Garlem looked the false Rackdonia up and down as if inspecting him, "Hmm, I see, and I assume you must understand my speech considering you could transform into one of my kind, Well in that case I say good show, but your stance is off, try lifting your tail slightly, spread your front legs more. You'll find getting knocked over harder." Garlem sounded truly senile lecturing one who clearly meant him harm, and he did this so casually he hadn't even gotten to his feet, but lay down with his belly touching the ground, his tail lay by his side lazily. " bend your back legs more, come on, your as stiff as a human. Oh right, that's what you are." Garlem shot a glance at Tirac who had since awoken from her slumber, she stared wide eye'd at the two, then at Garlem fearfully. "Stay out of trouble I'll be done shortly." Garlem said winking to her, his other eye still trained on the animage. "no,no,no your doing it all wrong, bahh! let a real Rackdonian show you how it's done." Garlem stood up, but lowered his center of gravity so that he was not fully standing instead he seemed to be crouching. His chest was slightly higher then his waist and belly, but not high enough to expose his softer under side while his back legs were greatly bent making him appear almost to sit. He looked almost submissive. "well? repeat my stance, and maybe you'll die later then you other wise will." he said chuckling.
Trapped in the middle of a battle, with a Dragon and a Phoenix, against a Seven headed Hydra and an earth mage?...it was a tree nymphs worst (well almost worst) nightmare. If trees had nightmares that is. Regardless, the situation did cause Yavii some anxiety. "Men. Turning into creatures like this. Deagbra!" The nymph declared in annoyance. She turned her trunk towards the earth mage and dug her roots into the ground. They came back up underneath the man intending to wrap around his body and crush him like the bug he was. Deagbra= Despicable
Seri stared at the huge bird, her eyes flashing. The birds were native to the deserts in the far east where her nomadic Djinn clan, ruled by her father, lived. Even tehere they were a rare sight that Djinn children were taught to avoid. When she'd turned 632 ( 15 in human years) she'd had her gained Right of Passage by killing one. She was one of the few Djinn in her clan to ever have achieved that. "A Roc... " she said, staring at it. "Well, I never expected to see one of you again until I went home... but then, things haven exactly been normal lately." Though she acted calm, inside, she was terrified. A human mage! even worse, an animagus! Father told me of these. She searched her mind, looking for the memories of her lessons with her father. He'd taught her how to fight one of these things. Djinn were some of the most magical creatures of the land of Twin Tails, which was why they had the power to see into the past and even the future, admittedly with restrictions. Right now, however, Fortune Telling would not help. What she needed was good old magic combat.... In the depths of her mind she found it. She brought the memory forward and it sharpened and became clearer under her scrutiny. She saw her father, speaking. "The only way to fight an animagus is with magic. Hone all your natural powers and all the stolen powers stored in your tattoos and jewelry into one single shard, and throw it at the animagus. He wont be expecting it. Humans know so little of our kind beyond when their twisted myths and legends teach. and she did just that, standing completely still, surround my misty white smoke, and she flung the strong, sharp tendril of magic at the Roc animagus.
Arven whimpered, and recoiled as if he had been stung. The huge fire-lizard's tongue flicked in and out of its mouth, setting fire to the grass at its feet. Arven felt a small stream of water trickle down his back, and felt the burning heat of the fire wall at his back. He desperately used his power, and the stream on his back froze over, for now. He changed into a grey wolf. It wouldn't stop him melting, but it would slow the process. His eyes glittered with fear as he felt the temperature climbing. The salamander advanced, it's eyes flashing and reflecting the flame. It swiped its flaming claw, and the right side of Arven's head exploded in pain. He fell, whimpering, to the ground. He concentrated as best he could. He knew that if he sprang onto the salamander back, and sunk his teeth into its flaming hide, his freezing power would have more effect. He might be able to kill the creature before he melted completely. He waited on the ground, as if he had been knocked out. His eyes were opened a slit, and he saw the salamander advancing, it's murderous eyes flashing in the flame. It was so close. Arven felt the earth beneath him turn to mud as he slowly melted in the intense heat. Wait for it, he told himself, wait, wait... At last, the creature was close enough. With a snarl, Arven sprang.
Zahar eyed the creature in front of him. This wannabe hydra was trying to defile the remains of the dead Twin Tails. Not on my watch! He shot a look at the kiryot who had joined the battle. For some reason he felt a connection to her. A light shone from her chest, phoenix fire. Zahar smirked, knowing that his fire wouldn't hurt any of his potential allies. He then turned his fire as hot as it would go, hoping to vaporize the approaching water and speed up the cremation. "Men. Turning into creatures like this. Deagbra!" the nymph stated. She then proceeded to engage the earth mage. Zahar silently agreed with her. He turned to the animagus. This creature could kill him. It was common knowledge that fire and water didn't mix. Zahar attacked the closest part of the hydra, it's tail. Keeping an eye out for any new shots of water. In his mind's eye he saw his sharp talons dig into flesh. He would keep away from the dangerous heads and focus on it's unprotected body. He was still wary of the dragon but hoped they could unite against their common enemies.
Leal felt more of the feeling course down his body, and he felt something strange enter his snakely mind. He trusted this Djinn. She had power, power that could help him, and wouldn't want to kill Leal. Leal's eyes turned the slightest shade less red, and he relaxed, if only for a moment. Possibly, together, they might rule the forest. Then, he saw a large ship come close to him. Hissing, he camouflaged, blending into the grass he was lying on. He slowly slithered into a nearby brush, watching the Djinn watch the ship. A man on the ship, wearing blue robes, probably one of those water mages Leal had heard about, let loose a giant cyclone of water that swept around the small clearing, trapping the Djinn inside the small clearing. Leal, however, had been quick and had rushed to the edges of the clearing, and was in the cyclone. The foliage Leal was in was uprooted, along with himself, into a giant sea of water. Leal opened the thin gills on the side of his head, letting him swim around. He could barely see anything in the water, due to it crashing around like a bunch of crazed monkeys did when they saw Leal. He swum to the edge of the cyclone, watching the Djinn, in the center. Another mage appeared and exited the giant ship. This mage transformed into a Roc, a giant beaked bird Leal had only heard stories about. They say he was immune to a viper's poison. Leal, quietly hissed in disappointment. He would have loved to be able to kill the bird, but he knew the Djinn was best suited for that. He watched, circling around in the cyclone, as the Djinn hurled a bolt of magic at the bird. Leal didn't see the result as he swum towards the back of the water mage. He knew that neither of the mages had seen Leal, as he had been camouflaged. He'd also been in the muddy mess that was the cyclone the water mage had whipped up. Leal swum with the current until he could see the back of the water mage's head. He sprung out of the water, perfectly timed, and was in a perfect line for the mage's shoulders. Leal's plan went through his head in a heartbeat; he would land on the mage's shoulders, and prick the his neck with Leal's fang. Then, he would leap off, and the man's cyclone would disappear as he suffered 20 minutes of unbearable pain before he died. As he flew through the air towards the mage, Leal licked his lips quickly. He wondered what human meat would taste like.
The Rackdonia growled, but surprisingly dropped to a crouch similar to that of Garlem's. His eyes glittered with a hidden malice, and his tail lashed. The wind mage barked something, and the animagus gave the other human a sidelong glance, muzzle curled in distaste. It growled something in the human language, and the wind mage grimaced, but waved at the old Rackdonia and girl. By the way things were going, the animagus wasn't exactly the one in charge of this duo, nor did he like it. Instead, he let loose a bellow and charged at Garlem, ducking his head in and aiming to flip the old beast onto his back: However, Garlem crouched, knowing the move and trying to defend against it: Sadly, the enemy was successful. Roaring in triumph, the gigantic beast pinned Garlem with his foreclaws, bringing his muzzle down until he could smirk into the other's eyes. "Givvvve up. Though i would lovvve tae tearrrr yer innards out, Massssterrr orderzzzz usss to let livvve." he rumbled. . . . The water mage paused a moment, sensing the danger as something traveled purposefully through his own water currents, but before he could try to defend himself Leal struck: The bite was sucsessfull, but Leal was not out of danger yet. Crying out in pain as he felt the poison begin to course through his body, the mage whirled on the angont, trying to knock the viper into the thick of the battle: But the serpent was too fast and slithered over the man's arm, flung not into danger, but away from it. The cyclone burst apart, no longer under the control of the water mage, and fell in on itself, splattering the ship and everyone beneath it. Everyone was borne away by the water a few feet, but in the meelee Seri fired a bolt of magic at the Roc animagus, taking advantage of the confusion: The Roc screeched in alarm as he spotted the danger and tried to avoid it, flopping over with a wet smack of his sodden wings: The blast of magic was narrowly avoided, just ruffling the chest feathers of the huge bird. Clacking his beak in rage, it rose up and folded its wings to make it's body more compact. Head low, the Roc began to prowl toward her with long, deadly strides of its taloned feet. "Magic magic magic- smells like Djinn. Djinn magic in Dell? Chosen. Chosen. Must capture Chosen!" an unearthly red light filled the Roc's eyes, and for a moment Seri could glimpse something else. Something evil. . . . The earth mage glanced to one side just in time to see Yavii's roots begin to coil around his legs. Eyes widening in alarm, the mage let out a shout and a burst of magic, intending to ward off the strange wood nymph: But she was too strong. The earth mage cried out again as roots spun upward around him, then clamped down, pinning him in place. Magic crackled in the air as his life force clashed with her attack in a mad bid for escape: The roots spread outward ever so slightly, creaking as they tried to contain their target, but it was too strong. The pulse of magic emanating from the mage was greater than any she had ever managed to conjure in her lifetime, and each of the roots snapped, crumbling into dust at his feet. The mage tottered on shaky legs, gasping for breath. Despite being unable to crush him, her attack had weakened the mage. The hydra roared as he spotted his partner in trouble, but the claws of the phoenix soon distracted him. The pheonix cut no more than several shallow wounds across the hydra's tail before he was spotted. Enraged, one of the seven heads of the hydra opened up and spewed a blast of chilled water at the bird: Zahar was struck in the wing by the blast and knocked away to the far edge of the ring, and the hydra hissed menacingly, but returned it's attention to the corpse. One of it's heads swooped down to scoop up the crumbling remains of the Twin Tails before the fire could burn it any further. . . . The fire slamander hissed in distaste. Clearly the wolf was no match for them. Eyeing his partner, the fire mage shrugged, then waved the animagus on. At least this would be over quickly. For us. But not for you, Alach'ar. The slamander neared the seemingly uncocnious wolf, then opened his jaws wide, letting his fire dim just a bit so he wouldn't melt the thing any further before he aimed to pick it up. But the wolf had taken him off-guard and lashed out with fangs and claws: The salamander reared back in surprise, trying to avoid the blow: And smoothly skittered back, the wolf's jaws closing on air. The fire blazed hot once more, and the animagus hissed when the mage chuckled in amusement. Apparently this was all some sort of game to them. But what game held the corpse of the Twin Tails in it's claws as the prize? And what game would have every sailor on the ships rushing to hang nets over the sides while the mages battled with the animals?
"And live I shall." Garlem thrust ed his bladed tail that had laid beside him apparently motionless right into his foes exposed belly, the fool had pinned him, but in doing so no longer had his back facing him, the fool had forgotten the first rule of being Rackdonia, never expose your weak point. Garlem hooked his claws into his foes Armour and snapped his jaws around his snout which he had allowed to be dangerously close to his sabered fangs. Using his colossal strength, he made escape near impossible while his flexible Tail, drove in.
Arven snarled with frustration as the salamander drew back, his jaws closed around burning hot air, but not a salamander hide. The two beasts circled one another, lashing out occasionally. Arven thought about changing back into an ice wolf. He would melt faster, that was true, but his powers were stronger, maybe he could kill the mages before he was reduced to a puddle of water. As they circled, Arven's fur turned white, blue appered on his legs and the fur on his neck, he became slightly smaller. He called forth his powers, and to his relief they responded. He stopped circling, and stared into the salamanders blazing eyes. The air dropped about 20 degrees. The cooler air felt good to Arven, after the intense heat of the blazing flames. A white mist seemed to come off of Arven, and started to swirl around the salamander. It shivered, and seemed to slow a little. Freeze him, kill him, Arven told his power, stop his flames. Extinguish him. More mist came off him, colder than the blizzard he had made, colder even than Arven himself. Finish it off. He told himself. The salamander writhed in pain. Arven desperately hoped it would be enough.
An other-worldly fear filled Seri. What IS that? she thought, shuddering. Her tattoos crawled and her jewelry itched. There was something VERY wrong in the eyes of that Roc animagus... and then it vanished. Seri stared, wondering if she'd imagined it. But no - her tattoos were white with fear. slowly they darkened, going to a deep purple to indicate tiredness. So much magic used... no result... She thought, shaking with weariness. Djinn needed magic to survive, and if she lost too much... she banished the tought. The Chosen? What does he mean? Seri wondered. At that moment, she noticed that the cyclone was gone. Nows my chance, she thought. Mustering up as much magic as she dared, she focused and... vanished, flickering bakc into existence at the edge of the clearing. Then she ran.
Yavii took a heavy step backwards as her roots extensions were destroyed by the power of the mage. Her "feet" were now black and scarred by the encounter. She wouldn't be growing any new roots till she healed that. How is it possible that man have such incredible power. Yavii asked herself. Then her four eyes became slits. It was unusual for her to lose her cool, but the thought of man infiltrating their forest like this and attacking innocent creatures...it was not right. How many others were beset upon? How many residents of this forest would die do to this encounter? All because man couldn't stay where they belonged. Yavii raised her branches, the leaves rustling as if an angry wind blew through them. She moved forward smashing her "arms" every which way in an attempt to crush the mage. He would not be able to dodge forever.
Leal watched the blue-robed man fall down, his legs now paralyzed, on the ground, screaming and twitching in pain as the poison coursed through his veins. Leal's eyes glittered in malice. One mage was down for the count, and the other a giant bird that Leal hoped was doing badly fighting the Djinn. Leal knew that his powers were limited; he was small, unable to fly, and his poison wouldn't work on the great bird. So, he slithered towards the water mage cautiously, and dragged him into the bushes without being seen by the great bird, as the mage was so close to the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Leal slithered along the mage's twitching body. Leal knew the man was still conscious; it had only been around 5 minutes. That meant a quarter hour of unbearable pain to watch. Leal slithered along the man's body, and within a few seconds, had his beady red, evil eyes locked on to the poor mage's terrified ones. The mage wasn't even able to blink as they stared at each other. Leal flicked his tongue over the mage's cheek, tasting the salty tear that was there. Delicious. This was Leal's revenge for these men disturbing his night. Disturbing his hunt for the most useless wolf in these parts. Disturbing the time he could have spent building a friendship with his new... friend. That's when Leal's eyes flashed. His mind worked desperately to fix a conflict it saw, as some of the Djinn's magic wore off. Why would Leal, of all people, trust anyone? Shouldn't he not trust the Djinn? Then again... the Djinn was obviously... trustworthy. Leal just felt it in his head, like an instinct. Was this a message of some kind? No, that would be impossible! He knew the Djinn could manipulate people with words, but still. He felt the tiniest inkling that he should still trust the figure. Could they be friends? No, of course not. The Djinn had manipulated him, and Leal felt that he should kill the Djinn. Then again, he might need the Djinn's help, and the Djinn had been nothing but help from their meeting onwards. Leal's eyes lost another slight shade of red. He really wanted to kill the Djinn, but he'd let it slide... for now. He'd kill the insolent fool later. For right now, he'd trust the Djinn, and they'd work together to keep each other safe. When these men were gone, and everything was back to normal, then Leal would kill everyone. He'd taste the flesh of that wolf, he'd look into the dragon's left eye as it died, he'd watch the Pheonix die by his poison, and he'd pierce the fur of every annoying, chattering monkey that dared enter the forest of Dell, which would be his own, personal kingdom. Then, he heard another scream from the man. The man was almost dead. Oh, if only Leal knew the man's name so he could sing a song about him going to hell. Leal looked again into the man's eyes, then lowered his fang ever so slowly towards the man's left eye. A drop of poison hit the eye, and the man let out a deafening scream. Leal then pictured himself doing the same thing to the Djinn, and his eyes lost a shade of red. Leal panicked, hearing the Djinn scream as the drop touched her eye. The Djinn lay in the clearing, next to the corpse of the Twin Tails. "We were friends, Leal! We were going to rule... together..." Leal saw himself ripping through the flesh of the Djinn, stabbing wherever he could. Stop... saying that! I will rule! It is me who will be the king of all the forest! Stop screaming! It's... hard to hear! The Djinn kept screaming in pain. Leal hissed in terror and confusion. What was happening? The screaming echoed in his head, and he hissed again in hopelessness. Then, the dream ended. Leal breathed deeply through his nose, feeling the reassuring cool air flow over his scales. He saw the mangled body of the man, pierced by his fangs way too many times. His face was unrecognizable, with bloody flaps of skin everywhere. Leal could taste the blood on his fangs. It tasted good... but he remembered that in the dream, it had been vile. Leal shuddered, then focused his mind. No, he didn't want that to happen. It was too terrible; he wouldn't kill the Djinn. They'd be friends, and rule together. Yes, that sounded better. No more nightmares. Leal breathed in, then gulped down a bit of the man's arm as a meal. That settled his stomach, and he finally calmed down. Alright, Leal will be the king with the Djinn at his side. He slithered to the edge of the clearing, and spotted Seri running from the clearing.
Seri glanced behind her and noticed Leal slithering at top speed away from the clearing. For a moment she slowed. She'd originally wanted to join the angont in order to have a little fun, but pleasure and entertainment didn't really mean much to her - not when mages and animagus's were after her and she was near-dead from lack of magic. and yet... it will be valuable to have an ally to help me survive, Seri thought. It would be a problem keeping the angont from hurting her or killing her, since she had so little magic left and would be able to do only a little bit of Biwitching, but it would have to do... "Come with me," she said to Leal. "I know somewhere safe. We can go to the Farid Forests, in the east. The native plants there are poisons to Rocs, so you should be safe. My brother, Rapha, lives there." She didn't bother putting any Bewitching into her words. The angont already trusted her, if only a little - and besides, she could tell he was a desperate as her. Farid: means lonely
The creature on the ground looked in confusion at the white mist settling on him. Come on Arven thought freeze him!
Everyone continued to fight bravely, but their opponents were not so easily defeated. High above, a pair of glowing red eyes stared down at the hundreds upon hundreds of ships as they descended upon the hapless creatures of the Dellwood, creating many other small battles just like those of our heroes. Shifting to gaze at a tattered scroll, the man's fingers caressed the image of a creature not unlike Twin Tails. Ancient runes depicted images of a skull, a moon, and the mask the Twin Tails bore. One half black, one half white. But beneath the image of the Twin Tails, another creature had been drawn as well. The man grinned, lips curling back to reveal mismatched teeth that seemed to have been stabbed into his gums in a bid to replace the long-gone human teeth. He rolled the scroll back up, then encased it in it's tube. The Nightmare he rode stood with an eerie silence in the night air, perfectly still other than the feeble glow of the flames at his mane and tail. It's eyes glowed with that same fire red as his own. The man winced when he sensed the agony one of his animagus pets was in. Master! Save me! A Rackdonian growl soon followed after and the man's vision flickered as he saw the old beast below him, felt the barbed tail slowly impaling his stomach. A deep, guttural howl that was both human, and not human, rose in his chest, and the man snapped a hand out, runes glowing in the palm of his hand. Not unlike those of a djiin. Drop the nets. Capture them all. A pulse of magic erupted from his hand, shooting straight toward the earth. Once it collided, the magic spread outward in many rings, passing through trees and stone. The alarmed cries of animals could soon be heard as each was paralyzed, and the man grinned maliciously as he flicked into the vision of his favorite animagus. He tasted the corpse of the dead Twin Tails in his jaws, felt the burn of the claws of a pheonix where he had been struck. Yet all six of his other heads grinned as the Hydra's eyes glowed blood red, watching the pulse of magic sweep through the animals of the forest. The dragon and Phoenix tumbled to the ground. The nymph froze where she stood. he watched with satisfaction as the old Rackdonia felt all the strength flee him, as well as the girl, and both collapsed, limp as newborns before his mages. The snake and his djiin companion were both frozen stiff in an instant, unable to move and escape the talons of the Roc before he snatched them up and had born them skyward toward the ship. And last of all, a wolf. Seemingly the most desperate of the entire forest, he managed to take a few agonizingly slow steps before the magic forced him to stand still, paralyzed. Frozen in a way not unlike what his own powers could do to other animals. The Chosen must be among these. After No Tails is revived, I will have no competition from the other Kings. he mused, And all these creatures will help me do so. They may gather all their armies and weapons, but what better army than of the creatures who live out in the wilds every day of their lives? His mouth stretched in a maniacal grin, and he flipped his hand upward. The nets began to fall, gathering up every single creature into the ships for caging. He could feel their panic, their fear. Felt a mother griffon curling up around her young chick as they were swung upward unwillingly into the dark maw of his black dragon ship. After every last creature had been borne away into the skies, and he received the notice that all had been caged and warded so that none may escape, he flicked his hand again. And the whole forest erupted in flame. * * * Hours later, every creature began to finally regain use of their limbs, but it was not much use when they were all trapped in individual cages designed specifically to hold them. Snakes were sealed in basket-like compartments, dragons were bound with chains and penned in by huge iron bars. Bird of all kinds hung suspended from the ceiling, magical chains preventing them from heating or super-cooling the metal to try and break it. All the wood was warded again any other such spells, and there was one thing that all could see in the empty center of the room from every cage that lay mounted against the walls. A pentagram with an image of two creatures. The Twin Tails, and it's shadow.
Yavii's four eyes blinked open slowly. The moment the spell had hit she'd put herself into a dormant state to protect herself. Her leaves rustled and her branches groaned as she took in her surroundings. She was trapped in thick glass box, with no holes for her roots to poke through. Any other creature would have suffocated, being a tree nymph, however, she was able to create her own oxygen. As Yavii become aware of her surroundings she noted that she was not the only one trapped in this strange place. Where are we? Why did they bother capturing us? She thumped her branches on the glass wall, but only managed to get the glass to vibrate a bit. There just wasn't enough room for her to do any damage. Her four eyes blinked slowly. There didn't appear to be any way to escape, and all the other creatures seemed to be trapped in specially made cages as well. "Hello out there. Is anyone else awake yet?" She called out.
Leal lay in the smoothest part. Ugh, how illustrious. Nearly escaped the fight versus the Roc along with Seri and then he just had to get paralyzed by magic. The forest had burned down, which was really just as well. It wasn't his poison that would run through the forest, and the Twin Tails probably hadn't been referring to Leal when he said that fire would tear through Dell. Leal had been looking forward to using that pheonix to set fire to a few things he found annoying. Worst of all though, he was stuck in a basket. A basket of metal that he could barely see out, with slits too small for even him to fit through. The only good thing about it was that if he lay flat on it, the cold would send a shiver down his spine. "Hello out there. Is anyone else awake yet?" He heard a female creature speak. Peering out of one of the tiny slits, he saw a wood nymph in another cage. In contempt, he pictured the wood nymph screaming while his fangs were embedded in her dying, fiery heart. "Of course we're awake, you stupid tree. These things are too damn uncomfortable to sleep in." Leal finished his contemptuous remark with a hiss. Leal curled up in his little metal basket and closed his eyes. Normally he'd stay up for as long as he could, hunting whatever annoying creature crossed his path, and savoring their delicious mewls of pain as he sunk his fangs into their torsos. There was nothing else to do now though, so Leal lay there, half-asleep, listening for any more creatures who might dare to say anything. Maybe he could insult a few more of them before these idiot men in dresses decided to do whatever they'd wanted to do with them.
Seri opened her eyes She was slumped in the corner of a tall cage made of glass rails. She stumbled to her feet, then collapsed back down, bretahing heavily. The bars are made of glass. not metal. Curses... I could have used those to source my magic! she scowled. Whoever had captured her must know a lot about Djinn magic. Someone had removed her jewelry. Every bangle, earring, and manacle was gone, except for the small ring in her lip and the studs in her nose, and wasn't nearly big enough to source magic. She whimpered, covering her eyes. She felt so naked and lost without her jewelry, and she was so weak. The last tiny drop of magic left inside her tattoos was all that was keeping her alive. If I wee stronger, I might be able to breka these accursed bars... by Uribalius, this is a bad fix I'm in! Suddenly she heard somebody cry out "Hello out there. Is anyone else awake yet?" She jerked forward. Others were here too! She moved forward slowly, pressing her tattood face to the glass bars and gasped. There was a dragon, a tree nymph, Leal, a phoenix, and others. Where did they all come from? who captured us? why? Seri listened as Leal answered, rolling her eyes at how grumpy he was. She felt almost sorry for the poor nymph - almost. Well lets see... father always told me if I get captured I need to escape immediately. i could be even more tiered later. "Does anyone have any metal?" she called out. "Anyone? I can get us all out of here if only I could get close to some metal!" Uribalius: one of the Djinn gods
Tirac awoke suddenly, the metal bars under her had dugg painful grooves into her back, she groaned slowly getting to a sitting position. Taking in her ssurroundings wait...something was missing. Where was Garlem? She leapt to her feet and looked around frantically, at the other side of the room she could see his massive frame curled up, still unconscious. She ran to the end of the cage and called out to him in a severly broken Alchar, the others could just barely make out what the girl was trying to say. "Daddy." At least that's what it sounded like she was attempting to say. When Garlem didn't move she rattled at the bars pulled, kicked, punched she even tried biting them. No use. She stepped back then charged crashing into them nudging her cage forward the force knocking her of her feet. She lay only a moment before getting up again, more stubborn then any dragon she charged her prison again, and again, and again to no avial. Arven shook his head and opened his eyes. What had happened? Then it hit him. The mages, the fire salamander, using his power in a desperate attempt to survive. He dragged himself to his feet, and stared around him in amazement and horror. Creatures of all ages, sizes and species lay or stood or sat in cages all around him. He walked forward and pressed his nose against the bars of his own cage, drinking in the strange scent of the holding room, and the fear of the creatures around him. He withdrew and called forth his powers. He didn't care about the other creatures, but he needed to get free. Frost turned the bars white, but nothing happened too them. Arven snarled in frustration. Any normal metal would have been broken by such low temperatures. He changed into his stronger, larger grey wolf form, and rammed his shoulder against the bars. His cage shook, and the bars stayed firm. "Daddy." something nearby spoke in broken Alchar. Arven turned to see a human tugging at the bars of the cage next to him. She threw her body against them. "It's no use," He said, trying to make the creature stop trying to escape. The sound of her hitting the bars was annoying him. "You can't get out." would the girl even understand him? He stared into her eyes, trying to let her know what he was saying. "it's no use." She yelped a little jumping away from the sudden voice, the ice wolf, she hadn't noticed him in her desperation. "You can't get out." She starred at him something flickered in her eye's, a hint of understanding? *BAM!* She slammed her self against her prison with a renewed vigor! ...Apparently not. Arven growled in annoyance, and lay down watching the girl. His eyes followed her as she insisted on slamming her body again and again against the unbreakable bars. The wolf groaned, and pressed his muzzle as far through the bars as he could. He nose was close the humans cage. "You're only going to succeed in hurting yourself," he barked at her "not that I care what you do to yourself, but the racket is giving me a headache." Another slam and she fell on her rump heaving, sweat dribbled down her forhead again the wolf spoke to her. She looked back at him catching her breath. Slowly, she got back up, and unexpectantly, she spoke...barely. "You can't break out...but...I not you. I break out." And she smashed against the bars again furiously. Arven got to his feet. "You, a petty human think that you can get out? These bars are designed to hold even the strongest of the Alchar, ones with powers and strength far greater than anything a human could have, and you still think you can get out?" His power came on a little, like it did whenever he was angry. Ice crystals started to form on the already freezing bars. "Stop! you making it worse!" She yelled angrily at him. "Making what worse? There is no point in fighting, they'll kill you anyway." Arven still felt insulted by her doubting his powers and strength. His powers were getting stronger, and he wasn't trying to stop them. "the bars, you make, harder!" she said angrily, "Silly dog." Arven snarled, and lay down. If this insulting human creature was out in the forest he wouldn't hesitate in tearing her apart. He wondered if he could make his power strong enough so as to freeze her like he had to the creatures at the telling. He didn't make a sound, but he pushed his powers harder and white frost very slowly crept up the bars of her cage. The ice crept closer she suddenly realized what he was trying to do, she backed up to the very back of the cage fearfully, hugging the walls but non the less trapped. She screamed, "Daddy!" her call was answered. A viscous roar rang through out the prison rattling cages, deafening, loud the sounds waves could literally be felt vibrating through their bones. The roar hit them all with an almost physical force. Like distant thunder it slowly died to a rumble. and a hulking red figure rose from the back of the room, large and more then imposing. "I swear to you mammal, a snow flake falls on her flesh and I will hunt you down and PERSONALLY, skin you alive and wear your coat like a human poacher in fall. And believe you me I still have a good 200 years left, that's a long time to be hunted. Do I make my self clear?!" He snarled, shoulders hunched. He then glared at the rest of them menacingly, "That goes for the rest of you, do not even so much as touch the human." "daddy!" her voice suddenly piped up, she headed to the edge of the cage and reached out her palm. "calm down Tirac, never panic I taught better you better then that,!" he scolded. He lay down calming him self, taking a deep breath he addressed them. "Now does anyone know where we are? Or what in nature is happening?"
"Now does anyone know where we are? Or what in nature is happening?" Garlem's question was answered by a snort, and everyone looked up to see a huge black horse with flaming mane and tail standing in the center of the room, free of any cage or binding. A Nightmare. "You are in the belly of a Black Dragon Ship. Don't bother trying to break out -I did the same thing, but it was no use." yet the Nightmare stood there, seemingly free to go if he so chose. Then the flickering firelight of his mane shifted a little, revealing a dark rune that had been branded into his neck. The beast's eyes seemed to be coated with a thin film of red, masking the otherwise black orbs. "I don't know what this is, but I know what it does. I am bound to be the Alpha human's beast of burden. And i assume many of you, if not all, will end up the same way. That is... if you are not the Chosen."
"I swear to you mammal, a snow flake falls on her flesh and I will hunt you down and PERSONALLY skin you alive and wear your coat like a human poacher in fall. And believe me I still have a good 200 years left, that's a long time to be hunted. Do I make myself clear?!" Leal saw the massive Rackdonian yell. Leal watched in absolute delight as Arven's whole figure seemed to go even colder as he feared for his life. Yes, please, go ahead my massive friend. Rip into his icy flesh with your razor sharp teeth, and tear him to shreds. He was worthless anyway, and as proof, he had threatened a poor human girl's life just out of spite. He wasn't even that clever about it, and he had probably been serious about harming the poor girl. The poor girl whose flesh Leal would've loved to tear into, but c'est la vie. The Rackdonian would've been too risky of a threat. Leal, in his worst thoughts, couldn't imagine being able to kill him. Unless... Leal's eyes brimmed with murderous intent, and clever evil. A plan started forming in his mind, a perfectly evil plan, and he shivered. It was so incredibly simple. Then he could kill the Rackdonian so simply. He nearly laughed as he realized that Seri was on his side as well. With her little Bewitching power, it would make it so incredibly easy to do what he wanted to. Two creatures that needed to die would, with one simple bit of magic. As he was about visualize his perfect plan, he was interrupted. "You are in the belly of a Black Dragon Ship. Don't bother trying to break out -I did the same thing, but it was no use." said a black, nightmarish horse. Oh, how lovely, a nightmare to go with a murder scheme. Then he looked at the nightmare's red tinted eyes, and Leal's eyes brimmed with delicious laughter. "I don't know what this is, but I know what it does. I am bound to be the Alpha human's beast of burden. And I assume many of you, if not all, will end up the same way. That is... if you are not the Chosen." What a hoax. Chosen, fires, poison, whatever. All Leal knew was that he was bored. As soon as he could kill something, he would. He salivated as he imagined the nightmare running up to his cell in a rage, after being provoked by Leal, trying to kill him, when Leal would stab his nose with his fang, and rip it off of him. Then, protected by the cage, he'd watch as the Nightmare would die painfully while feasting on the piece of flesh. Leal responded, "Ooh, scary. I suppose I'd be "chosen" to be a chef? That would be a job I'd love to do. I'd make sure to add my own special ingredient to the mix. Ooh, or maybe I could manage horses? I could look after you! I would ensure that all the other Nightmares stay away from you to ensure that the gene pool isn't diluted." Leal licked his lips. Maybe he'd get a bite of horse flesh today if he was lucky.
Arven snarled at the rackdonia, but prevented his power from doing any more than chilling the air in the girls cage. How he wished that he could stretch his powers far enough so as to freeze the dragon beast. But this place seemed to have a strange effect on his powers. He could freeze the girl easily enough if he tried, but the rackdonia on the other side of the room? That was another matter. "You are in the belly of a Black Dragon ship. Don't bother trying to break out - I did the same thing, but it was no use." Arven jumped slightly. He hadn't noticed the Nightmare standing in the centre of the room. "I don't know what this is, but I know what it does. I am bound to be the Alpha human's beast of burden. And I assume many of you, if not all, will end up the same way. That is...if you are not the chosen." The chosen? Did it, perhaps, mean the same chosen Alchar that the Twin Tails had prophesied would be the only creatures not to be crushed by the rising darkness? "Ooh, scary. I suppose I'd be "chosen" to be a chef? That would be a job I'd love to do. I'd make sure to add my own special ingredient to the mix. Ooh, or maybe I could manage horses? I could look after you! I would ensure that all the other Nightmares stay away from you to ensure that the gene pool isn't diluted." Arven snarled as he recognised the voice of an Angont, and saw the snake he had threatened earlier. "Nightmare!" He called through the bars of his cage. The horse creature turned its red glazed eyes towards him "How do you, and the humans, know about the prophesy? How do you know about the chosen?"
Zahar was sitting in his nest, listening to the river as it flowed lazily by. The aroma of perfumed burnt branches filled the air. There was a flash of light, blinding him. When he opened his eyes the Twin Tails stood before him, half his body nothing but white bones. A half skeleton mouth opened to utter a prophesy. Something in Zahar stirred at the words, he had heard them before. Slowly the memory came to him, faint as a half remembered dream. The clearing, full of panicking animals. A blizzard, freezing anything in it's path. Screams of pain, a creature dying from the actions of another. The screams turned to words, yelling out a prophesy. The howling of the wind joined in. The air turned cold, making Zahar shiver. Wait. Since when could phoenixes feel cold? He blinked in surprise and found himself flying over a wasteland. The ground was scorched and nothing grew there. The bird landed by a river, trailing through the landscape. He perched himself on the scarred remains of a tree. His fire turned hotter in confusion and a nearby branch caught fire. The smell hit him like a physical blow. It was that of perfumed branches. Realization dawned on him as he looked over his home, now nothing but ash. A mighty roar shook the ground. Zahar turned just in time to see a spear fly towards him. The spear impaled him but oddly enough he didn't feel pain. A monster moved towards him. It's malicious grin failing to catch his eye as he focused on a glowing rune by it's neck. "I don't know what this is, but I know what it does. I am bound to be the Alpha human's beast of burden. And I assume many of you, if not all, will end up the same way. That is... if you are not the Chosen." This made no sense. With a snarl the creature pounced and closed it's giant jaws around his neck. A cry escaped Zahar as he jolted awake. He spread his wings, only to find that he couldn't. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. The first thing he noticed was the cage that surrounded him. He didn't even try to break free, knowing that whoever caged a phoenix should be smart enough to make the right precautions. The second thing to come to mind was the nightmare in the middle of the room with a dark rune on it's neck. A conversation was going on but the burning bird ignored them, taking in the his surroundings.
Garlem took in the insistant bickering and sighed, this was not part of the plan at all. "I am not from these lands, I know little of your stories. Tell me what is this...Chosen and why are we to be branded? Can we perphaps speak to your master?"
"Ooh, scary. I suppose I'd be "chosen" to be a chef? That would be a job I'd love to do. I'd make sure to add my own special ingredient to the mix. Ooh, or maybe I could manage horses? I could look after you! I would ensure that all the other Nightmares stay away from you to ensure that the gene pool isn't diluted." The Nightmare eyed the Angont coldly, then strode over toward the cage, but didn't lower his head to stare inside. Instead, the flames licking at his heels intensified, slowly heating up the metal cage until the snake felt his belly begin to sizzle. "One, no snake can look after any beast, be they in any state of conscience to trust you. Two, the ones not chosen, will be used for their abilities. Such as your poison." The Nightmare watched as realization dawned upon Leal's cold-blooded brain. "I have seen many of your kind, attached to tubes and feeders, so that you hang suspended in chambers and are continuously drained of your venom. Man uses every weapon he can get. I was picked out of hundreds of my kind by mere chance. The others are being used as mounts for the men's armies; along with the unicorns, and any other creature they can tie a saddle to." The Nightmare eyed the dragon not far off. "Nightmare!" He called through the bars of his cage. The horse creature turned its red glazed eyes towards him "How do you, and the humans, know about the prophesy? How do you know about the chosen?" The Nightmare raised his head and turned to look at the wolf. "As you all know, Man was created alongside the animals by the Twin Tails, but if you look here..." he tapped the pentagram beneath his hooves, directly at the strange shadow beneath the Twin Tails' claws, "...the Twin Tails is not one being. The Twin Tails itself represents balance, and I believe man discovered that it is harmed by the world being out of balance. But to kill the Twin Tails is impossible. However, to sicken it, and then force it to be reborn again is another matter." "There is a scroll filled with runes from the ancient time when man and animal were together. I cannot read it, but there were pictures of two creatures. One was the Twin Tails, the other was the same as the one here. A creature like Twin Tails, and yet not like it. I fear that it is this second being that my master is after. But how he will revive it-" "I am not from these lands, I know little of your stories. Tell me what is this...Chosen and why are we to be branded? Can we perphaps speak to your master?" "Even I cannot speak to him -I can only be subjected to whatever commands he puts in my head. I do not know much more than what pictures I have seen, and what stories i have heard as a foal. But one such story was close to something like the situation we are in now. For ten thousand years ago, legend said that the Twin Tails died, and was replaced by two lesser entities until one rose to become the next Twin Tails." "As for being Chosen... I fear that means that you will be the only creatures who are not going to be driven extinct."
