.:D i v i n i t y:.

[Bulbasaur4]

[ This is a story idea that I just recently thought up. I have a vague idea of where it is going... but this is just a 'prologue' sort of introduction. I know that my grammar isn't the best n'what not... this is like a rough copy, and content is the main thing in my opinion. (Grammar is for editors! lol) Anyways... enjoy! I welcome comments and what-not. ^_^; It's been a while since I've tried to tackle on a full-fledged story and not a short one. ]

.: The Beginning :.

“The finest blessings are those which go unnoticed; for it is those blessings, which reveal themselves in the direst of times.”

Laughter danced upon the air as three thickly attired men walked through the storm. Stopping, the men tensed up immediately at the sound; clenching their hands about the handles of their swords as their beady eyes darted about. The storm however, was unmerciful as the blizzard blinded their vision and froze their faces. Yet despite the howling wind, the laughter still seemed to encircle them- as if taunting their mere presence in the storm. These men were out of their element and as the laughter seemed to grow near; their realization began to become clearer.
“We should head back! This is insanity!” One of the men cried, holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the shards of snow. The larger of the men shook his head, apparently being the leader.
“No! We have a mission to destroy Bro’tmau.” His voice barked into the air, and for a moment the laughter stopped. All three men silenced themselves, allowing their eyes to glance about futilely into blizzard. After several minutes of seeing nothing but the gusting snow, one of the men turned away from the others.
“I’m leaving! The lord would not command such madness if he knew the condit-” Before the man could finish his sentence however, he abruptly disappeared into the blizzard. The swift yet gruesome sound of snapping tendons and ripped flesh followed with a rush of crimson-tainted snow dancing in the sky.
“Backs!” The leader barked, and soon he was back-to-back with his remaining companion; staring into the whiteness which surrounded them. They stood poised with swords drawn for several minutes.
Then a growl seemed to surround them, followed by the laughter.
“Show yourselves!” The leader cried out in anger, lashing his sword at the air. In response, the growling and the laughter only grew louder. It soon roared to rival the howling wind- a deafening sound of impending doom. In mercy however, as the sound seemed to brush near the two men- it stopped once more. The leader withdrew a shaky breath of relief, but paled in an instant once he heard his companion behind him give out a scream. He then felt his companion’s body lurch away from his own, and with that the leader whipped around to see his last man being dragged away by some unseen figure. Pools of blood seeped into the snow, and the leader stared in horror at the trailed remains of his companion. However, before the leader could think another thought to comprehend what was happening, a flash of silver rippled across his neck. His body and his head then soon crumpled to the ground, adding his own blood as a sacrifice to the storm.


Not too far off, two figures stood rigidly upon a high snow drift. A large, dark-cloaked figure stared at the spot where the three men were. His silver sword dripped with blood and he slowly wiped the blade against the ground and then sheathed it behind his back. His face was unseen, wrapped in a deep crimson scarf of red, only revealing his thick black hair which rippled slightly in the wind. By his side, the figure of a wolf-like creature stood as well. Its figure was barely seen in the blizzard- being as white as the snow itself. The only definable features of the wolf creature were its striking ice-bitten blue eyes, its coal-black nose and the faint remains of blood upon the fur around its jaws. The wolf-like being looked up at its master, wagging its seven tails slightly.
“Fools.” The man said, spiting into the ground with a cursing demeanor. “Their own stupidity would have killed them in this storm. I did them mercy by taking their lives first.” He then turned about and began to walk away from the dead men. The creature followed, gracefully walking upon the snow instead of barreling through it like the man. Giving a soft nudge, it pushed its muzzle slightly against the man’s hand as if to lighten his mood. A low chuckle emerged, as the man’s hand gently patted the creature’s head.
“Yes, yes...” He trailed off, still walking through the snow. “We are heading to our home now, Kiiah.” The wolf-like creature, Kiiah, seemed to be in great spirits with this news. Instantly Kiiah trotted ahead of the man known as Bro’tmau. A brilliant silver flash then rippled through the air and within a mere thought Kiiah was no longer in a wolf-like form. She stood as a woman, gazing back at him with the same icy blue eyes. Her golden-nipped hair was tied up into a sweeping ponytail, showing off her gentle and elegant facial features. She was dressed simplistically… wearing nothing more than a black, leather-like corset that exposed her lower abdomen and a black undergarment covered with a semi-transparent skirt of crimson. Despite the blizzard about her however, she seemed unfazed- as if she held some inner warmth which protected her.
“Yay! I am pleased to go home!” Kiiah spoke happily- her voice radiating with an inner child-like voice, despite her well-developed figure. She immediately dashed through the snow towards Bro’tmau, wrapping her arms about him like a child hugging her endearing father. Bro’tmau’s expression was unseen, but it was quite obvious that he was used to this unbridled energy. Releasing her clasp about his waist, she began to walk beside him as they continued onwards through the thickening snow.
“Master, when we go home… we get to relax and have fun!” Kiiah continued to chatter, to which Bro’tmau silently listened.
“And we can eat lots of food and play games!” Kiiah could have almost purred as she animatedly flung her arms about to express and capture her excitement. Her mind was wild and teaming with imagination, and at this rate it would be a very long journey for Bro’tmau to endure. The snowy caps of the mountain were extremely long and tedious, along with the jungle-like habitat below the mountain that was nearly half-way from their home. Yet, Bro’tmau was not deterred by this information.
As of late, the Lord of the South seemed to be very adamant at trying to assassinate Bro’tmau. It seemed that every mission or outing that Bro’tmau went upon was interrupted by deadly encounters. This did not bother Bro’tmau, but rather amused him greatly. It was a key indicator of the Southern Lord’s paranoia of the North, and to be more precise, of Bro’tmau’s power- which was growing more evident with every kill Bro’tmau made.
“Next time… I shall cleanly rip the heart out of the next man that crosses me, and send it to him as an introductory gift.” Bro’tmau mused to himself, knowing that it would only be a matter of time when he would go into the heart of the Southern cities and kill the Lord himself. Bro’tmau was powerful, however he knew that it was not yet the time to call upon his allegiances to destroy the south. There was still a chance that Bro’tmau could enhance his power further- to the point where there would be no opposition to rival it.
Recently, he had heard from an elderly of a temple not too far in the eastern lands of the south. This temple was thought to have been ruined several years ago, but the old man claimed it still existed. Hidden in the forest and guarded by several spirits to ward off greedy men who would seek to harness the powers given out by the temple. Bro’tmau had every intention of going to the temple first- to see if it was true and test its strength. He had even spoken with Kiiah, for as naive as she was… she still seemed to harness a great innocent view upon things that were uncanny. Kiiah had clearly shown faith in the temple, believing “in her soul” that it was true and that they could attain entrance.
“Wonderful…” Bro’tmau had thought, “…wonderful.”



As Bro’tmau and Kiiah continued to trek down the mountain, they were completely unaware that they had been rediscovered by a fourth man. He had separated himself from the other three on purpose- to watch Bro’tmau destroy them. Of course, he was pleasantly surprised that Bro’tmau had Kiiah with him- as if he didn’t know of the man’s “minion”.
“All the more rewarding…” the man sneered, a sly grin upon his face as he continued to watch the pair travel down the mountain.

.: Divinity :.

[Mystic_clown]

Nice opening. I don't know if Bro’tmau's the protaganist or not, but I like him already.

[darktyranitar]

Pretty good opening. And I think your grammars are not so bad, at least compared to what I can come up with.

Bro'tmau is a pretty intereting character, but the character that I like is Kiiah. I don't know why, maybe its her naiveness and cheeriness.

I hope you continue writing this fic, cause I'm curious about what would happen next to both of them.

[Bulbasaur4]

Thanks for the replies Mystic and dark! I'm glad that both of you have picked two different characters to be the one you like the best. ^_^ There will be plenty more to chose from... mwhahahaa....

I rather enjoyed writing this chapter. Hope you like it! Oh, and I'm just raising the rating of this fic to be M for mature, just incase it gets any more violent, along with themes.

.: Chapter 1 :.
“Storms shall fall upon all our paths; yet the sun will only rise for a few.”

“Master!” A voice chirped ahead, and it seemed that Kiiah had been swallowed by snow so that only her head peeked out. Of course, this was not the case for she had merely been upon an incline which only made it seem that way. A smile and a very excited look were plastered upon her face, as she awaited a response from her master. A cold wind blew across her face as there was no response. Puzzled, Kiiah tilted her head to the side and squinted to try to make out Bro’tmau’s figure. It was snowing a bit, and the blizzard had once again started to thrash its rage about.

“MASTER!!” Kiiah suddenly bellowed, her voice echoing throughout the mountain range as she withdrew in several breathes to make up for her giant exhale. The wind howled as it playfully tore at the mountainside, as if taking glee by the confusion. Kiiah frowned, and slowly she brought herself back up the ledge in which she had progressed down.

“This is punishment for going ahead of master…” Kiiah thought to herself quietly, a frown growing wider upon her face as she furrowed her brow as she fought to look through the blizzard. Her vibrant hair of white-gold violently rippled about like dancing ribbons as she began to back track. Her footsteps from before were wiped away by the wind and snow, and she felt a slight hint of danger from the storm. Usually Kiiah was carefree and quite confident, but without Bro’tmau it was as if her security was instantaneously ripped away.
She had run ahead of Bro’tmau in excitement, hearing from him that soon they would be towards one of the cliffs overlooking the forested valley. Kiiah had been upon the mountain before, usually during nicer seasons, and she remembered the spot clearly. It was a beautiful outcropping upon the mountain side, which gave way to a wondrous view of the Northern Empire and even hinted at the Southern part of the country. It had always been her favorite view, and she had immediately declared she would race Bro’tmau to it. Unfortunately, by the time she had noticed Bro’tmau was not running or joining the game; she had already arrived at the outcropping.

“Master!? Master where are you?!” She cried out, her voice filling with more worry with every call. Her icy blue eyes were panic stricken, as realization that she was lost grasped at her mind with cold fingers. She had no idea where Bro’tmau was or where she even was… and both thoughts scared her. For the first time, she started to feel the harsh storm’s effects as her teeth began to chatter slightly and she felt her legs begin to numb. Her figure was now pushing through the soft new snow and with every step her legs felt heavier. She hugged herself as she journeyed backwards… attempting to make out anything ahead of her. Yet she saw nothing but the bleak landscape that was nothing more than blurs of white. The sky, the ground, left, right- everything looked the same. The only presence Kiiah knew existed was the harsh bitter-cold wind that constantly lashed at her tender body.

“MASTER BRO’TMAU!!” Kiiah cried out once more. A warm rush of tears suddenly welded up in her vision as she began to cry. Her liquid blue eyes streamed with tears as she tried to stifle her sobs, for it had been hours of wandering and yet she still had not found her master. Her skin felt deathly cold and her hair no longer wavered with the same silky grace that it once held. She no longer felt the energy and grace she once held, but foreign feelings of despair and heaviness. Her callings for her master grew weaker with every attempt as her voice seemed to lose itself.

“…M-m-m-” She tried to speak. Suddenly however, her right foot refused to move and she fell into the snow. Her hands protected her face from meeting a snowy greeting, but her knees and arms sank. The snow seemed to almost want to swallow her entire body, and she felt it drain away all her energy. Her eyes seemed to grow heavy, as her heart seemed to beat slower with every passing second.

“I’m sorry…” She said, a tear streaming down her face as she suddenly leaned forward and collapsed into the snow. Her vision danced like the sky, as the world lost its senses and went dark.

~*~*~

A little creature cried out and mourned such a song that it seemed to place the forest under a spell. The melody was low and sweet, having the bittersweet remnants of mourning. Fishermen often claim that the massive fish of the sea sang the most beautiful mourning songs upon the earth. Yet, it seemed as if this creature had learned its song from those massive fish- for their songs were quite similar. The creature’s song danced upon the air and yet it also seemed to wrap around every object in the forest. Vibrating its sad aura and allowing others to feel the pain and understand the loss, which it endured. This caused the forest to be silent- all paying their respects to the soloist’s song of loss.
The song seemed to continue for hours… repeating, yet being slightly different with every tone. That day, the forest would not be alive with life but dead with the passing.* However, not all understood the respect and the rituals of the forest.
A snapping twig suddenly sliced into the air like a tossing dagger. The creature cut off its song in the middle, jerking its head upwards and closing its small jaws. Wide light blue eyes stared into the darkness of the forest where the sound came from, staring as if it saw through the shadows. Slowly, a human male came into view, staring intently with dark black eyes of curiosity. His raven black hair hung low about his shoulders, as he stepped into the light. He was astonished and intrigued- here before him, was the creature of legend who sang such a sad and bewitching song. The creature stood over the dead body of its mother- who was nothing more than pieces of singed flesh and fur. Her body was actually beyond recognition, and because of this the man had no idea what the mother was. Naturally, he would have assumed that the creature was the same as the young one mourning beside her body. However this was not the case and he would not come to realize this until later in his life.
Blue eyes stared up at the man, large liquid blue eyes that glimmered with wisdom and yet a broken innocence. The young one was small- no larger than a cat- with large paws. Its body was covered in thick, wolf-like fur of silk and had two bushy tails to match. Its ears were quite large compared to its small head equipped with an immature muzzle, showing that indeed the creature was quite young. Instantly, the man recognized this creature- but it was impossible. Those creatures were myths, legends… they were as ethereal as the Gods themselves. Yet here this young creature was, before him like a gift from the Gods.
The question was… who would dare to kill a Ninetails? In fact, who would dare to kill an adult Ninetails and then leave the young behind?*

~*~*~

Slowly, Kiiah’s eyes reopened as she lifted her head weakly to cough out a mouthful of snow. She had lost conscious for a time, although she was unsure for how long. The storm seemed to have lost some of its windy power; yet heavy snowfall still blew about her. She struggled to push her body upwards, for snow had gathered and almost buried her alive in her slumber. Shakily rising to her feet, Kiiah barely managed to stand and hold herself.* Blinking a few times, she gazed about and it took her a while to realize that there was a figure standing not too far from her.
His blurry and dark figure stood a mere couple of yards away from her, and when her eyes came to rest upon the figure they suddenly widened. A small twinge of rejuvenation came to her as she suddenly stumbled forward in an attempt to run to the figure.

“Master! Master it is you!” She cried out, tripping and falling to her knees. She quickly gazed up, a glowing look of happiness upon her face as she saw her master come to her.

“I was afraid I had lost you! I am sorry! I am sorry master please forgive me for running ahead!” She quickly repented, bowing her head low before rising to her feet once more in hopes of receiving his forgiveness. Yet, when her eyes came to rest upon his face she suddenly let out a bird-like cry of shock. The figure had come within clear vision now, and being a mere two feet away she realized that this man was not her master.
The man wore a coat made of white fur that hung down to his shins and made him look incredibly massive. Thick black boots and wide pant leggings were visible below the coat, matching his dark eyes which barely seemed visible amongst his wild hair of crimson-tainted brown. Double handles protruding from two sheathes poked out from behind him, and immediately Kiiah had a gripping fear. Swiftly she turned away from him and attempt to dash away, but the man was surprisingly quick despite his garments. Wrapping his arm around her neck and the other about her waist tightly, he pulled her head back against his chest.

“Young one, you cannot run or escape from me.” He whispered. His voice was low and rather raspy and an aura of disturbance seemed to radiate from his body. Kiiah sensed it, and she squirmed slightly beneath his arms but he only held on tighter. She was too weak to escape his grasp, let alone attempt to do anything else.

“You will both come with me and listen, or I will kill you.” He said, releasing his arms about her. Kiiah was experienced enough to know not to move, and slowly he used his own hands to turn her body about to face him. He gave off a slight chuckle as he reached out and touched her face with his cold hand. Kiiah shied away from his touch, glaring at him with defiant eyes. The man paid no heed to this but instead simply gazed at her body in an almost violating manner, causing Kiiah to cower slightly and take a step back.

“Do not move.” He commanded, reaching out to grab her arm. At the moment he did so, she suddenly twisted her arm and jerked away.

“No! You are not my master!” She yelled, taking yet another step away.
Instantly, she found herself upon the ground. Clutching her abdomen, her body shook quietly as she felt a burning pain where he had swiftly punched her. Expecting it to be over, she looked up only to see his massive boot kick her once again in the abdomen. The force was so great, it caused her body to fly several feet backwards and turn her over. She was now facing in the sky, and feeling a sickening feeling she overturned and vomited into the snow. The man grabbed her by the hair and jerked her back up to her feet. Her body screamed with pain as she rose, giving out yet another cry as he then slapped her hard across the face.

“I am your master, and you are never to defy me or I will simply kill you. I am giving you a chance to live if you but only obey.” His voice was cold and unmoving, simply matching the environment around them. He once again reached out to touch her, but this time he went for her legs. Kiiah felt a sickening feeling consume her body and she could not tolerate the man.

“No!” She shouted, stumbling backwards a few steps as she stared at the man.
Anger consumed the man’s face as he suddenly charged at Kiiah and this time unsheathed his sword. Taking the handle of the sword, he swung backwards and nailed her directly in the side. She gave off a strange yet piercing wolf-like scream as she collapsed to the ground.

“Idiot creature…” The man sneered, swinging his sword once again. This time the blade came forth to her throat, but yet was violently stopped.
Kiiah opened her eyes, shocked and amazed to see another sword had met the man’s sword.
It was none other than Bro’tmau.

“No one touches my slave.” Bro’tmau growled at the man, as he raised his sword upwards and then dealt a tremendous kick to the man’s gut. This caused him to stagger several feet backwards, losing his balance for a short while.

“Master!” Kiiah cried out happily, “I am so happy to see you!” Bro’tmau glanced quickly at Kiiah, but ignored her as he turned about to look at the man. Kiiah noticed that Bro’tmau’s clothing was soaked, along with his hair, but yet it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Ah… Bro’tmau, it really is you.” The man chuckled, holding his sword lightly as if to show he did not feel threatened by Bro’tmau’s presence.

“Who are you?” Bro’tmau demanded, threateningly waving his sword in the air.

“Me? Well… my name is unimportant. If you must know before you die however, it is Keishun. The Great Lord has so kindly hired me to be your executioner.” Keishun grinned.

“Yeah… well he’s ordered and hired many men to do that before. I’m afraid you’re walking into your own execution.” Bro’tmau glowered.

“I’m afraid not this time.” With that, Keishun suddenly raised his hand upwards swiftly. Instantly a ball of blinding yellow crackled and appeared before his fingertips. Within seconds he flung it directly at Bro’tmau and hit him head on. Bro’tmau crashed into the snow several yards away, crackling much like the yellow energy.

“Hee hee! What joy this is going to be. I watched you slaughter those foolish other men and I must say your ego has expanded far beyond its limits.” Keishun mused, taking a step forth. Bro’tmau slowly rose upwards, getting back to his feet. He clenched his sword angrily, watching Keishun smirk.
“You think you’re top game, but the matter is… you’ve been dealing with amateurs.” With that, Keishun reached behind him and withdrew his other sword. Holding two swords in hand, Keishun waved them about tauntingly.
“No worries though… your teacher is here to teach you a few lessons. Lesson number one was to never lose track of your prize.” Keishun pointed his sword at Kiiah, who was nervously watching from the place she had fallen a few yards away.
“Lesson number two was to never let your guard down and lesson number three… well, it would be to teach you how to really fight… but seeing how you’re only going to die, I assume this will be a lesson about death.” Keishun then leapt into the air, freeing his feet from the snow. Landing, he swiftly charged straight at the stunned Bro’tmau.
“Let the lesson begin!”

.: Divinity :.

[Roy Karrde]

I love the opening scene of Chapter one Kalah, mainly becuae of the amount of visualization you can draw from the scene. Anyway Kiiah is quickly becoming my favorite character and I cant wait to see Chapter 2!

[darktyranitar]

Looks like Kiiah cheeriness had brought problem to Bro'tmau and herself...
Kiiah is quick to be sympathized with her history, and when she's lost in the snowstorm. Good chapter, I can't wait for chapter 2. Keep writing!

[Mystic_clown]

I'm only going to say this once *pumps a fist into the air* Death to Keishun! Big fight scene coming up! Can't wait! *all giddy and excited*

[Bulbasaur4]

Better late than never, right? ^_^ Since it is the summer, I will be able to write this now. But second chapter! Mwha!
darkt: Yeah, Kiiah tends to get into trouble. ^_^;
Roy: Glad you like her... but give it some time. There are plenty more characters.
mystic: I hope you don't mind the outcome of the battle. ^_~

Divinity
Chapter 2

“… and the Unicorn reared up, raising its horn to the sky like it was offering a prayer to the Gods. Then a flash of lightning seemed to spiral down from the sky, illuminating the darkness as it connected with the Unicorn’s horn. Without any hesitation the Unicorn placed its hooves upon the ground and charged straight into the fury of the demon.”
- Wiseman’s tale

Brot’mau used all of his strength in his left arm to push himself upwards while raising his broadsword into the air to meet Keishun’s two blades. The sword was long and large enough to block both of two smaller ones, however speed was not a gift bestowed upon Brot’mau. Swiftly Keishun slide his right arm sideways and within an instant he had cleanly hacked into Brot’mau’s side. Sharp pain flooded bit at his side as Brot’mau pushed against Keishun to create some distance. His shirt was stained with a muddied red as Brot’mau withdrew a slow breath and once again concentrated upon Keishun. Brot’mau knew that the only way he was going to win this battle was with swiftness- not in his speed, but in time. He had to end the battle quickly for the longer their spar was drawn out, the more Keishun’s agility to suit to his advantage.
“Second guessing ourselves are we?” Keishun said smugly, sticking one of his swords into the snow as he held up one of gauntlet covered hands. It began to crackle with a sparkling yellow energy once more, and instinctively Brot’mau raised his broadsword. Keishun’s eyes seemed to dance wildly like a madman as he gave a slightly giddy laugh as the energy crackled and sparked between his fingers. Brot’mau contained his own excitement however, keeping his face expressionless as he prepared for the energized attack that he knew Keishun would soon unleash. Perhaps he had been right- maybe Brot’mau had been over confident as of late. However, now it seemed that Keishun was hypocritical and had been faulted with the same problem as Brot’mau. The only difference now, was that Brot’mau knew of his error where as Keishun did not.
“Say goodbye… Brotty’mau” Keishun sneered. The glowing energy within his hand had increased tenfold and it no doubt had the power to kill several men with one connecting blow. They were in extremely close range and there was no hesitation- the attack would connect. Giving out an abrupt cry of triumph, Keishun lunged forward and instantly released a blinding amount of energy. Kiiah covered her eyes as she gave out a cry of surprise, unable to see her master now but sensing the dire situation. Within the bright light however, suddenly a cry rang out and the light swiftly faded away.
Brot’mau had raised his broadsword vertically, showing the width of the blade to block the center of his body. Keishun’s aim had been true, but Keishun had not taken into account that the broadsword was entirely abnormal. The energy that he had released would normally have shattered the sword and any man behind it, but Brot’mau’s sword was different. It had been passed down from many generations, and one of its ancient properties was the ability to absorb any form of raw energy that was subjected to it. Now the sword glowed and seemed to pulsate with the new energy, and Brot’mau withdrew the sword back. Keishun gave a cry of dismay as he swiftly staggered back to his second sword, preparing to take it out of the snow.
He was fast, but not fast enough to match the speed of Brot’mau’s arm. Brot’mau flung the sword downwards, releasing the energy straight at Keishun. The energy was narrow and was spear-shaped, but the aim was true and it penetrated straight through Keishun’s abdomen. He gave out a violent cry, blood seeping into his shirt as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his one sword. His wound was in the shape of a clean, round hole that went all the way through is abdomen as if a fist had punched through his body. Blood prevented any clear view of his wound, but it was enough to be devastating to his life.
Clutching his side, Keishun’s eyes glanced up at Brot’mau- knowing that he was the victor now. Brot’mau took a few steps towards Keishun until Brot’mau was towering over the victim of his blade. Keishun bit his lip absently, coughing up a bit of blood as he prepared to be finished.
“So, you’re a man of the South.” Brot’mau said deeply.
“Correction… ugh, a mercenary that was hired by the Lord of the- ehh.. South.” Keishun was struggling with his words, but Brot’mau gave a nod lightly and thought for a moment.
“ How much is he paying you?”
“ Free passage in the South and freedom to escape it as well.”
Brot’mau pondered this for a moment, wondering but gathering an idea as to what those words meant. He then lowered himself to a knee so that he was staring almost straight into Keishun’s eyes.
“If I hired you, to work with me, I will pay you and aid you in gaining freedom.” Keishun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“How do I know if you’ll keep your word? Why bother-“ Keishun spat up more blood, “- to hire me when I’m as good as dead and you are a capable fighter.”
“I should worry more about you keeping your word. I am the prodigy Lord of the North, and I will need more aid if I am to gain peace in both the South and North. I have plenty of money to pay you and more than enough honor to hold your trust.”
Keishun smirked slightly, as if everything that was happening was a funny joke but he shrugged and gave a weak nod, but before he could open his mouth to speak it seemed as if life drained away from him. His eyes clouded slightly as his body swayed and then he fell face first into the snow. Brot’mau stood up and looked to Kiiah, who swiftly rose to her feet and scampered over to Brot’mau. The damages that had befallen her seemed to have healed and her body was regaining strength now that her master was with her.
“We’ll set up camp here. You must heal him before he passes.” Brot’mau sheathed his sword as he nodded to Keishun, and Kiiah frowned lightly.
“But master… I don’t like him. He tried to kill you and was mean to me. Why should we save him?” Brot’mau glanced at her and slowly began to set up camp once more. He was silent for a great while before he spoke.
“We’re on a long and dangerous journey Kiiah. We could use another skilled man and they’re hard to find. So hard in fact, that I’ll settle for hiring a mercenary. Besides… he isn’t from the South, which makes him more trustworthy then any other person we’ll meet here on out.”
Soon camp was set up and Kiiah had shifted back into her Ninetails form. Her snow white body curled up around Keishun, her muzzle resting upon his chest as a light blue aura seemed to dance about them. His wound was slowly starting to mend and it seemed almost as if life and energy was reentering his body. After a while the aura faded and Kiiah uncurled herself from him. It was nighttime now, and Kiiah went up towards Brot’mau and curled up by his feet. She did not understand her master’s thinking… but she trusted his judgment far beyond her own.



City of Gamura
West of the Great Mountains



The streets of Gamura were bustling with activity during the main heat of the day, although the City of Gamura was not usually one to be all that hot. The sun was particularly friendly however as it seemed to span it’s rays onto Gamura to illuminate it entirely. It was the largest city in the North and was well known for its reputation as being the “figure city” of the North, and rightly so. The City was comparatively ancient in contrast to the other cities that spanned through the North. Its history was rich and seemed to almost been drawn into the very walls that surrounded the city. The architecture was marvelous in foundation- being sturdy, thick and yet climbing to great heights to form a leveled castle appearance. Gray walls swirled with a marble-like violet was the main shade for the city, being made mostly of the stone “Univerda”, a rare stone that was rumored to have been created by the Valifore Unicorns during ancient times. The stone was notorious for being extremely hard to break, having no rival to any other materials than perhaps metallic properties.
Gamura’s symbol was coincidentally, the Unicorn as well. Deep blue banners wavered about in various parts of the city and upon the rippling flags was a beautiful depiction of a Unicorn rearing up with its horn sparkling into a star. A mythical legend explained the banner, stating that during ancient times when Gamura was nothing but a village, the city was attacked by a Daihell demon – a demon rumored to have given birth to evil itself. However, a Unicorn appeared and repelled the demon, saving the town and allowing it to grow and flourish. Of course, history was not within scrolls at that time so the story merely remains a legend and it cannot be proven if it was a true tale or not. Unicorns have long ago been extinct and the faith that the creature even existed was always on an unbalanced scale.
With the sun still high within the sky, the marketplace within the outside regions of Gamura was bustling with activity. Merchants from all over the North were there to sell and trade their goods with hopes of bringing home a needed profit. Foods, jewelry, exotic pets, pelts, clothing, artifacts, stones, herbs, and potions were just a few of the many things that were often bartered and sold in the markets of Gamura. The objects were usually sold in make-shift stalls that were draped over with clothes, giving it a fairly open and welcoming appeal to potential buyers. However, there were a few things for sale that were not always upon the streets but were contained within walls. These things were usually services, being anywhere from hired assassins to prostitution at times. Such places were located deep within back alleyway-like streets and usually only the daring went into such places.

“I said it isn’t for sale.” A young man said harshly, taking a few steps back away from another older and fairly large man. It was quite clear that the larger man wanted the sword which was adorned upon the teenager’s back, but he was not willing to give the sword up.
“Give it tah me’s kid… or yer gunna be dead n’all take it.” The large man growled, lumbering over to the young male who backed himself into a wall. Narrowing his eyes, he unsheathed the beautiful blackened sword and pointed it at the threatening figure.
“No. Get away… its mine.” He said angrily, but before he could react the large man swung one of his massive arms and managed to connect deeply into the teenager’s side. The force was enough to send him sprawling to the ground, but his grip was still upon the handle of the sword. Placing a large foot upon his back, the larger man merely grinned as he applied pressure and heard the painful scream that followed.
“I’s toldja, yer gunna be dead n’all-” The man spoke but his voice cut off as his eyes widened at the appearance of yet another figure in the alleyway. The figure did not speak a word but merely glared at the large man, which was enough to make him remove his foot from the teenager’s back. Without saying a word the large man ran off like a lumbering giant trying to avoid God’s wrath.
“You okay kid?” The figure’s gruff voice said. The young man slowly rose to his feet, using his sword to help him up as his light blue eyes beheld the figure. His eyes widened in surprise- he had expected the figure to look frightening or perhaps extremely large to frighten anyone away. However, the figure was clearly the opposite. He was lanky and appeared to be boney, not seeming to have any definite muscle in his body at all. He was old- apparently in his fifties, although his appearance didn’t seem to reveal his age as much as the unseen aura about him. His skin was pale and he had the appearance of a malnourished man, although it was apparent that it was just how he was born. He wore a regular outfit of baggy black pants and a simplistic long-sleeved white tunic with a black vest over the tunic to match.
“Umm… yeah…” The teenager responded, still looking a little baffled.
“You should know better then to be in these alleyways. Only trouble here… you best be returning to the marketplace.” The figure said, turning around as he started to walk off.
“Wait!” The teenager yelled, dashing over to the man with a bit of a wince. Reaching the man, he swiftly spoke once more. “I can’t leave… I have to find a man. I have to find Brot’mau.” With that, the man turned and looked sharply into the younger man.
“Brot’mau? Why are you looking for him?”
“Because, I heard that he could help me. My city was destroyed and I heard that he could help me with what I am looking for. Do you know him?”
“Yes…” the man said, drawing out the word as if he were pondering slightly. “He’s gone now, left quite a while ago. Headed south most likely.”
“Oh…” The young man looked disappointed as he let out a sigh. Looking back the way he came from the alleyway, he gave a light nod and then looked back to the old man.
“Do you know where he is going?” The old man shook his head.
“No… but I could probably find him. I actually was going off in search of him.”
“May I go with you?” The young man asked, his eyes widening in hope. He looked innocent there- his wide blue eyes filled with the naïve hope that most youths had.
“You put a lot of faith in a stranger.” The man said suddenly, his voice darkening as his eyes narrowed in a rather ominous way.
“I don’t have much choice… and if you saved my life, I doubt you’d try to take it.”
“Don’t be too sure about that.” The old man growled, almost belittling the youth. “You’ll die with that trusting attitude; it is probably very well that I had you join me. You almost died in Gamura… there is no way you’d survive outside of it.”

With that, the old man turned and started to head out of the alleyway. He ushered the teenager to follow him, and the young man did so after sheathing his sword. The young man was a bit captivated by this new found figure. He seemed to small and so powerless… but yet deep within that man’s voice, his eyes… it almost seemed to behold a greater power. An unseen force that was almost unsettling when one was too near. Shaking off the feeling, the young man caught up and walked to the side of the man, glancing at him awkwardly.
“My name is Gaishan, what is yours?” The old man looked at him apathetically, and then sighed as he continued to walk.
“Dusk.”

[Samchu]

It lives! *hugs Kalah muchly* Well despite the long absence you've managed to churn out another awesome chapter. The battle was great, not overly detailed but it told the audience everything they needed to know, including the ending that I'm sure not many expected. And Kiiah. Well you already know how much I love her child-like character, shame she didn't get as much of an appearance in this chapter as she did in previous chapters but as long as she's there we'll be content.

Loved the description of Gamura, really well done there and two new characters to add to the list? I for one am interested to see what these two are capable of, for it seems no one in this fic is without their own 'uniqueness'. And Gaishan's sword? Now that's the big mystery of this chapter. Let's face it, black swords always mean trouble, in some way, shape or form.

Anyway, great job once again Kalah. Glad to see you havent abandoned this and I hope you get all the free time you desire to work on this. Can't wait for the next one!

[Roy Karrde]

Still loving it Kalah. Although I wonder when the False Master, I mean uhhh yeah the False Master will appear! Anyway keep up the good work.

[darktyranitar]

Yay, a new chapter! I’m glad that you’re still on this, B4. Right, it seem that a lot of people are beginning to write their stories in the summer.

Ah yes, the battle does not trail off to a very long length, and now I see what you meant by the outcome of the battle. Ooh, and Kiiah is still my favourite character! It makes me remember when I put your Kiiah pic in my sig...

It's looking good. So, two new characters, eh? Looking forward on how Gaishan and Dusk will cross path with Brot'mau, and maybe see what is the intention of Dusk finding Brot'mau.

[Bulbasaur4]

Samchu: Thank you so much for reading! I am sorry for the lack of Kiiah in the last chapter, but she is in this one so don't worry. In later chapters you'll find out more about her and some of them will be completely about her. It is all within time... and you'll probably find a few more characters that you'll like as they move. Actually, I know you will... heheh. They have a certain... quality.

Roy: Thankies for reading! The False Master won't appear and if he does he'll die.

dark: Thanks so much for reading! I am positive that this next chapter is one of the more interesting ones... just because Gaishan and Dusk are very good characters and you'll have more reasons to look them soon. ^_~

Because of the replies... and my hopes of getting more people to read this eventually, I couldn't resist and I just had to post the next chapter. ^^;; I've been really excited about this next chapter and the plot thickens and starts to get more interesting from here on out. I really really like this chapter for some reason... I think it is the plot development. You learn a lot about some characters... but trust me, you don't know half about them. Heh. Enjoy!!

“In the land there are demons everywhere… hauntings of what used to be, what will be and what already is. The living cannot go on living with forgetting the dead, because the dead will never let them forget.”
~ Christian’s Journal

Kiiah’s eyes opened slowly to see Brot’mau overlooking Keishun, inspecting his wounds and seeing how he was doing. Feeling her eyes upon him, Brot’mau looked to Kiiah and gave a low nod. He then proceeded to pick up camp while Kiiah rose to her legs and swiftly transformed back into her humanoid self. Her hair rippled gently in the wind as she sniffed the air and glanced upwards at the sky. It was morning but the sky was rapidly getting darker because a storm was approaching fast.

“A storm… I don’t like them…” Kiiah whimpered lightly, looking over at Brot’mau who gave a nod.
“That’s why we’re packing up now. Wake up Keishun.” Kiiah nodded at Brot’mau’s command and she slowly began to walk over to Keishun’s sleeping body, tip-toeing as she neared him, squatting down when she was a mere two feet away.
“Wake up!” She whispered gently but there was no movement from Keishun. His chest continued to rise and fall at a steady pace, a look of calmness upon his rogue features. Gaining a bit more nerve, Kiiah inched closer. “Mr. Keishun… wake up!” Her voice had risen to a regular tone, but still there was no change. Getting a bit anxious, she finally stood up and leaned over him, “WAKE UP MR. KEISHUN!”

With a jolting cry Keishun leapt up, however this action soon had him groaning and falling back down upon his resting place. The wound upon his abdomen had been healed but the tissues around the area were still extremely tender. Blinking for a moment, his sharp gaze turned to Kiiah with a flash of anger- causing her to back away as he slowly began to rise to his feet. Kiiah whimpered and took a few more steps backwards, feeling a bit of fear from the man who had tried to take her away just last night.

“Finally awake I see.” Brot’mau said, having finished with his packing.
“Well what can I say… I was woken up so nicely.” Keishun glared at Kiiah, who swiftly seemed to disappear behind Brot’mau’s large figure. Without so much as a second glance, Brot’mau nodded and began to walk towards the direction they had originally set out before yesterday. Keishun looked at his chest when it suddenly seemed to dawn upon him that he was healed and indeed, was not dead. His expression was filled with befuddlement as he tried to puzzle together what had happened, but his gaze eventually turned to the figure of Brot’mau and Kiiah walking away. Sighing with exasperation at his lack of knowledge, he begrudgingly started to trudge towards the pair. He absolutely hated not knowing the answers of things and being behind the ‘game of life’ was a more mortifying concept for him. Such an act as almost dying and then miraculously being healed the next day was an unfamiliar feeling and he wasn’t too fond of it. Still, he had at least the inkling that Kiiah was the one behind all of it.

“Here! Over here! It was this way! There is a nice little decline in the rocks where we can just simply hop along the path with no problems what so ever and it’ll be great and everything! No one will bother us and we’ll be all happy and soon we’ll be in the forest again! The forest Brot’mau! I miss the forest… and while I was sleeping, I had a dream about the forest. There were birds and trees and a little fairy with wings that kept singing a wonderful song and th-”

“-I’m sure it was a fantastical dream...” The voice of Keishun abruptly rose into the air for he had caught up with Brot’mau and Kiiah. “… However, I would just love to know where I am headed and why I am headed there.” Keishun’s voice reeked of sarcasm as he befell his gaze upon Brot’mau, who simply stared ahead and didn’t seem to acknowledge Keishun’s own bitter gaze. Silence crept into the conversation and caused Kiiah to frown and swiftly move so that Brot’mau was in the middle of her and Keishun. Keishun’s face soon morphed from a face void of expression to that of annoyance, before suddenly Brot’mau spoke.

“We’re heading to Zion.”
“Zion?! Why by the Gods would you ever travel to Zion? That city has been dead for years and rumors have it that it is a Blood City. Demons… grave memories… ghosts- all that stuff is just swarming in Zion. Only fools and suicidal idiots would ever go into Zion.” Keishun crooned, looking at Kiiah for perhaps some help in reasoning but she simply returned a blank stare- she did not know what Zion was.
“I must talk with Sotalo. He still exists near the River of Ancients in his ghostly form and I heard he still gives advice to those in need of justice. He will tell me how to help save the North and bring peace. He knows all about the land and its cities.”
“Yeah… that might be true, but Sotalo’s dead. What more can a ghost know?”
“Do not under estimate the dead. They know more than the living do about the past and the future.” As Brot’mau finished his words, they soon came to a large cliff. Its view expanded out several miles and gave them a clear vision of a large and beautiful green forest below. Kiiah seemed absolutely ecstatic to finally arrive and she happily clapped her hands together.

“See?! See?! I told you it was here and it was beautiful! Look! Over there is the edge I was talking about before!” She pointed to the right side of the ledge and indeed there was a beginning of a rough path that seemed to offer a means for them to travel down below. Keishun shuttered slightly, not liking what they were getting themselves into.
“Great… not only are we going to Zion and a river filled with dead people, but we have to go into the Parallel too.” Brot’mau looked at Keishun with a bit of agitation, perhaps doubting his new hired man but he seemed to shrug it off swiftly. Kiiah had already headed down the ledge, practically bouncing along the path without any fear of falling. Brot’mau soon followed her and reluctantly Keishun did as well.
“The Parallel… the one place that I never wanted to return too,” Keishun grumbled.



The Northern Plains
South of Gamura, West of the Mountains


Gaishan and Dusk had walked several miles since exiting the city of Gamura. Not a word had been said the entire time and Gaishan was beginning to feel rather uneasy. Here the young man had traveled to Gamura and almost died while traveling. Then he had entered Gamura and had almost died within the city walls. Now he was traveling with a strange ominous man who hadn’t said a word to him in the last few hours of the morning. Sighing lightly, he began to wonder if his luck could be any worse, but then he decided it was best not to think about it for the idea of tempting fate didn’t please him. So he continued to walk in silence, looking at the sky and at the world that surrounded him.

The land of the North was a beautiful place all around, but the plains were something that offered a view that most could never master. Long wavering grass fields seemed to stretch as far as they eye could see upon hills and low valleys. Bordering towards the horizon to the east were seemingly small mountains with snowy peaks that dotted the eastern side to the point where the eye could no longer see. Upon their right it seemed as if the grass simply vanished into the sky, but Gaishan knew that the sea was there greeting the plains. If they continued south, there would be even more grass, hills, plains and of course there were patches of forests along the way.

The day was also looking cheerful as well for the sky was a crystal marble blue and only a few wispy clouds hovered in the sky. The sun’s gentle rays gleamed upon the waxy tendrils of grass and kept Gaishan warm enough to tolerate the cool breeze that came from the west. It was a pleasant day and seeing this and capturing it in his mind made Gaishan more at ease- even if he was with a strange old man.

“So, you’re a Silverwind.” The low growl-of-a-voice suddenly spoke, startling Gaishan for a second. His light gaze turned to Dusk who happened to have slowed down so that he could walk beside Gaishan. Gaishan simply looked at Dusk in awe- like a child who had just seen a new magic trick.
“H-how… how did you know?” Was all he could say, his eyes still wide with confusion. Dusk would have laughed if it was in his nature as he simply smirked.
“The crest upon your cloak- it is the Silverwind crest.” Upon Gaishan’s back was a crimson red cloak and marking the coat was a silver and black crest- a sword-like design making up the crest. It was a crest that perhaps a few in the land would have known and recognized as the Silverwind family’s trademark.
“Not many people know that. Especially now that… well, since now I am the last.” Gaishan’s voice softened as he stared at the ground as the two continued to walk. His eyes seemed to well up with tears but he held back any signs of crying. Long ago Gaishan promised that he was done crying. Dusk became silent but he understood and the silence seemed to confirm that he knew.

The Silverwind family was the royal bloodline in the City of Rhojan. The family ruled and led the City with generations of prosperity and happiness. Rhojan was a peaceful city that thrived on the good nature of others and generally was well-liked throughout the land and known as a safe-haven to all. The people of Rhojan were hard working and respected the Silverwinds for all that they had done and accomplished with each generation that came to lead the city. Coincidently, the crest of the Silverwinds was the same symbol that was used also for the Rhojan flag- so usually when anyone saw the symbol they associated it with Rhojan, not with the Silverwinds. However the names almost came hand in hand, but that was about over ten years ago.

Ten years ago the city of Rhojan had been completely destroyed in the matter of a night. Fires raged and burned down the city as everyone was slaughtered and killed in a huge and disastrous massacre. The only ones there to protect the city were the Silverwinds, but they too fell and were slaughtered. In the entire mess was Gaishan- only six years old at the time- left in distraught and confused beyond all comprehension. As the city and his home burned to the ground, the young Gaishan stumbled through the crumbling city in search for anyone alive. He finally came to stumble upon his father- bloodied and nearly beyond recognition. However his father was still alive at the time and he was the one who had given Gaishan his sword.
“It is your duty now… to carry on the family name and revenge us.” Those were the last dying words his father left with Gaishan.


“So then, why are you seeking Brot’mau exactly. You said it was because your city was destroyed… but I don’t see how that will bring it back.” Dusk’s gruff voice spoke after several long moments of silence. Gaishan’s mind snapped back into reality as he gave a nod, the back of his mind being a litte offended at the man's blunt nature. It seemed that Dusk had allowed a certain amount of time pass and then he had deemed it enough time for Gaishan to be over the death and destruction of his family and home. Gaishan tried to push any annoyance at this fact to the side, concentrating on his father's last words.

“Ever since Rhojan was destroyed, I’ve been training. My father told me to avenge the family and so I have been in search of the source of the destruction of Rhojan and my family. As I was upon my journey I came across an elderly man who said that Brot’mau would know the answer to my quest.” Dusk nodded at his words, as Gaishan continued. “What about you? Why are you trying to find Brot’mau?”
“Personal reasons.” Dusk said harshly, his face turned away so that Gaishan could not look at him. Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, Gaishan subtly made a note in his head that Dusk was not very suitable or very fair. He was beginning to doubt his choice of companionship upon his trip and had begun to wonder if he would have been better of to go upon the journey alone.

As time went on, suddenly Dusk abruptly stopped and Gaishan had continued walking without paying much attention. After a few moments Gaishan saw that Dusk was not with him and looking up and ahead of him, he saw where Dusk’s disturbed gaze was looking at.

Long dark crimson trails seemed to have been etched into the grass and the source for those trails was heading directly towards Gaishan. However, instead of drawing his sword and preparing to defend himself, Gaishan remained frozen like a statue. His sky blue eyes were wrought open in fright and it seemed as if he was paralyzed and unable to move. His expression was filled with fear and he could feel himself pale as if he had seen a ghost. In his mind and in his will his heart was screaming at him to unsheath his sword and to fight, but he was unable. He was unable to fight because there ahead of him, were the mutilated faces of the ones he loved- they were the faces of his family.

“Blood demons! That’s all they are Gaishan… they’re just blood demons!” Dusk called ahead, but he saw the youth was unmoving.

Blood demons were common in a land filled with unrighteous death and destruction. Bodies of the dead are easily claimed and picked up by demon auras and once the body is claimed, the demon aura controls and reanimates the body. These particular demons were Blood, because the bodies were humanoid but their flesh color was crimson red and their open orifices oozed with trails of blood. Still, they were recognizable to anyone who had known them in their past life. Gaishan unfortunately was the victim of this bloody scene.

“Dammit! Move you idiot!” Dusk screamed again but he knew that there was no time to wait for the boy to come to his senses. There were about ten blood demons and while they were in mutilated bodies, they still had the power to decompose organic things at a dangerous rate. Just a touch upon a man's flesh would cause the flesh to peel away within a few seconds.

“I didn’t want to do this… not yet.” Dusk thought as he started to run at Gaishan, his body changing as he did so.

Dusk’s legs changed first- exploding inside to become a huge mass of animalistic muscle as his arms followed suit. He began to grow in height until he reached a strange height of eight feet while his legs and arms continued to grow in muscle mass. His skin tone darkened into a deep ruddy brown as rough fur began to sprout from his body. His jaw jutted outwards as his nose began to protrude to match, forming into a large and wolf-like muzzle with large ivory canines growing from beneath his lips. Ears soon shifted and grew from his skull as a tail sprouted and broke through his pants and his feet and hands grew into more wolven forms. His hands grew long and wicked claws as his change had begun to curb into finality. As he ran, he had now become a hulking and towering monster of eight feet and a width to match.

Dusk was a werewolf- and an old one at that.

Roaring loudly with an animalistic trait, Dusk felt the familiar feeling of losing his sense of self. The smell of blood was tantalizing in the air as he rushed pass Gaishan and threw himself directly into his prey. His jaws seized one blood demon’s head and he simply bit down and jerked it away- feeling the sharp burn of decomposition within his mouth. As another blood demon closed in, Dusk took a massive swipe of his paw and simply ripped the body into a half while taking his other paw and squashing another demon directly into the ground. Blood seemed to explode into the air as he crushed its ribs, his slit eyes looking for a next move. Two other blood demons jumped upon his back and attempted to hold on as their bodies started to eat away at his own. Being now easy to rage, Dusk let out a blood-curdling howl as he simply thrashed himself backwards as his massive weight fell upon the two blood demons. A sickening crack of bones was heard beneath Dusk as the demons perished, but his back flesh was exposed for his fur had simply fallen away.

More demons came at Dusk but he seemed to handle them easily with his size and extreme fighting talent. They were gored, mauled and ripped to shreds within a matter of minutes and the entire scene flashed before Gaishan’s frozen eyes. It was as if he was seeing his family die all over again. Memories and flashbacks of his family's mutilated bodies seemed to grow into a vision of the current event. Tears flooded his eyes as he suddenly let out a scream.

But of course it was too late and foolish to stop. Dusk’s jaws crushed the last blood demon’s skull and once it was finished the werewolf looked directly at Gaishan. Gaishan felt a clammy cold suddenly overcome him as he saw the monster that he had felt earlier within Dusk. Dusk’s body was slightly exposed into raw muscle and it was drenched in blood- a sight that Gaishan almost could not stomach. However, Gaishan soon seemed to have control of his body again as he watched Dusk slowly lumber towards him. Dusk’s fleshy pink tongue licked the blood off of his muzzle slowly as a blood-thirsty gaze settled upon Gaishan, a low growl filtering into the air.

“Oh God…” Gaishan thought, unsheathing his sword and raising it up shaking. “… This is where I die.”

.: Divinity :.

[Mystic_clown]

So, Dusk is a werewolf and Gaishan's royalty. This is getting very interesting indeed.

[darktyranitar]

Hey, that was fast! A bit eager, eh? No worry, it looks good.

Yeah, like Mystic Clow pointed, I didn't expect that Dusk would be a werewolf, while Gaishan is a royalty. I don't blame Gaishan for hesitating to attack the blood demons; I would also be shocked and scared to see the walking dead-body of the people that I loved. Scary indeed.

Yay, I just love Kiiah's carefree attitude! It seems that Keishun dislike her, and vice-versa. I predict that some small fight and argument would occur between both of them in the distance future.

I like the description on the places around them and the battle with the Blood Demons. It's written just enough to let the readers imagine how the scene would look like.

Wow, things are really moving. Looking forward for more!

[Bulbasaur4]

[color=royalblue]
Yay! Replies!

Mystic: Yeah... when I saw you were reading the fic I immediately thought that you would like Dusk.

Dark: Woot! More reading! Yes... I got a bit excited for this chapter, merely because I am a big fan of the storyline that developes here. I'm glad you still like Kiiah... *snuggles Kiiah* Hee, I sorta liked the blood demon scene.. I didn't want to draw it out too much.

Thanks for your comments! I love comments but I'm sure as writers you guys understand. Comments are what keeps me going! I encourage everyone to comment! Huzzah! XD No in-the-closet readers! lol

In anycase, I am giving a break for chapters for you guys right now... so you won't have to constantly be keeping up. Instead I have made a little inking promo cover! This one is just with Kiiah & Brot'mau, with a few teasers tossed in as well. *snickers* I will be coloring it soon too, but I'll let you know when I do and the topic is updated.

Divinity Art!

[Dr.McNinja]

Yarg, it looks awesome so far, can't wait to see what you do with the characters. Specially Gaishan

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

I like Dusk. *nod nod*
I also am starting to like Keishun, though I thought he was a jerk in earlier chapters.
It's a given thing that I also like Bro’tmau.
You have a good writing style, very dramatic and descriptive.. heh, I saw it in your RPGs and it's nice to see a fic that you've written. ^^ Do write more!

[Doomy_McDoomdoom]

Oh Kalah...if only they all knew about the history behind all these characters...well, I guess they'll find out through your awesome story telling

[Bulbasaur4]

I appologize for the lateness! Eeeek! Starting work and stuff has postponed this greatly... but I hope everyone still comes back to read it. ^_^;;;

Dr.McNinja: Yes yes... lol, don't worry. I have some new ideas for Gaishan that I think you'll enjoy quite thoroughly when they come to light. Think explosive anime-ness! Woot!

Hyperness: YAY! More readers! ... well... if I didn't lose all of them yet. ^^; I'm glad you like so many of the characters! I think you'll like Keishun in this chapter. Gotta love sarcasm!

Doomy: <3 I hope you continue to like it.

Everyoneelse: Sowwy!

This next chapter is a bit short compared to the others, however it is a huge set-up for Chapter five. You'll like chappy five... mwhahaha... but yes, onwards!

Chapter 4

“I have met many Faeys upon my lifetime, but these two have been the most promising thus far. I hold a great deal of expectance of their services in the future for me. I believe they will become a great and powerful asset to come.”
~ Sotalo’s Buried Journal

[font=tahoma]

Heavy fog seemed to swirl about the thickly forested trees like ghosts in the shadows. While it was early midday, the thickness of the trees prevented much if any sunlight to filter down into the forest ground. Along with the fog, the dense jungle-like atmosphere and eerie silence that was rarely broken was something of a warning to almost any traveler. It seemed as if the forest was long dead of any wildlife than perhaps the vegetation, and the snake-like twisting vines and snagged branches did not offer any further comfort.

“You know… nothing good will come from entering the parallel.” Keishun said loudly as the trio trudged through the forest floor. The ground was soft and often sunken in, causing the trek in the forest to be somewhat difficult.

“Nothing good will come from complaining either.” Brot’mau retorted, flashing a rather annoyed gaze at Keishun who merely looked the opposite direction. Kiiah however seem oblivious to the tension in the forest, but instead she bounded ahead of them in a seemingly effortless motion. While Brot’mau and Keishun found themselves constantly sinking into the muddy ground, Kiiah almost seemed to float upon it like a dancing pixie.

“I like this forest… this is where I was born.” Kiiah commented, looking back at the two of them. Brot’mau didn’t say anything- he already knew where Kiiah was from for it had been him who found her. However, he doubted Kiiah knew the details of the entire story of her birth or of him finding her in the forest.

“Wow… what a lovely home then.” Keishun said sarcastically, swatting at a flying bug that seemed to find a great interest in circling Keishun’s head. At his words however, Kiiah shook her head slightly and seemed to flash Keishun a sad gaze for a split second. She stood still and waited for the two to catch up to her before she began to walk between them, occasionally pausing as the two would unstuck themselves from the forest floor.

“No… it isn’t as lovely as it used to be. For some reason the forest keeps dying… things keep leaving. It is as if the forest lost its heart and hasn’t been able to get it back.” Kiiah stated somberly, causing Brot’mau to look at her questioningly. It seemed that every once in a while Kiiah would say something that would take him by surprise. She was very cheerful and almost child-like, but yet at times it seemed as if a pool of wisdom was drawn into her as if she knew more than what she led on. It was intriguing and yet startling at the same time to Brot’mau and he still wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“At least when we get to the parallel there will be more life and beauty.” Brot’mau added, looking at Keishun. Keishun rolled his eyes and made a grand gesture with both of his arms.

“Oh yeeees, lots of great life and beauty! Such as huge creatures with gaping claws just waiting to make friends with supple travelers who look like tasty meals. And beauty? Oh yes… lovely corpses of rotting animals intermixed with lush green moss and mushrooms everywhere. Such great beauty… along with bugs, lots of bugs.” Keishun added, swatting at the insect that seemed to continue to fly around his head.

“I like big creatures!” Kiiah said with excitement, her huge brilliant eyes looking expectantly at Keishun who simply rolled his own gaze.


The trio continued to walk through the forest for quite some time before the forest seemed to thin out, but only very slightly. Light was now able to trickle through the thinner branches of the trees which caused the inner parts of the forest to illuminate. Dark greens were now fresh coats of olive and the forest floor was hardening into a more firm and mossy state. Chirps of birds and the occasional roar of a nearby predator began to fill the forest air as the thickness of the fog started to fade away. It was obvious they were now entering the domain known as, “The Parallel.”

The Parallel was a long and narrow strip of land that followed a large river that divided the lands of the North and the lands of the South. Within its narrow borders were thick forests and dangerous beasts due to its mystical properties because it was the only place that the war had not touched. It was neutral land that both the North and the South had agreed not to bring war to anymore. That was slightly ironic in the fact that it was the place that the war started, for in its borders was the city of Zion.
The city of Zion was located upon the thicker western part of the Parallel. The river that ran within the parallel was split into three separate rivers upon the western side, and the middle of those rivers was called “The River of Ancients”. Zion was the very first city to be attacked by the South, and it was because the great city of Zion fell to flames that the North declared war upon the South due to their treacherous and unexpected act. Zion was almost an icon to all of the North and almost all of the land, because the great King Sotalo had ruled that kingdom. He was the oldest living person during his time and he had offered great counsel to not only the North but the South kings as well. His wisdom and leadership was renown… and with his death came a bitter rivalry and hatred between both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.

Ever since its fall centuries ago, Zion became a city of the living dead it seemed. Not of zombies or corrupted demonical bodies, but of memory. The River of Ancients is a river known for housing the souls of the living and it was rumored that if one were to visit the river, they could contact the souls of the dead and speak to them. Since Zion was so close to the river and its properties, it became a city that never could lie to rest. Instead, the rubbled buildings, walls and streets constantly replay the horrific memories of the death and burnings when the city fell. The tone and horror of the undead city was now an icon to avoid and no one dared to travel near Zion and none spoke of traveling through it. It was the city of Zion that seemed to foretell the doom that the war would bring.


Brot’mau’s face seemed to be strained with thought as the trio continued to walk through the forest uneventfully. Kiiah hummed to herself softly as she pranced about and seemed to inspect any and every flower that they came in contact with while Keishun made audible noises of discomfort and disproval at their travel. It wasn’t until a strange and rather eerie voice touched the air that any of them noticed that they were being watched.

“Oh… such strange looking souls.” The voice seemed to dance upon the air as a pair of striking silver eyes stared down at them from the top of a branch. Gazing upwards, all three of them looked up to see a wonderfully crafted woman sitting upon a branch idly in a large oak-like tree. Her long, tendrils of black hair wavered about her shoulders with thick crimson highlights as she seemed to wield a wicked smile. Her smile only seemed to enhance her beauty, along with the garments that she wore. She wore a simplistic black corset of leather while adorned upon her lower half she merely wore a silk-like pants of the same black color.

“If you’re looking for Zion, you best turn back.” She said thickly, her cherry-red lips still wielding the same devious smile.

“What… who are you?” Keishun stammered, filling a pang of fear and yet a strange curiosity to her. Brot’mau seemed not be drawn in by her beauty or her voice either as he narrowed his stern gaze.

“Be gone. We’re going to Zion and no warding spirits shall stop us.” With that, the woman broke into a light bit of laughter that was soon joined by another similar voice.

“Silly man, we are not here to stop you. We are here to warn you. Do not take us Faey’s lightly.” Turning their heads, they saw that another woman was sitting upon a similar branch. Her hair was dark black just like the other woman’s, however it was straight and held highlights of silver within a few tendrils. Her eyes were a fierce golden color and she wore a simplistic skirt of black along with a matching long-sleeved shirt of silk. It hugged firmly about her torso while the sleeves seemed to flare out about her wrist, giving her gestures an accented touch.

“What is your warning?” Kiiah asked innocently, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. There was something about these two women… these two Faeys that drew her closer to them. It was as if they radiated some bewitching spell about them that was untold.

“Ah, such a darling creature.” The silver-eyed woman said, “We’re warning you that you should pass through Zion quickly. But only you should do it…” She pointed straight at Brot’mau with a firm nod.

“Yes, only you. If all three of you try to enter Zion… two of you would certainly perish. Zion only allows those with a purpose to enter and it seems that only one of you has a purpose.” The golden-eyed woman confirmed as the two of them seemed to rise to their feet upon the branch in sync.

“That is all we can say now. Anymore and the Gods would be mad at us.” With that, a huge gust of wind seemed to roar through the forest. The blistering wind swiftly raised dirt particles upwards so that all three of them had to block their eyes and when the wind was over, the two women had vanished. Silence entered the air as all three of them seemed to think before Keishun spoke up.

“Oh yes Brot’mau, I think I changed my mind. I think it is a great idea that we journey through the deadly parallel and enter the undead city of Zion. I mean… the Gods must be favoring us with such good omens coming from our friendly Faeys.”



The Northern Plains
South of Gamura, West of the Great Mountains


“Dusk! Dusk listen to me!” Gaishan said nervously, raising his sword to the giant werewolf. The werewolf simply gazed down at Gaishan with a menacing look in his golden eyes as he took a few more steps closer to the feeble young man. Gaishan clutched his sword more firmly as he held it up to the air, pointing it straight at Dusk’s lower torso. He continued to hold his paralyzed stance as his mind raced with a million thoughts of how he could die at the hand of the werewolf as Dusk merely continued to trudge towards him. It wasn’t until Dusk had reached a few inches short of Gaishan’s sword before he stopped walking and merely lowered his head to glower down at Gaishan. Thick tendrils of saliva seemed to drip from his snarled muzzle as droplets of blood stained a few blades of grass beneath his feet in the moment of silence that the two of them shared.

“Fool. Do you really think I am going to kill you?” Dusk’s throaty growl-like voice rose into the air as he leaned over more slightly, purely towering over Gaishan now. “It would be easy you know. It would be easy to kill you here and now and to simply be rid of you. Do you fear me to know that?” Dusk questioned, flattening his ears as his teeth seemed to flash more with every word. Gaishan seemed speechless to this however as he opened his mouth but found that no words would come of it. After a few minutes of awaited response, Dusk merely let out a howl-like fit of laughter out. He then took a few steps back and merely shook his head.

“You have so much to learn.” With those words, Dusk’s body began to shrink back and slowly transform back into his more feeble form. When the transformation was completed, Dusk was back to his small, frail and pale figure of a man. His eyes still contained their penetrating gaze however as Dusk watched Gaishan slowly gain back his composure as he slid his sword into its sheath. Gaishan’s eyes were still wide as he stared at the man who just a moment before was nothing more than a man. Now Dusk was a monster… something horribly powerful that could kill Gaishan upon a whim. It was an unnerving thought and he wasn’t sure what to think or do about this new realization. Sensing his fear, Dusk gave him a long hard look and then shook his head with his own gathering upon this event.

“I don’t think I will ever forget the terror that people show when meeting what I am.” Dusk said slowly, looking long and hard at Gaishan for a moment. He then seemed to wave Gaishan to walk by his side as Dusk began to head south once more, and hesitantly Gaishan followed his gesture.

“I will let you know a bit about myself, so perhaps you will not fear me like you do now. As you might have gathered, I am a Lycan. My true name is Christian Mandel, a name that I had when I was a mortal well over ten thousand years ago. In fact, I don’t believe I could tell you my true age since I have long lost count over the thousands of years. While I am a Lycan and my past is filled with many things I am not proud of… perhaps I can ease your fear by letting you know that when I become my true Lycan form, I have complete control over it. You need not fear me in that form for I will not kill you.”

Silence filled the air after Dusk- or perhaps Christian’s- word’s as the two continued to walk through the wavy fields of grass. Gaishan’s head was spinning rather rapidly as he absorbed all that Christian had told him and then he seemed to give a nod of understanding. While the whole ordeal was unnerving and surprising, Gaishan had lived in a life full of surprises. He wouldn’t let this new information doubt Christian yet, since the man had not proven himself untrustworthy yet. Gaishan was true to his honor and within that honor he at least had to give others the benefit of the doubt.

“… I thank you then Christian. I thank you for saving me.” Gaishan said softly, looking up at the dark haired man for a few moments. Christian merely nodded and looked at Gaishan with an expressionless but understanding gaze.

“You are young and it is to be expected. You will have to work on it so that next time you do not freeze in the face of battle. I am sure you already know that there are far more horrific things in the world… and there may come a time when you have to face those you love in order to save the purpose that matters most.”

The two of them continued to travel during the day saying little but both pondering their own thoughts. It seemed as if their first day of traveling had brought much to the table and neither of them had thought that it would already have passed before them so many interesting peaks into the world.

Gaishan’s mind was thinking about the blood demons and the fact that they had the faces of those he had loved upon them. The only thing that he could have found comforting was the knowledge that his father would never be amongst those faces, for he had his sword- The Nexus- with him. Carrying the sword was like carrying his father and all of his pasts with him, and that knowledge gave him the strength to move onwards like it had for all his years alone.

Christian was thinking of things far more tormenting than Gaishan during the day however. Meeting up with Gaishan had brought more memories and hauntings of his past than expected. The man was not proud of his past… and he knew that even though he was trying to change who he had been for the past ten thousand years, it would be a hard task to accomplish so soon. Habits were hard to break and Christian only prayed that he never had to reveal to Gaishan the horrors of his past. Christian knew if those things came to light, the young and inexperienced warrior would most likely perish.

. : Divinity : .

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

The Faey's are interesting..and looking at the divinity banner in your sig.. one of the Faey's is the woman on the left, is it?
Hahah, Keishun's the loudest mouthed of the three I guess... *nod nod* Actually so far I like most of your characters. Except maybe Gaishan - he hasn't shown much of a personality yet. ^_^ But under the tutelage of Dusk/Christian, I'm sure he'll flesh out well. ^____^

[Doomy_McDoomdoom]

Oooo Dusk/Christian is soooooo tortured. I love it! Not too mention the description of his Lycan form, jeez I love your writing dearest. And I enjoy the Faeys coming in before they originally were planned to. It's a good entrance and introduction.

[Bulbasaur4]

Alright! Chapter 5 time! *sees she lost readers* .... well, I suppose I deserve that for procrastinating. ^^; In any case, I got chapter 5 done and Chapter six is almost complete as well. Chapter 5 and 6 mainly deals with just Brot'mau and Kiiah, for this chapter brings their inner relationship to light since the other chapters were spread a bit thin to reveal anything. Expect these two chapters to hurt your head a bit... Chapter 5 is a bit easy, but Chapter 6 has a big ... well.. surprise!! Then after that, Chapter 7 will be coming in with violence! ... oh wait, but so does Chapter 6. ^^;;

Expect a lot of explosions and bangs to be coming your way. Oh, and if anyone wanted some romance... here is your chance. XD Chapter 5 is dedicated to Brot'mau, while Chapter 6 is for Kiiah. ^_^ Hope you guys like what I did!


Hyper: Thank you! Yes... you are looking at one of the Faey's in my banner. ^_^ They play a role later on... look for them in Chapter 7. As for Gaishan- he'll be showing some good colors soon... again, in Chapter 7. XD

Doomy: I try my best with description.. hee. I hope you like what I've done with this next chapter for Brot'mau.

Chapter 5
Brot'mau

The massive black cat let out a shriek as Brot’mau’s sword flashed through the air within the instant that the beast pounced. Crimson streaks flared into the air as the cat sank to the ground while its head dropped to a different direction. Brot’mau’s face seemed stern as he swiftly found a nearby plant and then began to wipe the blood off of his sword’s blade. Keishun’s double swords were drawn, but he simply gave a sigh as he placed them back within their sheath for the battle had been swiftly over.

“Kiiah… do not do that ever again.” Brot’mau said sternly as he slid the broadsword back into his shoulder’s hilt. Kiiah seemed to cower as her shoulders slumped slightly and she looked away.

“I’m sorry… I thought that perhaps it could help us find a way to Zion.” She replied weakly, looking at Keishun who simply rolled his eyes.

What should have been an hour walk was turning into a long lost maze of trekking. The Parallel was an intense puzzle to even the most experienced travelers and it was not being any more merciful to Brot’mau. Agitated, Brot’mau continued walking through the forest as echoed voices of laughter occasionally pierced the air. Hauntings perhaps of the ghosts of old who had died in the forest long ago or even demons were the source of such cries, mocking the travelers. It did not help that occasionally they would stumble upon a wild animal that either would run off or occasionally attack- scaring Kiiah and unnerving Keishun.

While Brot’mau continued to grow more silent and more agitated with each minute that passed without any sign of luck, Kiiah and Keishun were being affected by the tedious walking as well. Kiiah was not humming anymore or laughing but had resigned to walking close to Brot’mau and staring at the ground. She was just as silent as Brot’mau; however her face seemed more mournful than agitated. Keishun however, was strolling behind them with an exasperated expression that had not left his face since they entered the forest. At every stop and every encounter Keishun commented upon their predicament with bitter sarcasm, causing Brot’mau to twitch slightly every time Keishun’s voice rose.

“If we keep going around like this… eventually we won’t be strong enough to slice off a cat head so easily.” Keishun said suddenly, swatting at the same familiar insect that was buzzing around his head. Finally snapping, Brot’mau whirled about and swiftly took two strong steps until he was directly in front of Keishun’s face.

“If you’d stop complaining, perhaps you’d save some energy instead of wasting it on words.” Brot’mau growled, but surprisingly Keishun didn’t back down. Instead he seemed to stand a bit taller as he shook his head and pointed a finger at Brot’mau.

“Look, just because you want to find Sotalo so badly doesn’t mean I want to. I didn’t want to be saved and I didn’t want to be dragged about in your little circus!”
“I did what I thought was right!”
“Well now I’m doing what I think is right! Going around in the parallel like this is madness! We’ll die just like everyone else!”

“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” Kiiah suddenly ran to their side, her eyes moistened with tears at the idea of conflict. Swiftly she managed to push herself between the two as she pleaded. “Don’t fight! Fighting only makes the forest more angr-“

“Shut up! I’m sick of your babbling too!” Keishun growled, glaring at Kiiah.

“DON’T you talk to her like that!” Brot’mau suddenly roared, taking his large hand and cupping it around Kiiah to softly push her behind him. Silence seemed to fill the forest after his words, and the two were left standing there without moving. Their eyes merely pierced into each other with the same fire they had upon their first meeting. Kiiah merely cowered behind Brot’mau while looking at Keishun with a returning appearance of fear gripping her figure. She desperately did not want them to fight… not in her forest. The entire time they had been lost walking she could sense the new presence of evil that seemed to be tainting the forest. She could sense the way the forest was like a sponge- absorbing all the cruel and inhumane acts that happened within its boundaries. Yet… this did not make sense to Kiiah. The Parallel was supposed to be a haven and a safe place for all. How come such evil found its way here?

“I’m leaving.” Keishun said, breaking the silence swiftly as he looked away from Brot’mau’s glare. Turning and walking away, Keishun stopped for a moment as if hesitating. Withdrawing a breath, Keishun turned to look at Brot’mau who had not moved but simply twisted his head to gaze at Keishun.

“Just remember some thing Brot’mau. You might go through anything for your goals, but remember that there is more to life than just meeting them. Some times you have to sacrifice those goals or risk hurting those you take for granted.” Then Keishun was gone.

More silence followed before Brot’mau finally turned and faced Kiiah, seeing her eyes still directed upon the spot where Keishun vanished into the shadows of the forest. Feeling Brot’mau’s gaze upon her, Kiiah looked up at him and softly forced a smile.

“Will Keishun be back?” She asked quietly, and Brot’mau seemed to let loose an outward sigh.

“I don’t think so… but perhaps we’ll run into him again.” Brot’mau’s tone seemed to have completely abandoned its previously agitated state as he slowly began to walk again. “Come on Kiiah, let’s go.”



Brot’mau’s pace had slowed dramatically before now that he was alone with Kiiah. This had confused her greatly and she often found herself looking up at him and wanting to ask him why he was slowing down. However, Brot’mau’s face was no longer looking stern or determined, but it seemed as if he was lost in thought. As if his mind was somewhere else upon a far away place… and Kiiah knew better than to disturb those thoughts.

“He was talking about Kiiah…” Brot’mau thought to himself as he absently walked through the Parallel. “… I bet he doesn’t even know how true his words were.” Brot’mau could have almost closed his eyes as he walked- for he was no longer paying any heed to where he was going but rather he was concentrating upon a long lost memory.

“I can’t believe that I had become so absorbed with seeing Sotalo… that I forgot my whole reason for being here.” Brot’mau continued to think, biting his lip absently as he scolded himself inside. “I’m here for the North and I’m doing this for my kingdom... but…” Brot’mau found his gaze staring at the beautiful creature walking next to him- Kiiah. Her soft golden hair seemed to gleam in the small particles of light that escaped through the trees as her face held a constant mirroring glow. Her body almost seemed to have been crafted by the Gods to him- she was that ethereally beautiful. Her carefree nature and her compassion for Brot’mau only seemed to amplify the beauty she contained. He had forgotten and he could not understand how he could have let himself become so absorbed and arrogant to have done so.
“… I am doing this for Kiiah.”


A strong beam of light came to rest upon Brot’mau’s closed eyes, gently waking him up from his slumber within his chambers. Opening them slowly, Brot’mau found himself gazing straight up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Thoughts of the upcoming day instantly swarmed into Brot’mau’s mind and he absently had sat up in bed and blinked away the sleep from his eyes. Turning to his right, Brot’mau expected to find Kiiah- his prized and adored Ninetails who always slept by his side every night. Gasping and rising to his feet in alarm, Brot’mau instead found that he had been lying next to a strange yet gorgeous naked woman. Her golden hair spanned over the bed as her naked form seemed curled in a humanoid ball as she peacefully slept.

“Oh by the Gods…” Brot’mau whispered, numb and confused as to why there was a woman sleeping in his bed. Yet then her eyes opened and Brot’mau instantly knew who she was. Only Kiiah contained such bright, glistening ice-bitten blue eyes and even disguised as a human Brot’mau recognized her. Kiiah seemed to come to life as she smiled brightly and began to crawl over to the edge of the bed on fours- completely oblivious to the change.

“Kiiah… you’re… you’re a woman…” Brot’mau stuttered, causing Kiiah to tilt her head to the side and then gaze down at herself. Swiftly her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to let loose a cry of shock but with lightning reflexes Brot’mau was at her side. He swiftly raised his hand and covered her mouth, shaking his head.

“Don’t make a sound. If anyone caught you in here with me, they’d think-“

“By the GODS!” Another voice shrieked as a clattering sound was soon heard afterwards. Turning his head, Brot’mau saw one of his servants staring at the two in complete shock. However, before Brot’mau could say anything the servant ran off in a hurry and Brot’mau instantly knew it was too late. Looking back at Kiiah, his eyes tearing with so many emotions he swiftly tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“Come on Kiiah, let’s find you some clothes before I’m summoned.”


Brot’mau withdrew a sigh as he recalled the vivid memory. That morning had been the start of a very long journey and it had opened up a huge array of emotions within Brot’mau. His father had immediately summoned Brot’mau to counsel with the knowledge delivered by the servant that Brot’mau had slept with a woman. Due to this fact, it was Gamurian law that if a member of royalty was to sleep with a woman then he was to claim her as his wife. It was a way to insure loyalty and keep the royal family strong. Refusing to marry the woman would result in exile from the city itself. Knowing this, Brot’mau was forced to face a decision- marry Kiiah or be exiled. Yet Brot’mau had not known what to do or what to even think of the situation. He had no idea Kiiah had such a power and upon explaining it to his father, he found out that there was no exception.

“She had no idea what was even going on…” Brot’mau thought, gazing down at Kiiah who seemed to have found her spirit again. She was dancing ahead of him, humming softly to herself as the forest grew a bit darker but seemed to lose some sinister appeal for the moment. “If she only knew how everything was… “ Brot’mau continued to think, smiling to himself softly. “She doesn’t even know why we’re on this journey. She just volunteered to go without any question.”

With that thought, suddenly Kiiah stopped in her tracks and she pointed ahead into the darkness. Glancing back at Brot’mau, her face instantly brightened to see he had returned to her from his memories.

“We’re almost there! I can sense it!” Kiiah said with a cheer, however her face seemed to furrow in confusion. “Yet… I sense great pain and suffering.” Brot’mau gave a nod, reaching Kiiah and turning to her.

“That is because we are nearing Zion- a place of great suffering and darkness.” Kiiah nodded at this fact and began walking forward until suddenly she realized Brot’mau was not following. Turning around, Kiiah looked at Brot’mau with a confused look upon her face. Brot’mau’s face was wrought with what appeared to be either great worry or pain. Swiftly Kiiah darted back to him and looked up worriedly.

“What is wrong? Why do you look in pain?” Kiiah questioned, which caused Brot’mau to sigh as if deeply troubled.

“Kiiah… we have been on a very long journey. We have come a long way since we left Gamura, but from this point onward things will become extremely dangerous. There are creatures and evils beyond this point that even I cannot even imagine.” Brot’mau closed his eyes for a moment as he let another long breath pass through his lips. “Because of this, I think it would be best if I travel alone from this point. I care immensely about you Kiiah, and what lies ahead is too dangerous. I will not risk your life because it is too important to me.”

Kiiah blinked for a few moments, staring straight up at Brot’mau as if she did not comprehend what he was saying. Her face remained expressionless for a moment before suddenly it gave way. Her eyes began to water as a single tear streamed down her cheek, as her brow furrowed in a sudden act of determination.

“No.” Kiiah spoke firmly, shaking her head vigorously.
“No… where would I go?” Kiiah’s face seemed scrutinized in pain at the thought of being separated from Brot’mau. Yet her body was rigid and she stood firm, determination settling in. Freely words began to flow from her lips as if an inner wisdom suddenly had once again been released.

“Where would you have me go? I cannot go back… I have no home. My home is with you.” Kiiah’s mind was racing with an eruption of thoughts. Had she not served him well? Had she failed him in some way that was making him doubt her companionship?
“I have been with you and protected you this far and I would rather die by your side than travel a path separate from you.” Immediately after those words had passed, Kiiah’s demeanor seemed to change once again. The determination and wisdom seemed to pass through her body as she became her young and child-like self again. Another tear streamed down her cheek as her lower jaw quivered. Then, swiftly without warning Kiiah wrapped her arms about Brot’mau and embraced him in a firm and clinging hug.

“Please let me stay?”

Brot’mau pulled Kiiah apart from him for a moment and swiftly he let his hands cup around her moistened face. Staring deeply into her eyes, Brot’mau’s expression seemed to reveal an inner war of emotions rising within him. At that moment, he believed he was looking into the eyes of the most heavenly and gorgeously designed creature that the universe had ever designed. She had entranced him the very first moment he had laid eyes upon her human form… and to him it felt as if the tranced state could never leave him. All the memories of his journey had her within them. She had been with him since he was a boy and been by his side until adulthood and ‘till this very moment. Kiiah had fought by his side by night and relaxed with him in beautiful meadows and magical places by day. She had always been there for him.

“Kiiah, the danger that lies beyond this point is greater than my power. I can't protect you anymore, I'm just not strong enough to take on what we will encounter." Brot’mau pulled Kiiah in closer to him as he lowered himself so that he was directly within her eye level. His voice almost seemed to quiver as it faded into a whisper.
“I have always been able to keep you from harm, but I do not believe I will live to return from here. Kiiah, this is not your war, you are in everyway free of bonds to combat..." Brot’mau felt his body weakening as his body began to tremble and he had to fight the tears that so strongly wanted to flow. "I could not bear to know you were hurt by my actions or failure to guard you." With that, Brot’mau gently tilted Kiiah’s face closer to his as he felt himself once again surrender to her penetrating stare.

“You are the only one I’ve ever been able to love.” Staring deeply into her eyes, Brot’mau felt the moment stir him. This was Kiiah and while everything had rushed up on him… he realized in that exact moment that his feelings were true. Leaning forward, he gently let his lips softly brush against hers and then deepen into a true first kiss.

The act caused Kiiah’s mind to rapidly spin about to the point where she herself was dizzy and weak. The fire that had erupted from their lips seemed to spread throughout her body and send vibrant tingling sensations throughout her system. The feeling that had bubbled up from the chasms of her heart was foreign to her and extremely powerful. He had said that he loved her- he actually loved her. Kiiah had never been told that before and the fact that he had used such a powerful word- a word only used in family and marriage – it made her happy to no end. Brot’mau loved her and she had been the only one.

Slowly the kiss pulled apart and Brot’mau once again found himself staring at her again. His face seemed to reveal that he had been lost in the kiss as well, but after a few more seconds his face once again was awash with pain. Opening his mouth he failed to speak at first, before the shaky words came.

“Please… Kiiah…” Brot’mau began, “You must stay here. I cannot bear to lose you and it would ease my heart to have you here. I must go alone.” Kiiah felt herself ride the roller coaster of emotion as she closed her eyes and then reopened them anew with moisture.

“No! I am coming with you! You can’t… y-you can’t go alone! I won’t…” Kiiah desperately reached out and clutched his arm. “I won’t let you go alone!”
“Kiiah… you must stay…” Brot’mau voice cracked with the growing emotional pain.
“No!”
“Kiiah plea-“
“No!”
“But Kiiah…”
“I won’t!”

“Kiiah!” Brot’mau’s voice suddenly rose slightly, causing Kiiah to close her mouth as Brot’mau held her firm. His face had become expressionless once again and he clenched his jaw slightly. Despite this exterior however, this act that he was about to do was killing him. The pure idea of it was causing him to break inside… but yet he knew it was the right thing.
It was the only way.

“I order you to stay behind and let me go alone.”

At those words, silence filled the air as Kiiah felt herself loosen her grip. He had ordered her… and her entire life, as a Ninetails, she had learned such things were not meant to be broken. She knew she had lost the battle… and slowly she felt herself loosen her grip upon his arm. Brot’mau slowly took a few steps backwards, causing Kiiah to loose his arm from her grasp completely. She did not understand why any of this was happening. She could feel the energy from her body being drained away as her heart began to pound against her aching chest. She simply felt as if she could explode with the new sensation of an undeniable and unbearable pain. Kiiah sank to her knees upon the dirty earthen floor as hot surging tears began to rush down her face. Her jaw and body quivered as she stared at him- her mind numb and her heart broken. She was lost… she did not know what to do.

“Stay safe… Farewell Kiiah.” Brot’mau whispered, turning away and swiftly taking off through the forest. She was simply left upon her very spot, sunken to the ground and in a world of hurt.

She did not see the tears that drizzled down Brot’mau’s eyes as he heard her scream-like cry of anguish echo through the forest.

.: Divinity :.

[Doomy_McDoomdoom]

How tortured can they be? He loves her more dearly than anything and wants her to be safe, but she never wants to be apart from him! I LOVE IT!

[Roy Karrde]

AWWW They have to come back together! I love the angst! The fear, the uncertanty, the fighting. It's all great and beautiful!

More review coming tomorrow!

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

That's really sweet.. =) But I do hope he loves her for more than her looks. >.> of course, he did grow up with her and all..
OH THE ANGST! Lovely showing of their relationship and why they're so important to each other...
And of course Kiiah has to obey him when he orders her to. Nice touch to their already complicated relationship. ^^
Anyways... *pokes bulba* Hurry up and post up the next chapter...

[Samchu]

Damn...where's the teary, anime-style eyes smilie when you need it? My god what a chapter and soooooooo sweet. One again you've managed to outdo yourself Kalah. I was soooo close to tears at the end of this chapter *hides pile of tissues* Awww poor Kiiah...that must be so hard on her...and Brot'mau too...will they ever be together? Woah I sound like some freaky romantic...uh...uh...can't wait for the next chapter Kalah! Well done! *runs*

[Dr.McNinja]

Don't have time for a longer response but...me like

[Ghost]

Well Kalah, I finally got around to reading this stuff... Which I much admit is very good. My fav character has definately gotta be Kiiah ^_^

[Bulbasaur4]

Doomy: I have no idea why this chapter affects you so... but I'm glad. ^_^ 'tis touching
Roy: BRING ON THE WAR! erm... sorry, got caught up in the moment by your comment. XD
Hyper: *cowers* Alright alright... here is the chapter... lol. Yeah, the relationship will become a bit more evident in this chapter and I think it might help answer a few questions. Of course, when you don't have angst you have mystery... which you'll find here. Lots'o'questions!! Thankies!!
Samchu: I'm really glad that you like it so! Here is the next chapter and I hope you don't kill me for it. ^^;;; If the last chapter made you cry.... XD Not that anything teary or nice or bad is going to happen... *vague vague*
Dr.McNinja: lol, me glad
Ghost: YOU READ IT! I never thought that would happen but I am grateful! I hope that you'll get plenty of Kiiah fixes with this chapter.


Alright... thank you all so much for commenting! *fuels up* It helped me wield my typing abilities properly to bring you the 6th (and by far the longest) chapter! I'm going to warn you: This chapter answers an unforeseen question... but then I don't give you anymore info so you'll be left wondering 'wtf?!' Oh yeah, and this one will hit you over the head while making you like a *certain* character more. MWHA!

Enjoy and I hope you guys like it! *dances* This is sort of like a double chapter... so I appologize for the length. I added extra spaces for easier reading.
[/color]

[b]



Chapter 6
Kiiah

Brot’mau ran swiftly through the thinning forest as tears still streamed down his face. He couldn’t help but feel horrible for leaving Kiiah there alone, but yet deep down within the pit of his stomach he felt like he had done the right thing. The only thing that made it seem wrong was the look in her eyes- he had broken her heart. He never wanted to see that look on her face and now it seemed to be all he could see in his mind.

“I was right… she had to stay behind. I am saving her life… I am saving Kiiah.” Brot’mau thought to himself, before he repeated it once again out loud in a breathless manner. It almost was if he had to say it so that he could hear it himself- and hopefully believe it. Within the fiber of his being however, he could sense the coming doom of Zion. The mere presence of being near Zion was enough to make anyone sick to their stomach and Brot’mau believed that it was the best thing not to bring Kiiah through there. The horrific images and disgusting display of brutality would have killed her spirit and perhaps even would have destroyed her. There were many tales coming from travelers killing themselves in Zion because of the torture the city put one through.

“I will come back for you Kiiah. Once I am done talking to Sotalo, I will come and find you. Everything is going to be alright.” Brot’mau whispered as he slowed his run down to a walk and then eventually found himself standing upon the edge of the forest’s clearing. As he finished his sentence, his eyes widened as his gaze settled upon the fallen city of Zion.

While Brot’mau had never seen Zion before, he had heard of how the city had been of legendary proportions. It was settled upon the heart of the Parallel where the forest cleared away for the river. It used to have high white walls that seemed to be crafted of marble- matching the same material that was used to create the entire city. Behind those white walls were hundreds of uniquely crafted homes with individual roofs of several different colors. Each house was unique for it was designed to the owner’s preference, and there had always been bustling markets and people willing to engineer new homes or redesign old ones. Between each house were streets not made of dirt, but of beautiful cobblestone. Such a feat in the day was unheard of for any city due to the labor and price, yet somehow Zion had been able to display such a feat.

Yet, the most wondrous thing about Zion was beyond the uniquely crafted homes and cobblestone streets- for it was the castle. The castle once rose above the homes like a silver phantom stretching towards the unreachable sky. Five long and skinny towers bordered the outside of the castle, while deeper within were three massive stoned towers that seemed to almost touch each other to form one. Heavily decorated statues of Faeys, Gods, Goddesses and other fantastical creatures used to lavish themselves upon the tops of each tower and along the inner walls. Along with such statues were intricate carvings placed into the stone structure itself- matching the fantastical legendary tales of old and portraying more mythical creatures or feats. Truly, the city of Zion was something to behold.

However, that was Zion many years ago before it fell to the brutal and full-fledged attack from the South. Now as Brot’mau beheld it, the city seemed like a rotting corpse of its former self.

The walls were gone and deteriorated- being nothing but rubble in most places and thickened with brown-dead vines in others. Beyond the walls one could see the basic skeletal structure of some of the old homes. However, their once brilliant roofs were now faded into grey or rustic browns and some were matted with vines or gone completely. The houses themselves were cracked within most of the marble, stained occasionally upon their walls with ruddy brown colors that once perhaps were crimson red with blood. The streets themselves were uneven, broken and completely wild with weeds or dead vegetation. As for the castle itself… well it simply mirrored the state of the entire city. Two towers had crumpled to the ground as several pieces of the castle had been destroyed. Other parts were consumed by thick snake-like vines of deep greens, browns and occasionally black. Yet, despite the dead and broken appearance of the city, it was far from being the unnerving thing about current Zion.

As Brot’mau slowly entered through the broken gates of Zion, his body gave way to a violent shiver of dread. With simply one step, the air had become considerably dense and thick with the smell of putrid death. Brot’mau could not help but feel an eerie apprehension as his gaze lowered to look at the old blood-stained ground. Withdrawing a breath he took another step, but instantly as he did so the blood stains seemed to grow into pools. The blood lightened in color and the stains no longer were just remnants of old- they were now seemingly fresh. Taking another step, a scream erupted into the air and quite suddenly it was as if the city around Brot’mau had come alive.

Fires erupted from the roofs of the deadened houses as people seemed to spontaneously appear all at once within the city. Women and children were running from rampaging men who slaughtered them the moment they seized the innocent’s body. However, calling their act a ‘slaughter’ would have been half of the term needed to describe their acts.

As Brot’mau swiftly began to walk through the city, he saw that the evil attackers occasionally would engage themselves to rape the frightened women while their children’s throats were slit or they were half-maimed and left to die. Once the attackers were done with their sick emasculate deeds, the women too would then fall victim to a slow and painful death.

Closing his eyes tightly, Brot’mau began to break into a run as he continuously began to see the acts reoccur and repeat. Men of the city fought the attackers and tried to save their families, but all of the ones that Brot’mau saw failed. Their families were ripped from their homes and were murdered one by one. A few fell victims to the fires that seemed to erupt from their homes, their last dying screams of pain being the only thing that anyone could dare hear. The acts were horrible and with so many people within Zion, it was like a festival of death. Thousands were being slaughtered as the city was easily brought to its knees all around Brot’mau.

Brot’mau continued to run, avoiding entering the castle as he ran through the bloodied streets. His boots splashed through puddles of crimson as he saw corpses begin to litter the ground as minutes barely passed by. The scent of death that he had encountered earlier was now magnified by the scents of burned flesh and wood as he struggled to continue onwards. The tremendously heinous act that had and now was occurring controlled the very aura that the city seemed to exude, which drove Brot’mau to the point of almost madness. Brot’mau had been raised to endure battle and many times he had come to the point of killing another man. However, this was not a battle or war- this was a massacre.

“Gods spare me!” Brot’mau cried out as he ran, forcing himself to focus upon the faint glimmer of the exiting gate to leave Zion. However the closer he ran to the gate, the more the bodies seemed to collapse upon the ground along with every repeat of the past. Zion had become a city of unrest for it was doomed and cursed to relive its downfall for eternity. The bloody memory of Zion’s downfall was simply too vile and too evil to allow the city to merely fade into dust with time. Instead the city fell into a curse and was now the reminder to all of what happened. How it became that Zion was trapped to relive and replay its slaughter was a mystery to all. Many other cities had been slain and pillaged, yet Zion seemed to be the city that the Gods chose to be the symbol for them all, and indeed no one would forget.

Nearing the gate, Brot’mau struggled to run for the pure fact that his mind and body could simply not communicate between each other. His mind no longer had mournful memories of Kiiah but simply only contained the maddening scream within him of desire to rid himself of the city. A slight panic-state had overcome his being as tears flooded down his cheeks because of the pain his soul was currently in. Brot’mau’s body however was struggling to run like his mind commanded. Instead, it seemed as if the evil air itself was intertwined around Brot’mau’s limbs and nudging Brot’mau to do the unthinkable. Brot’mau’s hands kept lingering towards the handle of his sword as he considered plunging his own blade through his chest to give him rest.

Slowing down, Brot’mau’s hand reached over his back as he grasped the handle of his sword. Unsheathing it slowly, Brot’mau positioned himself as the screams from the city deafened him. Yet, something caught his eye- his own reflection within the blade. His windswept hair of ebony and tear-wearied face greeted him and Kiiah leapt to his mind.

“No! I will not let this cursed place take me!” Brot’mau proclaimed, bolting towards the gate. Almost closing his eyes, Brot’mau mustered up all of his energy to close out the world around him. He had to get out of this city and find Sotalo. Sotalo was the key to solving and aiding Brot’mau in his quest to find peace and he would not fail.

Brot’mau ran and did not stop or falter until he had reached the river. His heart had thrashed against his chest and his lungs had threatened to collapse, but Brot’mau had refused to slow down until he was certain Zion was behind him and the answers ahead of him. Coming to the river, Brot’mau finally slowed his pace down and then came to a halt by the river’s edge as he felt his insides heave. He had finally reached the River of Ancients- the one place where one true of their goal could commune with the dead.

The river was unlike any other river known to any beast or being. Its waters were a light and almost illuminated jade in color and the river seemed to flow at the pace of dripping honey. Bubbles from deep within the river occasionally gurgled to the top, flaring open once hitting the air and leaving a trace of green mist in its place. Bordering the immediate proximity of the river’s edge was nothing but dry cracked dirt and a few rocks, however upon the other side of the river was a distant forest- the other half of the Parallel. There were no statues to honor the dead- no pillars or communing places to worship upon. Other than the oddity of the river, the place seemed normal and peaceful. Nightfall had settled in and the sky was clear- exposing the stars upon a moonless night.


“Sotalo!” Brot’mau suddenly called out, pushing his sword into the ground as he breathlessly called for the deceased King. “Sotalo, I am Brot’mau from the North, I seek aid and wisdom. Please hear my call!” Silence was all that answered for a while, until suddenly a small glowing orb seemed to rise from the gooey waters. A small brilliant sparkle of light flashed through the air causing Brot’mau to close his eyes. When he reopened them, hovering above the waters was none other than the great Sotalo himself.

Brot’mau could have wept in joy at the sight of Sotalo had he not exhausted himself. Before him was Sotalo- the greatest king to have ever lived. Sotalo was the past king of Zion and it was him to had often led counsels of peace and was rumored to have communed with the Gods themselves. Brot’mau’s own father had often spoken highly of Sotalo and told Brot’mau many wondrous stories of the man’s good deeds. It was even Sotalo who was the instigator and preacher of the peace meetings between the North and South in hopes of preventing a war. Yet it was Sotalo who had fallen victim to the onslaught of the South- an act which triggered the war.

“Sotalo! Thank the Gods you are here. I thank you greatly for accepting my call. I am Brot’mau, son of the Lord of Gamura and I am in need of your guidance.” Brot’mau lowered his head in honor as he leaned against the handle of his sword. Sotalo seemed almost completely human in his spirit state, although he was just barely transparent. His face was worn and showed many lines of wisdom along with the gray color in his hair and within his eyes. He seemed to wear a long billowing robe of white that had a tied rope of olive green about his waste while adorning upon his shoulders a matching olive-green shawl. Hovering above the waters, Sotalo gave a firm nod.

“I know who you are Brot’mau.” His voice was harsh and firm, holding a commanding tone as he stared deeply at Brot’mau. Swiftly nodding, Brot’mau continued.

“The war between the North and South has been raging for over a century Sotalo and it continues to grow worse. I am in dire need of your aid and your wisdom. Please tell me how I can bring peace to this land.”

“I cannot help you.” Sotalo said plainly, showing little or no expression.

“But you must! You were the great king of Zion and leader of peace. Surely with your years of gained knowledge you can at least offer some advice for me to rely upon.”

“You have already failed.” Sotalo’s voice grew grave as his eyes narrowed slightly. This caught Brot’mau off guard completely as his eyes widened in shock.

“Pardon my lord?”

“I said you have failed. There is no way for peace to come about this land because you have failed.” Sotalo continued, stretching a hand outwards towards Brot’mau. Seeing Brot’mau’s face contort in confusion, Sotalo suddenly smiled. “You do not realize the error you have made. You do not need my guidance and you left behind a companion that now could be in perilous danger. You shouldn’t have come here… you should have trusted your instincts and yourself. You were destined to bring peace to this land Brot’mau- the Gods foresaw it.”

Brot’mau was in complete and utter surprise. The Gods had foreseen him bringing an end to the war? He barely could comprehend such a seemingly farfetched idea but here Sotalo had told him in person. However, there was one thing that bothered him.

“How did I fail? Why shouldn’t I have come here?” With that question, Sotalo’s smile mutated to form a twisted grin.

“Because I am going to kill you and prevent such a thing from happening.” Sotalo’s outstretched hand continued to summon up rocks and stalagmite from the ground behind Brot’mau as the young adult seemed paralyzed with confusion.

“B-but why? Why would you kill me if I can bring peace?” Brot’mau felt a knot twist in his stomach as a feeling of dread and fear seized his insides. There was something definitely wrong with Sotalo and the crooked grin upon his face unnerved Brot’mau.

“If the war ends, I’ll lose power of course. You see Brot’mau… long ago it is stated by historians that Zion fell to a surprise attack from the South. This caused retaliation from the North and they instantly attacked the South. The great thing however… is that it was not the South that started the war, it was the North.”

“No- the North would never start a war unless the South attacked first!” Brot’mau cried out, but Sotalo shook his finger.

“Wrong. The South had never attacked Zion.” Brot’mau seemed confused at this remark as he felt his body start to tremble against his sword. He was too tired to move from his over exertion before and standing was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Than who…?” Brot’mau trailed off, as Sotalo whispered.

“I did.”


Brot’mau knew at that exact moment that he should run. Sotalo broke out into a chuckle as he suddenly clenched his fist. Reaching for his sword, Brot’mau tried to grab the handle but an unseen force seemed to wrap about his body.

“There will be no more hope.” Sotalo said in finality, suddenly making a thrusting motion with his hand. Brot’mau felt his body fly backwards and he barely had time to register the pain that streaked through his body. All to quickly Brot’mau’s mind began to swim as blood began to gurgle from his abdomen and he could feel his warm blood run through his hands. Having no strength to look at his torso, Brot’mau had no idea how he was flung back upon a pillar of stalagmite and speared through the torso. As Sotalo faded away again, all Brot’mau thought about was the confusing treachery of Sotalo… and as his mind began to swirl and darkness crept into his vision, another thought came to him. Kiiah was now alone and without anyone.

“I’m… sorry… Kiiah…” Brot’mau whispered to the air just as the cold fingers of death seized him.

Brot’mau was dead.

[b]

~*~*~*~

[font=tahoma]


Kiiah was lost.


She was, for the very first time since her beginning years, alone. Her body was crumpled and defeated as she seemed to curve over her fallen knees. Her body trembled and seemed to convulse with tears as she cried- tears that rained down her cheeks and soaked her skin down towards her legs as they dropped from her chin. The pain that filled her body was indescribable. Her throat was swollen and seared with a burning pain every time she tried to swallow or gasp, her eyes were red and stinging with the salty tears that never ceased, and the rest of her simply felt numb.

She couldn’t feel the small pebbles that dug into her knees from the ground or the warm air that attempted to brush against her face. All she could feel was the burning of her face and the throbbing of her heart. Her mind was empty and nothing but a blur of confusion that surrounded Brot’mau. He was gone and he had left her. The one who swore to be there for her ‘till the end, had left her. Her sole protector… her purpose for living, was gone. In a mere moment, she had lost everything… because Brot’mau was indeed every thing to her.

Her mind traveled back to their times together. She even remembered everything before she gained her ability to be human. She had a dazzling memory- able to account and remember things that no one would be capable of remembering. Of course, her memory only reached as far back as when Brot’mau found her. She couldn’t remember anything about her mother… the devastation that had occurred to her that day that Brot’mau found her, but that had never mattered to Kiiah.

Kiiah simply lavished herself in the memories she had with him. How they used to go exploring through the forest and Brot’mau would teach Kiiah many things and talk to her- even when she seemed to only be a Ninetails. He also had learned a few things from Kiiah, mostly because Kiiah had a natural inclination towards nature. She perhaps had even taught him a few things indirectly with out knowing it. However, their explorations had been together and they had been virtually inseparable. A man’s best friend was always at his side and Kiiah had been no exception. His father had even been slightly baffled and yet proud that his son had managed to find and raise a legendary creature such as a Ninetails. The city of Gamura had been rather dazed as well, since Ninetails were thought to be messengers from the Gods that came to deliver swift and precise messages of healing or disaster. It was if they were holding their breath, waiting for Kiiah to soon leave her master in a puff of smoke like in the legends.

But Kiiah had remained… and soon they all forgot about the legends and merely became accustomed to her.

Things had changed when Kiiah discovered she could transform into a human. It was an awkward phase and she remembered a lot of loud noises and how swiftly Brot’mau told her they had to leave on a journey.

Kiiah would never forget the sadness in the eyes of the people as they left.

However, in their travels Brot’mau helped Kiiah discover she could transform back and forth readily between her two forms. Kiiah felt happiness in those beginning stages whenever she transformed because Brot’mau would praise her. There would be times where he seemed taken aback by her transformation powers- as if it were some thing odd or strange- as if she were different. Yet all worries were erased from Kiiah’s mind the moment Brot’mau spoke and smiled.

His smile…


Only the forest perhaps would have known how long Kiiah had remained crumpled upon the floor. Her crying had not subsided and her emptiness had not been replaced with any new feeling. She was empty, she was nothing. The devastation, the emotional devastation that had fallen upon her was too great for her to handle. She thought about their memories and she analyzed them- trying to figure out when things went wrong. What went wrong? Whenever she had an idea of perhaps what it could have been; she simply felt nothing. She felt that emptiness seize her so that she was numb in her body and spirit. For the time she was there, Kiiah felt as if she had lost all of her will and soul.

However, soon there was a rustling in the forest. Whispers seemed to dance upon the air and speak a foreign tongue that none could understand. They were chanting about their lost child in the forest. The air seemed to grow dark for a moment and then suddenly the air turned a deep blue in color and seemed to rustle about within the trees and bushes. It was if life was in the forest or the forest itself was reaching outwards towards Kiiah. Kiiah was its child, its beautiful little Kitsune child. Her tears and her mourning had received the attention of those that harbored in the forest. Of course, Kiiah was still in her human form, but even in her human form her tears and pain were detectable. While perhaps not as affective as her Ninetails state, it still was enough to gain the alert of the forest without her knowing.

As Kiiah gasped for breath, small particles of light seemed to dance within the illuminated forest of blue. A whisper of a breeze brushed near Kiiah’s ear as a voice seemed to gently chant in the air. It was gentle and soothing and its melody seemed to rival the purity of a small holy brook. The vocalized words were ever so soft and gentle, and yet they held enough power to suddenly tap into Kiiah’s empty state. Like tendrils of elixir, the sound washed over her face and seemed to flow into her body. It wrapped about her mind and her aching heart and refilled her soul with energy.

Realization came to Kiiah, and she slowly opened her eyes. At first, her blue eyes were faded and they seemed almost gray and bleak. Red with tears, she stared ahead of herself seeing nothing… but the voice grew stronger. The lighted particles in the air swirled about her and then a few of them trailed off ahead in her vision. The forest was dark, but yet it held a lighter shade of blue, which made the forest calming and serene.

“Poikaer…mankoi naa lee nallien?”
[ Pure one… why are you crying? ]

A voice clearly spoke out loud, sounding as heavenly and intone as the melodic voice singing in the air. Kiiah’s eyes blinked and this time they returned to their natural brilliance and life seemed to finally flow once again through her. Inhaling a gentle breath, Kiiah saw the figure before her. It was ghostly- not looking quite human and yet not quite animalistic either. Its form seemed like mist, occasionally fading in and out. Kiiah could not describe it- it was a figure beyond description or recognition. The only word that came to mind was beauty. Perhaps this was the spirit of the forest? The guardian of the forest or one of its many kindred spirits? She, for Kiiah had the sense that it was indeed female in nature, was beautiful. Her voice sounded heavenly and caused Kiiah’s heart to slow in its mourning. Again, the creature spoke (yet it seemed to sing more so).

“Poikaer…mankoi naa lee nallien?”
[ Pure one… why are you crying? ]

Kiiah did not understand what language the kindred spirit was speaking in, but yet she seemed to understand what the ghostly figure was saying. Taking a few moments, Kiiah found her voice but yet it seemed harsh and dry in comparison.

“The one I love has left me and gone onwards into the depths of this forest.” Silence seemed to grow between them, as the forest figure seemed to almost give a smile. Floating gracefully, the figure came closer to Kiiah and seemed to kneel down before her.

“ Ya naa tanya?”
[ Who is that? ]

At the thought of Brot’mau, Kiiah fought back another rise of tears.

“ Brot’mau. He… he is my master and he all I care for. With out him… I am nothing… but he left me to go onwards… I … I don’t understand!” Kiiah’s voice rose as she almost seemed to shout, a single tear going down her cheek again. The figure seemed to only softly smile, as her faded and mystical figure seemed to reach out and then touch the cheek of Kiiah. A strange and cool sensation rushed through Kiiah’s cheek, as her tears seemed to be lifted. The figure simply gazed deeply at Kiiah, and then she smiled once more.

“ Lle malia ‘ten ho?”
[ Do you care for him? ]

Kiiah did not hesitate to nod, in which the figure continued to smile.

“ Lle mela ho? “
[ Do you love him? ]

Kiiah nodded once more.

“Lle gurthaya ‘ten ho?”
[ You would die for him?]

With that, Kiiah gave a firmer nod as if to be absolute. With that the figure simply seemed to give a greater smile, and Kiiah watched as the figure faded from her sight. As the figure fully disappeared, a sudden sense of rejuvenation and renewal of Kiiah’s will rushed with in her. Her eyes felt cool, her throat was eased and her body felt the ground again. Kiiah was calmed and felt a sense of will again- as if suddenly the answer came as clear as the day to her.

“ ‘San auta a’ho. Uma il demada estela.”
[ Go to him. Do not forget hope.]

Furrowing her brow, Kiiah slowly rose to her feet. Her legs were not shaky and her body seemed to find its strength again.

“ I must follow him. I will not break my promise!” Kiiah declared, as she glanced about slightly. The forest had returned to its normal state like before. Kiiah felt a new sensation rise with in her- a sense of urgency. She had to get to Brot’mau swiftly, for her intuition and sense of doom had replaced the despair she earlier felt. Narrowing her gaze, within a flash of an instant Kiiah had transformed into her Ninetails state. A gentle wind rushed through the forest and rippled her silky coat as she lifted her muzzle to the air. Flaring her coal-black nose, she inhaled the scents of the forest. Thousands of scents filled her nose, but one stood out and was keenly recognized. Giving a slight huff and with a flicker of her seven tails, Kiiah plunged her claws into the earthen ground and tore off.


The scent of Brot’mau was faint, but it was still there. Any scent lingered far beyond the time one was there, but with Brot’mau it was even easier to track. The scent was strong to Kiiah- she had known him for her entire life after all. The forest seemed to go by in a blur, and soon the forest seemed to thin and dirt and signs of ruin became clearly evident. A few fallen statues of old remained covered by dirt and a few mossy plants, until the earth suddenly became quite barren. Kiiah lurched to a stop, and before her she saw the beginning of the ruins of Zion.

The scent of Brot’mau lingered and seemed to plunge into this area, but the scent of death and despair was greater. This was a place of horrid death and despair – a great treachery and hideous act had taken place long ago, but the aftermath would forever remain. Kiiah gave a whine, her seven tails flickered in the air. She knew she could journey into this land and continue to follow Brot’mau’s scent, but she also knew of the great disrespect it would be to pass through. Only those of dire need and great strength could pass, and even then the dead would swear and curse you. The spirits were restless and forever reliving their past, and it was Kiiah’s inner wisdom and animalistic intuition that forewarned her to not enter. Giving a slight growl, Kiiah flickered her gaze to the right and instantly determined that going around in haste would suffice.


A blur of white seemed to trace the region of Zion as Kiiah seemed to dance like lightning upon the surface. Speed was her strength, and she was running to the point of exhaustion. Her speed within the moment was the fastest she had ever accomplished before, even when she used to race for sport. Her body was fueled by adrenaline and urgency, and while her body was screaming with pain- her mind did not sense nor register it. She was making remarkable time, and while Brot’mau’s scent had gone into Zion, she could tell while she curved about the border of Zion, that he had gotten out. Her fleshy pink tongue rolled out of her mouth as she ran, huffing and digging her claws into the earth to give her as much speed as possible. Her ears were tightly flattened against her head and she seemed almost parallel to the ground in her run. She was slowly veering off the border of Zion and it was after a few moments that she finally felt as if she were back upon the trail of Brot’mau again.

Kiiah’s nose was burning but she smelled the thickening scent of Brot’mau. Her eyes seemed to widen with slight happiness, as she realized it would not be long until she reached him. He was getting close and she could also begin to smell the strange and mysterious scent of the upcoming river- the River of Ancients. However, as Kiiah approached the river, suddenly a new scent pricked at her nose. It was a scent she had dealt with before, but there was a new twinge to it.


Death.


Perhaps it was denial or perhaps it was the confusion that flooded Kiiah’s mind, but she did not register this scent of death to be of Brot’mau. Despite the fact that she could smell his blood, his sweat and his entirety- she still could not fathom the idea that he was dead. Such a thing of impossibility in her mind was not plausible.


Kiiah slowed down from her run, panting heavily as she blinked a few times- she had officially reached the River of Ancients and the place of Brot’mau’s death. The bubbling river of green seemed to cackle in silence at her, as Kiiah’s eyes madly dashed about. She saw the man- the man with the pillar of stone through his chest. She saw his blood streaming down the pillar and collecting in a crimson pool at the base. She saw his eyes opened to the sky- the eyes that had no life anymore and the pale skin that matched.

Kiiah looked away, taking in all other signs, as if looking for Brot’mau still, but she saw no evidence of him. All she saw was blood, all she smelled was blood, and all she could taste was blood in the air.

Kiiah looked back at the man as if he was supposed to be some thing of importance to her. She took a tentative step towards him, her heart pounding against her ribcage so madly from her run- and perhaps now, from fear. Her body was at the point of exhaustion and she should have fainted and she shouldn’t have been moving- her heart was about to stop.

But now it seemed as if her heart was about to burst.

She took another shaky step and it was then that she saw the sword. It was upon the ground- scattered as if it was nothing. However, Kiiah knew this sword, for this sword was Brot’mau’s. It was his.

Then Kiiah knew the man.

Racing to him, Kiiah found herself instantly sprinting to his side and nudging him with her muzzle. She whimpered, giving a soft whine to call to him. Blood no longer ran from his mouth, but the liquid remains still were there. He had not been dead for long- Brot’mau could not die!

Kiiah closed her eyes tightly, and instantly her body began to darken the air around her. Slowly a cyan-like aura began to grow about her fur as her silky coat seemed to stand on end. Her billowing seven tails swam about the air as her eyes no longer held pupils or each an iris, but rather they glowed a silver white. Her fur billowed about and glowed as she touched her nose upon Brot’mau’s face. Instantly the air around Brot’mau darkened as well, and a rapidly growing cyan aura began to sprout around him. However, this aura darkened and seemed to swirl into a deeper and sinister crimson-purple. Kiiah gave a deep growl and snapped her jaws tightly together as she clawed into the ground lightly. She was putting forth all her energy into Brot’mau- converting any energy she had left in her to a healing power. Slowly the aura seemed to grow about Brot’mau, the deep crimson aura flaring up heavily around his wounded areas and delving into his inner body.

But… then suddenly the aura disappeared.

Kiiah collapsed upon the ground, her head landing upon the pool of thick blood near Brot’mau. Her body quivered all over as the aura simply vanished in an instant. Kiiah simply had no energy to give. She had used up all of her energy in her maddened and deathly race to catch up to Brot’mau. She had run faster then she should have and by all means, she should have passed out; her heart should have given up on her. But she was still alive and she looked up at his crumpled body.

“No… you… cannot die…” Kiiah thought, narrowing her eyes in pain. Her body was on fire, but she did not care. All she could think about was Brot’mau and how to awaken him. He could not die- he was not supposed to die!

All logic would have told Kiiah that some one of great power had to have done this. Some foul play also had to have happened, for Brot’mau was a good person. Yet Kiiah was fading from logic as her sadness was replaced by anger.

Then came the figures.

Figures seemed to appear about the river and Kiiah slowly and painfully raised her head to look at these figures. There were several of them and when Kiiah thought no more would immerge, more simply came. Rising to her feet in anger, Kiiah looked at the figures approaching. They reeked of death and wisdom, although they seemed to have ape-like bodies. They stood the length of small trees on average, and had large strong bodies of ape-like origin. Their body overall was fur-less and deeply tanned, seeming very human and they wore tattered clothes and armor; their eyes glowing of an eerie red. Some of them had ancient markings upon her bodies while others held various weaponries such as swords and bows.

“Leave beast.” One of them spoke, as they seemed to close in upon her.

They were Ashkrin. They were guardians of the river or some hellish form of them. Long ago the Ashkrin guarded the river in peace. They allowed the living to visit, but then they would usher them away from the river for a time- for the living were not meant to be among the dead. They were in charge of making sure peace was kept along the river and that no act of violence was committed. If some one was to die amongst the river, they were to dispose of the body and pursue the killer. They were figures of justice and peace, but that was long, long ago.

That was before the fall of Zion.

Now, they were hideous and almost hellish reincarnations of their ancestors. They no longer cared about the river or the ancient rules, but became possessive of the river. They killed those who came to the river and any bodies along the river were claimed by them. They would feast upon the body regardless of its species and steal all the objects and goods that came with it. It was said that anyone who lost their body to the Ashkrin could never return, for a soul cannot find its way back to a defeated body.

“Leave… or die…” Another voice spoke, as they neared Kiiah.

But Kiiah was not listening. At a glance at Brot’mau, suddenly anger welded up with in her. His face, his eyes open to the sky, and all the blood - all of his blood… the same blood that stained her fur from where she fell.

So much pain, so much suffering, and all of this did not belong to Brot’mau. He was not supposed to die, and suddenly there was no doubt that some horrific evil here had happened. Kiiah’s innocence was untainted. Her youth and perhaps a human side of her, retained her innocence and beautiful outlook on the world. However, like all creatures, there were different sides. Some were barely noticeable- like shades of grey.

But for Kiiah, they were farther apart than black and white.

Ninetails were great creatures of healing and peace, but legend stated that when angered, the Gods would send a Ninetails of Destruction to earth to wipe out entire villages as a sign of warning.

Brot’mau was dead.
Some one had killed him.
Some one was going to die because of it.
Everyone was.

Kiiah felt a new strength grow with in her, as she narrowed her eyes and suddenly snarled her lips backwards. This caused the Ashkrin to merely laugh as they came closer to her- a light count of 20 perhaps, for they guarded areas of the river heavily. They sensed that Kiiah was tired and they could smell her weakened heart and her fatigued body. Brot’mau’s blood was upon her, and she was just as edible as his dead body. Her weakened state was something they would like to feast upon, especially for the fact that she was a Ninetails. While they perhaps did not fully grasp the fact of what a Ninetails was, they were not so distorted to forget that Ninetails were beasts that were rumored to have perhaps some properties of healing and power. Perhaps if they ate her, they would gain some of her power.

So they walked closer- trying to reach the two of them.

However, the closer they came, the angrier Kiiah got and the more rage flowed into her veins. She felt her whole body tense as her fur seemed to bristle about every part of her body. Her tails lashed angrily at the air and seemed to flare upwards and billow about like a maddening flame. Her muzzle was crinkled into many folds as she snarled- blood dripping from her lower jaw from where she had laid in Brot’mau’s blood. Yet, despite her growing strength, they continued to come closer. Kiiah felt her blood rushing through her veins once again and her tired heart thrashed heavier and with more resolve the closer they got and the more enraged she became.
But then, they did the unthinkable.

One of the Ashkrin, touched Brot’mau’s sword as another prepared to sink his teeth into Brot’mau’s flesh.

Instantly a huge gust of wind seemed to billow from no where. It kicked up dirt and sand upwards in such a violent manner that a few of the Ashkrin braced themselves. Then the cloudy sky that was above them gathered as the wind continued to up rise like a spiraling tornado. Kiiah gave out a shrill-like cry- a cry that could cause anyone to scream in pain and cover their ears. It was loud and splitting and so unnerving that even the fiercest of beasts would cringe. Her eyes lost their icy-blue venom stare and instead a new flush of brilliant red flowed into her eyes. It swirled about until both of her eyes seemed to glow with a devil’s gaze. The wind became so violent that it lashed outwards at the Ashkrin and event at Brot’mau’s body. The Ashkrin shied away, finding a new found fear as the growing and wild aura of power suddenly unleashed itself.

Kiiah’s body seemed to light upon fire as a brilliant flash of white erupted into the air like a beacon of light for the world to see. Her fur rippled about wildly as she continued to give out her crippling howl. Her white fur seemed to darken and within an instant her form was no longer its pure white self, but seemingly an alter ego of black. The beacon of white light remained about her body and stretched towards the sky, piercing the clouds as her body turned black and a rapid aura of red hovered about her fur. Another flash rippled through the air and the beacon seemed to disappear into the sky but in its place Kiiah still remained in her enraged form- but with a new addition.

An eighth tail.

Standing before them, Kiiah opened her mouth and let out a gaping snarl. Saliva dripped from her fangs and her body had visibly become quite different. She had grown at least twice her size and her fur was thicker and she radiated with more power than before. However, with her enraged state, her fur was pitch black and her eyes were a maddening red. She had lost it and she was going to destroy.

.: Divinity :.

[Dr.McNinja]

Secret hidden power is always fun to play around with, you never know when it might crop up to kersplode a few heads.

[Doomy_McDoomdoom]

As always, beautiful Kalah. I love your work...and it's just so incredible

[Samchu]

Kalah you are a cruel, cruel person. Hasn't poor Kiiah suffered enough? She gets confessed to, then she is seperated from the man she loves, and then she finds him dead. HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!? The worst part is that this chapter is so damn well written. Curse you talents for making me cry. CURSE THEM!

But yes I have to agree Dr. McNinja. Secret powers = much possibilities, especially when a rare side of Kiiah has unlocked them. And Kiiah? WOW. Big, dark and scary, with 8 tails to boot. Bet I can guess what those Ashkrin thinking right now...hehehe

It was good, despite the sorrow it was still a great chapter. Nice work Kalah.

[Bulbasaur4]

[color=royalblue]

I'm working on chapter 7 and it should be completed tomorrow. BUT... just to be mean... here is a teaser preview that I drew about chapter seven. ^_^


http://www.deviantart.com/view/37351658/

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Nothing sadder than a dead city than a dead and haunted city... *shakes head* Poor Kiiah, Brot'mau's dead..=(
I found the images of the city rather creepy... *never wants to go there*
Poor poor Kiiah, but on one hand, she loses the person she loves, on the other, she gains more power... but it's not really much to choose from is it?
I love your fantasy-style setting for this fic *nod nod*
by the way, what language did the Spirit of the forest speak to Kiiah? Is it something you created?

[darktyranitar]

I have missed a few chapter from my absence...

Damn, Brot'mau died just like that...

Poor, poor Kiiah. Even if she gained a secret power now, can it be useful to bring back Brot'mau? Or will she go for a mindless, bloody rampage? It seems more to the latter.

Briliant, I love this!

And on another note, thanks for the nomination at the fic award! Guess I should get back to writing Demon Inside.

[Bulbasaur4]

Ninja: Almost done reading the rest of your fic btw! Thanks for the comment. ^_^

Doomy: Psssht... whatever you say.

Samchu: Thanks! Although... to sleep at night I take many sleeping pills. I know I'm mean to Kiiah... ^^;; Hopefully this chapter can give you a breather for it does not feature Kiiah so you can relax. Thanks for the compliment though! I like getting a rise of emotions from readers! XD

Hyperness: Thanks! I worked hard to make Zion sound very... very unappealing. In any case, thanks and the language used was common Elven- taken from LotR since it is an acclaimed language now. O.o;; I think it sounded pretty so that was why I used it.

darkt: YAAY! You're BACK! *huggles* I'm glad you're liking the fic! I thought you might have given up on it... *whimpers* In any case, chapter 8 will let you know what happens.

Okay... in any case, chapter 7! This one goes back to Christian and Gaishan, revealing a *cough* bit *cough* of tension between the two. Also, you get introduced to a few more characters who are very very interesting. Mwhahaha... and you guys thought Sotalo was going to a major problem? *snickers* Oh... and if you didn't figure it out by now, this is still rated "M" for mature for the violence and such.

Divinity
Long ago and perhaps even now, the God of Destruction called Faroure fell in love with the Goddess of the Moon, Aurora. He showered her with gifts and displayed thousands of acts in her name, yet nothing seemed to win the lovely Goddess over. She instead continued to dwell in the night sky, often gazing down upon the city of Gamura, for it was that city that she loved most. Yet the more she ignored Faroure, the more destructive he became and he fell many plagues upon the world. Fearing that Gamura would be part of his wrath, Aurora sent a gift down to protect the city... thus commencing a new tale of doom...
~ The Gamuran Wiseman's Tale

[font=tahoma]



The Village of Lichei

“Why?! Why are you doing this?!” A woman screamed, clutching her child to her breast as she backed herself further into the corner of her house. Lavielle merely smiled sweetly, taking a threatening step towards her.

“Because… I enjoy it.” With that, a brilliant flash of silver seemed to rip into the air as Lavielle sliced the child’s neck all the way through so that its tender head rolled to the ground. Blood spattered over the woman and upon the walls as she screamed just in time before her throat was sliced as well. Lavielle then turned about and opened her palms towards the unseen sky. Her sherikas instantly disappeared and instead two single flames formed floating above her hands like dazzling orbs of power. She grinned as her brilliant silver eyes seemed to match the blazing fire within her hands.

Narrowing her gaze swiftly, the flames grew in size until suddenly the house seemed to burst into flames instantaneously and an explosion echoed into the air. The burning rubble billowed smoke into the air as Lavielle calmly walked out of the collapsing inferno.
Her eyes were wild with the lust for destruction as her billowing hair of crimson-highlighted black rippled in the wind. Screams pierced the air from almost every direction as smoke clouded the starlit sky. Bolts of lightning could occasionally be seen from a distance, rising up from the ground instead of the sky, which only humored Lavielle.

“Hey y-you!” A man managed to stammer and Lavielle turned to see a group of men pointing swords at her.

“S-stop this now!” Another one managed to speak up, which only caused Lavielle to laugh.

“Normally I would play with you boys…” She started to say, her thick accented voice rolling easily upon the air as her eyes flickered with an evil glint. Her hair started to dance about her wildly as she suddenly forced her open palms downwards. Curling her fingers slightly, fire crackled from their tips and instantly licked upon the ground like a hungry beast. The moment one flame dared to touch the ground, the fire seemed to violently spread outwards like rushing wildfire towards the ground. The roaring fire surged forward and it instantly surrounded two of the men who had spoken- dividing them from the rest of the group.

“… but this isn’t play time.” Lavielle whispered with glee, the air around her picking up as her hair and garments continued to flicker in the wind. The force of the air seemed to howl with a maddening force as it surrounded the fire that walled around the two men. The fire growled in response and soon a fire-consumed mini-cyclone gushed into the air and consumed the men in an instant. Their screams gurgled into the night as the smell of charcoaled flesh fumed into the area.

Laughing with great joy, Lavielle lashed her hand towards the right and the fire instantly disappeared, revealing the newly burned and hissing bodies of the two men. Their comrades screamed and instantly took flight in the opposite direction of Lavielle. However, in a blink of an eye, she appeared in front of them from no where.

“Going some where?”

Blood spewed into the air as she recalled her weapons and ripped her sherikas into one of the men’s abdomen. She then twisted the jutting edge and sliced it upwards, gutting him like a swollen fish. With the other arm she sliced another man’s face and throat, while the rest of the village followed similar fates such as his. Some were burned alive, others’ blood were spattered about the burning village, and a few were blasted against stone foundations with the power of wind. This continued all night until it came down to the very last souls that remained.


“Here boys… I won’t hurt you.” Lavielle called hauntingly, coming to the square of town where she had found two twin boys with a bit of a saunter.

“Having fun Lavielle?” Laravati’s accented voice rose to the air as she gracefully landed beside her sister.

“Oh yes, I believe these are the last two.” Lavielle smirked, as the two sisters turned and their eyes ravaged the boys with the taste for blood. The boys quivered and looked pleadingly to the pair, but the gold and silver eyes showed no remorse.

With out needing to say words, they set themselves into motion. Laravati took her massive scythe and swung at the boy upon the left while Lavielle swiftly summoned her power of wind and knocked the other against the wall with such a force that the sound of cracking bones were instantly heard. Blood gurgled from the boy’s mouth as his eyes wildly looked about and then went black. His body stopped fighting death and gave in- a pool of blood forming from the boy’s face as he crumpled to the ground. Looking back, Lavielle saw Laravati had easily taken the other boy with one clean slice.

“All are dead…” Laravati stated, and Lavielle closed her eyes and nodded. She sensed no human presences even remotely alive. A demon’s ability to sense life was uncanny and it drove them to destroy it.

“In a day, the two we are sent to find will see this.” Laravati nodded after Lavielle spoke, “Yes, but we are not meant to test them yet… not until we awaken the second temple.”

“Puu… but that one being sounded so interesting.”




The Northern Plains
South of Gamura, West of the Great Mountains


The night air seemed strangely peaceful over the thick grassy plains, offering a warming offer of comfort. The night sky was dotted with various wisps of clouds that seemed to slowly tumble across the sky, being illuminated by the moon’s everlasting glow. Stars twinkled down below, glittering like fantasies stuck within the abyss of the sky- each having their own hidden mystery to tell. At least, that was what Gaishan thought of the stars every night when he was able to place his gaze upon them.

Looking down from the stars, he looked at Christian who had immersed himself with the small fire that they had started. The fire consisted of mostly thick blades of grass that once had been a rather large heap, since the plains had little wood to offer. Still, they had managed to find a few broken and half-rotted logs that sufficed to keep a minimal fire for warmth. The glow of the ashes reflected their soft fiery glow upon the two lone travelers’ faces, causing their features to be exaggerated with the night air.

“When do you think we’ll find Brot’mau?” Gaishan said suddenly, cringing only slightly at the sound of his sharp voice slicing the silence. Christian did not show any signs of being startled however as he slowly turned his ebony gaze at Gaishan. Expressionless like usual, Christian gave a shrug as he clasped a large stick in his hand and poked the fire.

“I am unsure, there are many variants.” Christian sighed, giving a feeling of agitation. The youth asked so many questions that Christian believed Gaishan could figure out for himself. It was almost as if the youth was still a child- so dependant upon the answers from the elderly. Being unused to such mannerisms or even having a companion at all, Christian was unused to it and bothered by it.

“You have to think on your own. We do not know Brot’mau’s pace and we do not know all the specific places he is visiting. Of course, we do not even know his specific location- he could be days or even weeks ahead of us.”

“Yet, we do know that he is heading to the South!” Gaishan said, trying to make himself feel slightly more empowered, despite hearing the belittling tone in the older man’s voice.

“No, it was rumored he was heading to the parallel.”

Silence ensued after that as Gaishan bit his own lip to prevent him from asking anymore questions. His fast twisted into a frowning motion as he glanced away from Christian, looking towards the sky once more. It was beginning to bother Gaishan immensely that the werewolf was treating him as if he were a child.
Gaishan was indeed curious and perhaps he did ask many questions, but they were valid questions. The fact that because of his inexperience Christian was treating him more and more like a kid was bothering the young warrior. Gaishan found himself absently reaching out and grabbing his sword, The Nexus as a tool for comfort. Clasping the beautiful hilt, Gaishan withdrew a deep sigh and he returned his gaze to the peaceful sky.

However, the peaceful and virtually flawless sky was suddenly illuminated by a rupture of bright light. Gasping in awe, both Christian and Gaishan found themselves looking to the southern horizon. A brilliant and dazzling pillar of light seemed to pierce upwards from the distant ground and delve itself into the faraway clouds in the sky. The light was like a fierce cyclone of energy, crackling with ribbons of power that occasionally lashed out from the pillar. Despite being so far away, the pillar’s power of brightness was evident for it even seemed to cast a glow upon their faces as well as the entire land surrounding it. The glow lasted for several minutes, leaving the two in silent awe until the pillar seemed to disappear just as quickly as it had come.

The silence lasted for several minutes, as the tone of the land seemed to change and Gaishan could feel it. It suddenly felt a lot colder, gloomier and even the wind itself seemed to have died down. The sparse clouds in the sky were beginning to thicken were the eruption of light had occurred, and Gaishan had a feeling that something both awesome and terrible had happened. Looking to Christian, he opened his mouth to say something but Christian swiftly spoke.

“That is where Brot’mau is. I can feel it… such a radiating power could only have occurred because of him.”

“So he’s close and now we know his location.” Gaishan said with a nod, estimating the time he believed they could catch up. “We could find him within days.”

“Incorrect once again. Even if he were to stay upon that spot where the dazzling light display occurred, it would take us days. However, I highly doubt that the prince of Gamura plans on staying in one spot for enemies to find him- especially with that obvious display. Think Gaishan, think of these things before coming to such inaccurate conclusions.” Christian’s tone was unchanging and filled with as much expression as his face, however the message was clear. Gaishan found himself clasping the hilt of his sword quite firmly.

Gaishan’s mind was swarming with several thoughts as he struggled to gain his composure. He had been through a lot ever since his city and his family fell to destruction and death. Yes, he was an untrained warrior but yet he was still a warrior and he still had endured the idea of pain and tragedy. He knew just as much as a weathered soldier, and with time he knew that he would become a great swordsman- he was determined. However, he knew that Christian would continue to treat him like a child instead of aiding him to become a better warrior and the thought angered him.

“I wish you’d stop…” Gaishan mumbled, feeling his jaw tighten as his face struggled to keep composure. Christian raised a brow however, as he looked questioningly at the youth.

“Stop what?” He asked harshly, his eyes filled with some more annoyance- which only had a rippling affect in arising the same feeling within Gaishan. The youth could no longer contain his thoughts as he suddenly stood up.

“Stop treating me like a child! I’m not a child Christian! The entire time we have been traveling you have been nothing but condescending towards me and treating me like I’m a fresh kid! I know what pain is, I know what death is, I know what the world is like and I will not be treated like I do not know the way of the world! Stop treating me like I’m so much lower than you!” Gaishan withdrew a breath, his gaze ablaze as a new change came over Christian as he too stood up. “Instead of telling me all the things I do wrong, teach me to do things right! Teach and help me become a better warrior instead of casting me down! I know a great deal of every thing, I just have not been formally trained!”

Gaishan stopped speaking, clasping his jaw shut as he stared defiantly into Christian’s gaze. Christian returned the gaze, seemingly expressionless as silence filled the air. Gaishan’s heart was racing as he wondered what Christian would think or what the man would do. Yet, he was not prepared for the reaction that he would receive. Suddenly Christian seemed to explode with emotion as his face grew wrought in anger.

“You little fool! You actually have the nerve to complain to me and lecture me?! I have been friendly enough to help you on your little traveling charade, and this is how you thank me- by complaining that I have not been helping or teaching you? Gaishan, I did not join you to be your teacher! However… if it is a lesson you want, then a lesson you shall receive! And trust me… this will be a lesson you’ll never forget!”

With that, Gaishan took several steps back as Christian’s form seemed to enlarge once again. Fur sprouted along his body in massive bursts as Christian removed his out jacket with a quick swipe of his hand, which soon grew to be large and clawed. It took nearly seconds for the changes to become complete as finally a tail sprouted from his tailbone and ears shifted towards the top of Christian’s head as the transformation completed itself. Snarling at Gaishan, Christain’s golden eyes seemed completely enraged.

“Fight me Gaishan! We will encounter things far stronger and more dangerous than myself, and if you cannot at least strike me once then you have no chance of surviving! You say you’re a warrior and that you know pain… well if you cannot fight me, then you will never be a true warrior!”

With that, Gaishan narrowed his eyes and swiftly he clasped his hand about the hilt of his sword. He could feel the power radiating from the beautifully crafted weapon as he slowly slid it out of its sheath, the ring of the metal echoing into the air. Pointing the long, magnificent blade of black at Christian, Gaishan’s eyes seemed to flood with a new found emotion. At the sight of Christian, Gaishan had to swallow back his instinctive fear. Yet, feeling the magic of the sword swirl upon his fingertips calmed him. He knew what his goal was and what he needed, and Gaishan was absolute that this was the only way.

“I can’t be weak anymore! I need to become stronger so that I can avenge my family! I WILL become strong and I will make any pain you bring to me apart of me! So come Christian! Come and get me!”

With that, Christian merely smirked as he let out a blood-curdling howl into the air and then with all of his might, he began to charge straight at the boy. Saliva dripped down his muzzle like before as his nose was filled with the scent of Gaishan’s body. The wolf within him wanted to destroy Gaishan and wanted to make a meal of him. However, Christian knew how to control the part of him that was Dusk, and he knew that this was a lesson. He would not kill the boy, but he would make this a moment to never forget.

Christian lowered his shoulder as he ran upon all fours, intent with smashing straight into Gaishan’s frame. However, he was surprised when Gaishan swiftly moved to the side with a shocking show of speed. Christian flew past Gaishan but he dug his claws thickly into the ground to slow him down, tearing up the tender grass beneath him. Twisting around, Christian charged straight at Gaishan again and this time stopped right before meeting the young man. Raising a massive clawed arm, Christian went to swing straight at Gaishan but he stopped in middle swing as he felt the sharp pierce of pain flood his abdomen.

“Did he just try to kill me?” Christian thought, looking down to see the thick blade of the sword pierce below his ribs partially. Gaishan’s firm gaze looked to Christian defiantly, but Christian merely let out a throaty laugh. There was pain, however over the centuries in which Christian had been alive taught him that pain was all the same. There was nothing too remarkable with being stabbed with a sword after so many years, and the pain was insignificant.

“That’s good… you caught my opening.” Christian growled, leaning forward so that the blade pushed deeper into his chest, causing blood to trickle from the penetration. “However, not good enough.”

With that, Christian went to grab the blade of the sword so that he could rip it from Gaishan’s grasp, but as his clawed hand neared the sword suddenly it seemed to flash a glow and it repelled Christian’s hand away. Angered by this and slightly irked, Christian snarled and instead he backhanded a mighty blow into Gaishan’s body.

The pure force of a werewolf angrily hitting someone would have been enough to kill a normal man. Gaishan’s body went flying several yards back as his sword followed suit, landing several yards away from where Gaishan’s body fell. However, Christian was impressed as Gaishan coughed and sputtered, blood drizzling over his lips. Shakily the youth rose to his feet, his eyes settling upon Christian.

Memories of his city flooded his mind as the vivid images of the burning city seemed to flash by his gaze. He could remember the cries of his family and how he was powerless to stop the madness that destroyed his family, his home and his life as he knew it. He had been weak then and now he was being proven weak once more.

“I am the last… of the Silverwinds…” Gaishan whispered, coughing slightly as he narrowed his gaze. “I am the only one left to avenge the family…” With that, Gaishan swiftly reached around and tore off his upper garments, exposing his bruised and scraped torso. Upon his back a large and clear tattoo of two wings- the Silverwind crest, was evident and expanded to cover both of his shoulder blades.

Spitting out a spatter of blood, Gaishan found himself staring at Christian and feeling rage. All of his memories and his pain was exuding from him now, and he wanted to take it all out on Christian. If he could, he wanted to blame Christian for everything- he wanted to place the blame on someone who was available. His whole life he had been searching for the source of the destruction upon his village and his efforts for so many years had been futile.

“I will avenge my family!! I will not let them die in vain! I will not be weak anymore!” With that, Gaishan suddenly charged straight at Christian with just himself, unable to reach his sword. “I don’t need my sword to fight you Christian! I can take you with just myself! I will take all your pain and make it apart of me- I will be strong!”

Seeing the youth charge at him, Christian felt a twinge of respect. He could see the rage pass through the eyes of the youth and he knew what was fueling his rage. The fight was bringing out all his memories… and now Christian was the placement for such rage. Giving an almost solemn nod, Christian allowed the youth to charge at him before he suddenly leapt into the air.

Pressing his massive claws about the youth’s shoulders, Christian propelled himself over Gaishan’s body. His weight caused the youth to buckle down to his knees as Christian landed behind him. Whirling about, Christian swiftly struck out and slashed four horrendous claw marks into the right wing of the tattoo upon his shoulder, drawing a deep bloody wound. Gaishan gave out a scream as he fell forward onto his chest, instantly allowing Christian to press a foot into his back and tower over Gaishan.

Leaning over his body, Christian growled in a softer voice to the youth.

“I could bite you now, you know. I could bite you and allow you to gain true power. You want power? In order to gain power you must relinquish your family, despise your friends and give up the emotions of love that make you weak. If you can forfeit your true soul then you will gain the true power that will make you stronger than you could have ever dreamed!” Christian snarled, stepping back slightly as he watched the youth.

“What will it be Silverwind? Will you accept the power of the monster or will you struggle for true balance like all the Silverwinds have done?”

Gaishan bit his lip absently as he focused upon Christian’s words. Gaishan wanted nothing more than to destroy Christian- he wanted to unleash all of his pain onto him. He wanted to lash out at him- to leap at him and to make him feel the pain that Gaishan himself had encountered with the destruction of his world. However, glancing upwards painfully, Gaishan saw the gleam in the grass that was his sword.

“No…” Gaishan whispered softly, suddenly realizing the truth. He placed his hands upon the ground and slowly pushed himself upwards but found that it was more difficult than he had thought it would be. He had ignored the pain from the devastating blow that Christian had dealt before, and now he was realizing that there were still limits in even ignoring pain. Forcing himself to his feet, Gaishan could feel the blood streaming down his back and tainting his legs as he staggered slightly as he stood before the werewolf.

“I don’t want that power... if I accepted that power, I would be betraying the very reason that I fight. Without my family, I have no reason to grow stronger.” Gaishan staggered again, struggling to stay upon his feet as the blood loss began to take a toll.

“One day I will have the power… the ability to avenge my family and destroy the monster who took them from me. However, that power will come from my family… from The Nexus, when I am able to unlock my true potential… my true self…” With that, Gaishan could no longer support himself and he crumpled to the ground before Christian, passing out completely.

Christian gazed down upon him and with a slow nod Christian seemed to approve of Gaishan’s words and he looked down at the youth with a new respect.

“Good Gaishan, you pass this test. Sleep now, you deserve a long rest.” Christian then made a move to aid the youth, when suddenly a change overcame the area.


It was at that precise time- the time when the moon was almost in full glow during the night and when blood had been spilled – that Aurora managed to secretly sway her wishes. Not thousands of years could have caused her to forget her pain; each death that her child had endured was also felt in Aurora. Fate was a cruel master at its game, and she was willing to risk a blinded moment to throw a secret card into play.


There was no warning. Not a fancy flash of light, no music to announce her arrival- nothing happened except for the fact that she was there. There before the monstrous Christian was a little girl.

She appeared before him in an instant, and she was not noticed right away until he heard her breathing, which he then looked down upon her. Her large silver eyes opened suddenly, blinking as she then looked upwards in instinct to see the huge beast before her. She stood to a height that barely reached below Christian's kneecap and yet she stood out like a bright beacon in the darkness.

Christian was breathing heavily, blood dripping from his claws as his wild and enraged eyes stared down at her. His gaze could have been like piercing bullets and any man who would have stood in the little girl's place surely would have soiled himself. The girl however, was no ordinary person.

“Are you my mommy?” The girl's sweet and innocent voice hit the air like droplets of honey as she stared up at him. A gentle breeze came to and caused her silk-like hair of golden to billow as she quietly awaited his response with eager large eyes. His expression remained unchanged, as he simply stared at her for quite some time- dumbfounded and unsure of what to make of this child. As a few stretched minutes passed, Christian shook his head absently to determine that he was imagining things- blood and battle had a way of tricking the mind. However, this would have been the oddest of tricks and Christian found himself staring at her like a man who had been given a tool he did not know how to wield.

“Mommy?” Some time passed before the girl repeated herself, clasping her small hands together as she looked hopeful upon the large werewolf. As Christian stared down upon her, suddenly a word came to his mind, or rather not a word, but a name. For some reason, Christian felt as if he knew her- as if long ago he had met this girl before and he knew her name was Alexiel. It was an odd sensation for him to have deja vu, for Christian was the type of man who remembered things clearly. To not remember some one but yet recognize them in a faint sense was unnerving to him. There simply could be no way that this little girl- Alexiel, was a real little girl. So finally, Christian seemed to come to a decision that she indeed was a figment of his imagination. However, he would humor this figment for a short moment and with that he narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head.

“No-” But before he could finish, suddenly Alexiel’s mind made the decision for her.

This was mommy.

“Mommy!!” She cried outwards, instantly thrusting herself towards one of Christian’s legs. She hugged it tightly, wrapping her small and frail body around his thick furred leg. She smiled happily as she remained latched on to him like a burr upon clothing. Christian- now thoroughly confused and unsure of how to handle this figment of his imagination - grabbed a hold of Alexiel and pulled her away from his leg. He then set her away from him and began to walk away, perhaps hoping that this would cause the fake figure to go away. Yet, in a matter of mere seconds, a small little body could be felt hugging the back of his leg yet again. With a simple turn, he could easily see that she had reattached herself to his leg.

“Mommy!”

[size=7][font=bobcat]. : Divinity : .

[darktyranitar]

Hey, who said I given up on it? Just been busy lately, that's all.

Bring on the blood! Yeah! This could go well with some music from Iron Maiden! Oh, guess I shouldn't... (realise it's now early morning in my place)

Heh, sorry bout that... just I'm so sleepy...

Mm-hm, this is the bloodiest chapter so far, but I love it! The starting part with Lavielle and Larivata was truly a bloody massacre, but I love it more when it come to the fight between Gaishan and Christian. Tension? Right indeed. I gotta say, I have a bit of respect for Gaishan now. Gotta love his determination.

Hm, so who's this Alexiel? It's weird how she just popped out like that. It also seemed a bit strange that we suddenly knew her name just like that. Perhaps it would be better to let her name remain anonynous in this chapter, but its your choice to introduce her name.

Now, gotta go back and study for my exam... Damn, it's near 4 a.m... Gotta go to school in next 3 hours... Guess no sleep for me now... *grumble*

[Bulbasaur4]

[color=royalblue]
Ah yes! I had quite a time deciding on what to do with Alexiel's name. However, to make things more clear I edited it a bit. ^^; I made it more clear that there is a reason the reader (and Christian) knows her name almost immediately.

[Samchu]

Blood-lust chicks! WOOOOO! That's what we needed! Blood, tension and a little girl, what more could this chapter have needed? Well if you haven't guessed I really liked this chapter, and as for Alexiel...WTF is wrong with that kid!? Little girls don't just poof up in the middle of nowhere, see a warewolf and think: MOMMY! I think that kid's been getting her hands on one too many sugar sweets if you ask me.

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Mommy!!! Lol...
very nice, this should have gotten a dark fic nomination at least for that chapter.
There is probably a lot more to Alexiel that it first seems. Plus, she has silver eyes, just like Lavielle...does that mean anything I wonder?
The conflict between Gaishan and Christian was well written - and yeah, you're right, I definitely like him(Gaishan) a little more, he's fleshing out nicely as a character. Looking forward to the next chapter ^^