hands and the imps carrying Sastrugen disappeared through the portal, followed by the rest of the company, bar Malic, Anoma and of course, Sairi. Their job was to guard the portal from unwanted invasion, and Sairi needed to make sure that everyone was through before she went through herself. They stepped through and into the temple that they called 'home'. Sairi followed shortly and, with a word, she collapsed the portal so that it was nothing but a pile of ash on the floor.
"Mission accomplished, my people." She cried, to the sudden burst of cheering. "We have the Dragon."

[Djinn]

Name: Ignis "True" Trucido
Sex: Male
Age: Seventeen
Class: Sorcerer
Appearance:
Description - True nearly reaches six feet in heighth, barely a centimeter or two short. His build isn't extremely muscled, but he has lean muscle enough from exercise, though it can't really be used for offensive purposes and rather is for endurance. His eyes are piercing silver that seem able to fathom the deepest thoughts in the world and holding intelligence unknown. His hair is cut of medium length and styled in a way that small tufts spout over his ears with a curve at the back, and long black bangs that cover his entire forehead. Usually messy and untidy, he prefers it this way to slicked down and stuck tight to his head in an organized fashion. True's teeth are brilliantly white, but he isn't fond of showing them, and rather, half-smiles in a smirking sort of way. He's lean and lithe, and couldn't be much more aerodynamic for a human. He wears silver face paint in the shape of a crescent moon. True's moonstone implements are embedded on his palms and forehead, and gray with clouded centers (can be turned to red to give the illusion of rubies). They are pentagonal shape, and 2 cm on his palms, 1 cm on his forehead. These embedded gems are .3 cm thick.

Wear - True's preferred dress is plain gray linen pants and a simple gray and black tunic, on special occasions he might dawn a silver robe that covers this and reaches nearly to the floor. If he has to, he'll wear a deep crimson robe of the same style as the silver with neck clasps of gold. When wearing his pants and tunic he can usually be seen with a black belt around the waist and cloak in the style of 1600 France. His feet are clothed in comfortable, though hardy, black riding boots. You can't even force True into any type of armor, even in battle, unless it is extremely lightweight.

Personality: He doesn't boast a shining personality, but sports a generosity and kindness not found in most of the others of his sect. True is never boastful, and neither optimistic, rather he tells it like it is. Though he likes to express his thoughts in a complicated manner, he doesn't mind letting it into to simpler terms to cut time cost in half. He's witty and wise when he decides to speak, though he never uses it to insult another. Though quiet, calm, and graceful he doesn't fear to speak loudly come the chance. Towards other Fire-Children he as cold and distant, not wanting to get connected to any of them, and is not afraid to take a fight should it come to that. Passive-Aggressive at most other times, True can be the mediator and is adept as seeing all the sides of a debate. Intelligent and extremely well-learned, he has no problem with patience and is masterful in judging the feelings and moods of others. True has a completely lackadaisical outlook on his sect's practice, and desperately wants to leave, especially by the pressure of being so different. For all his intelligence, he hasn't yet had the opportunity to escape, and leads a lie in strictly following the rest of the Fire Children.

Weapon: Naught but his magic! True also happens to have reflexes that are only a step behind the step before precognition. Really fast. His skill with any matter of weaponry (including unarmed techniques) is infinitely lacking compared to nearly any other person that has ever used a weapon.

Speciality: Better Defense (Reflex) than Magical Offense; True is a reject.

Powers: True implements his powers through the moonstones embedded in his palms and smaller one on his forehead. Currently, the only way True is able to hide his reject power is by being late for any meeting, and acting as a bad monk rather than sorcerer. He is able to make his moonstones glow a vicious red to make them seem like rubies.

Luna Blessing - True makes a praying gesture and rubs his palm moonstones together twice to heal minor wounds quicker.
Cloud - True raises his hands to face level, and his moonstones cloud and spout easy-to-breath nontoxic smoke that can be concentrated to have a damaging effect or extinguish fires, or as a temporary barrier.
Blink - True teleports a short distance by clapping his hands hastily, then a plume of smoke arises from the spot he disappears and a barely audible pop sounds. If he teleports more than a hundred yards he becomes extremely sore.
Flash - True sweeps away his hair and his forehead's moonstone flashes, immobilizing the weak-minded for about ten seconds.

Relationships: None as of the moment.
Other: Besides being a sorcerer, True has a haunting ethereal singing voice to rival a Bard's though he can't and never will be able to perform magic this way.

History: True's mother, Glacia Trucido, was a devoted Fire Child herself. His father Ulexo was a middle class citizen of Gaudeo, a village of good tidings. When a battle with a group of rebels opposing the Fire Children's cause occurred just outside the small wood near Gaudeo, Ulexo found Glacia wounded in a small clearing and taken for dead by the rest of her sect. Glacia bred a deep resent for her kind in her months spent nursed back to health in Ulexo's home in the wood near the village. She decided that she was never to go back, and would rather lead a newer simple life. A year later, True was born and both his parents were proud but surprised by the eccentric moonstones embedded in his palms and the small one on his forehead. His mother new immediately of how he had a sorcerer's ability, and fled Gaudeo by night to leave her husband (whom she still loved) alone in his home. Despite her betrayal, Glacia had been one of the Fire Children's most skilled Sorceresses and she knew that if they discovered her child they would take him as their own. Fleeing through the wood, she encountered a fellow Fire Child near another battle scene that had once again arrived near Gaudeo, and she was struck down (her power had long ago waned when she settled) and True was taken despite her desperate effort to save him. Ulexo found Glacia's body later that day, and has sought True ever since. True, however, was raised thinking his parents were both Fire Child devotees that died honorably in battle with a Wind Rider. For all their lies, True has come to hate them and their purpose anyway. For all his intelligence, he continues to not realize that he can escape the sect just by showing his reject power, which would get him kicked out instantaneously.

===============
Ignis - M - Fire Child
===============

My own muffled sigh more than cheer was drowned out by the massive uproar of the rest of the sect. Even my "patient" was more enthusiastic than I was about it, and listened intently as Sairi went into some success speech "rant", blah, blah, bloody blah. I bandaged the male sorcerer I had been treating and sent a quick blast of healing energy through his wounds, good thing his damage was minimal. "Wait," I said just as he left. "Explain to me again how this happened."

The reply was just as shocking the second time. "I tripped," he said, and obviously didn't sound to amused, even more so when I let out a slight chuckle, "don't make fun of me you Monk!" The clumsy warrior unsheathed his sword and waved it in my face. "I'll kick your ass any day!" I took the comment with ease, and this seemed to unnerve him. "You're weird!" He yelled this midrun, dang there goes another patient.

I glanced up at Sairi again to see her finishing her speech, and the sect disbanded to different areas of the temple. Sairi directed several people as to what to do about Sastrugen, but mysteriously she locked eyes with me, and seemed to directly command through them for me to come. It wasn't unusual for Sairi to talk to me, though a monk I was also a valuable spy, and had done several missions to my discontent. Would it be the same thing this time?

I made my way across the stone tile of the main chamber and came to a stop in front of Sairi. I sighed a deep annoyed sigh and asked, "Yes High Mage Sairi?"

===============

Sorry B4 for making you have to interact like that, but I don't know exactly what to post at the moment... If you can't think of something for Ig to do, just make him go heal some other mundane patient, should bother him a bit. Yes I know that was short.

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi
~ High Mage - F ~



" Come... talk with me."
Sairi gave Ignis a charming smile, her usual bumbling self coming to light now that the dragon was currently being contained. The portal had opened... and brought them home.

Home was directly upon the equator of the world, and it was always constantly warm. If that wasn't enough... their main island was surrounded by five other smaller islands- each a volcanoe of course. Surprisingly enough, their own island was not formed by volcanoes but was a mere high point in the sea. Perhaps long ago it had been formed... but as of now, there was nothing to provide evidence. Four of the five volcanoes surrounding the island were constantly active, but never erupted much to hurt their own island. Besides... they were fire children.
Sairi motioned Ignis still, even after he had asked her what she wished. Night time was falling... and the volcanoes seemed to cast their own small glow. After a brief and silent walk... Sairi and Ignis were standing upon the edge of a high cliff. From this cliff, there was a clearing that had a remarkable view of two of the volcanoes, and the beautiful night sky. Sairi seemed to look at the sky for a while... and the moon casted it's rays upon her. She gave a smile and sighed... and it wasn't until Ignis spoke again, that she turned her head to look.
"Umm... High Mage Sairi... you summoned me?"
Sairi gave a smile as a flush came to her face.
"Oh... I did, didn't I?" Ignis seemed to sweatdrop at this, himself used to Sairi's little tidbits.
" Yes, what is it you wanted?" He responded, sighing lightly and to that Sairi tilted her head to the side.
" Do you know why we captured the dragon of Ice?" She stated, her voice completely innocent and full of wonder. Ignis was dumbfounded for a moment...
" ... isn't it because the legends state that the fire children will gain power over the world or some thing along those lines?"
" oh... is that it?" Sairi's expression faded into a frown, as she sat upon a large stone that seemed to overlook the sea. The moon's soft pale light reflected upon her face ever so gently.
Ignis seemed confused, and for once Sairi was serious.
" I keep reminding myself of that."
"Isn't it what you wanted?" Ignis asked, perhaps interested in why Sairi was acting so strange.
" What I wanted? Oh... sure."
"Sure?"
" Well... the elders, they... they wanted it."
Sairi forced a smile as she glanced at him.
" When the elders, the council... when they told me the legend when I was younger, they stated that one day we had to capture Sastrugen. They said that was what the legend wanted us to do. They told me that one day I would be the leader... and that I would have to take on the duty of making the legend come true... and so, I have."
Sairi leaned forward, resting her chin upon her palm as she took her elbow upon her knee.
" I want everyone to be happy... the elders are happy and it seems most of the fire children are happy. Sastrugen killed a lot of their family members. Everyone... is... happy. That... that is what I wanted."

Silence. Then Ignis seemed to be unsure of what to do... he had never seen Sairi this way.
"Are... you happy?" Sairi stated, glancing at Ignis with intent eyes. They were sparkling... full of a painful tare, some thing that was odd. Offsetting.
When Ignis didn't answer, Sairi nodded.
" You're powers... they're what the elders call, 'reject powers'... aren't they?"
Ignis seemed to swallow suddenly, as if that was a very striking comment.
" I can sense who has what power... it's part of being the High Mage. I knew your powers the moment I set my gaze upon you."
"Oh... umm... well.." Ignis fumbled for words, and Sairi suddenly stood up. Whirling about, she faced him, a smile upon her face. This one... could not be determined if it was true or not.
" Do not worry. I will not tell anyone."
"But... doesn't that make you, dislike me? That... I'm unlike everyone else?"
Sairi gave a strange look, and its eemed as if she were hiding some thing- not about Ignis, but as if she knew some thing that saddened her yet it made her content all the same.
"Dear Ignis... why should I dislike you for being unique? No one asks for the powers they recieve... but for whatever powers they do receive, they should think of them as gifts- blessings. No... the elders are the ones who have true power. I may be the High Mage, but I am... simply their tool. I must stand strong and firm for the Fire Children and do as the elders say. If I disapprove of the elders' ways, then everyone will fall apart. Things will split.. people will be unhappy. I do not wish to grant unhappiness. But Ignis..."
Sairi reached into her robe, and gently she withdrew a gleaming red stone. It seemed to mirror the stone that she had in her very own staff.
" You have helped me many times. You have done things for me, and for the elders. I thank you... so please, take this. You might not have the power of fire, but this may help you. It's a Fieron Stone. Just hold onto it... and if ever you might need the power of fire, think hard with you mind... and a little fire will form around the hand that holds the stone. It will not burn you and it will not fade as long as you clasp the stone. Who knows... maybe it'll help you, if ever the elders doubt your prowess."

Sairi smiled, and turned away from Ignis. Walking towards the edge of the cliff, she stood there... her toes over the edge but yet she seemed perfectly balanced. She just gazed out upon the sea...
" Tarasque, you'll be coming soon... won't you?"
She thought, withdrawing a sigh.

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

Athanasius Pound - Wind Rider of Beowulf
---------------

The cold was getting to Athanasius, or rather, Athanasius was responding to the cold. Bits of him he wouldn't have admitted to knowing he had were tingling, and other bits were, he was sure, quite numb. He'd managed to keep his teeth from chattering but that was about the best he could say about his adapting qualities. And the surest sign that he had that the cold was at least forty degrees Celsius below zero was that Beowulf's brain was working very quickly. As quickly as it'd gone in the middle of the Great Desert, even. It took a special kind of cold to emulate the effect. No wonder Sastrugen lived here.

Even as it passed through his mind, winking out of intellectual sight, the past tense of the word 'lived' made a little part of his heart go even colder.

As far as he knew, the Fire Children were really big on tradition. That was probably why they lived in the middle of a circle of volcanoes. Madmen, every last one of them. And there was a portal. Somewhere. Guarded heavily. With magic charms and hexes on too, in all probability. The one thing Sairi's letters to him never mentioned was the state of security in her headquarters. They often contained random information about what she'd eaten for lunch that day, though.

Right now, Beowulf's quickly working brain, transferring thought, told him that one of the most important things they had to do was to make sure Tarasque did not walk right into the maw of the Fire Children. Which was to say, she couldn't be an active part of the rescue party, because that was what they wanted her to be. Granted, she could possibly make all the volcanoes go boom and annihilate the lot of them, but that would mean Sastrugen went boom too. Or maybe the bugger would melt. He'd die in either case, anyway.

Problem was, Tarasque would probably swallow him whole for suggesting it. Or, more likely, incinerate him and send his ashes to the Fire Children in a nicely labeled envelope as a warning, or something. And they'd think it was an Omen, or a sign of approval. And then they'd slaughter Sastrugen on account of there being a sign of approval. Oh gods.

Or, if they decided to send a vanguard, he was pretty sure his name would be right on top of the list. He was arguably one of the hardest of the Wind Riders to kill, although he wasn't big on attack power. Beowulf was always useful in any situation that involved brute force.

Athanasius raised a gloomy hand. "Er, I have got a small yet essential point to make?"

Yxe nodded. "Go ahead."

"Tarasque can't go." He cringed, waiting for the inevitable hot-spa-steam feeling he always got when Tarasque was pissed off.

It came, with the hot breath breathing almost down his neck. Could you give me a very good reason as to WHY exactly I cannot rush to my brother's aid?

"Yeah, exactly. Why the hell not?" demanded her Wind Rider, Minh.

"Er... because that's what they want her to do. Go, that is. I have no idea why they'd want a rabid, angry, large, fire-breathing dragon for, but I'm almost certain it's not for something agreeable. They'd find some means to bind her, you know, they and her being fire-element and all, and then they'd have two of them." He tried not to concentrate on the flaming depths of Tarasque's eyes, which were unnerving him considerably. "At least, I think you'd better not go... it's your choice, I mean.."

[Djinn]

*Applauds B4* Bravo!


===============
Ignis - M - Fire Child
===============

I almost responded again to Sairi, but she had turned, and I kept it as the end of our conversation. I made my way silently off the peak, still clasping the Fieron Stone tightly in my palm. I left and withdrew to my room unfortunately on the far temple, which meant I had to traverse a lot of corridors. I passed happy Fire Children and even eager ones; there were no unhappy faces upon this crowd. I was surprised my own anguished eyes couldn't be easily picked out.

When I reached the rough wooden door of my own little quarters I quickly clasped the handle and bolted through, gasping as the solitary air filled my lungs. These times were the best, when I was alone to ponder; crowds made me a bit nauseous.

Usually in conversation I was either witty or confusing but in front of Sairi I found myself fumbling for the right words. Her outlook on the sect, as I had realized today, was almost as lazy as mine. I would have never guessed she was but a pawn of the elders, and those eyes didn't burn like so many other Fire Children but were almost like a small inviting flame.

The way Sairi had seen things had nearly changed my outlook within a finger snap, and I realized that it wasn't any of the Fire Children's fault that they might be blinded and surely they had to be happy about something. Was it pure lust for power that the legend might grant? Or was it something different? All my life here in the temple I felt the bonfire of the sect scorching me, but now as I stroked the Fieron Stone still in my tight-fisted hand, I saw in Sairi how the flame was almost welcome: a change to a bitter and cold lifeless land. Was the blaze in general such a bad thing?

Even as I had felt the unsettlement of seeing the High Mage so serious on that precipice, I could see the tinge of longing, maybe even regret in those deep eyes so questioning. I had asked her if it was what she wanted, to capture the King of Ice Sastrugen, but she had cleverly evaded the question. On that high cliff she had seemed to be waiting for something, like an old sailor's wife waiting for her lover's ship to come in. The slate in my head etched away to write again and again the comment I couldn't pass. As I had left that high maw I had wanted to whip around and scream, "It isn't what you wanted!" The evidence had been right there in those eyes, but somehow I feared her response.

As I went to bed, I opened my small window to embrace the steady moonlight from above. I couldn't help but feel it telling me, telling me something. Some kind of change was happening soon here, a reverse of power, but my mind couldn't yet grasp what.

===============

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of the stolen Sastrugen~

Affy raised his hand after a short period of thought.
" Er, I have got a small yet essential point to make?" He said, gloomily.
"Go on."
"Tarasque can't go." He cringed, and ducked his head slightly, expecting the outburst that followed. Obviously Tarasque had spoken into his mind, the look on Affy's face said it all. Minh looked furious.
"Yeah, exactly. Why the hell not?" She raged. Affy proceeded to explain to her fury, which looked like a formidable task. Yxe, however, totally agreed with him, but he knew that if he mentioned this fact, that Minh would break him. Painfully. He didn't feel up to facing her wrath yet. Not to mention Tarasque's temper. Yxe zoned in to hear the last part of Affy's speech.
"...it's your choice, I mean..." If looks could kill, Affy would have been fried to a crisp with the intensity of Minh and Tarasque's glares. He trailed off and backed away, holding up his hands, as if for protection.
"Much as I hate to say it, he has got a point." Drawled Stephan. "It's what they'll want you to do." He addressed Tarasque and Minh. "If you go, you'll be walking right into their home. Their territory. They'll find you straight away and then they'll have you both. And who knows what sort of plans Sairi has for Sastrugen and you." Yxe nodded in agreement.
"Well, we're not getting anything done hanging around here."

[Bulbasaur4]

Tarasque



Tarasque looked at her brethern, particulary at Affy who seemed to have mentioned the whole entire idea. At first, her reaction was that of a glare... a penetrating glare that probably could have fried anyone if fire were to shoot from the power of her eyes. Yxe started to agree, and it seemed as if almost everyone would agree except for Minh.
Tarasque smirked then suddenly... her expression totally changing from that of pure anger to a more calm, serene appearance.
[ You all give valid points. But... there is an aspect that perhaps you do not consider. ]

Everyone froze for a moment, as if they were hoping that TArasque would not retaliate. Yet she had another side of the argument... which was hard to deny.
[ While yes, my power comes from fire...and so does theirs. However, this is not to say that they'll have control over me. So what if they're waiting for me... with you by my side, we should still be able to take them. My fire against their should be most distracting... ]
They still gave wary looks, but Tarasque sighed.
[ Their islands are surrounded by volcanoes. if it appeases you, I will hide in one of the volcanoes... waiting. If things prove difficult, then I will join. Or at least until we can make a proper anaylsis. ]





Sairi

" Oh... what to do... what will happen. Will they come? Yes... they will... " Sairi thought to herself, or rather she mumbled outloud.
Then, with out warning... two figures appeared.
Elda and Ne'vex. One of the two elders of the council, very high elders that always meant business. Frowning, Sairi turned around but instantly her eyes seemed to light up.
"Oh! My two doves!" She said happily, and she went to them. They didn't give her the same reaction however.
" SAiri... the elders have discussed a few things. You must kill the ice dragon soon. Tomorrow would be the best time."
Sairi frowned... "BUt the children, they need time to eat candy!"
This did not amuse them, and Ne'vex growled.
" Sairi... we were the ones who created you. Listen to us or we will strip that power away."
SAiri bit her lip..
You did not create me, Tarasque and Vinali did. She thought bitterly, but simply fought off her emotions and smiled.
"Alright elders... I understand."
With that, in a few minutes... they left like shift shadows.
"Nirth!" Sairi suddenly called, and with out warning the Gryfalcon came. It was her loyal messenger bird... some thing that had always been dear to her. She smiled to him, and with out hesitation she went inside of her little mud-made home. The gryfalcon went through the windowless section and waited for her.


Affy!

~ Message from the one who brings you candy! A warning- we will be planning to kill your Ice Dragon friend soon! So if you want to surprise attack us... hurry! The Elders are pushing this, so I might not last long. When you come... I'm sorry. I may be foe.

Fight strongly!

~ The little dove

Sairi frowned at her letter, but soon fastened it up and hooked it to her bird's talons.
"Fly! Fly to Affy!"
With that... the bird was off with the utmost speed. Sairi sighed, and slowly she meandered to the corner of her house, near where her pictures and drawings of the twin dragons were- the dragon of Ice and FIre.
The scriptures... the passages.... everything, a lot of things... they were there.
A pain, a twinge of pain formed at Sairi's right side as she stared at Tarasque's picture, and she clasped it gently before slowly feeling the pain subside. She bit her lip again... and then she thought of Affy, of the others... of the elders and of Ignis.
Then she slowly bent her head, and softly cried.

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

>< ....The browser deleted my post while I was typing it again!!!!!! *kicks browser* Apologies for relative crappiness of post. I've got quite a pile of homework today...
---------------
Athanasius Pound
---------------------

Athanasius raised both his palms in an inoffensive manner and took a deep breath. He tasted the flames. "Good point. Okay, whatever. I guess you can still fry them if things get hairy and they catch you or something. Er, not that it's likely."

Feeling as though he'd just braved a walk through the Valley of Fear, Affy sat down on Beowulf's left front claws while the others talked it out. He still felt shaky from being the focus of tarasque's fury; at least he certainly wasn't cold anymore. He lit another cigarette, and half-wished he was dead. Scratch that, he wished he was normal.

Beowulf did a dragon version of the pat on the back, which bent Athanasius nearly double. Sorry, I forget that humans are squishy. The dragon was a doer, not much of a thinker. He waited fairly patiently for the other brethren to come to a standstill. Tarasque was getting more fidgety by the second. Someone, somewhere, was definitely going to get fried. Soon.

A gyrfalcon alighted on Athanasius's shoulder. He took the small scroll of parchment from its leg almost instinctively, burning off the seal with the end of his cigarette. What's she writing to me for now? Maybe it's something like, Oh, we are going to roast that stupid ice dragon at dawn, hahaha, sorry to rub it in and by the way I had orange sherbet for dessert today.

Probably not... Sairi's not the type...

He was dead right about roasting the stupid ice dragon at dawn, but completely wrong about the part on rubbing it in.

He ran over to the conferring group, who were getting slightly nervous because Tarasque had started breathing smoke rings. "Oi! We better get going quick because they are really going to kill Sastrugen tomorrow!"

How do you know this? roared Tarasque.

"Mine not to reason why," answered Affy automatically, then collected himself. "Look, I have my sources, and don't ask stupid questions because now isn't the time. The main thing is we, or just me if you don't believe me, have to get there ASAP. I have this idea that the gyrfalcon knows the way. It's ambush or nothing, if you're following me. I'm going now."

He threw the gyrfalcon into the air, and scrambled up Beowulf's back. The great dragon rose into the air ponderously, displacing several ice-covered boulders as he did so. Are you sure this is wise? remonstrated Beowulf mildly.

"No. But I don't want my friend to do something she'd rather not do, and stress about it in the process. I bet she's crying right now. And you don't want your brother to die. Objection?" He didn't want to meet Sairi in battle, either, but that could be sorted out later. He wasn't sure he'd be able to hurt her, when it came to it. He... well, he rather liked Sairi. Hopefully not in a mushy sort of way. He did't have time for that.

You are right... The large wings moved slowly, using the wind force they created with each flap to keep Beowulf afloat. The others will follow if they see fit.

"I'm really gonna die," said Athanasius to himself.

[Arnen]

Sorry for shortness and lack of postage ^^;

+'~Eurythion of the Darkness and his Wind Rider, Stephan~'+

Stephan leaned against a large stone, apart from the rest of the group. Eurythion lay curled at his side, for the most part uninterested in the conversations of his brothers and sisters. Stephan's gorgeous golden locks had a thin layer of frost covering them, and he was pondering how to wipe them away without breaking any frozen hairs when a gryfalcon flew onto the hobo's shoulder.

Poor thing, getting its talons all filthy like that, Stephan thought with a smirk. Gauging everyone's reactions, he figured the mangy hobo had, miraculously, come up with a solution to the missing Sastrugen problem. Giving Eurythion a nudge, Stephan gestured vaguely towards the hobo, who was climbing onto Beowulf's back. Getting the message, Eurythion rose, shaking snow and ice from his massive dark wings. He bent his neck for Stephan to climb into the hollow at the base and stepped forward with the grace of a cat stalking its prey, despite his size.

"So, we're leaving, are we?" Stephan said in his usual disinterested tone. "Well, I'm up for some entertainment. It's not like I have anything better to do..." He flashed a malicious, dazzling smile at the hobo. He figured he may as well raise some hell while he was being all heroic.

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of the stolen Sastrugen.~

All Yxe heard of the conversation was Affy's yelled remark that Sastrugen was going to die. Tommorow. He started shaking and let out a keening gasp.
"Tomorrow." He whispered, almost struck dumb by the proclaimation. He raised his head to see Affy and the rest clambering onto their Dragons. Even Minh mounted, which surprised Yxe. Beowulf bounded into the air and spread his enormous wings, catching the current of warm air that was rising. Suddenly, the rest of the Dragons were airborn, and Yxe was left alone. Grounded without his beloved Sastrugen. He expelled a great, shuddering gasp of horror that his Dragon-kyn had neglected him, and slumped to the ground in despair. He was never going to get Sastrugen back. And even if he was, he wouldn't be there to witness the saving of his Soul-mate. To see his reaction when his brothers appeared to save him. Despair filled him, and a scream of terror was forced through his mind-link with Minh.
-Don't leave me alone!- He felt her surprise, and looked up to the sky, to see Tarasque and the rest winging back to get him. Tarasque backwinged and landed as close to Yxe as she could, without landing on top of him or knocking him over. Minh opened her arms wide from her perch, and smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry, love." She murmured. "In our haste we forgot that you had no steed." Yxe ran over to the bulk of Tarasque and Minh leant down to help him up.
"It might not be the most comfortable of rides..." She whispered in his ear.
"Don't worry," Yxe replied, "I'm sure I'll manage." He grinned in relief and settled himself between Minh and one of Tarasque's large ridges.
"It's a little warm..." He smiled, ruefully, and Tarasque leapt upwards and into flight. Beowulf hovered above to meet them, and Yxe could sense the apologies from his Dragon-kyn at their negligence.
"The most important person on our mission and we forgot about him..." Smiled Affy. "Sorry 'bout that."
"No worries." Yxe grinned back, "Let's go then. Let Beowulf lead the way." The bulky Dragon powered his wings and sprang forward, utilising the currents to keep his mass in flight. He headed off to the South. Towards the volcanic islands of the Fire Children, in the heat of the Southlands.
It felt good to be flying again, even if he wasn't flying with Sastrugen...


~Malic, warrior of the Fire Children.~

After the triumphant kidnapping of Sastrugen, the temple was in high spirits for the remainder of the night. Malic had been kept off guard duty, along with Anoma, and they were celebrating their success along with other members of the sect. Red wine flowed freely amongst the revellers, but Malic felt slightly out of place. She hoped that the High Mage would kill Sastrugen and get it over with, before a rescue mission had time to be put into action. In fact, she rather hoped to have some part in Sastrugen's death, but what the Elders and Sairi had planned for him was been kept in absolute secrecy. Not even an inkling of their plan had leaked out, which was surprising in such a closed community. All Malic knew was that it involved some sort of ultimate power, and, of course, the Riddle of the Fire Children. Malic elbowed Anoma in the ribs.
"So what do ya think they're gonna do with Sastrugen?" She whispered in his ear.
"Dunno," He whispered back, rubbing his ribs, "But that really hurt." Malic giggled and elbowed him again for good measure. Anoma hissed in disgust and elbowed her back.
"Quit it!"
"Then tell me what you've herad." Malic retorted. "I know you've heard something."
"And what makes you think that?" He demanded.
"I dunno...you just always seem to know stuff." She tittered, slightly drunkenly. "The sorcerers seem to like you anyway. No idea why..." Anoma slapped her across the back of the head and scowled.
"I guess I'm just a nice guy. Unlike some of us..." He looked pointedly at Malic and she put her hand over her mouth in pretend shock.
"How rude," She exclaimed, "I'm not a guy at all!"
"I didn't mean that...anyway, I think they have some sort of machine...to be honest, no-one's really clear about what they want him for. Guess it's something to do with Tarasque..."
"Obviously," Interrupted Malic, "He is her soul-twin. Maybe he's just a lure..."
"Hmm...good point. But what are they gonna do with her when she takes the bait?"

[Ciaobat]

Minh Rho
~~~~`~~~~`~~~~`~~~~
Minh's mind was racing as the flight began anew. They didn't really have a plan. Who would do what, from what direction, what would happen if the Fire Children did thus-and-such.. if the Fire Children had planned this thoroughly, they were sure to anticipate the coming of the dragons and the riders. And since most people tend to stay away from willingly bringing all sorts of doom upon themselves, they would have all kinds of safeguards in place. These weren't good prospects. As for Affy's letter.. it was probably from one of them. If all it said was that Sastrugen was about to be killed, it could easily just be a lure to get the dragons to attack when they were ready for it.. Minh sighed and wrapped her arms around Yxe's neck.

She spoke loudly in his ear, just over the wind: "You know I'm going too, right?" Just because Tarasque couldn't go, it didn't mean she couldn't. She mentally repeated her query to Tarasque. As an aside, she could easily keep Tarasque up to date and such. She waited for their responses, and was consciously glad for Tarasque's warmth in the frigid air.

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of the stolen Sastrugen.~

"You know I'm going too, right?" Minh yelled in Yxe's ear.
"Of course." he replied, but his answer was swept away by the winds. He leant back, "I think we should land somewhere," He shouted, "We need a plan."
"I'll tell Tarasque." They changed direction almost instantly, and tilted towards the ground to land. The other Dragons followed Tarasque's lead and, within minutes, they were grounded again.
"We need a plan." Said Yxe, simply. "We can't just go rushing in there...that might put Sastrugen in more danger than he's already in..." He gulped, "And that...that wouldn't be good."
"Well, that's putting it lightly." Drawled Stephan. "It's like saying ice wouldn't melt in Hell! So what do you plan to do?" He asked, sardonically. "Or, don't you know?" Yxe glared at his thoughtless Dragon-kyn and mentally stuck his tongue out at him.
"Actually...well, I think that we should find out something about the layout of the place first. Maybe that would help..." He glanced at Affy, "So...you got that letter, right?" Affy nodded in agreement. "So you must know more than the rest of us...it's only logical, or else, how would you have got that letter?"
"Okay, I'll admit, I've been there once before," There were some sharp glances at this.
"What do you mean?" Demanded Siyann, "When?"
"If you'd let me finish...It was a long time ago...before Beowulf found me." He glanced lovingly at the hulking Dragon beside him. "If I remember rightly, the volcano is inactive, so the Fire Children made it their nest. It's roughly circular in shape, with a temple in the centre. The lodgings are around the outside layer, and the temple is surrounded by guard-houses. I olny got to see inside the temple for a little while...it was like they didn't want an outsider there, but I think that there's a basement of some sort underneath. I'd bet that that's where they're holding Sastrugen." He took a deep breath, "It's not going to be easy, you know? That temple is guarded well..."
"But we have the help of all Sastrugen's Kyn." Interrupted Siyann, "That's got to stand for something, right? And, they won't be expecting all of us, at once!"
"That may be so, but don't you think that they'll notice the sudden appearence of a whole bunch of animals, just wandering around their hideout?" Sneered Stephan. "Or, were you planning to just, oh I don't know...walk in, with your Dragons, and say, 'Oi! Give us Sastrugen back! Or we'll have our Dragons rip you apart'? I'm sure they'd listen..."
-------------------------------------
Okay, I have to go now...college calls! Toodles, dudes! *Waves*

[Bulbasaur4]

Tarasque



Tarasque listened to their plan, and she knew that both sides did have a logical point. Still... she suddenly had an idea. Between the verbal beating between Yxe and Stephan, it was rather easy to butt in.
[ A distraction. ]

Everyone stopped lightly, glancing at Tarasque as if her booming voice was a wake-up call between the dispute. While Tarasque wasn't understandible by everyone, she was the one who was best with human languages... thus a few boomings words got across to everyone. Plus, she wondered if Yxe still didn't fully understand that she knew human language. It was rather amusing to listen to him and Mihn.
[ I will approach from the North, and the rest of you shall approach from the South. You should all wait away from the fire Children's eye sight, prefurrably at dark and behind one of the volcanoes. It won't erupt... I won't allow it to. However, I will show myself blatantly that morning... and thus the Fire Children will assume that in my rage, I was the first to leave and came foolishly alone. They'll most likely send most- if not all- of their forces to contain me. While that happens, the rest of you can go to the island. I'm sure your animal forms can hide you better than your Draconic ones, and you can try to free Sastrugen then. You all can find a way to get upon that island... whether it be swift low flying or being like Sigurd, and using your talents to blend in. ]

Mihn shook her head, "They'll get you Tarasque."
[ I can hold them off long enough... besides, I will remain near an active volcanoe to help aid me. My fire powers surely are stronger than their own... and if worst comes to worst, I can shift my form into lava and hide deep with in the roots of the volcanoe. But we should hurry... Darkness will fall soon and we need the cover. ]

Mihn with drew a breath, seeing how the rest of Tarasque's kyn seemed to be nodding at her words. Now Mihn just had to translate it... which she did.

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wnid Rider of the stolen Sastrugen.~

Under the cover of darkness. Perfect.
"Hey, Stephan! Maybe you and Eurythion can help us with that." Eurythion nodded in aquiescence and Stephan grinned lopsidedly.
"I'm sure it won't be a problem." He drawled. "Leave it to the better of us..." He smiled maliciously, "We'll get the job done." He glanced pointedly a Yxe, who nodded, ignoring the jibes. Stephan was always like this. It didn't take much to get used to him.
"I think that Sigurd and Siyann should approach through the water. Also..." He glanced at Marduk, "Maybe you can make the weather a little cloudy...?" Marduk nodded. "Right, then Tiamat, you stick to the sky, but fly low. The same for you, Indra. Er, Beowulf and Affy...maybe you should stick to flying as well, the volcano doesn't appear to be approachable from land. That's all of us, then! Tarasque, you know what to do...and I think that as soon as we're close enough," He adressed the listening Dragons, "You should all take your animal forms, to avoid been seen by any guards." The Dragons rumbled their agreement, and Stephan and Eurythion sprang upwards to perform their part of the task. Darkness was already well on it's way, but the cover of Eurythion's power would hide them better than ordinary night. He roared, but no sound came out. The air around him grew darker and darker, even the light of the moon became cloaked. Stephan waved his arm to signal the Dragons that all was well, and the rescue was under way. Sigurd and Siyann slipped into the sea, and the rest took flight, with Beowulf slightly ahead. Tarasque, Minh and Yxe followed him, flanked by Marduk and Eurythion. Tiamat and Indra made up the rear. After a good half hour of swift flight, Affy yelled back to Minh and Yxe.
"We're nearly there!" The volcano was silhouetted against the horizon, and Affy pointed slighty South.
"You go that way, and create the diversion. We'll go in and get Sastrugen." Yxe shook his head.
"I'm going with you, you know?" He yelled across. "I'm not leaving Sastrugen to them..." He trailed off, and looked down, feeling guilty that he was flying on Tasasque and somewhat enjoying it. Even if it was too warm. "Anyway, I'm coming. And there's nothing you can do about it!" He shouted defiantly. Affy held out his hands.
"Like we'd try and stop you."
"Just thought you'd like to know...that's all."
"Okay, that's settled then. I think we should land." Affy motioned downwards and the Dragons wheeled and thumped to the ground. Tarasque shook out her wings, and inclined her head towards her Kyn.
-I thank you for your help.- She turned and walked towards the volcano, and her fate.
"Now, we wait." Proclaimed Yxe, and he slumped to the ground.
-----------------------------------
Bah! These posts always look longer when I'm writing them!

[Bulbasaur4]

Hey, I have a little plan for Sairi... well actually I thought of it long ago, but if you want to know what it is Weasel, then PM me. Otherwise I'll let you be surprised. ^^


Tarasque

Tarasque gave a little nod as she folded her wings and softly walked to the edge. The rest of the dragons were hiding near one of the already dormant volancoes. The Fire Children's main island was surrounded by five volcanoes... but it was carefully noted that EACH of the five volancoes were their own seperate islands... but the islands were completely devored by the huge volancones. It was like one island surrounded by five mini islands... leaving water free between them. That's why it would be easier to get to the fire children island if there was a distraction...
Suddenly Tarasque stopped, and craning her neck she saw Mihn. Of course... Mihn had not gotten off when Yxe had.
[ Leave... go with Affy and Yxe. They will take care of you. ]
Mihn frowned instantly, "No Tarasque... I'm not leaving you."
Tarasque flared her nose, as she craned her neck.
[ Please go. I want you to help Yxe get back my brother. It will be easier for me to fight with you not upon my back. It will be less intimidating to the fire children if you're not there as well... plus... I do not want you getting hurt. They might capture me, but they will most likely kill you. ]
Mihn was about to protest, but Tarasque suddenly had her body temperature go to an extreme. Mihn was swiftly swept off Tarasque with a leap, but she took a step forward as if to talk her dragon ally out of it. It was too late...
Tarasque's body was consumed into flames, until suddenly the only thing left was fire in the shape of a dragon body. It burned brightly in the creeping darkness... and she seemed to give another nod.

With an outspread of her wings, she instantly took off into the air much faster than in her regular dragon form. Like a bright beacon in the sky, she lit it up gently... obviously catching the attention of anyone around. She headed towards a bubbling volcanoe of lava... an active one, hoping the fire children would follow.



Sairi-


Sairi withdrew a sigh as she walked through the center of the village. Many people were dancing... feasting... and it wasn't until Sairi saw Ignis that she felt better. He was standing at the head of their temple, for he had been assigned by the elders to watch it tonight. He seemed nervous... and Sairi walked up to him.
"Hello Ignis."
He seemed to glance at her, as if wondering what Sairi could possibly say.
"Candy?" With out warning she offered him some candy, but he shook his head. She shrugged and set the small bag near him, as if taunting him.
" You'll get hungry soon enough. I just wanted to let you know... if there is trouble tonight, I will aid you soon. Trust me." She gave him a wink, and then twirled about. It was as if expected... suddenly a burning figure in the sky flew overhead, towards one of the outer volcanoes.
Sairi felt a burning sensation in her side slightly, and she held it for a while until the figure had flown over the island. Yes...
"Tarasque!" A few people shouted, and eagerly they glanced at Sairi. She smiled... and gave a nod. The elders soon filed out, but with out saying anything they looked at Sairi and she knew what was expected.

"Children of the Fire! Listen to me! Tarasque has arrived to avenge her brother! She wants him back... but she knows nothing of our plans! So let us form together swiftly, and combine our strengths to rival hers! We will tame the fires that burn with in her and we will win!"
Sairi smiled, but glancing towards the side she pointed a fairly decent group of fire children.
"You... warriors of the fire. You must remain here. Guard the dragon of ice... for you may not ever know what may come in the night."

I trust you all have come Affy... but I can't simply let you destroy my village. No doubt if you succeed... the dragon will destroy everything. I have to have some defense... and I have an obligation to my people. I just hope... that my plan works. Not the elders... but MINE.

This was it... they were off for Tarasque.
Everyone was almost ready, and Sairi gave a smile but a figure caught her eye. "Oriyen... you come by my side."
The girl slowly approached Sairi, and Sairi whispered in her ear.
"Find any others who might have your unique power of extinguish. We might be in need of it."
She ignored the look of shock upon Oriyen's face, and with in a whirl a fire portal appeared.
"Let us go! To the Volcanoe of Fenriil!"

[Djinn]

=======
Ignis - M
=======

Amidst the war crys and the confusive stampede that followed Sairi's orders, it was easy to quickly sweep to the corner and hide in one of many of the temple's small shadowed alcoves. All but a group of warriors stayed to guard Sastrugen, and since the Ice King wasn't housed in the central chamber, they went off to do this duty.

Thinking it safe I waltzed out of the alcove, glad to have escaped the battle that would be soon ensuing following Tarasque's arrival. I was surprised then when I unexpectedly ran head-on into Oriyen.

Oriyen and I had been friends since I had arrived here, one of the few that shared my extinguishing powers and was able to keep it secret. Two people with a single likeness can easily become their own small side in the face of adversity. A friendship was easy to maintain, surprisingly, as there wasn't always work, work, work in the sect. I enjoyed the deviations of training from the schedule of power-hungry crusades against Wind Riders and other enemies. Needless to say, what she said next surprised me even more than when I had found her, as I'm sure she had tried her best to escape battle also.

"Sairi asked me to find other people with the power of extinguish, though I have no idea how she knew I was a reject." Oriyen spouted this quickly, and looked around in the paranoia that someone else might have heard the word "reject."

"She knows this, something she can sense being a high mage. I think she can be trusted anyway, almost positive. I don't believe she really believes in the Fire Children's cause."

Oriyen wasn't exactly sided with the news, and quickly responded with confusion, "You saw that empassioned speech she gave, she is Fire Child to the core." She stated this matter-of-factly as if she knew that it was somehow impossible to be anything else.

"Did you look at her eyes?" Oriyen's gaze dropped at this, and she seemed to be trying to recall them. "Her eyes were not in it, they were off elsewhere, I could go so far as to believe she might be sided with the Wind Riders."

"No, that's impossible!" That was the end of that part of the conversation, as we both realized we couldn't convince the other otherwise. Oriyen continued by getting back on track, "anyway she said she wanted me to gather extinguishers, and I guess I'll try to trust her enough to know that part at least was not some scheme to turn me into the elders as well as you."

"Does she want us to enter battle?" I asked this tenatively, fearing the answer.

"Why wouldn't she? No better weapon against Tarasque then a fire extinguisher, ay?" My only response at that moment was to draw back in shock.

"Sold on the idea already? We hate the sect, remember?" She shook her head, and continued.

"We can't leave one of the biggest battles to be of the Fire Children's history and expect to not get punished. I will not risk the elders over personal crusades." Her comments seemed so wrong coming from that mouth, and I opened my mouth to continue but she plowed on, "you think they wouldn't go so far as to kill us? For being traitors? I'm sure they would. The'd take us both out with no qualms, and act as if it was natural. Resistance to fire is and traitorious is not a combo that will live to see the light of day."

I could see she wasn't arguing, she was commanding now. "No," was all I could mumble as I swept my hair back and leveled my embalmed moonstone with her eyes, the resulting flash lit the room. I needed her incapacitated for at least five minutes, and that energy should do it. She would wake up, but she wouldn't come after me. She wouldn't risk herself for me. With a final glance at the unconscious body, I quickly teleported to the outside of the temple by training my mind to the spot my memory. I had plopped just at the south end, and the extra couple yards had already given me a sideache, the pain was worth it though.

I realized, finally, that I would have nowhere to go. There was no leaving an island, and I was no swimmer. Suddenly the strangest thought came to my head. I knew a possible way to get out of here, but it would take some negotiating. If I could fight for the Wind Riders, as I know they weren't stupid enough to let Tarasque go by herself, and was nearly sure it was some type of distraction, I might just be able to get a lift. It was betrayal, but if I succeeded I was free. If I failed.. well, death was the price to pay to follow the right path then.

=======

I'm really sorry for the lack of post in a while, hopefully I can get back into gear.

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

OOC: eheh... it's Chinese New Year and much festive madness has been taking up my time... *collected much money* *spent much money as well* *ate too many oranges* And Bleach 15 is out!!!! *is probably speaking Greek*
---------------
Athanasius Pound, male, Wind Rider, alive (not for long)
-------------------

For some reason, Athanasius Pound found himself unable to shake off the feeling of impending doom that was currently kicking his brain, with iron-soled, hobnailed boots. It was the feeling he got every time he got near the home of the Fire Children. It told him that if he valued his life, and this he did to a certain extent, he shouldn't be within a ten-mile radius of the place.

But he was here. He'd brought everyone else here. And he had to stay here. Argh, argh, argh. Painful, firey death was clearly in sight, although not necessarily at the moment.

Tarasque, incandescent and the essence of pure flame, flew off into the night. There was an old poem from his childhood that reminded him of her. Something like... tiger, tiger burning bright. In the forests of the night. What immortal hand or eye. Could frame thy fearful symmetry...? He remembered it was some scary religious bloke who'd taught it to them. Funny, that...

Minh did not look too pleased at being left behind, but Yxe murmured something in his reassuring way into her ear, and she seemed to resign herself to be content with attacking. Despite this, Affy had a pretty good idea on who'd be wearing the pants when those two did get married. The other brethren fanned out to cover all other entrances excluding the one nearest the active volcano, leaving Beowulf and him at the southern gate.

He tried reasoning, at first. "Look, I don't want to get killed, and neither do you. I'll only ask this once, are you willing to die for the cause of the Fire Children?"

The reply turned out to be fire-tipped arrows and fireballs. Beowulf's wings raised in the attitude of a shield, and the missiles bounced off it like so many pebbles.

Beowulf, not wasting any time, rammed his clublike tail against the gate. The granite crumbled beneath his spikes, causing a slight panic among the few Fire Children on guard as the stone blocks fell, crushing them. Athanasius mentally directed a silent eulogy in memory of their lives. He hadn't wanted them to die, not really. But there were some things that had to be done. Anyway, there was no stopping Beowulf once he was really pissed. And why couldn't they have been dumber buggers and gone after Tarasque instead?!

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a frantically signalling figure, perched in an out-of-the-way alcove. It had black hair and had silver face paint on, though Affy couldn't be sure because the next moment, Beowulf dived low, obviously intending to forcibly ram through the barricade that had been hastily set up at the gate to the central area. For reasons unknown, although probably because Sairi was a good strategist, there was a cohort of Fire children left over to keep guard. Almost immediately, the fireballing began again.

"H-hey, Beowulf! Wait a minute!"
...What is it, Mr Pound? Are you getting goosebumps? Beowulf sounded very natty. He did not appreciate being halted in the middle of his battering ram impression, especially among a volley of fire. The dragon ascended a little, to minimise the dodging from fireballs and whatnot.
"There's someone there."
Where? Please do not waste time... I will not go any easier on your sorceress friend if you delay.
"Right there. There, the weirdo with the face paint who seems to be the only one not trying to fry us."
He is still one of them. I say.. squash him.
"Er. He's making the peace sign... Argh!" This last was uttered as Beowulf swerved heavily to avoid a gigantic ball of fire roughly the same size as Beowulf's head. It grazed his right hind leg, though it didn't leave any visible wound except a darkening of the scales and a faint roasting smell. Beowulf grunted.
Bah.. What a nuisance. It will take me months to grow new lichen... peace, you say? We can always use the defecters.
The large dragon swooped over to the small outcropping. Affy yelled: "Oyyyyyyyy! You there! State your name, affiliation and whether you'd be willing to die for the cause of the Fire Children! By the way, Beowulf doesn't do metaphors."
"I'm Ignis Trucido! I want to work with the Wind Riders, at least on this mission, and no, I'd rather not die for the cause of the Fire Children!"
Affy grinned, grimly. "Really? I've asked five people that so far, and they all said yes. So Beowulf clobbered them. You're a defecter, huh? I trust you won't backstab us like you're gonna backstab your people. Hop on."
Ignis looked surprised. For a fraction of a second. Then he arranged his face into a smirking expression. Affy noticed the moonstones in his palms and his forehead. Weirdo, indeed. "It's that easy? Don't I have to prove my worth?"
"The way I figure it," said Athanasius, wincing inwardly - not another smartass - "if you pull a fast one on me, I'll shave your face off with my crossbow. Simple as that. And don't bother trying to steal it or the sword, it won't work. If you somehow manage to knock me out, Beowulf will have you for lunch. I'm Athanasius Pound. This is Beowulf. Nice to meet you."
------------------
^^;; hope that's okay...

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of the soon-to-be-rescued Sastrugen~

Minh looked furious at Tarasque's departure. He arms crossed, she looked the epitome of anger and she even exuded a heat not unlike Tarasque's. Somehow, this didn't surprise Yxe, and he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close.
"Don't worry, love, she won't be hurt. Their fire just isn't strong enough. And besides, do you really think that she will fail?" He whispered into her ear.
"I know you're right...as usual." She retorted. "But I still don't like it!" Yxe turned from her to survey the sky. Tarasque was in plain view, lit up like a firework. If that didn't lure them, nothing would. Beowulf and Affy lumbered over to the gate and promptly started knocking up the Fire Children. Whatever activities they were engaged in were sure to be disrupted as their gate was smashed to splinters by Beowulf's great spiked tail. Yxe yelled, an intelligible cry and charged towards the ruined gate to join Affy. As he ran, he fumbled at his belt for an arrow. He brandished the longbow and roared his defiance at those who stole his Soul-mate. Skidding to a halt just in front of Beowulf, he quickly strung his bow, and sighted down it. His vision zoned in on a target and at the back of his mind he heard his Dragon-kyn join them in the battle. Fireballs flew all around, one of them hitting Beowulf. He snarled and turned, but instead of going closer to the gate, he leapt into the air and flew to a small overhang. Yxe turned to look, and he spied a figure stood waving. He shrugged and turned back to his target, pulling his longbow taut, he sighted once more and let the arrow fly. The arrow flew straight and true, it's diamond-tipped point extinguishing the life of the mage. He clawed at the air futiley as he fell, searching for his killer. By this time, yxe had strung his bow again and chose another target. He let fly. Another Fire Child fell to his wrath. One of the mages spotted Yxe and sent a spell flying towards him. Yxe saw the ball of glowing fire too late and swerved, but it struck him on the arm, exploding in a mess of sparks. Yxe winced and checked. He crouched down to assess the injury, prodding it gently. Luckily, the fire had only burned him slightly, all the time he had spent with Tarasque and Minh must have given him a slight immunity to it, however the arm still smarted, but not enough to put him off his shooting. He straightened up, and selecting another arrow from the quiver at his waist, he strung his longbow once more. Moving closer to the gate, he sighted another mage, watched his movement for a second, and then let the arrow fly to it's destination. It buried in the mage's throat and he fell like the rest of them. Yxe turned as Beowulf landed near him. With another passenger, no less.
"Who's this?" He asked, gesturing at the silver-haired figure on Beowulf's back.
"Defect Fire Child. He thinks he can help." Stated Affy, simply.
"Maybe he can. Maybe he can't." Yxe adressed the unknown Fire Child. "Do you know where my Dragon is?"

[Djinn]

=======
Ignis - M
=======

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced, it's Ignis Trucido." His eyebrows rose in annoyance, I could tell his need to reunite with Sastrugen was getting the better of his emotions.

"Yxe, now can we move on!" His anger was rising, but I decided to tempt fate for just a moment.

"I know where Sastrugen is, but I will only tell you under two conditions, and if you think I don't have the power in this situation, you are dead wrong." I waved my moonstone palms in the air before I continued, "these are not for presentation, and don't think even a wide berthed dragon blast will touch me."

Yxe's undying devotion to Sastrugen, and the time presented in this format allowed me a bit of a break. "Speak."

"One, you take me off this island after we rescue Sastrugen." Eyebrows rose again at "we," but I plowed on, "two, you need to refer to me as Ignis. I have never been a true fire child, and if you had any semblance of latin my name literally translates to 'fire slayer', I am not of Fire Children kind."

Yxe's tone was cold and impatient, "Okay, Igg-Niss," he stressed the last syllable with a hiss, "have any more favors to ask?"

"I said two, and don't think I'll deviate from what I originally asked, besides the obvious that you won't harm me, and give me the time of day if I have to act unlike a traitor if the need makes itself heard. Otherwise I have information," several sets of ears perked up, and I paused to build a bit of anticipation before I started. Getting some of this through might be difficult.

"Sastrugen is being held in an underground area, directly under the temple's main chamber. I have no access to this area, and have never even entered here, but I know where it is mostly. There is still a contingent of Fire Child warriors holed up there, so don't expect to be sneaky here. Also there is one other Fire Child, Oriyen, who is also here but should not be killed as she is a 'defective' as myself, be hesitant to severely injure anyone here, and I would prefer if that didn't happen," I gestured to the crumpled bodies of the recently felled mages, "very much. Non-lethal force, I can render most of their powers useless with my extinguishing power and do this to many at a time, considering my magical ability far surpasses those warriors. I repeat that they should not be killed unless absolutely necessary, unconscious is much better. I can stun any in my eyesight for as long as five minutes with a flash, but no longer. This should give considerable time for you to attempt a rescue on Sastrugen." The entire thing was still being swallowed, and it seemed I had been useful in providing a plan since they must have been rushing relatively blind.

"Anything else important," Yxe asked, obviously the self-appointed leader of this crusade as no one else had ventured a response.

"There is one more thing, if the army for some reason returns from its battle with Tarasque, the high mage should not be harmed. I am not sure of her attentions, but I wouldn't be surprised if she had some contact with you through letters and such. Sairi is her name, and she is easily recognizable as commander and chief. If the elders are present, they should be killed without remorse. They are the main constructers of this affair, and their loss might cause havoc. That is the end of what I have to say, I'll be back shortly."

I left them to contemplate as I gently "poofed" into my room. I would prefer is I wasn't recognizable in battle, and thus my crimson robes were insufficient. I yanked open my wooden bureau and grabbed my folded silver robes and quickly pulled them over my head, and I drew a half mask of silver from the drawer, effectively disguising my face, but to be sure I spoke the words to summon a dull smoke that enwrapped my body and the other side of my face. I was definitely unrecognizable by no one but Sairi or the elders in this guise. I took a quick look in the mirror, and realized how intimidating I looked. I was a real sorcerer now, maybe I had a place on this side after all.

With a small plume, I blinked back into my previous position. Facing the assembled I asked, "Ready?"

=======

[Vulpix.ck87]

Me? Hardly posting? Well..

That is true, and now I’ve got all this pent up posting energy inside of me, so I’m sorry but I’m gonna bore you for the next three pages.. :P

Siyann/F - 17/Windrider to Sigurd

Marduk and Eurythion spread their wings, and each with their respective windriders, they alighted into the air at cross angles to each other. They wheeled around to meet each other in the sky, bringing an impenetrable stream of darkness and cloud in their wake. Siyann smiled happily, doubting that anyone had even seen them. For a few moments, she watched them circle around the entire volcano range, and noted as darkness closed in on the main base. Soon, all that could be seen were the pinpoints of lit torches that surrounded the gates, and flames in the hands of the fire children, who seemed for the most part to be heading in Tarasque‘s direction. Yet even though the 'troops' were leaving, this place seemed far from deserted.

An impressive rumble of thunder sounded above, and just as Siyann was pondering how to sneak through the gate unseen, a thunder of equally awing capacity came from Beowulf’s own mouth as he charged towards the gate, using his entire being as a living ramrod. Siyann and Sigurd exchanged exasperated glances: subtlety was something that their eldest dragon kin had not yet grasped. Siyann saw Yxe run ahead, and she followed silently, slipping off to the side of the gate.

Hefting herself up with ease, Siyann stepped upon a round, wooden disc - resin-soaked it made up one of the many gate torches - and the flames upon it extinguished with a satisfactory hiss. Siyann smiled grimly and, crouched upon her podium in the cover of darkness, took her aim. With a sharp snap, the harpoon was ejected and it flew briefly through the air to penetrate the skull of the nearest guard. He fell silently to his knees, his skull completely shattered and his brain turned to mulch. Siyann pulled on the short length of sinew that connected the harpoon frame and the spear - it was taut, and she reeled the body towards her. She raided the pockets, and finding a small key and a packet of biscuits she smiled triumphantly. She slipped the key into her boot, and the food into her mouth, and dropped to the ground - there seemed to be a confrontation going on between Yxe, Affy and some stony-faced bloke...

“..should be killed without remorse. They are the main constructers of this affair, and their loss might cause havoc. That is the end of what I have to say, I'll be back shortly." Siyann heard the stranger say, and then he promptly disappeared in a poof of smoke. She blinked, trying to figure out whether that had actually happened, and then Yxe spotted her. He quickly explained that this Ignis traitor was on their side, and could lead them to Sastrugen in exchange for his safe passage out of this hellhole. In the time it took to explain, Ignis Trucido reappeared, shrouded in mist and only recognisable by his voice.

“Ready?”

Athanasius, Yxe and Siyann all nodded solemnly. They tiptoed through the enormous hole in the outer perimeter, where the gate had previously been, and through to the body strewn guard post. It was a mere few metres to the ocean again, the private waters bordered by the five volcanoes. From the windriders’ positions, it was a couple of hundred metres to the second guard post (the second fence), and that was barely more than a walkway in the midst of the moat that surrounded the fire children’s base. Sigurd appeared behind them, and padded gracefully to the waters edge. Siyann gave a disdainful look to the boat that was docked to her left, and waded in to climb upon Sigurd’s back. Yxe hesitated, then climbed upon Sigurd too. Ignis followed, and Affy last. Beowulf sloshed heavily into the water, sending spray everywhere. Yxe frowned, and Siyann raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed.

“I feel like a total traitor - I’ve replaced my steed twice today with ease..” He sounded uneasy and racked with guilt. Siyann patted his hand comfortingly.

“Don’t be foolish, we’re doing this for Sastrugen, remember?” Siyann said. “He’ll understand.”

“Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being a turncoat,” Ignis said simply, and Siyann could of sworn she saw him smile under the mask.. The four humans felt Sigurd’s tail beat behind them, and they rode smoothly away from the dock, their toes barely skimming the water. Siyann peered up at the sky, as they were fast approaching the second fence.

“Come on Marduk,” She muttered. Sigurd raised her head, gazing at the clouds, which were multiplying as if on command. Yxe blinked upwards, thinking for a moment that he glimpsed a dragon’s form, and then smiled a small smile as a thick mist floated down from above, and the sky rumbled yet again. Following cue, Sigurd’s eyes closed slowly, and with it the rain began to fall: first in small, heavy droplets; then in solid sheets of water. Yxe and Affy scowled somewhat as whilst they were spectacularly drenched within seconds, amazingly the rain seemed to simply slide straight off of Siyann, leaving her perfectly dry..

The rain doused the torches upon the second gate, which went out with a crackling reluctance, and Ignis extinguished the few remaining with ease. They reached the row of vertical wooden poles jutting out of the water - sharpened to a deadly point on top - which formed an impenetrable barrier.. Well, to most people anyway.

“Hold on,” Whispered Siyann, and the others did as she said, though they saw little point. And then their world seemed to shimmer before their eyes, and they were filled with nausea for a few brief seconds whilst they still had stomachs.. The small team literally poured through the fence, and amazingly found their selves intact on the other side, all in one piece and immensely confused.

“Ah.. What just happened?” Whispered Affy, as a floundering buffalo Beowulf appeared in the waters next to them.

“You don’t want to know,” Siyann replied. ”Trust me - it’d rot your mind..” Affy sat back quietly.

Eventually they reached the coast of the main base, and thoroughly soaked they staggered up the rocks towards a duo of peeved and (thankfully) unenlightened-looking guards. As they stumbled and slipped over the mossy ground, they caught some of the conservation..

“Can’t believe we’re stuck on patrol whilst they chase down Tarasque.. I‘ve dreamed of this victory for so long. What’s there to guard anyway?” The first guard asked, and rambled on without waiting for an answer. “Who cares about the other dragon? It‘s obviously weak compared to the Tarasque..” Yxe hissed in the darkness. The four of them stopped to huddle behind a large convenient boulder, and readied their ambush. The foot steps grew steadily closer.

“Look, the elders and Sairi clearly have something in mind, so shut your pie hole and get guarding.” The other guard snapped. He was right on the other side of the boulder, and about to continue his criticism of the first guard when.. The footsteps stopped. And Siyann could of sworn she heard the cogs in his brain turning..

“Wait a minute… where the hell did that ruddy boulder come from?” The guard scratched his head, and blinked. The boulder blinked back. Then an enormous club of a tail came sweeping towards him, and four people ran to ambush the second guard. Seconds later the guards fell unconscious to the ground, completely oblivious to the large sea otter that scampered past them, key in mouth, and that slipped through the gate poles. Sigurd found the latch and the lock without wasting time, and fumbled with otter paws for a few more moments until..

As the thunder increased in volume, and the first of the lightning flashed through a torrent of rainfall, the gate swung open revealing a small army of fire children.

The first arrow flew, and the real fight began.

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

I’m siiiinging in the raaain…!

[Djinn]

Singing in the rain, lol. That made my day.


=======
Ignis - M
=======

Despite my lightheartedness from having the chance to escape the sect, I could feel the dull aura of unacceptance that radiated from each of the Wind Riders here. What did I have to do before I could be genuine again? Was the fact that I had been such a turncoat going to prevent me from ever choosing a side again? Was betrayal like some kind of stench? I had completely good intentions on turning sides, and no intention to kill any of my former sect "members" even if they hadn't shown me the least bit of friendship. This whole things was brought to my head at the worst time as we entered the facility, and my mind snapped back to reality at the first arrow's flight threw the air.

Reaction was instant, the Fire Children had their Bards and their Warriors and the sprinkled mage here and there, but the Wind Riders weren't to be underestimated in speed. Obviously they wouldn't have stood this long without talent, but to witness Yxe's archery talent and the finess of each of the dragons was awestriking.

After a somewhat deliberate delay to gawk a bit longer while remaining relatively safe, I sprung myself into action as well. Several heads had already turned at the prescence of this seemingly unidentified Rider's ally that was I. A bevvy of belated warriors chose to charge me all at the same time, and I surprised myself at how I could perform in battle. In what could be said to be the velocity of lightning with the force of the gods behind it I had swept away my hair and flashed the most brilliant of moonstone shinings I had performed thus far, incapacitating the entire force of warriors for what looked to be indefinitely and several of the combatants that hadn't been in my eyesight.

I gave a meek smile as one of the Riders took a moment to shoot me a red-eyed glare through the crowd, obviously I had forgotten that they could see the flash too. There own wills were far to strong though, but it surely had to have hurt. Apologies later...

The Wind Riders had suffered no losses, or injuries as the battle had progressed this far, and the army was wittling down to one-on-one combat. I had been placed against what was one of the wiliest and most talented of warrior kind in the sect. Most unfortunately, Gabriella also happened to be female. We had met quite a while ago it seemed this day...

It had been a normal practice, if you disregarded the fact that it was night and still searing hot. The humidity was so strong that even "Fire" Children threatened to collapse in sweaty turmoil. As warrior after bard after mage retired to the cooler peaks of the temple, it remained that eventually only a "monk" (I) and Gabriella had remained.

"Ready to fall healer?" She taunted relentlessly that day, but both of us continued to stand strong. The elders were more wicked than expected however, and one of the higher-ups, an unarmingly talented monk asked if the two remaining trainees to have a bit of a practice fight of what was one-on-one combat. My thoughts were basically that I was dead, I had no combat skills whatsoever. I relied on agility and magic to finish the job, some day I'll have to train in unarmed combat...

As a rule, she made sure that we both were unarmed, and Gabriella was just as talented with a sword as she was with her fists which set me at even a more severe disadvantage. One thing I realized though was the only way to win this fight. With an agility comes an endurance, and I was nearly sure that mine could match Gabriella's.

The duel started out slowly, Gabriella waived a few swift punches which I dodged with ease, and the lobs slowly became stronger and stronger swings. She stopped when she saw how her arm muscle was waning in the combination of heat and strenous exercise.

Next off was lightning punches, which infuriated Gabriella roundabout. With each time she got faster, she missed even more. My dodging ability was superb, and she was wearing. Punches and kicks threatened to cave me from all sides, and the elder looked on with a vicious smirk. I was worn, but she was beat.

The punches and kicks became more and more labored until they finally stopped entirely. Gabriella stood opposite me with a deepset glare on her face, but that was the only muscle working. Her legs threatened to buckle, and her arms shook. She was dead-tired, and I was still relatively sound.

I would always remember the point of impact, my first ever decisive blow in a battle. With a speed that brought a gape to the mouth of the standby elder, I had glided to the back of Gabriella who flailed her right arm in a desperate last ditch effort, but it was too late. With a serene grace, my right leg spun in a whirlwind motion and swept underneath Gabriella's, buckling them instantly and forcing her flat to her back.

From that day forward, she had always held a vicious grudge at me for using such an underhanded method to defeat her, and I saw the grudge renewed in the venom in her entire body, even if she had no idea that it was I that was behind those mists.

All the Riders still held their own, but forces weren't dwindling as much as I had expected them to be. There was another wave of the army it seemed, of this small contingent left behind, and so the battle ensued once again.

Gabriella had grown nothing but bigger since I had last seen her, but something in her step showed that she too possessed a keen sense of agility. With sword in hand, she got a good foothold and jumped in a fierce attempt at an uppercut, which widely missed my face. I spun around, and scored the first of the blows on her, with a blast of smoke from my upraised palm.

I gaped as I watched her recover unfazed, and suddenly I saw the first of a warrior's fire. Her blade seared with heat now, and she handled it with the hands of a blacksmith, deftly but still unharmed. She quickly tossed it from hand to hand before raising it high, and bringing it down in a smashing motion.

I quickly flew rightwards, but the blade left a huge welt in my wake. Suffice to say I would have been cut in half had I remained in that spot. This time though, I had more of an upperhand than last. A sorcerer's power was now at my disposal, and magic would surely prevail over might this day.

With the ferocity that could match Gabriella's, I summoned a torrent of raging smoke and pushed it at her, she batted at it and slashed with her searing blade, but the fire was soon extinguished. Her efforts, nonetheless, served to divert the concentrated smoke and dissapate it. It was us two alone again, and at nearly the same moment that I dodged, she brought up that large broadsword. In my desperation to flip away, the blade had sliced my side shallowly, which only served to heighten her confidence.

There I stood weaponless, but as I saw that red stain my pristine silver robes a change overtook me. I watched as she ruthlessly charged with her sword like a lance, in a final evisceration centered at impaling my very flesh. She looked up as she came closer, and what she saw unnerved her. In her muted eyes I saw the relfection of a piercing silver coming from mine, and I knew I had won.

With the divine grace I had displayed that day in training, I did an effortless cartwheeling backflip and placed myself exactly behind her. In a triumphant motion, I raised my hands so they were tip to tip with the sky, and brought them down in a huge sweep. The resulting plume of smoke was so silvery and bright despite its mistiness, that I shielded my own eyes as I was thrown back by the force. I watched as the blast gutted the side of Gabriella as she narrowly dodged to avoid fatal wound. She fell to a knee, and her eyes rose in a gazing whimper.

As our glares locked I felt the power of flash again inside me, and with a reflexive sweep I let it loose. Her body crumpled under the pure force of the light, and I looked up to find myself and her seperated from the rest of the battle. Smoke, ash, and dust rose from the mounded dirt and craters around where I stood, and they were comparible to some of those in the fray of the Riders.

I quickly bounded back to the battle at hand, which was becoming a victory for the Wind Riders, but certainly this was far too easy. What danger hadn't we faced that would be required to recapture Sastrugen? And how was the battle with Tarasque going...

=======

If you bothered to read that entire thing, I severely apologize. Supreme Verbiage King!

[Bulbasaur4]

Heeee...


Tarasque


Tarasque flew in the night sky, like a beacon announcing it's presense for all to see. A haunting image... that some how could have struke a bit of awe and fear in those who grasped her true beauty. Like an eagle upon it's nest, Tarasque landed near the top of one of the active volcanoes and perched there, watching and waiting... expecting none other than the Fire Children to arrive.
Such a shame... to end a race that worships the fire.
Tarasque thought, narrowing her eyes as the rage she had felt earlier soon reformed at the thought of her captured brother.
But they brought it upon themselves.

In no less than a half an hour, suddenly Tarasque's keen eyes caught sight of a brillant, fire-induced portal which seemed to occur from no where. Tarasque expected the fire children to emerge, one by one... against her but instead she was caught off guard. A brilliant flash rippled through the air, blinding her for a second before she didn't see one... but at least a hundred of soldiers baring arms before her. Her body still brilliantly glowed of fire... and Tarasque wasn't about to let that stop. She was dangerous... her fire against theirs.
She knew she would win.

"As I told you before we came, attack in those lines!" A woman called out- her voice ringing with that of a leader but yet Tarasque couldn't help but feel some thing strange. A bit of innocence... and a bit... of herself?
Impossible.
Tarasque watched as a wave of archers came forth, and taking their arrows they fired against her but her body was nothing but fire. The arrows had no power...
[ Fools. You cannot hurt me with fire... but I, can hurt you. ]
With that, Tarasque reared up her head and inhaled deeply, her lungs filling up with her firey temper and chaos with in. Soon she unleashed it upon them, a firey inferno that blazed out like an angry storm. Screams could be heard, as the first line was set ablaze and they retreated. Some how... a gentle mist of rain seemed to form upon them,b ut from where Tarasque was unsure.
Tarasque unleashed another breath of fire reguardless, but this time it was defended. A brilliant blazing wall of fire rose from the ground to meet her own attack, and surprisingly instead of giving way like most things... it upheld Tarasque's fire and actually grew. Tarasque let her eyes glance and she saw that it was the leader...
Tarasque grew slightly angry at this, and her eyes glazed over slightly.

Fire fire fire fire fire fire... NOW!!!!
She growled, and instantly the volcanoe seemed to begin to rumble beneath their feet.
"She's calling forth the power of lava! NOW!!"
The leader suddenly shouted, and a strange group of three people came forth... looking timid and ashamed, yet they did as they were told. They waved their hands above their heads, and chanted some oddities... until finally, a shimmering aura of blue wavered about their hands. TArasque continued to call upon the lava... but as she did so, suddenly a strange feeling overcame her.

Extinguish.

This word came to mind... and all of a sudden Tarasque felt weaker, as if the rage inside of her was dying and her control of the lava had been erased. The flames which had surrounded her body seemed to disappear, and she now had reverted to her old form.
"Good! NOW ARCHERS!"
Suddenly a wall of arrows came forth at Tarasque, and while they did not penetrate much... they hurt, and Tarasque knew that the leader had called upon a different power. Not fire... but perhaps, the opposite?
Tarasque felt that she needed to gain some time, so spreading out her wings she knew perhaps she had bought enough time for her siblings.

Taking to the air, it appeared as if Tarasque was about to fly away until suddenly she pressed her wings close against her body and dived into the volcanoe's mouth. A light yet gurgling splash emitted as she plunged into the lava, seeking refuge with in the burning abyss.




Sairi


"Alright! This is what we planned.." Sairi called out to the others, as they gathered about the mouth of the volcanoes. Sairi withdrew a breath... those shots had hurt her slightly, but she was not about to show it.
"BAck away my comrades... I will take over now." She said gently, and putting her staff down she withdrew a breath.

Chanting... Sairi chanted deep from with in, and her words made little or no sense to any that surrounded her. They were ancient words... speaking of a time before the elements, a time where fire, earth, water... all of the elements were one. She continued to chant, and a strange breeze seemed to flow about her... spiraling about as if it had a life of it's own. She continued... further until suddenly she let out a gasp and her eyes opened.

Lifting her chin, suddenly it seemed as if her body had erupted into flames. Her figure was vaguely seen as a shadow with in, as screams that were neither hers nor the fire children seemed to pour from the sky. Sairi lifted her hands upwards towards the heavens, and then she thrusted them down as if towards the earth. The ground began to shake... not only with in the volcanoe, but it seemed everywhere. It lasted for a little time... nothing to cause damage nor waves, but it was there.
Silence then insued...

Then suddenly, the volcanoe erupted. Lava rose upwards and spewed into the air- the fire children screamed, but oddly... strangely, as if by some luck or magick, the lava seemed to arch unnaturally away from t hem. The lava continued to rise into t h eair and lash into the sea like a bunch of chained explosions. Sairi kept her hands raised tothe air again, chanting... forever chanting as if she herself, were possesed.
Then the lava seemed to peel away... finally resting back into the volcanoe, but their capture was there.

Tarasque... enraged, furious... seemed to be trapped with in a firey dome. It was similiar to that of her brother's trap, but far more powerful. The angry she-dragon with in blew fire with in it and angrily lashed against the firey casing, but with her added fire the shell only grew stronger.
Sairi's flames died downf rom her body, and instantly she fell to a knee.
"Lady Sairi!" A girl came to her, and Sairi smiled and looked to her.
"I thank you... Milia, for your help. You and the other two... are safe."
Milia seemed releaved, and Sairi offered her a smile.
"You were safe from the beginning,I would have protected you either way."
Milia receded to the backlines, as if contemplating those words.

"What now Sairi?" Some one called, and Sairi smiled. She opened her mouth as if to answer... but one of the Elders came forth.
" We rest here. Tarasque's rage will be inside for some time, so we will wait until her cage has grown stronger from her fires. Then we will return in celebration."
Sairi was about to object, but the look the Elder gave her caused her to comply. She sat down and grabbed her staff, all the while staring at the island.

They're attacking... the Elders know it. What are they waiting for?
Sairi thought, a frown upon her face.




( I will wait for my next post... the Fire Children will not show up, at least not yet... heh, I'm going to wait until nyou finally reach Sastrugen. )

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

Hehe, everyone's posts are getting longer :D It's just like reading good fanfiction!
--------------
Athanasius Pound, Wind Rider of Beowulf
And I'd know what to do if I just knew what's coming
I would change myself if I could.
-------------------

Beowulf was enjoying himself now. Affy could tell. The great dragon's brain mentally sat back and left all the thinking to the muscles. Fire Children climbed on him like ants, but were repeatedly shaken off. Little earthquakes drove earth spikes through columns of warriors. Sigurd had unlocked the gate, but after the gate came the certain fiery death he'd been visualising earlier.

It was raining buckets, so that the fireballs sent by the lesser mages fizzled out in an instant. The more experienced ones concentrated a little more, and the fire that was not fire continued to burn, in volleys. The other Wind Riders and the defecter had distributed themselves among the slew of attackers. Yxe seemed ballistic; he had cleared a wide berth around him. There was a smoke pillar rising from another corner, and places where a skirmish converged was generally where a Wind Rider was holding out. The Fire Children present were definitely not the brighter ones, though; they hadn't tried yet to disable the dragons. Amazing how many of the fire-clan there were, even if the best part of half had run off to Tarasque's volcano. With any luck, Tarasque had not gotten caught. There weren't high expectations of this, though.

He himself was fighting entirely out of an instinct to stay alive. Dodging fireballs was getting tricky, because of the frequency of the flame; when the heat got too intense he stopped kicking Fire Children shins and elbowing them in the belly and lobbed solidified magma bricks at the source of the fire, targeting some poor mage who didn't have the sense to duck. Mainly, Athanasius struck not to kill but to disable, by whichever means possible. He was almost gutted by firey swords so many times that he lost count, and several attempts were made to disconnect his head from his body.

Athanasius floored a circle of burly warrior-types with a capoeira-like move involving a headstand position and spinning around quickly. In the distance, there was a second, lower gate; glimpses could be seen of white wings and tail and rope. But as he took a second glance, a sheen of shimmering flame seemed to be encircling Sastrugen; the next moment, it was gone, and the next, it appeared again. Oh gods. Just what he needed. A brawny arm punched him in the back as he looked, and almost in tandem his foot rose up to knee the bastard in the place it hurt the most.

How, in fact, did you disable flame cages?

The person to ask about fire was Tarasque, but she wasn't here. Maybe Minh could stand in. Ignis might know something, but the smoke pillar had disappeared some time ago and Affy wasn't in any mood to go traitor-hunting or Minh-hunting, although the numbers of the vanguard had dwindled significantly. Any more of the dragons' concerted abuse and they'd become a mere trickle in a few minutes. Really, all he wanted now was to grab Sastrugen and go before Sairi's half of the clan came back to join the merry fray. He was fairly sure he'd dislocated both shoulder blades as the result of executing too much capoeira, and there was blood running down from somewhere in his stomach area.

He went now, swiftly, to look for one of them, any one. He didn't feel like it, but he had to. Or perhaps they'd all seen the location of the ice dragon already. With that hope in mind he edged closer to the fence, and bumped into Yxe.

"Have you seen the flame cage around your dragon?" he asked.
-------------------
*brain shuts down*

[Weasel Overlord]

GAH! Stoopid computers!! I wrote out a really big post and the blasted machine went and deleted it! Of course I was stupid enough not to save it in word...*slaps self*
Anyway, well done with all the postying dudes! You all put my puny efforts to shame...;)
---------------------------------------------------------


~Yxe, Wind Rider of Sastrugen.~

Yxe gave a sidelong glance at Ignis as the group approached land. Can he be trusted? “We’ll just have to see,” murmured Yxe to himself. Although he was doubtful, any chance of saving Sastrugen was worth taking. Even if it involved a traitor from an enemy sect. Meanwhile, Yxe was having severe doubts about travelling on other Dragons. He’d already ridden Tarasque, and now Sigurd? He frowned in consternation as he imagined Sastrugen’s displeasure, and then perked up slightly at the thought of kicking some more Fire Child butt. He needed the target practice and this was the perfect chance to show off his freezing powers.
Sigurd and Siyann had been the greatest of help in getting Yxe and the rest to the right volcano without being seen and, although Yxe didn’t particularly like water, he quite enjoyed the ride. Upon the group’s arrival, they swiftly made their way to the gate of the volcano. This one was dormant, according to Tarasque’s earlier surmise so at least they were safe from eruption.
Yxe ran lightly forward of the group, eager to be a part of the action, when he was overtaken be a thundering Beowulf, who charged towards the gate and collided with a great whump. However, Sigurd, in her otter form, took over and unlocked the gate with skilful paws. It swung open, and Yxe kneeled and strung his bow, ready for his first target. Sure enough, it came. In the form of a Fire Child warrior, charging forward with a great battle-cry. She was close enough for Yxe to see her eyes widen as she fell, and for him to hear the gurgle in her throat as it was split by the spinning arrow. She was the first, and a great stream of Fire Children followed her, swarming out of their gate like carrion over a corpse, they swept up to the small band of Wind Riders and engulfed them. Then, everyone was part of their own, private battle. Their own little piece of Hell as they fought to survive the wave of furious mages and warriors, guarding their precious charge from its rightful owner.
Yxe’s hands whipped to his side as the enemy drew closer. This time, it was a bard, clasping some sort of lute to his chest, his fingers caressing gentle notes from the instrument that twisted through the air as tendrils of glowing fire. Yxe drew a knife from his belt and passed his hand over it twice. The blade frosted over with crystal brightness, blue and crackling, making the edge sharper and more vicious. He went into a crouch as the bard came within knife-distance, and with a hop, he cleared the distance between them and thrust the bone-handled knife into the bard’s unprotected stomach. He gasped and doubled over, tendrils of frost spreading out from the wound with a sound like cracking ice, which is exactly what it was. The wound froze over with the power of Yxe’s weapon, and the threads of ice were slowly working their way through the bard’s system. If he wasn’t dead from the wound, then he would surely die from the extreme cold that spread itself through his veins, ending up at his heart.
Yxe whipped the knife out of the bard’s stomach and with a small chink, it broke free of the layer of ice that had formed over the wound. Shards of ice chipped away from the blade as it returned to its natural bone state, and Yxe sheathed it at his waist with its brothers as he turned to survey the private battles of his companions. Ignis was engaged with a skilled warrior, but he looked like he had everything under control so Yxe dismissed him subconsciously as not needing his help. Affy and Beowulf were holding their own quite capably, and Sigurd could barely be hurt by the mages fire so she was okay, but Siyann looked as if she was about to be swamped so Yxe made his way over to her, stepping gingerly over the littered bodies of the fallen Fire Children. He reached Siyann’s side as she was taking on a pair of warriors. One of them charged at her, sword raised and with a shock, Yxe realised that he recognised her. The mass of plaited red hair and the noise that went with her movements were only too familiar. This warrior had already tried to interfere with Yxe and Sastrugen’s life, and she had the scars to prove it. Upon seeing Yxe, her eyes widened in recognition, and then narrowed with hatred.
“You!” She snarled, changing her direction mid-stride. She spun on her heel and swung her giant broadsword in Yxe’s direction. Siyann’s eyebrows raised in curiosity.
“A friend of yours?” She mouthed.
“Hardly.” Yxe grinned, dodging out of the way of the swing. He grunted with exertion as she continued with a sweeping backhanded blow which very nearly took off his head. Luckily, his quick reflexes saved him from decapitation, which would have made any archery near impossible. His hand whipped to his belt and the knives that were sheathed there, grasping two, he unsheathed them and held them blade-down in the palm of his hands, ready for striking. His fingers caressed the bone handles as he and the warrior circled each other, searching for an opening. The swirling motion of his fingers on the handles brought to life the icy power of the knives, their edges glimmering with a menacing blue shine as the frost coursed its way down the blades. The warrior eyed Yxe with suspicion as she noticed the magic of his knives, and then she smiled menacingly.
“Two can play at that game.” She growled, as lustrous flames surrounded her broadsword. Yxe could feel the heat from the blade, even at his distance, and he made a mental note to try and avoid any close combat with that sword. He might be slightly resistant to fire and its heat, but he didn’t fancy his chances with the sword’s edge, which could sear him like a piece of meat. There was no future in being a steak, and Yxe didn’t intend to try his luck up close, so the only chance he could see was his grasp of ranged weapons and his excellent aim. The throat or the eye. Those were the most realistic targets, so Yxe adjusted his stance slightly to improve his aim. The warrior charged towards him, her broadsword held above her head, clearly intending to cleave him in half, but Yxe danced out of the way, using his seemingly superior agility and reflexes to get clear of the sword’s range. However, the warrior seemed to have foreseen this course of action, and she tacked in Yxe’s direction and adjusted her swing slightly, bringing it around level with Yxe’s arms. He yelped as the tip of the blade caught his left shoulder, burning the linen of his tunic and causing a slight cut which cauterised almost instantly due to the heat of the flames. Yxe’s nose filled with the smell of his own burning flesh, and he saw the warrior pirouette to strike again, the broadsword held low, aimed for Yxe’s legs and a crippling blow. Yxe tumbled backwards, and went into a crouch, flipping the knife so that he was holding the blade, he flung out his uninjured arm and let go of the knife. It spun through the air straight and true, meeting its target in the warrior’s left eye. She gasped and, dropping her sword, fell to the ground, tugging at the frozen knife embedded in her eye socket. Tendrils of frost spread across the surface of her eye, rendering her vision almost completely useless. Yxe straightened, panting and aching, as he was jostled by Affy. He glanced compassionately at the fallen warrior and crouched by her side to retrieve his knife. He pulled it out with a crunch and she uttered a faint scream.
“You are the greatest warrior I have fought so far. It was an honour.” He bowed his head and stood. “Have you found Sastrugen?” He addressed Affy, who looked slightly shifty.
“Er, yes, but…how do you disable flame cages?”
------------------------------------------------------
Jeebus, that took, like, two hours….

[Vulpix.ck87]

Oops! I’ve realised I completely left out Minh in my last post, and perhaps left her stranded on a volcanic island O_o Im sorry, Ciaobat!! Erm, I’ll try and include you in this post.. Maybe you went off with Stephan? My sincerest apologies..


Siyann/F - 17/Windrider to Sigurd

Siyann reeled backwards as a rapier swung horizontally, cutting through the air and very nearly her throat. As if in slow motion, she saw it coming; saw the blade glint with the split second lightning flash, saw it slice it’s way through raindrops. The warrior's face was a mixed grimace of both sheer exertion and cocky triumph. And in that brief moment, one thought sprung to Siyann's mind, and one thought alone.

'You haven’t got me yet, mate'.

Moving further backwards, the rapier sliced neatly through the spot where Siyann had seconds before been, and leaning backwards ever so daintily, she raised one foot.. And kicked solidly him in the crotch. Her foe grunted and fell to the muddy earth beneath him, clutching his.. well, you get the picture. Siyann sighed, and then plunged right back into battle, hopping onto her fallen friend's head as she sighted her next match - a head of fiery dreadlocks, he greeted her with a dagger not much longer than hers, but overly endowed in flames, and as he swung it up to sever her side, Siyann swerved to her left and parried with a flourish of her own watery blade. The two daggers hissed on contact, but broke apart clean and darted to their next target.

With darting reflexes Siyann weaved, ducked and used her slight weight to any advantage she could. At one point she near sunk her dagger in her opponent's thigh, but a second blade of his appeared centrimetres in front of her face. Siyann rolled backwards, and as he withdrew the blade she sprung up again and kicked him squarely in the jaw. He stumbled backwards at this not too powerful blow, then leered forwards again, but this time the blow knocked him clean off his feet, as Siyaan had dropped her left shoulder and swung her harness off of her back, ramming the blunt of the harpoon into the side of his head. She quickly sank her dagger into his heart before he stopped seeing stars: and the handle jolted once, twice, three times with the heart's last beats.

<Siyann!> Sigurd's thoughts flashed in her mind with urgency, and Siyann was knocked to the ground a moment later, her shoulder searing with pain and.. Fire!! Looking up she saw her attacker, a dark-haired oriental girl, and Siyann lobbed her dagger. It spun end over end until it finally found it's place deep within the girl’s left shoulder, and Siyann’s hand quickly moved to her own shoulder, her wet palm dousing the flames. Undeterred by the blade protruding from her person, the girl’s black eyes blazed with a heated rage, and she swung something basically like the offspring of a mace and a bag of hot coals into Siyann’s ribs. With a meaty ‘thunk’ Siyann rolled with it, but the Gods knew it hurt like hell.

The girl bore down on her, and Siyann backed away, scrambling back in the mud, until a raptor’s cry was heard above, and a large peregrine falcon fell from the sky to crush the girls skull and eyes in it’s talons. Tiamat’s bird form!! Siyann rejoiced - that meant her other dragon kin were close by too. As the oriental girl clutched her shredded face in her hands, Siyann leapt to her feet again. Seconds later a broadsword was being raised to meet her, but then.. The bearer saw something past Siyann, and stopped dead in her tracks.

“You!” She hissed, practically feral with anger. Siyann, intrigued, peered over her shoulder to see Yxe, smiling bemusedly.

“A friend of yours?” She wondered, and he grinned a response. “Hardly.” Yxe dodged away from the swing of his newfound playmate, and Siyann returned to her own little battlefield. The problem was that however quickly she moved, she simply didn’t have the strength and fighting skill of her companions, who all seemed more experienced than her. And no matter how many bodies she laid to rest, there seemed to be so many more crowding in on her..

In the corner of her eye, Siyann saw a blue ball of flame, blistering through the night air, heading straight in her direction. Eyes wide with shock, she instinctively raised a hand. With her water affinity, the fire was extinguished, but her hand steamed and her skin boiled, and Siyann cried out with pain. She clutched her harpoon feebly in her left arm and pulled the trigger, and the spear shot a mere foot into the stomach of her enemy, who now braced a sword towards her. The sword tip sunk barely an inch into the peach white skin of her shin, but the blood flowed fast as the warrior fell to his knees. The spear dissociated to water, one of Siyann’s weapon capabilities, and trickled from the man's wound, forming solid again away from the body.

Then, up above her head, she sensed something huge, and looked up to see a pair of great white wings unfurling to their full extent in a crowded fiery, ball of a cage.

“Sastrugen!” Siyann whispered in awe, and as a dragon dark as the night shot over her head, she swung the harpoon once more onto her back. Eurythion’s taloned toes skimmed the crowd, and he seized two warriors on either side of Siyann’s crouched form, giving her the opening she needed to escape and head for the imprisoned Sastrugen. One warrior blocked her path, she would have to take him down.. As Sigurd appeared at her heel, Siyann seized her fallen foe’s sword in her charred right hand, and bleeding freely from her shin she lumbered forwards, swinging the blade with all her strength into an arc, and into the man’s neck. His head rolled, and sickened, Siyann stared into the suddenly glassy eyes. He was no man, he was but a boy, younger than herself. True, he would not of hesitated to kill her, but all the same, Siyann suddenly hated herself for what she had done tonight. She limped forward through the far-from-clear pathway, over warriors both unconscious, wounded and long gone.

Her head now raised above the crowd, she saw Affy and Yxe, and could of sworn she glanced Stephan and Minh running to meet them. She hesitated as she saw more foes up ahead, but Marduk above reminded her of his presence with a bolt of lightning. Siyann nodded and, gritting her teeth, she stumbled hurriedly towards Sastrugen’s cage, unseen by the fire children.

Broken, sliced and charred, Siyann’s whole body felt heavy and resilient with exhaustion, and yet she knew the worst was still to come.

[Bulbasaur4]

[center]Sairi
~ "You shall never be whom you seek to be. We've already decided that..."~



Sairi sat upon the ledge of one of the volcanic cliffs, overlooking her beautiful homeland. She was at peace upon the outside... her long hair of slightly reddish hue flowing in the breeze like gentle silk ribbons, but she was far from peace. Deep inside she was like a chaotic storm... her mind swarming with ideas, plans, worries, concerns, memories... She was lost...

Sairi needed to be there for her people... but yet she felt as if some thing wasn't right.
The elders said that the legend states that we need to capture Sastrugen and Tarasque in order for the world to be at peace. They said that if we do this... then the Fire Children would be safe and all the world would harmonize.
Sairi thought for a moment, as her piercing eyes of green flickered over to stare at a few of the elders chatting amongst themselves. She could tell that some thing was up... there was some thing they were not telling her.
But... hadn't that always been the case?
Just because I was created... they think I'm nothing more than a tool. like I don't have a soul...
Sairi smiled weakly, looking over a few of the fire children warriors. There was a secluded group- about five who were off by themselves, talking in hush voices. They were th eones who were different... the ones that the Elders deemed, 'rejects'. It was the elders who labeled them... if the elders hadn't started that, then everyone would have been accepted.
They're tearing us apart more than ... anything. If anyone should be called a reject, it should be me. I'm the most different than any of them...

Sairi stood up lightly, still staring until suddenly her mind seemed to flood with emotion. She could sense the pain of her people... they were dying over at their island!
Affy... I didn't think... you'd lead them to kill us. Sairi frowned, she had misjudged the intent upon the Wind Riders. She thought they perhaps would have been more able to sneek inside... perhaps disable her kyn. But the Elders! They wanted them to stay here... to wait until their people died?! What were they waiting for!?

One of the Elders approached her suddenly, "Sairi... it is time." Sairi stood up slowly, facing the female elder with a frown in her voice.
"It is time for the ceremony?" Sairi stated, tilting her head to the side but she shook her head.
"No... you must get in your ceremonial outfit and then we will wait a bit further."
Sairi gave a solemn nod, and slowly she approached an area where a few of the Fire Children had already gotten her garments ready and she was to dress behind a few thick bushes.
"Sairi, I cannot wait until we succeed!" A younger male said to her, his eyes brimming with hope and a soft serenity which Sairi adored in people. It reminded her of a past friend...
"Neither can I." She said gently, giving a light bow before disappearing behind the bushes.

While Sairi changed... her mind still wandered. Was this the right thing? This wouldn't bring harm to Tarasque nor Sastrugen... not if they just kept them detained... but yet, some thing didn't seem right. It seemed to simple, too strange... illogical.
What... what if we're wrong. What if the Elders are wrong and the legend is translated wrongly?
Sairi even stretched to think of some thing else... but she frowned.
What does the legend mean...?

Soon Sairi was dressed, and she withdrew a sigh. Her hair was upswept into a eleborate fashion, tressles of hair hanging down halfway in some places while the rest of her hair was upswept by golden clips. It did look rather elegant yet with an exotic taste to it, along with her entire appearance now. Her upper half was only covered upon her chest with eleborately decorated gold with soft sparkles of red jewels intertwinted into them. Two dragons upon each 'breast plate' were carved into them, one of gold and one of silver. Around her waist, a golden-like belt that was carved as beautifully as her upper garment, except attached to the belt was a flowing semi-skirt of viberant red fabrics intertwined with dusty ice-like silver. It was semi-transparent, but it was remarkably beautiful. About her wrists were many silver and gold bracelates, and upon one of the bracelets upon each wrist had a small little chain that swept upwards towards her neck, attaching themselves to the collar-like golden necklace about her neck. The chains were loose enough that Sairi could easily move her arms about however, so it was no problem to her. Sairi even had a golden and silver spiraled ankle bracelet upon each leg, and she soon walked outwards.
"Oh my... Sairi... it's.." The male fire child stated, and Sairi smiled at him.
"Thank you." She stated calmly, as she walked outwards.

She had definately made up her mind.

"Good Sairi, you're dressed. Now sit and make yourself quite while we wait..." One of the Elders spoke, but Sairi frowned.
"No... I'm leaving."
"what?!" Many of them said in unision, and Sairi nodded.
"That's right... I'm leaving. I'm going to aid our fellow Fire Children. They're dying and you're doing nothing!! I'm going to help them... I will not wait! Besides... if capturing both Sastrugen and Tarasque is supposed to bring peace to the world... where is it?! Why would we wait?! Our siblings are dying while you sit and do NOTHING!!"

Tears, glowing tears almost... seemed to stream down her face as she tightened her hands into fists. Fire Children stopped and stared at her... in awe- her body almost seemed to glow in an inner rage, a new found power. Even the great dragon Tarasque seemed to eye her... as if soem thing familiar emmited from within her body. The Elders were about to speak.. but Sairi interupted.
"Goodbye." She spoke swiftly, and with one fluid motion she opened a firey portal. Walking through it... it disappeared, far faster and easier than she had ever activated a portal before.

"We should make haste... before she realizes the truth.." And Elder whispered.

!!!!!!!
!!!!!!


Just as the majority of the Wind Riders approached the entrapped Sastrugen, perhaps trying to solve the riddle of the firey cage... a portal appeared.
Flames seemed to erupt, casting heat from with in as a glowing black and crimson center spread outwards enough for a person to enter through. Sairi swiftly appeared, her body seeming to radiate an unseen glow... tears still upon her face although she no longer had them flowing from her eyes. As soon as she withdrew from the portal, it disappeared in a brilliant light. Her body was perhaps scantially clothed... but she did have an overall exotic... unique appearance that set apart. It was as if the clothing had forever been designed for only her.

Sairi's pained gaze saw Affy and immediatly a smile formed upon her tear stained face.
"Affy!" She exclaimed, and she made a move to walk forward towards him but suddenly she stopped. It wasn't the other Wind Riders who made her stop... but it was the scene about them. Sastrugen was awake, but he was weakened... but not horribly so that he was sick. Sairi had kept it that way when t he Elders had left... she didn't want to harm the creature. However... her eyes scanned to see blood everywhere. Fallen Fire Children... who had fought because they had been told to protect, been ordered to by the Elders... by Sairi, to stay behind.
"No.." Sairi stated, as her face formed from happiness from seeing Affy to the pain which surrounded her. One of the Wind Riders made a move towards her, but suddenly a cloaked figure seemed to grab the Wind Rider.
"No... don't hurt her... she hasn't done anything yet."
Sairi's teared eyes glanced up to recognize the cloaked figure.
"Ignis?" She spoke... tilting her head to the side. He seemed to hesitate to speak... and Sairi shook her head.
"Why... why would you allow so many of them to die? They're your kyn... yes, maybe a few of them wouldn't like you because of the title 'reject' but that's not their fault... the Elders raised them that way. Raised them to believe in such things... there was nothing else to believe in other than the Elders."
Sairi frowned, "I... I didn't think that you'd... kill so many..."
Affy seemed to speak a little awkwardly... "We... we tried to... disable as many as we could."
"They tried to kill us." Another voice spoke, but Sairi shook her head.
"They were defending what they believed in... harmony."

A gurgling noise came to Sairi's ears, and she saw a figure lying upon the ground. His neck was slit gently, and he was bleeding to death...
"S-ar.." He tried to speak, his eyes glimmering with hope as Sairi stood above him. She frowned... and suddenly she almost seemed angry.
"It's all their fault!" She almost yelled with anger... closing her eyes as a tear from her face dripped upon the soldier's body. She gently touched his face with her soft hands, smiling sadly upon him..
"You rest now... rest..." She stated, placing her palm above his neck and his eyes closed. She then pressed her hand to his neck wound, and a soft... fuzzy glow of red seemed to form about her hands. It pulsated and her eyes seemed to glaze over for a bit... and then after a minute, she rose upwards. Her eyes blazed with a fiery rage, as she glanced at the Wind Riders.

" Stay away... you'll only be hurt if you press further."

One of the riders gasped... probaby Mihn, for a strong, furious aura of power had entertwined itself around Sairi's body. The power... that was identical to that... of Tarasque.

[Djinn]

Didn't get a chance to stick my post in there! Ignis was supposed to be aghast at how the Wind Riders had killed so many Fire Children. He wasn't ruthless and remorseless, I did even say that they should only be incapacitated in my post before the battle. Would you mind editing Ignis's reaction a little B4, considering most of the killing was done when he was no where near the rest of the battle (fighting with Gabriella)?

[Djinn]

=======
Ignis - M
=======

Sairi continued to hover in the air, fire burning in her eyes. Time for some cold logic.

"No time to beat around the bush Sairi! I had believed that the Riders would disable as many as possible, but it seems some of them had other plans," I shot a glare at Yxe, "and you are in denial."

Sairi's anger was obviously flaring, and the power that didn't seem hers rose higher. Her temper would soon reign supreme over her actions. Breakdown mode imminent.

"You might say that you had no idea, and your mind might not acknowledge it, but you know deep in your subconscious mind you knew how many could die, were likely to die. You sent your fellow sect members in blind, and for that you are just as guilty as the Riders here that did the actual killing."

Sairi's mouth dropped in realization, but anger soon replaced the slight sorrow that had momentarily reappeared in her eyes. My tounge felt numb, I knew how much the words probably just hurt her, but she had to be brought out of her vendetta against us.

"Don't play the fool. Think Sairi. Were these Children really fighting for harmony? I know that was what they thought, and in that they might be innocent, but do you really believe that is the elder's intentions? Harmony? Surely someone that is using you this way can't be all goody-good. They had to steal a dragon, and I'm sure the Riders can vouch for how loving these dragons are, and you still say the goal of the Fire Children is peace and harmony? Good is a personal crusade same as evil is the work of the pawns of an entity, they aren't playing the good guy in this game, and who are you sided with? Fault lies on both sides for the deaths here, but most of it lies on top of the elder's heads. They are the ones you should be taking out your wrath on."

I kept a steely glare, but I prayed my words would shake her a bit. Sairi was visibly thinking. Both the Wind Riders and I refused to break the ensuing silence.

I just hoped she'd realize this is for her own good. Despite how powerful I believed Sairi, I doubted she could beat an almost full party of Wind Riders and their dragons. If it came to battle though, I wasn't sure if I could carry on, being more likely to protect her than fight her.

=======

I hope I'm not stretching post freedom, lol. React away B4!

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi


"You're are right and you are wrong." Sairi stated, her power fuming about her... a raging power, but she smiled still... it was odd, how she could smile but yet she could be in rage.
" You think my rage is directed upon you... but it is not. It is directed at the elders."
A few reliefed expressions, and Sairi smiled.. "I could never be angry with the Wind Riders, nor Affy."
Odd silence.
" You were only protecting your kyn... I know that. I simply believed that you would come to save Sastrugen with out killing... but I realize now that it was foolish. However... these fire children did fight for peace and harmony. The Elders told myself and them... that there was a legend..."
A few of them blinked, and Sairi approached them closer, her body still glowing with an almost heavenly like light.
" There is a legend... and in ancient tongue, it goes as... The power of Tarasque
Twinned with Chiono
Released through release
To the child of fire
It will belong.
"

Sairi frowned, glancing up at Sastrugen...
" But I don't believe that is the right translation. The more power I use... the more ancient tongue I speak- the more I believe that it isn't right. I know the Elders are liars... and I know they've been using me... but... "
Sairi bit her lip, "I'm not sure what to do-"
Suddenly, Sairi's eyes widened. She suddenly whirled about... and spoke, her tongue lavish and exotic as she seemed to be possessed for a slight moment.
"Dominatus Tarasque
Gemellus absque Chiono
Privatio per privatio
Infans ignigena
Accedo ubivis insum."

Sairi suddenly then whirled about, power radiating about her... it wasn't rage anymore... it simply was the peak of her power. She had... blossomed, her power truely showing this time although perhaps it was merely in a growing stage and had not reached it's finality.
"Go! Go now! Quickly.." Sairi's eyes were in panic. She suddenly realized what the legend had meant... it wasn't to grant harmony and peace... it... it was to-

WHAM!

Suddenly, a brilliant red flash glowed through out the entire area... illuminating everything. Sairi's body was crushed against one of the stone walls, her face giving off a look of pain and confusion.
" Go! Rescue your dragons befo-"
Suddenly Sairi let out a scream of pain, as her body was slammed into the ground, and then back up against the wall as if she were gagged and pinned. In the temple... chanting... were the eight elders. Each of them were clothed in viberant clothes of red, their eyes full of hate and evil and behind them... Tarasque had formed.

" Sairi... you have been useful to us, and for that we are grateful for your creation."
"But now... it is time to do our final deed... because I'm sure you've realized the truth..."
One of the elders approached Sairi, touching her pained face gently.
" The dragons will be one... and we will control them and then, the world."

"No..I... won't... let... the barriers... be..."
Sairi closed her eyes, and it was obvious that the Elders were using all of their combined efforts to force Sairi to combine both Sastrugen and Tarasque's cages. But she was refusing... and she had a will to fight.

"Please... destroy... them!"




( Once you attack the Elders, their grip on Sairi will be released. She'll then help fight... heh, and she's a good fighter! lol )

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

=^^=
----------
Athanasius Pound, Wind Rider of Beowulf
"All bastards is bastards, but some bastards is bastards."
--------------------

He had never quite wished he was dead drunk in some unnamed gutter so much as he did now, after seeing the hurt look on Sairi's face. He'd never cared enough for anyone or anything to be put in such a position.He did now. Of course he should have stopped the other Wind Riders from butchering as much as they had. But he didn't think. He never thought enough, or in a proper corkscrew, that was the trouble. He thought in fairly straight lines, which, uncannily, always turned into corkscrews at the end.

And did she have to look so drop-dead gorgeous, especially now when he was rather hoping there was a convenient hole he could crawl into and disappear forever?

And did he really just have that thought? Consciously? Without, say, the help of a few shots of whatever was on the house?

He tried to swallow, but he couldn't. He didn't say anything, because all he knew now for certain was the feel of rock beneath his feet and the shifting of his grip on his sword. He hadn't noticed he'd had his hand on its hilt. The tensing of his muscles as he watched Ignis parley with her. Well, at least the defecter had guts. He was waiting for something. What?

Then there was a bit of gibberish, about the prayer of the Fire Children. All religion and most things religious got him on edge. There were always two sides of viewing something, at least for him there were, and he could not resign himself to looking at only one side of the matter and ignoring the plight of the others, like many other people with a simple view of life. But there was the rub - he had forgotten about the Fire Children dying in the ranks, in his desire to finish things and stay alive. Selfish, selfish. A pot calling kettles black, was that the proverb? He thought it was, and he figured it was one of the more stupid-sounding ones. It would be.He had never thought an eloquent thought in his entire life.

He waited still, in a state of instinct. Something was going to happen, most probably something not good.

She was smiling with the flames about her. Reciting the legend, in a forgotten language. Wrestling with the meaning. Damn was she powerful. He was the same age as her, give or take a few months, but she was a leader of a large and dangerous tribe, while he just happened to be able to talk to dragons, and do the right thing, generally by mistake. He wouldn't last five minutes in a one-on-one with her. He'd probably spend four minutes and fifty nine seconds running,and the last second being incinerated.

The red rage came, the bad thing he'd been waiting for, pinning her to the wall, chanting spells she'd rather not chant, and he promised himself he'd kill somebody today.

Beowulf, in a flash of telepathy, growled, Idiot. But it was not said in bad grace.

His feet took him in a more or less straight line to the temple. That was were the strange, crabbed voices were coming from. Bastards. There were a few of them, in red robes trimmed with brimstone, like a flock of wingless, featherless vultures, wrinkled and liver-spotted beyond belief.They were concentrating very hard on the puppeteer spell. They kept trying to clench their hands together, in a similar, synchronized motion, but always something went wrong. He saw all this in a peripheral blur. They had almost succeeded, if he had not slammed his sword over the bald pate of a man with a mouth like sour plums and attempted to disembowel the very old lady next to him in the same, sweeping motion. The man fell, but the lady, dressed in brocade, did not.

There was a halting, and their aged eyes alighted on the newcomer. A flash of fire in the sunken sockets.

Athanasius Pound, late Wind Rider of the earth Dragon Beowulf, knew his time was come. His pyre had been set alight. He'd have to kill them before they killed him.

Make or break now, and no mistake.

[Arnen]

Er, I feel bad... I have no idea what to post, and I'd like to but.... >>;

[Weasel Overlord]

Ahh, poor Malic...Hey, guess what! I'm gettin a computer for me brithday, so in exactly a week, I'll be able to post, like, regularly! I don't have to rely on college any more!!! WOOO!! :D


~Malic, Fire Child and Warrior.~

Left to guard the Dragon. The shame of it. The rest of the sect got to go out and fight, and she didn’t even get a look-in. Fighting was Malic’s job, and there wasn’t a chance in Hell that she was just going to sit around like a dead duck while her friends got all the fun. And there was always a chance that she might come across Yxe. She shuddered at the thought of him, her hatred almost overcoming all other emotions. Oh, how she despised him. Longed to erase his soul from the world of the living, and hear his Dragon scream as he died. That was her fondest dream, and the one which Malic intended to carry out by the end of the night. She glanced at Sastrugen, helpless in his fiery prison. She sneered at him as she thought with relish about what she was going to do to Yxe. He beat his wings in vain against the cage, almost as if he could sense her thoughts. But in there, he was cut off from the world. He was silent to Yxe and Yxe was silent to him. It must be hell, thought Malic. Good. She turned on her heel, and headed to the door of the cavern in which Sastrugen was being held. The cavern wasn’t actually that far from the main gate of the volcano and the heat of battle. Malic could sense it and her blood ran hot with anticipation. She lived for the heat of battle.
She began to run in her excitement, hearing the noise of battle through the gate and the roars of the Dragon-kyn of Sastrugen. Drawing her great broadsword, Malic charged through the gate and into the thick of things. She spied a Wind Rider girl alone, and weak-looking and she headed for her, intending to take full advantage of the situation when she saw him. Yxe. Her nemesis. Malic’s eyes clouded over with a fury that she couldn’t control and a bestial roar left her mouth. He turned to her, no recognition in his eyes until he looked into hers. It dawned and he grinned over at the small-looking girl he was fighting beside.
Her vision narrowed and she could only see Yxe as she charged at him, broadsword swinging. Yxe dodged nimbly but Malic added a sweeping backhander to the combination which he barely dodged. She grinned at him as he invoked some sort of magick into his small blades. Hah! Ice is no match for fire, thought Malic smugly, as she conjured up her own small spell. Her blade erupted into glowing flames.
“Two can play at that game.” As she grinned, Malic caught Yxe’s slight movement. So he was trying for a throw? Well…she ran at him, closing quickly, broadsword held high for a cleaving blow. Yxe dodged out of range, but Malic knew what he intended and she swung in the same direction. The surprise on his face was worth waiting for. As was the look of pain as Malic’s sword clipped him on the arm. The smell of burning flesh filled her nose and obliterated her senses as she spun for a crippling blow. Yxe fell backwards and out of range and flung out his hand towards Malic. She had no time to wonder what it was as a searing pain washed over her. Cold. So cold. The pain was immeasurable, and Malic, no longer able to stand, fell, for the first time in her life, clutching at the blade that seemed to grow from her left eye like a weed in a garden, strangling life from its neighbouring plants. Cold…her very nervous system seemed to be affected by the deadly ice of Yxe’s blade, but she had enough sight and hearing left to hear Yxe murmur some words over her and remove his knife. The words didn’t register in Malic’s partially frozen brain and, slowly, her senses turned off. One by one, she faded into blackness, never to fight again.
-----------------------------------------------

Hey, Nab...don't worry about posting! Just do what ye can, jah? No worries, as Rincewind would say...

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of Sastrugen.~

Flame cages? Yxe looked around and caught sight of a huge dome of fire, criss-crossing over a white shape, which was roaring and flapping its wings with a leathery sound. Sastrugen. A wave of relief washed over Yxe, which was soon extinguished as he saw the High Mage appear in front of Sastrugen from a fiery portal. She was dressed in some sort of ceremonial gear and she looked…well…sexy. As much as Yxe hated to admit it, it was true, and then a thought of Minh elbowed its way into his brain and kicked him. Yxe shook his head and the mage walked forwards, gaping at all the bodies strewn on the floor. He looked down, seeing for the first time the terrible carnage he and his kyn had reaped from the Fire Children. He felt guilty. Guilty that so many had to die. Yxe saw with compassionate eyes what he had done and he hated himself. Such a loss of life.
Yxe looked at the mage with tear-blurred vision and he saw her smile at Affy trustingly and approach him. Then she saw. She stopped and gazed upon the dead bodies of what must have once been her friends and companions. She said something quietly and Stephan made a move towards her. Affy held out his hand.
“No…Don’t hurt her…She hasn’t done anything yet.” The mage looked up at this and she seemed to recognise the traitor by Yxe’s side.
“Ignis? Why…why would you allow so many of them to die? They were your kyn…” Her voice became quieter and Yxe couldn’t catch what she said.
“They tried to kill us.” Stated Stephan in defence. But this sounded weak to the ears of Yxe, who had started to wonder himself. The mage tilted her head slightly, and turned. A gasp had come from the floor and she went to kneel by her dying kynsman. She murmured some words that were unintelligible and then her voice rose, almost a scream.
“It’s all their fault!” She calmed down and placed her palm on the wounded man’s neck. A soft red glow came from her hand and she sighed, her work done. Muttering some words to the soldier, she stood slowly, but Yxe could see from her stiff movement that she was furious with rage and sorrow. Tears glimmered down her cheeks, but her eyes were steely.
“Stay away. You’ll only be hurt if you press further.” She meant business, and her aura flared with her words, becoming a whirlwind of power that twined its way about her. There was something oddly familiar about that fiery aura…
A gasp came from one of the Riders. It was Minh, and Yxe turned to survey his love. He face was aghast but her eyes were strangely compassionate in the face of this new danger.
Ignis stepped forwards, presumably to reason with the Mage, who seemed on the brink of losing control, but Yxe forgot everything as he gazed at Minh. He walked over to her, arms outstretched with a gentle smile.
“What’s the matter, love?” She looked into his eyes, and Yxe saw confusion reflected there.
“Her aura…what is she?” Yxe shrugged and turned to look at the exchange between Ignis and the High Mage.
-------------------------------------

Ookay, I will finish this tomorrow...my bus is due right now...but I didn't realise how far behind Yxe was with the plot...'twill be remedied tomorrow! Toodles for now...

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of Sastrugen~

He’s so close now…

The argument between the High Mage and Ignis was being bounced back and forth, neither side making any purchase on the other. The Mage was hovering in the air slightly, her aura fluctuating wildly, like the flames of a fire that had gone out of control…Wait! Yxe took another look at her aura. It was flaring red, with tongues of fire licking round her body…a lot similar to the aura of a certain Dragon and her Wind Rider whom Yxe knew very well. He turned back to Minh and raised his eyebrow.
“Do you recognise that aura?” He enquired.
“Of course. It’s identical to Tarasque’s…but…how?” Yxe turned to look at the mage, floating there in front of Sastrugen. He aura did look identical…the question was why.
He zoned back in to the conversation to find the mage smiling serenely. Strange.
“You think my rage is directed upon you…but it is not. It is directed at the Elders.” Siyann grinned with relief, probably glad that she wouldn’t have to fight this powerful-looking mage.
“You were only protecting your kyn.” Yxe smiled dreamily, thinking of the time when he and Sastrugen would be reunited and he drifted away from the conversation again as the Mage floated closer. But, with a start, he realised that she was speaking in a foreign tongue. He missed the first part of the rhyme, but he caught a single word.
‘Chiono.’ That was what the Fire Children called Sastrugen; it meant ‘snow lord’ or something. The mage finished the rhyme in her strange forgotten language and turned swiftly, to face Sastrugen. She glared wildly around, power oozing from her, and then turned back to the gathered Wind Riders.
“Go! Go now! Go quickly…” He eyes were wide with realisation and urgency. “Go rescue your Dragons, befo…” She was cut off by an almighty explosion followed by a blinding flash as a group of decrepit-looking people burst into the chamber wearing red robes. There were eight of them, and they looked like powerful mages. Yxe decided to be wary, when they lifted the High Mage up into the air and slammed her back down to the ground with a sickening crack. And then she was in the air again, pinned by some invisible force. Helpless.
“Sairi…you have been useful to us…” So that was her name. Sairi. One of them approached her and touched her on the cheek with a gnarled finger. She recoiled in disgust.
“The Dragons will be one…and we will control them. And then, the world.” They were crazed. Insane.
Sairi struggled against the invisible barriers holding her.
“No…I won’t let the…barriers be……Please! Destroy them!” He eyes closed with the strain of her struggle and Yxe decided that he’d heard enough. He pulled his longbow from his shoulder and went onto one knee. In one lightening-fast motion, he had strung his bow and was sighting down the arrow, to the point of the diamond-tipped head. He saw Affy stream past him, sword raised, and take down one of the men. And then, he let go, the arrow flying straight and true into the neck of the leading mage. Sairi dropped to the ground as the semi-circle was disrupted, and she went into a crumpled heap. Yxe glanced at her, and swore. Minh gaped at him; Yxe almost never lost his cool. He swung his bow back over his shoulder and leapt to Sairi’s side.
“Can you fight?”
-----------------------------------------

YAY!! More battle scenes!

[Vulpix.ck87]

What the.. Where are we? Sairi had a vision of the elders inside the temple, and Affy ran off to kick their butts, but.. Then the elders were outside and Affy attacked them there?!?! ARRGH!!!! I’m going pretend they’re still in the temple W.O, if ya don’t mind.

Siyann/F - 17/Windrider to Sigurd

As Sairi was thrown the ground, Athanasius suddenly turned and took off without a word. Ignis gawped at his retreating shadow, and Stephan curled his lip.

"Coward," He spat. Reluctantly, that same word had formed in Siyann’s mind, but no.. there had been a determined look in his eyes, and he was heading for.. The temple!! Panic flashed through her mind, and quickly subsided.

"No! That's suicide.." She whispered, and turned to grab Stephan's hand. "He's gone to the temple, to kill them himself." Stephan looked shocked, then majorly p*ssed off, once again. But for the first time in his life he must of felt some admiration for Affy, as he bit back whatever harsh comments he was about to throw after their kin, and grabbed Siyann's arm.

"Let's go." He muttered, and - as Yxe and Minh went to help Sairi - Stephan, Siyann and a few others headed to the stone steps that led far down into the temple’s heart. The elder's worked here, in this most tomb like of places, and Tarasque was imprisoned behind them, catching Siyann’s eye. Confused, she watched as the barrier holding the great fiery dragon stretched outwards as if to move out of the temple, but then juttered, shimmered, and in a blink of the eye was just as it had been before: solid and immovable. Siyann shook her head, wondering if she had simply imagined it, and then commenced to peer around the large hollow, lined with stone and lit torches. Her eyes now adjusted to the dim surroundings, she saw eight elderly people, people who reflected the age of the very walls around them, seemingly as ancient and decrepit as the temple itself. And yet there was the same solidarity as the ground beneath her feet, and the flaming sconces on the walls were echoed tenfold within the sunken pits of their eyes. There was more force and magic alight here than Siyann had ever though possible, and she shuddered as she took her first step forward.

She hesitated once more, as Athanasius stood in front of her, and she wondered how she had failed to notice him before - his stance was solid, like rock, emanating a calm inevitable power she had never discerned from him before. And then it happened again, and Siyann saw the elemental cage that held Tarasque shudder out, inch by inch. And Siyann saw the elders' odd hand motions.. Like Affy, she made the connection, but Affy acted first. Like a landslide, his sword swept down unstoppable, and hit the first elder, an aged man, firmly on the side of the skull. A crack resounded throughout the room, and he fell, but now the other mages were alerted. As Affy followed through with his swipe, the next elder turned her eyes on the oncoming siege, and blinked. Affy’s sword went through the spot where she’d been a split second before, and appeared on the other side. Siyann blinked and the old lady sat there calmly, and unharmed. Affy’s blade glowed a fierce orange, as if it had been thrust into furnace. The elders glanced upon Affy with disdain, and then at Stephan and Siyann, filling them with unease. Siyann had no idea what the mages were about to do, but knew it was something bad, and that at that moment Sairi was the only person who was stopping them.

"Please... destroy... them!" Sairi’s words echoed in Siyann’s mind with urgency, and she nodded grimly to herself. It had to end here.

Siyann dived into battle, her blade deft with a swift accuracy. And yet the elders sat, unnervingly calm, and when Siyann approached each of them they moved aside, slowly but surely, avoiding what ever moves she threw their way; or perhaps they simply flashed out as the female elder had done earlier. Affy, using the brute force of his rock affinity managed to get in a blow or two, and the victim elders lay shattered on the ground.

Stephan’s rapier darted into elders again and again with little result: the elders always disappeared. Siyann, having an idea, moved the back of where one elder had been. As Stephan removed the rapier, Siyann stabbed with all her might, and felt the blade make contact with bone as the elder reappeared. A small triumph, and yet the elder seemed unhurt. Siyann attempted to plunge the dagger in further, but the skull was like solid stone. Give me a hammer and chisel any day.. Siyann thought with annoyance. The situation was getting desperate now, and as if they feared no threat the mages had resumed chanting. Siyann didn’t know if Sairi was still working against them, or if she was helping Yxe and the others to free Sastrugen or something.

Feeling rather helpless, as she didn’t seem to be hurting the elder in any way, she frantically slammed her palm flat against the aquamarine stone set in her dagger’s hilt. Beneath her hand the dagger literally exploded, a forceful pulse of water being emitted from around the blade itself. The pressure became too much, and blade was pushed from the skull, which now had cracked and shattered somewhat. Gaining encouragement from this, Siyann swung her foot to kick the elder in his wrinkled face, but the elder suddenly threw the scarlet hood of his robes over his head, and burst into fire. Siyann’s boot went up in flames, and she kicked it off hastily. The elder appeared across the room, smirking slightly, and continued with the hypnotic hand motions. Siyann almost cried out in frustration, but decided that they’d made some headway, they’d taken at least three down, right?

But peering around she saw not five, but eight elders, all chanting once more, occasionally disappearing as windriders attacked them. Siyann stared disbelieving - the elder Affy had first felled, who had lain broken on the floor, sat nonchalantly in front of her. Stephan, who stood a few metres away seemed to notice this too, and his cocky indifference was shattered for a moment. He drew close to Siyann.

“Nothing’s working!” He whispered in a mix of confusion and pure anger. He pointed, “I killed him two minutes ago!”

“I.. We have to keep going. Even if we’re not stopping them completely,” Siyann muttered helplessly. Stephan raised an eyebrow, “At least we’ve stopped them completing the chant so far. We just have to hope we’re slowing them enough so that whatever Yxe and Sairi have planned comes into effect pretty soon..” Stephan nodded, and moved away decisively.

He swept his rapier into the forehead of the closest elder, and the darkness that coated the rapier spread out to form a solid smoke screen around elder himself. Tarasque’s cage shimmered again, and siyann wondered if, without being able to see his fellow elders, he had become out of sync with the hand motions. Siyann stopped and blinked, then found Sigurd.

“Call Indra now!” Siyann whispered, and Sigurd, knowing what Siyann was thinking, did so immediately. Then she leapt up to the sconces on the wall, otter formed, and extinguished them one by one. Seiryn Kerne Dashun promptly appeared at the door with Indra, and Stephan peered over at her curiously. Sigurd ran over to him to tell him her plans. Seiryn hit an elder over the head with her staff, and frowned at the lack of result. Across the room, Stephan had finished talking to Sigurd, and Eurythion, raven formed, fluttered around the room, spreading thick shadows everywhere his wings alighted. The elders, windriders and dragons were plunged into darkness. And then..

Siyann felt the air over her face as Seiryn twirled her staff close by, and as the snowy owl wings of Indra beat the air. A dim light spread through the chamber, and the windriders and their allies could suddenly see, as if by night vision. Everything had an eerie tint to it, but Siyann and the others knew that this light was just for them, and that the elders sat blind in the pitch black room. Now they could attack, unseen, and perhaps..

No, Siyann had been wrong - the elders were still doing the synchronised hand motions, and were speeding up as the first feeling of panic hit them. The windriders attacked the mages, and Siyann hoped to the gods that Sairi was working on something good.

Tarasque’s cage shuddered once more.

[Arnen]

Ok, I think I know what's going on now...

+'~Eurythion of the Darkness and his Wind Rider, Stephan~'+

Stephan lazily lifted his left arm, the one that didn't clasp his rapier, for Eurythion to flutter onto. His cool violet eyes darted around, keeping track of the Elder's motions, calculating. After a few seconds, he drew back his rapier and darted towards the nearest Elder. Drawing a deep breath, he lashed out with his blade, barely grazing his hand before the figure vanished. Not chancing an attack from such powerful mages, he dashed back to the group.

"What are you doing?" someone whispered.

"Well," Stephan replied matter-of-factly, in just as low of a whisper, "If we sever their hands they can't do their little incantation, now can they?"

Short crappiness, but there >,<

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi


Sairi struggled upon the floor, against the wall. She looked perfectly fine perhaps... her clothing a bit moved, her hair a bit ruffled along with a few scratches... but she was fine. It was her insides that screamed...

The elders, they were calling her. They were demanding t hat she release the barriers that surrounded Tarasque and Sastrugen. Then wanted them out... together, so that they could do the spell.
NO!
Sairi winced, her body being twisted in agony from the inside... then Sairi's teary eyes glanced over to see Affy, upon the ground... hurt. Her eyes widened slightly... and instantly she felt more rage and sadness. All this... all that was happening... why?
Sairi used all of her strength to stand up, slowly staggering towards the group of Wind Riders.
"Yxe... Mihn..." Sairi managed to cough, as she fell to the floor again.
"Sairi! Is... is there anyway you can help? We can't get to them while... while they're doing that strange spell!"
Sairi glanced at them with a weak smile.. ." I must... tell you..."
She swallowed, " They want to combine... Sastrugen and Tarasque together, to become one. They...they think that... that'll grant them ultimate power... control." Sairi suddenly let out a scream, a sudden seering pain of knife-like power ripping from deep inside her soul. Sairi fought it... glancing up at them once more.
" If... I let down the barriers... the dragons will be unguarded and the spell might work. However... unless I do my magick... you'll never get to the Elders to defeat them. So... listen." Sairi grew stronger, using all her will to ignore the pain she felt from with in.
" It's only a matter of time before... before they wither my soul down. I'm strong... but not strong enough to last forever. I'll... I'll let down the barriers."
Mihn's eyes widened, "But... but you..." She stammered, but SAiri shook he rhead.
" When a brilliant flash ripples through the air, all of your wind rider friends must attack the elders at ONCE. If you give them even a little bit of time... they will iniate the spell. Once the spell iniates, I will be helpless to stop it."
They glanced at SAiri... "But i thought...I thought you were more powerful than them... you're the leader after all."
Sairi smiled, "I'm more different than all of them then you understand... but there is no time. Get ready... "





(Sairi will release the barriers after you have had time to tell the news to all the Wind Riders. Then you... well, should perhaps do as she says. )

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of Sastrugen~

Sairi struggled to her feet and gave a weak smile. She looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders…and she probably did, what with her struggle with the elders still going on, deep within her mind. She swayed with the effort of keeping herself upright, gathered herself, and took a staggering step towards Yxe and Minh.
“It’s only a matter of time before they wither…my soul down. I’m strong…but not strong enough to last forever. I’ll...I’ll let down the barriers.” Yxe felt a shock at her suggestion. She wanted to give Sastrugen to the Elders. Perhaps she was no better than them after all. But then, she continued.
“When a brilliant flash ripples through the air, all of your Wind Rider friends must attack the Elders at ONCE. If you give them even a little time, they may be able to initiate the spell.” Minh looked a little confused at this.
“But I thought you were more powerful than them…you’re the leader after all.” Sairi gave her a gentle smile.
“I’m more different than you all understand. But there is no time. Get ready.” Yxe nodded decisively. So there was something that could be done. But they had to act with haste. Not a moment could be spared, for that might endanger Sastrugen and Tarasque, and surely put the whole world in danger.
Sairi turned away to face the battle and Yxe grabbed Minh.
“Come on! Let’s go tell the rest.” They ran into the melee hand in hand and stopped in front of Siyann.
“Sairi’s going to let the barriers drop. Gather the others for an assault on the Elders. But make it quick, we haven’t got much time.” Yxe gasped his message out to Siyann’s surprised expression.
“But…won’t that help the Elders? Surely letting the barriers down isn’t a good idea…”
“I know. I trust Sairi…even though she is supposed to be our enemy…but the more I talk with her, the more I begin to see that maybe she is right.”
---------------------------------

YAY!! Birthday tomorrow!!! Woot!
Sorry to leave it so open ended...I have to get to my lesson! ;)

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

OOC: Happy birthday WO ^^ I don't have time to post (first, I have to cram 5 chapters of Islamic history, 5 chapters of world history, 10 chapters of chemistry, and 12 chapters of biology into my cranium before my exams next week) but I will come back and edit this post ASAP... Incidentally, I believe Affy's current state can best be described as "WTF, I'm still alive?" *sweatdrop*

[Weasel Overlord]

Aww, ta! And happy birthday to b4...who, bizzarely has the same birthday as me! YAY for birthdays! And yay for birthday computers...which I will be inseperable with for the next, oh, 20-30 years!! You just try and stop me posting...

[Vulpix.ck87]

:partyhat: :birthday: :partyhat:


And just for good measure.. heh heh, monocle :monocle:

[Mire]

Happy Belated to both of you...


===
Ignis
===

In the midst of trying desperately to chop off the elders hands and such, the whisp of Sairi's words reached my ear. "Let down the barriers," was the whisper, and the faint worry was replaced when, "attack the elders at once," followed. Obviously in pain Sairi was still capable of creating a better plan than all of us.

I motioned for the others to push the elders back towards where the rest of the group was talking to Sairi, and in this way surrounded them. As we rallied together to prepare, the brilliant flash rippled through the air as promised.

With a simultaneous war cry throughout our group, swords were swung, arrows nocked to be flown, daggers readied for lightning stabs, and I myself took hold of the strongest wisps of moon and smoke I could garner. If it was to be fatal, and the elders had wished this fate upon themselves, then so be it. My eyes glazed over and my chest coupled in pain but I continued to charge a smoky energy blast that became a beacon of swirling mist and aimed towards several elders. As the ripple of energy that had signaled the release of the barriers' magical binding washed over the group, a single wind-snatched word escaped my lips as several swords hit home, "release..."

===

I would have continued, but I thought that advancing the plot further was in Weasel's job description. Regardless, I'm interested to see where the plot goes from here...

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider of Sastrugen~

I don’t want to lose you now…

As soon as Yxe had finished talking, Siyann sprang away like a sea otter in the waves, her movement reminiscent of that of Sigurd as the self-same animal. Siyann had a sort of boundless energy about her which confused the more taciturn Yxe. He put it down to her young age.
She went straight over to the main party and whispered something in Affy’s ear. He nodded in agreement and brandished his sword. Yxe ran over to join them, his plait swinging as he ran.
“I say we surround them. But we should try not to be seen, which shouldn’t be too hard in this state.” Yxe gestured around at the light that only he and his kyn were a part of.
“I’d suggest being quiet as well.” Muttered Stephan. “It might actually help.” Yxe shot him a glare.
“We must act quickly. Let’s go!” Yxe took a place near the oldest-looking mage as he gestured with his hands. It looked like some obscure sort of sign-language but it was obviously part of the big spell that the Elders were forming. Yxe only hoped that Sairi was right in her analysis of the Elders. If the attack didn’t pause them, Sastrugen and Tarasque didn’t have a hope. Yxe clenched his fists and made a silent oath to succeed or to die trying. He didn’t want to live if Sastrugen wasn’t there to share his emotions and experiences. The time without him was already beginning to have an effect, and Yxe feared that failure would cause insanity.
Ignis started to draw the Elders towards Yxe and the rest, him and the other Wind Riders forming a semi-circle about them, with their backs left to Yxe, Siyann and Affy. Yxe dropped back slightly, and nocked an arrow to his longbow in preparation.
The flash came, just as planned, and Yxe roared his defiance to the Elders who had stolen his soul-mate. He let the arrow fly, signalling the attack, and his Kyn swarmed forwards. He glanced about in the split-second before nocking another arrow and saw that the dome covering Sastrugen had indeed gone. So Sairi was true to her word, and Yxe heard Sastrugen’s clear voice in his mind for the last time. It burst through Yxe’s senses joyfully, engulfing him in its mental embrace.
-I knew you’d come!- That trusting voice that Yxe had so missed. He suddenly had an urge to be up close in the fighting. To feel the flesh of the Elders tear and freeze under the blades of his knives. To feel them convulse and twitch as their nervous systems were slowly shut down by the extreme cold that pervaded their bodies.
Yxe flung his longbow aside wildly and grappled with a pair of knives at his belt. He circled his thumbs over the hilts and leapt into battle as Ignis muttered a single word.
“Release.” A blinding flash directed at the Elders was let loose and it reaped its destruction on the group. Two fell to its power. But the Elders kept on gesturing and muttering. Their movements had increased in urgency as soon as the barriers had been dropped and no matter how many casualties they took, it didn’t seem to deter them. Two were gone, six still remained. They stood in the semi-circle that they had been forced into, a space in the centre where the two had stood, but that space quickly closed as the Elders drew closer. Their chanting grew louder and there seemed to be some sort of fiery shield protecting them which deflected the blows rained upon them by the Wind Riders.
Affy was hacking and slashing furiously but to no avail and Yxe’s knives made no purchase at all. Only Ignis’ spell had done any lasting damage and he looked too exhausted to try that again. Yxe looked desperately over at Sairi but she seemed to be engrossed in the casting of some sort of spell too. No help from that corner for the moment. Yxe was trying to think of a way to break the stand-off when a scream of desperation entered his thoughts.
-Yxe! Help us!- He looked around, startled, to see Sastrugen beating his wings desperately against some unseen force.
Suddenly, the Elders opened their eyes and simultaneously brought their hands together. They lifted them above their heads, and then brought them apart in one vicious movement, accompanied by a screamed word.

“PRIVATIO!”

Yxe dropped to the ground clutching his head. It was filled with a searing pain and a screaming that was unbearable to hear. His ears were ringing and his senses were muddled. Images flashed through his mind incessantly.

Making love to Minh and feeling the glorious togetherness of his soul-mate.

Feeling the bond between himself and Sastrugen for the first time.

His head filled with pictures that seemed to be torn from his very memory. And then he saw one final image. Minh, on the floor…writhing in agony…screaming for it to stop…Tarasque!...Tarasque!....NO!!!

“NO!” The word was screamed by four voices at once…two Human, two Draconic. They blended together in perfect harmony.

Two Dragons…one voice…one being...
--------------------------------------------------------

Okay, that was cruel of me! Oh well! If anyone can work out what’s going on…(other than B4 and Vulps)…well done!

More will be revealed later!!

[Vulpix.ck87]

Siyann/F - 17/Windrider to Sigurd

“PRIVATIO!”


As the mages brought their hands together, Yxe fell like sack of rocks, hitting the ground with an unbelievable significance; one that Siyann felt as a sledgehammer blow to the back of her very skull. Subconsciously opening her mouth in a silent scream, Siyann’s very heart stopped, as for a moment it seemed like he had shattered into a thousand pieces.. Yet no - nails digging crimson from pale skin, Yxe clawed at his skull, as if he were to rip it apart and unleash some gargantuan demon, and all the while he screamed with unbearable pain..

Alarmed, Siyann fell to her knees to help, yet jerked back again as Yxe writhed spasmodically in pain. Across the room, Minh was undergoing the same sinister fate; Affy and Indra sitting hopeless by her side, Indra’s young face wet with sudden tears. Stephan swung his rapier at the closest elder in a rage born of loss and frustration; all to no avail, he sunk to his knees.. What is this horror..?

Siyann’s mind reeled with every fresh attempt to grip this sick reality, and simultaneously begged the Gods that it was not so. Despairingly, Sigurd’s forlorn soul reached out to Siyann, and they clung to each other as if there were no tomorrow, pressing their forms together so hard that it seemed Sigurd’s weeping heart beat in Siyann’s own chest. It was the way it should be, two souls intertwined, from the start of time, and the same for their kin..

Yxe, Minh, Tarasque, Sastrugen..

Their souls were being ripped apart at the seams.

Please Gods, don’t let it be.. Siyann pleaded to no-one. And then..

A haunting scream met their ears as the very air blazed white fire, and Siyann and her kin were thrown to the walls, only able to guess at who the strangely distorted yet familiar voice belonged to..

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

Yeah, you'd better reveal more later!! *shakes fist*

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider~

Torn away from each other…


Yxe lost all conscious thought as he was writhing on the floor. All he was aware of was his body crashing on the ground. Of many cuts and bruises. But this pain was nothing to the pain in his mind, which was excruciating. It felt like his mind was been torn apart. Torn away from that which he had known for most of his life. That precious link with Sastrugen, warm but at the same time comfortingly cool. The one place where he felt safe and understood, with the one being who did understand. And they were taking him away.
Through his tightly shut eyes Yxe saw, or rather felt, a flash of light pulse through the air. His subconscious rushed back into his senses and his eyes snapped open. Staring wildly, but not seeing. He turned his head in Minh’s direction and rolled onto his stomach. Grappling with the floor to gain hand holds, he slowly and painfully pulled himself over to Minh. She was crouched down clutching her head and moaning gently. She looked down at Yxe as he lay at her feet, and Yxe looked up at her. In her eyes, he saw the same sense of desolation and loss. That feeling of impossible despair that flooded his weary body. Yxe knew that Minh felt as he did and it made him love her more in that instant than he had ever loved her before. He struggled to his knees and fell towards her, arms outstretched. She toppled into his arms and his warm embrace and they fell into each other. Drowning in each other’s scent and thoughts.
The flash pulsed again. Stronger this time. And white and red. Fire and Snow. Together. And apart…but not apart…Together!
Yxe felt two extremes at once, excruciating pain and a glorious feeling of togetherness with Minh and Tarasque.
The light was now a brilliant orange and it swirled around Yxe and Minh like a tornado of pure colour. Flames licked around the outside, but the inside was pleasantly cool. To the outsiders, that is, the rest of the Wind Riders, the light took the shape of a giant golden bird, head outstretched in a call of fury and bliss. Wings flaming with unnatural fire, blazing and yet at the same time, frosty. The bird’s feathers, (if they could be called that) were edged with pale blue, like a slight frosty rime on a branch in winter.

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

Okay...I kinda edited the post to make more sense...does it? Well, I just added some more at the end...hope it helps...

[Weasel Overlord]

I'm so sorry...those last posts probably didn't make ANY sense to you all...I will try to amend this...I promise!
-----------------------------------------


~Yxe, Wind Rider~

The inside of the light was pleasantly cool to Yxe, and it gave him some comfort for his torn mind. He held Minh tightly, determined not to lose her as well, and tears dripped down his cheeks in silvery trails. At the back of his mind was an unwelcome silence. Sastrugen was gone. And so was his cool, comforting presence.
Snippets of Sairi’s words came back to him in his distressed state…

Combine Sastrugen and Tarasque together…
become one…
ultimate power…..

So this strange light was the combined power of Sastrugen and Tarasque? No wonder it felt so warm and yet cool…

Yxe blinked and shook his head to clear his vision. He glanced over at the Elders through the veil of light that surrounded himself and Minh. They were stood in a circle around Yxe and Minh, chanting and humming and making wild gestures with their hands. So they were carrying on with their spell. Maybe it hadn’t worked as they’d planned…Maybe the power of Tarasque was too strong for them to handle…Or maybe there was just another part to the spell. Yxe didn’t know, but he was worried for the fate of Tarasque and Sastrugen, in the hands of the corrupt Elders their combined power could destroy everything he held dear.

Yxe could only pray that the power would prove too strong for them to control…
---------------------------------

There you go...

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi


It didn't work... Sairi suddenly had grasped that fact when the elders had said their final word in the chant. Sairi dropped to her knees, a truely pained expression in her face. Everything had gone wrong... everyone was going to hurt in the end, and now Sairi saw even Affy upon the ground
"I'm so...so sorry, Affy." Sairi whispered, crawling over to him gently as she placed a smooth finger against his skin. She gave a soft smile- the type of smile that some how told others that she knew some thing wasn't done.

She was right.

With in a flash of light as Sastrugen and Tarasque were being combined, suddenly a wave of pain hit Sairi as well. She grasped her side, wincing in extremem pain as she closed her eyes... fighting back the tears and the cries of agonizing pain. A burning feeling was seizing her body... and even tiny flashes of brilliant cold seem to wash over her. She gave a small pathetic whimper, before Sairi collapsed upon the floor. Her head rested to the side of the cool bricks, and she felt the pain seize everywhere. She was shaking... as if fighting a fever from with in. Yet her brilliant eyes managed to glimpse Yxe and Minh, a calming affect upon their faces.

"Yxe... Mihn... if the elders combine your dragons permenatly, you'll never... get them back." The two didn't seem to understand, and Sairi continued despite the pain which wrecked through her.
" They'll... be different... they won't be themselves... you...you won't have the same companion. And... usually... I think... the legend stated that the power... woul-"
Sairi didn't finish, as the roaring golden-like bird let out a tremendous roar that seized the temple and caused it to shake. The elders were trying to control the bird- but the bird in protest- caused a wall nearbye to crumble near them. They couldn't control the bird...

[Mire]

===
Ignis
===

I watched in horror as the combining of Sastrugen and Tarasque pulled Sairi, and all the Wind Riders to the ground. All fighting through excrutiating pain. I screamed, it was unbearable to watch, but worse was that I didn't feel it. The power that held them all passed right over me. Was I not connected enough in this to be of any purpose? Why did my heart not tear at the seams when the dragons were being combined?

Sairi was feebly attempting to speak to Minh and Yxe who were veiled in light, but through the ache that proceeded all the way to her core, she fumbled for words. Yxe and Minh couldn't even hear her, or didn't seem to understand, and a last hope seemed to fly from her eyes. She, it seemed, had given up.

I looked up far out of the way of the elders, and saw watched as the golden bird that was the two dragons screeched as the elders struggled to control its power. Even with their numbers at six, it seemed they still could almost grasp it. The bird, was fighting hard, and crumbled a wall as their control slipped enough to allow it to nearly break free... they couldn't manipulate the bird as they thought they could.

I didn't understand Sairi's entire purpose in this, but I rushed over to her and her eyes looked up but did not glaze over even in recognition of who I was. Soon the pain might even kill this group, and I shook Sairi trying to raise her from her reverie. I was the only one who wasn't some helpless bystander, and I looked straight into her gaze and suddenly a small flare of life crossed them. "Sairi can you hear me?" I asked, and she feebly nodded. "It's Ignis, Sairi."

Her eyes continued to stare, and she took a shallow breath, "Ignis?"

"Yes Sairi," I said and she sighed, still struggling with fatigue. I kept my eye off the bird, I didn't want to see what it was doing, "Sairi if there is anything I can do, would you please tell me!" She drew in a deeper breath, and her voice cracked as a flitting sound of speech crossed them. She opened her mouth, and I hoped with every fibre of it left in my body that she had an answer, some kind of plan.

===

[Weasel Overlord]

~Yxe, Wind Rider~

…lost him forever…


Yxe hugged Minh even closer as Sairi told them what would happen. Their Dragons would be gone. Combined as a great bird, and no longer the Dragons they once were.
A solitary tear rolled down Yxe’s cheek as he realised what Sairi was implying. Sastrugen and Tarasque were gone. Forever. They were dead to him and Minh…leaving behind this…bird, in place of them. Yxe gazed up at its glowing shape, screaming it’s defiance at the Fire Children who sought to control its majestic power. It beat its wings once, twice, and a wall fell. Such power. And the way things looked, the Fire Children couldn’t even hope to control it.
Yxe felt a strange sort of exultance as he watched the great being soar and dive and scream at the Mages, leaving behind a trail of cold, blue-flickering fire that burned all it touched.
He realised how much it resembled the Phoenix of legends...almost exactly alike, now he gave it some thought. Racking his brains, he tried to recall the legends and tales associated with the Phoenix which he had learned as a youngster.


The Phoenix represents purity and life…

The Keeper of the Fires of Creation, it is born out of death…

Lives for 500 years…and consumes itself with sacred fire…

Yxe almost soared with the Phoenix as it defied the Elders with its power and beauty. Looking into Minh’s eyes, he could see his feelings reflected there, as the combined form of their Dragons swooped around the Elders, mocking them with its very existence.
It dived and grabbed one of the Elder mages in its claws, then flew up high and tossed him to his death from the very roof of the temple. The mage fell screaming, cold-fire licking his body…consuming him as he fell. Before he even hit the ground his body had been devoured by the flames and reduced to nothing but ash, which scattered on the heads of his comrades.
Despite this, the mages kept trying…and Yxe watched their futile attempts from Minh’s arms, as the combined force of their Dragons eradicated the threat of the Elders once and for all.
The Phoenix sang as it flew. A sad song of loneliness of such beauty that it brought fresh tears to Yxe’s cheeks again, as his thoughts were turned to his lost Dragon.
The great bird flew low again…only five Elders remained; still fighting against the superior power of the Phoenix…It opened its mouth and screamed it’s defiance at the mages...flying close, it touched one of them with it’s wingtip. Only a wingtip, and yet the mage burned as if she had taken the full force of its rage.


Four remained.

The Phoenix landed in front of Yxe and Minh and spread its wings outwards and upwards in a parody of its legendary self. Where the wingtips touched, a ball of fire blazed and grew. Larger and larger, until it encompassed the Phoenix itself.
It spread its pinions apart in one sharp movement and let forth a shrill cry. The glowing ball of fire span away from the great bird and soared towards the last of the Elder threat. Desperately, they moved their hands in arcane shapes and a faint shield formed in front of them.


The shield fell.

The remaining Elders fell to the power of the Phoenix, that which they had tried, and failed, to control.

It was the death of them, and they lay, in ashes. A final tribute to the fire which they worshipped.

The Phoenix turned to Yxe and Minh and, spreading its wings around them, it lay its head on Yxe’s and cried lustrous tears. The tears spread over Yxe and Minh’s bodies, encompassing them in its healing glow.

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

Don't worry, it's not the end!! ;)

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi


Sairi's eyes were filled with tears, as she glanced up at the Pheonix. The pain and the calling with in her was haunting... as if an unforgiving melody was playing with in her. She saw the Pheonix's tears touch Yxe and Minh, instantly healing them as they seemed to be surrounded in peace.

Slowly standing up, Sairi stood and prepared to approach the bird.
"I'm not sure that's wise Sairi... you saw what it did to the elders. It might do the same to you."
Sairi blinked, turning about to look at Ignis with a small smile upon her face. It was a deep, saddened smile that seemed to be plagued with some thing behind it. She gently reached out and touched Ignis's face, even if it was shrouded.
" Ignis... I know you dislike many of the fire children, but for the most that remain... will you at least tell them to be free? Watch over them for a while until they are ready to be upon their own?"
Ignis's eyes widened, as if he didn't understand and Sairi merely smiled a bit more, a tear streaming down her right eye.
" I might not be around much longer..."

Sairi then approached the body of Affy, who was lying upon the ground in pain. Beowolf was near him, and in awe just as the others. Sairi instantly knetl down to Affy, and gently she offered him a weak hug.
"Be strong Affy... stay beautiful." A tear splashed upon him gently, and surprisingly it healed the little area where it fell upon. Sairi stroked his face gently before standing up again, and she walked towards the Pheonix.
" You're not complete you know..."

Sairi stated gently, walking up towards the bird. At first the bird gave a loud cry and recoiled away from Mihn and Yxe, only to charge forth and lash a talon at SAiri. However, with aheld hand... the slash only seemed to appear in the air and it didn't touch her. She gave a soft nod, as the Pheonix suddenly landed near her, facing her with it's brilliant eyes.
" You know that you're not complete. "
The bird gave a little clickish reply, and Sairi nodded.
" My only question is... are you meant to be complete? What will you do to this world? What will you do to the remaining fire children- to the wind riders? What is their fate?"
A pause by the bird, as if hesitating about these questions.

"What are you talking about Sairi?" Yxe managed to speak finally, as if his daze was broken a bit. Sairi looked at him and then at the others... tears streaming down her face as she sadly smiled.

"Because, with out me... they're not complete. I wasn't born from humans... you see, I was born from magick... and Tarasque."


(I'm just wanting to know if the Pheonix is good or not and such. hee. )

[Vulpix.ck87]

Siyann/F - 17/Windrider to Sigurd

Siyann lay sprawled on the floor, using what little strength she had left to keep her head off the floor and her eyes fixed on the beautiful being before her. Like her siblings her soul ached; a part of her deep down felt raw, like something had been torn away inside. She also felt nauseous, and could sense that a balance in the air, the ground and indeed herself had been broken. Two of the great elemental dragons were gone, and it had left an uneasy mark on everything around her. Yet how she longed to touch those feathers - paper thin, they held a thousand colours on their tips, and infinitely more secrets within them.. But the water windrider knew that would be her death - the bird emanated a power that commanded respect. And then.. a voice made her jump.

"You know that you're not complete." Siyann’s head snapped round, and for the first time she noticed Sairi. The former leader of the Fire Children stood on the other side of the great phoenix, her eyes filled with a sad knowing. To Sigurd’s surprise, the golden bird that used to be her kin gave a click of it’s tongue and a clack of it’s beak. Sairi tilted her head and sighed, like the bird before her was some unsolvable puzzle.

"My only question is... are you meant to be complete? What will you do to this world..?.. What will you do to the remaining fire children - to the wind riders? What is their fate?" Sairi continued, and amazingly the phoenix seemed to consider each question.

"What are you talking about Sairi?" Yxe wondered, his voice hoarse. There was an underlying strength beneath the question, despite all his battles, and an inevitable curiosity. Sairi smiled at him, her face wet with fresh tears.

“Without me... they're not complete. I wasn't born from humans…” Affy stared at her disbelieving, and she went on.

“You see, I was born from magick... and Tarasque."

What??!? Siyann’s mind was overwhelmed with confusion and excitement. Another windrider!! But no, that wasn’t right.. No dragon could have two, so what was going on? Magicks? But.. Such a thing wasn’t possible.. Was it?

Siyann’s wonderings caught in her throat, and instead Minh asked her question, a touch of anger amongst the sorrow in her voice.

“What do you mean?”

[Weasel Overlord]

Ah, yes...the Phoenix is, well, I guess you could describe it as neutral, really...Neutral good of course...none of that evil stuff!
------------------------------------------


~Yxe, Wind Rider~

Sairi looked at Yxe, eyes brimming with tears that washed down her cheeks in silvery trails.
“Without me…they are not complete. I wasn’t born from Humans…you see, I was born from magick…and Tarasque.” Upon hearing this, Minh sighed and smiled serenely.
“I knew there was something about you…Something that I recognised…I….I saw myself in you. Myself and Tarasque…”
“Yes, I have a part of her within me…in essence, I am Tarasque, but also, I’m not her at the same time. You see, I have a part of her heartscales in me. It’s what I was born of…What the Elders made me from.” She looked at the Phoenix as it preened its wings in a typical bird fashion which you just didn’t expect from such a legendary creature. The Phoenix looked up at Sairi and cheeped quizzically. She smiled through her tears and nodded gently.
“I understand.” She whispered, stepping away from Minh and Yxe and towards the great bird, whose voice was a musical blend of the voices of Sastrugen and Tarasque.
----------------------------------------

This may be a short post...that's beside the point! I'm not neglecting this or anything like that but I need to know something before I can carry on!

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

*has been away a long, long time* Oh crap, the other RPG I'm in is at 85 posts!!!! ^^;;; Apologies for the not-posting. Yay, lots of story bits to read...
-------------
Athanasius Pound/M/wind rider of Beowulf
"This is not an Exit"
---------------

I'm gonna die

The thought was there, snaking through every time he tried to think about something else. Human nature. No heroics, no quiet chivalries for Athanasius Pound. He was a child of the city, after all. Unfortunate but true. Sometimes it disturbed him, when he was in one of his nobler and less angry moods, like now.

Besides, he was a natural born pessimist.

Anyway there now was, he thought, in a niggling, pessimistic way, something to be really disturbed about.

He should probably be referring to the large iridiscent bird thing, who looked like a potential fire hazard in any sort of weather, or the horrible looking wound that was currently dividing his torso in half and causing him to wheeze like a chain-smoking eighty-year-old, or maybe even that there was no more Tarasque and no more Sastrugen but instead a mix of together, but what he meant was the part about Sairi not being human.

Beowulf was not happy. He didn't like the Phoenix. He obviously wanted his brother and sister back, and not this dual-natured creature who was genderless and void of any single, true, set emotion. He was of a one-track familial mindset. Only his doubt and mild fear of the unknown kept him from rending the bird apart and swallowing it whole.

Affy thought that whomever made the colour palette of the phoenix's plumage was on crack, but beyond that he couldn't be bothered, much, about Tarasque and Sastrugen. It was there, so they were there. If they were there, there would be some way to get them back. Well, eventually. Hopefully.

But...

Sairi = not human?

Did they make her, the bastards? Was she born against her will? When he'd first met her she'd seemed like a normal girl. As normal as Sairi ever could be considered normal, that is. How do you go about making people anyway? Were there recipes?

Affy was quite aware that his brain was digressing from the main problem on purpose as an automatic tactic to delay his reaction. It would hit him hard, much later. And then he would hate himself for it.

"I'll hate you if you die," he said, to anyone who might be hearing, and hacked up a large amount of blood after saying it.
-----------------------
Ah, the art of posting sideways so you don't spoil the potential plot >D;;

[Weasel Overlord]

Part two…


Yxe, Wind Rider~

Sairi stepped closer, almost reluctantly, to the Phoenix. It spread its wings in welcome and opened its beak in a parody of a mouth. The Phoenix broke into song…a sad song of loneliness and loss, but also a song of happiness, found at last by a being who had long since lost all hope of ever holding such a feeling.
Sairi wept freely, uninhibited by her surroundings and the Wind Riders’ presence. The tears flowed down her cheeks, pearly and iridescent, as beautiful as the incandescent Sun on a cold winter morning.
She walked forward, arms outstretched to embrace the warmth that was a part of her.

Rebirth…

This would be her second chance…another chance at the life that the Elders had taken from her when they made her from a piece of sacred Tarasque. The second chance that she longed for…no longer under the thrall of the Elders…the corrupt.
-------------------------------------------------

Welcome back! and a very nice side-stepping of potential plot there! Well done!

[Bulbasaur4]

Not to be rude, but Weasel Overlord, could you delete your post? I'd like to post for Sairi about all the events, because I had some thing a little bit more intricate than that planned. Thanks! I'll post soon I just don't feel the best so when I feel better I'll post it.

[Weasel Overlord]

Meh! it is done! No worries!

[Weasel Overlord]

*elbows B4* cummon....*decides to do a little bit of 'sideways postin'* I love that phrase....
--------------------------------------------------


~Rhama, Phoenix of the Sun God~


When the Phoenix of Egypt rises again
The God of the Sun will be no more.
Rhama will find a pairing of Dragons
And will rise again from their ashes.

When the Phoenix of Egypt rises again
He will no longer be alone.
Together with Dragons,
Paired as one,
They will uncover the world from it's icy threat,
And the God of the Sun will rise again.

The prophecy. The legend. The Sun God will fail...and it is up to Rhama, that is, myself, to save him. My next rebirth will not happen for another 100 years. A mere stretch of time for me. But when it does...I shall be ready. The Dragons will join...and I shall be ready.

[Arnen]

Er, I'm really, really sorry, but I am completely confused and have no idea how or what to post ><

[Bulbasaur4]

Sairi


Sairi withdrew a breath, realizing what she must do.
" This Pheonix will be an important key in the future. But it will... fade away, die, unless... "
Sairi frowned slightly, looking towards Affy with a bitter smile which soon spread to the others as well.
"I'd like you to please, take care of the fire children for me." Sairi stated slightly, fighting back the tears that wanted to flush from her face. She needed to be strong...
" They are innocent, young and need guidance. Please... teach them t he ways of the world like the Elders never did. I trust thee..."
Sairi turned to face the Pheonix.
"this is goodbye then... " A teardrop fell from her face, as she glanced at Affy- opening her mouth to say some thing- but then she shut it again and simply smiled at time.
" You have my love."

With that, Sairi instantly walked towards the Pheonix and instantly the Pheonix gave a cry. Opening it's massive claw, it grasped Sairi by the shoulder's and around her waist. Instantly a brilliant flash of red ripped t hrough the air, followed by a cry from Affy at the sight. Sairi's head seemed to go limp along with her body, as it began to pulsate and glow an eerieily flaming golden color. Instantly her up brought hair unwound itself, falling beautifully about her tanned skin gently as her eyes closed. The clothing which had been garmented about her body seemed to peel away, exposing her glowing nude self as the Pheonix gave a cry. Instantly a glowing red spot formed upon Sairi's side, and energy seemed to transmit from her body to the outside air. Slowly but surely a glowing scale seemed to appear... and as soon as it took solid form, suddenly the scale thrusted itself into the Pheonix. A blinding flash of light rippled through the air, and the Pheonix now was whole. It gave a cry of pleasure... and then it slowly dropped Sairi to the ground.

Her nude body laid upon the cold, tile-like floor of the temple... the gentle golden glow pulsating in her body still. It was enchanting... her life was seemingly gone, yet she seemed so full of life. Her long tressels of golden hair spread upon the floor, her palms upon the floor as her knees were bent upwards slightly, as if she were a child sleeping. Her beautiful face resting upon the cool floor... but it was apparent that with out the scale to support her body, she could not survive. The spell used to create her depended upon the scale...

"Sairi!" Some one shouted, and there was silence.
Then a tear...
Affy's tear?

A tear fell upon the floor... followed by a pained curse, a coughed blood, and more pain.
"She... didnt deserve to die..."

The Pheonix saw the tear that had fallen, and it turned it's head to glance at the figure who had shed the tear and now seemed to emit a pained emotion from deep within. It was curious... the death of this girl, caused more pain?
The Phenoix then looked upon the girl, seeing that there indeed... was good still to be done with her. Her body still remained aglow, not because of the Pheonix... but because her own life's soul was meant to be alive... still?
The Pheonix realized she could not live without the scale... her life depended upon it... but the bird did realize, that perhaps some thing else- some thing greater, could be used.
Stretching it's massive wings, suddenly the bird wrapped Sairi back up into the air and her nude body disappeared behind massive glowing wings. The bird cooed gently, and another brilliant flash of red seemed to blind everyone for a split moment. Then another moment passed and the bird gave a cry of triumph, and Sairi appeared floating in front of the bird. Her body seemed to burst into a bright yellow-golden glow, as a brilliant ray of light pierced through her side where Tarasque's scale used to be. Instead however, a glowing orb of brilliant golden-yellow bitten energy seemed to glow from deepinside of her. Her hair billowed about her, and it changed gently... it's brilliant red color now seemed to turn into a beautiful, brilliant shinning gold of many hues and shades to match the feather's of the Phenoix. They flowed, looking soft and delicate... like silk, as a garb of semi-transparent shimmering gold formed in the air and seemed to wrap gently around Sairi's body like a towel.

Then gently she was rested back upon the ground... the cloth showing much of her body, but covering enough of her to prevent complete awkwardness. It appeared that Sairi was lifeless still... until suddenly she gasped and jolted upwards so that she was kneeling. Her eyes opened suddenly, their bold green color now flecked with bits of gold-like treasure. She glanced about, breathing heavily as she looked up at the Pheonix, and it seemed as if she understood.

Then Sairi looked to Affy gently... bewildered look upon her face.
Affy... he... he had brought her back.. with his... tear?

[Mire]

Are you waiting on my post B4? I was unsure when you included Affy. If so, I'll make sure to post within a day or so.

[Weasel Overlord]

Nab: What don't you understand? Cos I'll explain....In fact...I'll do an explainy post! For anyone else who's confused.


~Yxe, Former Wind Rider, now Dragonless~

Yxe looked at Affy in amazement. He had never seen the tough WInd Rider cry before, but sure enough here he was, crying. For Sairi no less. Yxe glanced at his Dragon-Kyn and saw that they were as bewildered as he was. Sairi was lying prone on the floor, the Phoenix stood over her, protective in its golden glory.
"She didn't deserve to die." Affy coughed, spitting blood onto the already blood-stained marble floor. Tears rolled down his face, making silver tracks in the dirt that had accumulated throughout the battle. He shook his head and fell to his knees.
"She....she didn't deserve...." The Phoenix cocked its head on one side, as if listening and understanding. It turned its great golden eye onto Sairi. So small on the cold floor. So pale in death. The great bird bowed its head and then spread out its wings. Sairi lifted gently off the floor, as if held by the Phoenix itself. A blinding red light flowed over all the watchers and enveloped Sairi. The bird gave a cry - almost like a howl - and a further ray of light pierced the air, but this time it entered Sairi's body, at a point on her waist and exited at the other side. Yxe blinked to clear his vision and watched again, fascinated by the Phoenix's actions. Sairi now seemed to glow with a softly pulsing, golden yellow light that emenated from somewhere within her body, and the Phoenix howled once more. An ethereal wind seemed to blow from nowhere, lifting her hair and slowly lowering her onto the marble, covered by some sort of whispy material, just enough to protect her modesty from the fascinated onlookers.
After the second light flash, Affy had lifted his head from his hands, and he was watching the scene with a sort of hungry desperation, his face smeared with blood and gore from the battle with the Fire Children. His gaze was piercing and he seemed to be concentrating on Sairi, now back on the floor. He screwed up his eyes as if wishing hard enough would bring Sairi back to life, when she jerked, back arched and eyes wide. Yxe gasped, and ran to her side, just behind Affy, who dropped to his knees at her head. She looked into his eyes with an expression of understanding and she smiled serenely, hair draped over Affy's arm like a golden-red halo.
"I understand...It was your tears. They brought me back to life. It was your sadness..." Affy smiled back at her dreamily. He looked as if he couldn't believe his eyes but he was only too happy to believe them if they were telling him that Sairi was back.
"I was brought back for a purpose." Sairi looked at the Phoenix, and it turned it's golden eye upon her. "I am going to be more help here than with Rhama, for that is your name, isn't it?" She raised her eyebrow quizzically at the bird and it nodded in agreement. "I was a part of Rhama for a moment, and I know his task. He will need our help to fulfil it, for it is a task of great importance and it will need hearts of strength and bravery to complete it." SHe glanced at each of the Wind Riders in turn, her gaze lingering on Affy for a moment, and then snapping back to the Phoenix. The great bird opened it's beak and sang. A few haunting and beautiful notes, and then it stopped, much to Yxe's displeasure. He could have listened to the song all day.
Rhama spread his wings and made another musical sound. This time, the sound contained great power. It washed over the listeners, enveloping them in comforting sound. Sairi, however, stood rigid in the center of the temple, in front of Rhama. Her head snapped back and her eyes flashed with a sudden golden green fire. Yxe shook his head dreamily and turned to watch Sairi. Her mouth opened and a musical voice that was not her own flowed out, like the most beautiful nightingale song, heard as dawn breaks. It was the voice of Rhama, given human tongue.

Great Wind Riders and Dragons. I need you. More importantly, the great Sun God, Ra himself needs you. His power is waning, but not of natural causes. An enemy, somewhere, is draining the power of the Sun God and I have had to seek other ways of rebirth. This should not be. If this mysterious enemy succeeds, it is not only I that will suffer. The earth will suffer, for with no sun, there can be no life, and the human race will die out. Leaving only the plants and creatures to die agonisingly slowly from a lack of light and food. This is why you are needed.

Unfortunately, I only have limited information about this mysterious threat. Whoever it is, they are male, and a mage of truely great power. He possesses the power of ice and cold, similar to that of Yxe and the former Sastrugen and he makes his home on the frozen tundra of the South Pole.
This will be a hard task, but you must eradicate this new threat. First, go to the Pole on the South.

For now, that is all I can tell you.
-----------------------------------------------
A new task! I might see if anyone wants to take up the unused Dragon and Wind Rider posts...

[Mire]

===
Ignis
===

I was jealous, I admit. I had sobbed, but Affy's blood-spluttering performance stole the show and was the real cause of the phoenix reviving Sairi, giving her life and a soul. Bah, I couldn't stand to look the sight of it and I felt repulsed. I just wouldn't good enough, not in our sect, not here, not ever... that last spectacle had left me cold and bitter. I couldn't blame Sairi, Sairi was great, the truest, and Affy couldn't be hated. As Sairi's friend my malice wouldn't be well directed.

Just as you would think you were good, the world was good, such an event plucked you from your reverie and placed you again in the gloom. Not only had the phoenix's word appointed us, or more accurately the wind riders, another task but its revival of Sairi had doomed me to doubt again. The South Pole? A male ice mage? I could only wish I were enough to pose a threat, for all my generosity even the single sprout of evil that had grown due to envy allowed me to almost idolize the mage. He was corrupted of course, but in the end who is right and wrong?

As if I had known it all my life, a deepset memory implanted itself in my brain and as my eyes glazed over white I came only to know the knowledge in my head as I slipped to the floor and felt my senses to the outside world deaden, and the inside come alive...

It was a woman with a babe in her arms, she was on a rocking chair though she looked as if though she was too big for it. She wasn't heavy set, rather very lean, but her presence alone was enough to condemn that chair to a life of servitude. As she rocked back and forth and watched a furious sunset, surprise shook my ethereal embodiment as I watched her mouth curl in the slightest disgust. As she continued to rock turning her face away she spoke to the babe in her arms, hushed though as if there were someone near invisible, "The sunset lies to us Ignis," she breathed in singsong and I was nearly thrust back to reality when my name was spoken. I was the babe, this was my memory, one I knew not how it was even possible I could see. My mother was a fire child devotee? The lies...

Immune to my passionate shock the women continued on, "there was once a time when our sun" she gestured with a single index finger and raised my own christened head to see, "was controlled. It is the thing that brings warmth to all things, as we should never forget, but in its turn it burns them." Disdain laced her melodious speech now, and the rhythm crashed down under contempt. "We don't deserve it," she spat, "but this horror chooses to embody life with fire, and long ago as legend states there was one woman, one goddess that stood alongside Ra. This beauty knew how to keep the sun in check, she was the fated north wind that once blew so strongly on those summer days. Now she is dead, and those days lie dead and cracked dry."

She sighed in the middle of her speech, "I should not be telling you this child, young ears don't need to know of our family's line of mages that have always been opposite the sun. I found myself in the Fire Children, and I wasn't cast out by luck but via fate. I learned of my ice power, but I was also the queen of guile. When I was left for dead that day I heard the fatal hardening of my heart that the ice brings to all of us, our mage line. We all seek to bring back the goddess, the lost north wind, but alone each of us always fail. Elena was a great enchantress that held her power over the ice and the water, and even the moon at times to make sure the day would always be balanced by night. She was called dark, and many terrible names that served to tarnish her purity, and in the end it was Ra that struck the blow so the myth says." Her breathing was heavy and she looked to her chest as to assure herself her heart was as bitter as always before plowing through a final thought. "All I ask child is that you respect the sun for what it does, but show repulsion when it is fit. If you ever find another ice mage, make sure you help them. For united we might just see Elena again."

The flashback ended and I was pummeled into consciousness by a far off voice, my eyelids fluttered open to find myself on the floor and Sairi's troubled face hovering over me. "Ignis? You alright?" she asked, I smirked and felt a resilience and confidence that I never noticed in years.

"Better than ever!" I laughed, almost shouting. I would tag along to the South Pole, but only to tell that mage the story and to save him from harm. Elena would not die in my heart, for my mother I promised that. Ra would have his sun, but I would have my north wind.

===

Too long, flashbacks are cliched... blah. I hope I'm not stepping out of the bounds of character freedom as I did sort of add a section to your plot with the goddess, ahem... I'm just feeling morally divided as of the moment. Yay for character development!

[Weasel Overlord]

Hmmm, I like it! Well done...I know the plot's probably not the most straightforward to follow!
Any thoughts on opening up the other characters? We need more than the five(ish) people we have, I think!
Any opinions would be welcome!

[Mire]

The existing characters you mean? Well if no one posts I suppose we'll just have to treat them as NPC unless someone wants them, maybe to play a second character. Of course, it's probably too late to add anyone to the South Polian mage's side. If someone new wants to play one of the characters that is doing nothing, I'm all for it.

[Weasel Overlord]

Yeah, all the ones who signed up in the beginning and haven't posted since! Not like they'll be missing anything! I'll advertise then...only for the Dragons and Wind Riders though.
Oh, and the ice mage is acting alone! No minions this time...

[Mire]

A question Weasel Overlord, exactly where do you plan on putting us in the South Pole first? Will this conflict go as fast as the last did?

[Weasel Overlord]

I didn't plan on the last one going so quickly, actually! But meh! Er, as to whereabouts...I reckon we'll start at the bottom end of South America and cross the ocean to get to Antarctica.

[Mire]

Ahem... I guess we don't seem to have any roleplayers that are posting... Maybe you should just go open LSU's Weasel Overlord, maybe defect Fire Children due to the order's collapse, and some replacements for the non-posters. Really though, where did everyone suddenly go to?

[Weasel Overlord]

Whos knows? *shrugs* Oh well...

[Bulbasaur4]

I haven't posted because I'm unsure of what to do next. Here's an idea... since the main plot of this RPG has been reached, perhaps create a sequel? Reserve spots for those who have been posting (so they have their original characters) but leave the others open so that new ones can come in? Then create more spots (since the fire children will be lessers now) and add the second half of the plot that you hinted at here.

Just an idea.

[Arnen]

I'm not posting because I have absolutely no idea what to do ><; But if you do make a sequal and all that, please save my spot for me!

[Mire]

Sounds like a sound idea to me, I'd be sure to join a sequel.

[Weasel Overlord]

Well, I was thinking about doing that...but I thought it might sound a little, I dunno...pretentious? But if people are willing to join then I'll definately save you all places again! Thanks for showing support...

[Emotional Faun Chiko-sai]

*has been AWOL for the last two months* Aheheh. I made a few false starts at trying to convey Affy's emotions, but I'm not a good one with crying scenes. (He was going to cry some more.) *guilty* Then, feeling guilty, I left off for a few weeks (and played Final Fantasy X for the third time...) and had a computer ban since the beginning of May because of mid year exams. Pathetic, yes. Anyway.

Sequels aren't pretentious! Even if they are, it's legal pretentiality. I hope you have one. Although, when you make it, please PM me or sth to make sure I'm still alive cos I'd like to join it... please? ^^;;

[Weasel Overlord]

COOL! well, I just thought that what with me being rather new-ish around the place...well, you know...*mumbles something in an embarrased tone*
I can't believe that so many people want their places saving....I'm not yet used to my writing being so well received...
Anyway...the sequel is in the writing...in fact, I'm just about to write it now...should be up in the week...and all you who want their places saving, never fear! I liked RPing with you lot...I'll be glad to save yer places!