SOUL FORGE (CLOSED)

It was early morning. Hazel had decided to get a head start on her bow practice. She stood in the empty training room staring at the targets in front of her. She did okay with the first couple of hours after she had gotten the bow, but she wanted to do better. She wished she had remembered to bring her iPod and portable speakers with her. Some music while she practiced would have been nice. With a fluid motion she took an arrow out and nocked it. Taking a deep breath, she drew the arrow back and let it fly; watching it sail towards the target. The arrow struck just a little to the left of the bulls eye. "Nice." she said to herself, as she pulled out another arrow.

*Victor wandered into the training room with the intent of cleaning it some only to find Hazel already there practicing. He sat back quietly and watched, not wanting to break her concentration or scare her. She was a natural with with the weapon from what he could tell.
Taking another shot, the landed not too far from the bulls-eye. "That was a great shot, m'lady."

Hazel spun at the sound of Victor's voice. She grinned when she saw him. "Hey, Victor. Thanks! I didn't think it would be this easy." She looked away. Eyrth's transformation still bothered her. More than she would have liked. "Hey, so um, are there any other things that happen to me after the Forge? Besides, you know," she held up the bow.

*Victor smiled at her broad grin, but suddenly she looked troubled. He walked into the room, keeping his back straight as he could, and came to her side. " What will happen is...you'll become a great Guardian archer," he replied, giving her an encouraging smile, "Are you worried about what will happen out in the field?"

"A little," she replied with a half smile. "I haven't done any fighting. None of my family where in the military." She let a out a bit of a laugh. "I'm not sure how I'll be able to defend myself against anything magical."

*The soldier nodded in understanding. When he first joined the Black Guard, he had worried the same things. They took him in though, trained him, and even taught him to read.
"You just need some basics to practice is all, they eventually become instinct," Victor smiled, "I can show you some things if you'd like."

Hazel brightened. "Really? I would love that! Thank you." It felt better knowing that she had someone to show her the ropes. "So, what do I do?"

*Victor grinned at Hazel, catching some of her enthusiasm. "Of course!"
The young soldier motioned for her to follow him over to a dueling platform near the back of the training room "A few basics that can help don't really even involve your weapon. I can show you some of those."
He stepped up into the training platform and offered his free hand to her. "Have you ever been in a fight before?"

"Not really." Hazel said, taking his hand. My brother's wrestled a lot though. "I had to pull them apart once when it got a little out of hand."

*He pulled her onto the platform and then let go of her hand before stepping back. "I had brothers too. Five of them actually. We caused a fair bit of trouble for my mum," he chuckled. His eyes grew distant for just a moment, and his smile shrank some, as he remembered his brothers. He'd give anything to see them again. Even if it was for just one last brawl. Blinking a few times, he looked back to hazel and came back to the moment. It was easy to do with her.
"Alright, fighting. Let's see you make a fist, yeah?"

Hazel felt a pang of sadness for Victor. She couldn't imagine losing her siblings. She didn't ask him about it. There where some memories best left undisturbed. She clenched her hand. "Like this?"

*Victor looked over her fist and shook his head, with a small smile. "Ah, you're asking for a broken thumb this way." He reached up and adjusted her thumb to be further down from her knuckles, noticing how rough his hands were compared to hers. "Like this," he nodded, then, he tapped her middle knuckle lightly with his own thumb, "Always hit with the flat of this finger. It will keep you from hurting your wrist. Keep your wrist strong."

Stepping back from her, he held up his free palm like a target. "Alright, Miss Hazel. Show me what you can do."

Hazel squared up like a boxer and glared at Victor's palm. She studied it for a moment, then let her wrist fly; connecting it to Victor's palm with a smack. "How was that?" She grinned.

*Victor caught her fist in his palm with a gentle squeeze and grinned. "Good hit! You can get more power into though if you change just a few things with your follow through. He let go of her hand and came around to the side, tapping her shoulder. "May I?"

"Um, yeah sure." Hazle replied. Unsure of what he was going to do.

*He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her some, letting her feel the movement, before pushing her back to the start position. "Rather than just the power of your arm, use your whole body. There's devastating power behind a strike using your body weight."
Then he stepped back and held up his palm again with a nod. "Try again, this time using that same motion. Follow through with your entire body."

Hazel nodded. She narrowed her eyes again, and glared at his fist. Putting her body through the motion that Victor had shown her she let her fist fly in to his palm.

*This time there was a loud pop as her fist connected with his palm. He grabbed her hand, only to let go of it in order to shake off the stinging her punch had left behind. "Ow. Good hit!" He grinned.

Hazel's eye's widened and she backed off a little. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't break anything did I?" She felt like an idiot. Why did I hit so hard?

*"No! No, I'm fine. See?" Victor stepped towards her showing his hand to her. There was a red mark in the middle of his palm but otherwise he was unhurt. His eyes met Hazel's and he smiled. "Not hurt. Though I pity the monster that tries fighting you, Miss. Hazel."

Hazel looked down and bushed a little. "Aw come on I'm not that good." Though secretly she was pleased. She always wanted to learn how to through a good punch.

*"Hey, a Black Guardsman never lies," Victor replied with a little chuckle. The soldier leaned to the left and pulled his dagger from its sheath on his hip. Flipping the dagger with practiced fingers, he offered the pommel and hilt to Hazel with a small smile. "You should learn some knife work as well."

Hazel took the dagger. "Ah, shouldn't we be using dull blades?"

*"I'm only going to show you a few key uses so you can use the practice dummies," he smiled gently, as he started adjusting her grip. He moved her fingers around the handle and showed her how using her thumb could give extra strength to her grip.

"Now, for the most effective strike you want to aim for the belly or just above at the liver," he instructed, "Both will cause your opponent to bleed out quickly and a disabling pain."

With each area he spoke of, he guided the point of the dagger over each, being careful not to get to close. "Do you see?"

Hazel blanched a little but nodded. "Belly and liver, lots of blood, got it."

Victor noticed her discomfort at the idea. Even though it was still a grizzly thing to do to someone, it was important she knew how to protect herself. Especially, because while Lady would be there watching over them, he wanted to be there protecting too. He slipped a calloused hand over hers and gave it a comforting squeeze over the dagger before letting go. "I want you to keep this dagger with you when you go out into the field. I've kept it sharp and even though its not a magicked blade, it will serve you well."

"Thank you," Hazel said; turning the dagger over on her hands. "I really appreciate you teaching me all this. It'll be nice going out there somewhat prepared."

"If I could, I would go you," Victor blurted out. He was entirely serious in his words even if they did make him panic a little. "Er- everyone, of course."

"I know," she said. "I'll be fine. Now that I've got some self defense under my belt." She grinned, holstering the knife.

He grinned, admiring her spirit. "Yes, Miss. Hazel. I think you will do wonderfully."

*credits to aryamajor
 
Alex enjoyed practicing. The more familiar she became with her bow, the calmer she felt using it. Despite this however, something was nagging at her. An annoying thought rooted in stuff she had always thought but never spoke aloud... until her clone had.
So, as soon as Alex noticed Lady was free and everyone else was focused on their own training, she finally tore her eyes off the training target and asked.
"What was the point of the trials?" She made sure to keep her voice sounding neutral, not giving away any underlying thoughts. "The trials in the Soul Forge, I mean."

Lady paused her pacing at Alex's question and her blue-green eyes snapped up to meet hers. She found Alex to be much like herself in some ways. Inquisitive and always thinking, but never wanting to show too much. She tilted her head toward the door. "Let us take a walk? "

Alex nodded and stepped towards the door, then paused and waited for Lady to lead the way. She didn't put her bow down just yet... she liked having it with her.

Lady lead her out of the training room and started up the stair case that lead to the island above at an easy pace, taking each stair along side Alex. The question she asked was one many Guardians asked when the emerged from the Forge.
"Alex, before I answer your question. May I ask if you remember what I said about Otherworld being a place of balance?"

Alex thought back on everything Lady had told them, but there had been so much new information these past couple days she had trouble remembering all of it. "Kind of... Like the magic right? Nothing comes without a price, that sort of thing?"

"Kind of," Lady chuckled, as she scaled the stairs and opened the door leading out side to the dome . The sun met them and it was bright and warm over her cheeks. Always a welcome feeling.

"Balance...give and take. Magic is a balance as is life; Love and hate. Joy and dispair. Anger and peace. A you cannot appreciate one of these things without having felt it counterpart. Would you agree?"

She kept walking around the side of the dome and found an old ladder, partially taken by vines. It lead up to the glittering dome above them.

Alex shrugged, looking a little lost. "I guess...?" She wasn't sure what any of this had to do with the Soul Forge trials, but she supposed Lady would get to that. She tried to think about it more seriously. She closed her eyes briefly and really thought about what Lady was trying to say. She sighed softly. "I think I understand what you mean."

Lady started scaling the ladder, leading Alex up to the top of the dome where a catwalk encircled the base of the crystal. From this vantage, the entire island was spread out before them and the mainland was visible in the distance. Bright sun and blue skies with puffy clouds were sitting over the land in a lazy sort of summer day. To the east however, blackness inked over the sky. It sat heavy and impermeable over the land.

She held out her scarred hand to help Alex over the edge. Alex still sounded lost and Lady didnt blame her. "A soul is no different. It is balanced just the same. The darkness: Our fears and vices. And the light: Our potiential. The qualities that balance those fears. You remember the words above the archway at the Forge, yes?"

Alex took Lady's hand hesitantly. When she looked out at the view she would have gasped at how beautiful it was, if it hadn't been for the darkness on the horizon. She swallowed nervously.
"Where the darkness is its deepest, and the light is the brightest." She remembered every word of it. "Either way you won't be able to see a thing..." She didn't realize she was saying the last part out loud until it was too late and quickly clamped her mouth shut. "S-sorry, that was just my first thought when I read those words, back in the Forge."

Lady chuckled some as she gave Alex small smile. "No offense is taken. It is true, we as people cannot always see our own faults. Or our own potential and hope. The Forge can though. It tests us against to see the balance that is a part of us and..perhaps bring some insight to ourselves. I know my own trials were eye-opening."

Alex nodded. "Eye-opening is one way to describe it..."
She frowned. "So the trials are so we can find... balance?" She thought about her apathetic clone... that really was a part of her then?

"Balance...and perhaps a better undersanding of yourself. How can you wield a weapon using your soul if you're unwilling to look at both light and the darkness in yourself?" Lady replied as she looked out over Otherworld, thinking of her own trials, "We all must face those things and it can be terrifying. Does what I say make sense?"

Alex nodded as the truth of Lady's words sank in. Light and Darkness. Her clone in the Forge had been part of her, yes, but not all of her. Her palm stung, and she only then realized the had been clenching a fist to the point of her nails being embedded in the palm of her hand. She relaxed and stretched the fingers, slowly.
She could fight it, right? That's why the Forge let her pass. She could fight that part of her.

"Why did you choose us?" It was like the question had formed in her vocal chords before it formed in her mind. She took care not to show the doubt she was feeling. "Eryth, Hazel and me. What about us made you think we were Guardian material?"

Lady glanced at Alex and a half-smile curled to her lips. Maybe perhaps now she understood, more. " Different reasons, and yet the same. I chose you because I saw potential, Alex. You have an inquisitive, strong mind and heart, with the potential to use them. If you so desire. "

A moment passed as her eyes met Alex's with a long stare. It looked as if she were seeing Alex but also gazing past her, thinking of other things too. "It is our choices that reveal who we are, in the end."

Before she could stop herself, Alex was chuckling. She breathed deeply through her nose and pulled herself together, then smiled at Lady. "It's nice to know you believe in me..." That made one of them. Lady was right, though. It was the choices they made that shaped everyone as a person. And Alex, who preferred not making decisions whenever she could help it, felt like somewhat of a blank slate at times. Time to square up.

She turned her gaze towards the horizon and the darkening sky. "How long do you think it'll be, before we have to go to battle?" These training sessions wouldn't last forever, and Alex had noticed a certain... tense atmosphere around the training room. She guessed it would not be long now.

She grinned along with her. It was good to see that spark in Alex's eye despite, her doubts. Doubt was something she'd had to face in her own decision to enter the Forge, and she knew how hard it could be to do own up to those fears. However, at the question regarding combat, her smile faded some. She had no desire to scare anyone, but the truth was always best. A lesson she'd learned from James and Mallory.

"Any day now," Lady replied, glancing out at the darkness, "James, Victor and I have set traps and borders to contain the majority of the Shadow forces using our own energy. I can feel how weak they have become and the enemy has grown stronger. During your time in the Forge, they attacked the Carenium with a unit of undead. Soon we will have to take the fight to them, I am sure."

Alex's eyes widened at the news. "Attacked? Wait, did you, James and Victor fight off a hoarde of undead while we were arguing with the lion cryptid?" She blinked in astonishment. "Sorry we couldn't be more help."

"You were where you needed to be, helping in that way," she assured her, "No need to be sorry."

A moment passed an Lady looked to the bow in Alex's hands. "Does your weapon carry a name yet?"

Alex looked down at her bow. It felt light in her hands, like it belonged there, but at the same time its presence was strangely overwhelming. She opened her mouth and it stayed open for a moment, gathering her thoughts.
"Well, no... not yet. I've got it narrowed down to a couple names but I just... It's difficult to encompass everything this bow is in just a name..." She chuckled. "Takes a lot of willpower to not just give up and name it David Bowie. You know, 'cuz it's a bow." She looked back up to Lady with a grin.

Lady nodded until Alex mentioned something about a David Bowie. Her brow furrowed as she tried to think of what that might be. It sounded like a person? "This Bowie was an excellent archer then? It would not be uncommon to name a weapon after a master at th craft."

Alex couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing. It took her a while to regain her composure, and by the time she did she had tears in her eyes.
"Eh no, he's a singer. I was just joking." She giggled some more before taking a deep breath and fixing her gaze back on her bow. "I'll figure out a name... eventually," she said softly. Then she looked up at the sky, trying to discern the time by looking at the placement of the sun. She had no idea how to do that however, so she gave up rather quickly.
She sighed. "Maybe I should continue training if I want to be able to use this on a moving target some day..."

Lady tilted her head to the side, but started to laugh too when she realized her error. Just as the new Guardians had much to learn about her world, she knew there were many things she had yet to discover about theirs. The portals had been closed for so long, since long before she was born, and Otherworld knew so little about the other realm now. From her searching, she had learned much, but there was always more.

"Yes, I think that would be wise. Moving targets are much different," she nodded, "Perhaps, I can assist. Would you like to help me catch dinner?"

Alex was a little taken aback by the thought of hunting. Sure, she wasn't a vegetarian, but she had never had to catch the food herself!
It seemed supermarkets weren't very common in Otherworld, as was to be expected from a world at the brink of destruction. She would have to adapt...

"Sounds good. I could definitely use the practice."

Lady grinned and lead them down from the Carenium dome. There were several trails that would be to find game on. Taking Alex deep into the forest surrounding the dome she found the signs of a deer. It was small judging by the prints, but it would be enough. They lead to a little clearing cover in clovers and Lady invited Alex to sit in the underbrush. "Half the trick of hunting is patience and a sharp eye."

Alex nodded to indicate that she understood, but couldn't help feeling a little worried at those words. Her eye wasn't eactly dull, but could she really call it sharp? And she wouldn't even try kidding herself with patience. For this hunting trip, she would just have to rely on the belief that she could do anything for food.
"What's the other half?" she asked. She wanted to be as mentally prepared for this as possible.

"Luck," Lady replied, with a small chuckle.

A few minutes passed as they waited quietly in the underbrush for their quarry. Lady absently rubbed over her hands, which had a tendency to grow stiff every now and then, while they watched.

Alex didn't know what to say to that answer, so she simply kept quiet. The first minute of waiting wasn't too bad, but after a while she grew a little antsy. Her legs were getting stiff too. She carefully stretched one, angling it to the side so it was level to the ground, then the other. She sighed softly.
"How long does this usually take?" she whispered. She didn't want to speak too loud, in case she would scare off some wildlife pondering whether or not it would like to enter their field of vision.

"That depends on our quarry," she whispered back,"Though I think our waiting has ended. Look."

A delicate doe with big brown eyes and spindly legs wandered into the cleaning, looking it over with cautious eyes before ducking down to start nibbling on the clovers.

Lady nodded to Alex's bow and leaned in close. "Draw, aim and fire. One smooth, motion with no hesitstion." Her words were barely a whisper.

No hesitation.

Alex worried about those words. She had shot plenty of people in video games but real life was different. She shakily took hold of an arrow and took it out of the quiver. She then drew it slowly... and something strange happened.
Her hesitation was gone. Holding her very own bow, her hands had never felt steadier. She felt as if she drew strength from it, even moreso than she had during target practice.
The second her arrow was fully drawn she felt an impulse rush through her, a dull command to let go. No more forceful than a guiding hand on her back. She did, and the arrow flew through the air and embedded itself into the deer's flank. Simultaneously, Alex mumbled the name that came to her. "Faliq."
She wasn't even sure if it had been a killing hit, but she couldn't hold down her excitement. She remained where she was, squatting in the bushes, the only show of her inner feelings a large grin. She could tell part of it was the bow, but most of it was her own. Maybe this was what people called The Thrill of the Hunt.
She glanced over at Lady to see if she could read anything off her. Had she done well? Average? Poorly?

Lady was already a blur, having jumped from the bush and chasing after the hobbling doe. "Come Alex!" she called as she leapt over the brush across the clearing. "You almost have it!"

The doe crashed through the bushes, trekking deeper into the groves, with the swords woman close behind. She hoped Alex would follow and keep up. There was no better training for a bowman than a live hunt. It taught maneuverability, swiftness, and quick thinking.

Alex was taken aback by Lady suddenly dashing away. She jumped up and quickly followed her, though she wasn't sure if she would be able to fully catch up with Lady. Running was not her forté.

The doe ran through the underbrush with Lady in hot pursuit. It was struggling to get away from the arrow sticking from its flank, and eventually it bounded over a bush into a ditch. Struggling in the mud, it pulled itself up and took off back toward the way it came and toward Alex.

Alex halted immediately when she saw the deer rushing towards her. It was almost as if the world slowed down for her while a voice in the back of her mind chanted 'shoot! shoot! shoot! shoot! shoot!' over and over.
She drew her bow and had an arrow notched in no time; that she had practiced quite enough by now. The arrow flew in a straight line, and found its place directly between the animal's eyes. Alex gasped as the deer hit the ground with a dull thud, then released a sound that seemed a mix between a laugh and a muffled yell. Her hands shot up to her head as she grinned widely.
"Oh my God did you- did you see that!? I- I just, hah!" Her speech broke off into another bout of laughter, her eyes wide as if she had trouble believing the reality of it all. "I've never- I mean not even in freaking Skyrim- I just, I feel so alive!!!"
She paused abruptly, seemingly strartled by her own outburst. "That's a weird thing to say after killing something, isn't it?"

Lady slid to a halt as the deer fell, dead before it's head hit the ground. Alex seemed to be feeling an growing attachment the weapon. She was learning to let it be a part of her, recognize that this was something that was always a part of her.

She grinned and walked over to the deer as Alex cheered. "Well done, Alex. Well done."

"Thank you," Alex said. She had calmed down now, staring at Faliq with a puzzled look. She had handled bows before in her life, but not like this. She chose to believe it was Faliq's influence on her, and not the fact that this had been a living target, that had fired up her enthusiasm. She tore her attention away from the bow, letting her eyes rest on the deer instead.

"What do we do now? Drag it back?"

"Not quite," Lady chuckled, as she started pulling a strong leather strap from the pouch at her belt. She looped one end around the back leg near the small hoove then lashed the opposite end to a low tree branch nearby. It hung limp and swaying slightly by the tree branch now. The doe was small but it would be plenty for everyone at the Carenium.

"James told me many people in the human world do not hunt. I did not believe it until he took me to a place dubbed Walmart."

She slipped the dagger off her hip, and with an expertly placed jab into the animals torso, began a long slice down its belly. As she gutted the animal, with ease she glanced up to Alex. "It will be safe to carry back now, and much lighter too. Have you ever been hunting before?" She asked casually.

Alex couldn't help scowling at the smell that wafted from the deer's cut belly. She averted her eyes from it. "At Walmart? Yes. In the forest? No, never. I don't know if James told you about the warped relationship we from the human world have with killing. Most of us love meat but as soon as we're reminded of what is actually is we're eating... oh boy." She shrugged. "That's the human way I guess. We just wanna enjoy the results without having to do the dirty work. It's why money was invented."

She understood in part what Alex was saying. "Not only humans," Lady replied, as she pulled the arrows from the deers flesh and offered them to Alex, " Some Guardians had become as you say. They believed their blood and their weapons would make them good Guardians without the work it requires."

She walked away from the deer, and retrieved a long but sturdy branch from the ground nearby. With quick work, the deer was suspended from the limb neatly by its feet. "It may be dirty work, but this a clean kill. It seems you have named your bow as well? The name of another singer?"

Alex felt her cheeks warm just a bit at Lady calling her shot a clean kill.

"Eh, no. Actually, Faliq was the name of an archer character in a book I really enjoyed... back in the human world. I'm sure if I looked it up online I'd be able to find some deep meaning to the name. Unfortunately our luxury guardian quarters did not come with free Wi-Fi... You guys must get a lot of bad reviews." Realizing that there might be too many confusing human world references for Lady, Alex quickly dropped the subject.
She gestured at the deer, though still didn't look at it directly. "Do you need some help with that?"

Alex was speaking of things she didn't know. Online? Wifi? "If your quarters are missing something, I can always find a more suitable space."

She nodded and pointed to the other end of the branch, before picking up her own side and setting it securely on her shoulders. "When we skin her, you may have the pelt for your quiver. A souvenir from your first hunt."

Alex lifted the branch. Now that she didn't have much choice regarding her proximity to the deer, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She generally wasn't too enthusiastic about dead things but this was... her own kill. The smallest bit of pride was growing within her feelings of disgust.

"Ah, thanks! At least if a deer tries to attack me then it'll know it's no match for me," Alex joked. "And don't worry about the room. I was just kidding. It's perfectly fine." She fell silent for a moment, thinking about her room. The things she had seen there. Her voice was softer when she spoke up again.
"It was Mallory's room, right? My room." She thought about what to ask. What she really wanted to know. "What was he like?" If anyone would be able to answer that question it was Lady, but Alex hoped she didn't overstep any boundaries by asking it.

Lady looked to Alex with an unreadable expression set so deep it filtered in through her eyes. Talking about Mallory was hard, even now, but the question was a natural one.

"Mallory was by all accounts a good soul with a heavy burden," she replied, "He was a strong leader, Lord Commander of the Black Guard and and he cared for the people under his command. He would never ask someone to do something he was not willing to do himself. He was protective and brave. Everything a Guardian truly should be. He weilded a great sword from the Forge. Iravanis. It was a powerful blade. Too powerful and it was his curse to constantly bear."

Looking at Lady, Alex almost felt bad for bringing up the topic. She felt like she needed to know this however, and she wasn't sure when she would get another chance to ask.
From what Lady said, it sounded like Mallory was simply a victim of circumstances. And his weapon, Iravanis, had been one of these circumstances. Thinking of Faliq, now strapped securely on Alex's back, she couldn't imagine how any Soul Forge weapon could be seen as a curse rather than a blessing.

"Lady," Alex started as she remembered something she should have said earlier, "The first night I was here, I... I found a baku. In my room. Mallory's room."

Lady jerked them to a halt, making the dead deer sway from the branch. Her eyes met Alex's in a near panic. "What?" A baku? They were conniving, and could make a man go mad with what they offered. "Alex, you didn't make a deal did you?" she asked quickly.

Alex's eyes widened. "What? No!" She shook her head. "No. I mean, I didn't..." She readjusted the branch on her shoulder and thought about how to word it right. "The baku was sealed in the wardrobe. I-I accidentally released it," her eyes lowered, towards the dagger strapped to her belt, "with Coraxe. The baku said that it had been sealed by 'the man.' That this man suffered from nightmares and had made a deal with it, and then sealed it away using Coraxe." She hesitated, wondered if she had drawn the right conclusion from all this. "I thought- Could that man have been Mallory?"

She gripped the branch tightly but found herself unable to move forward as she processed what Alex told her. Mallory had been hiding a baku in his wardrobe, sealed away with Coraxe... when the Shadows came they had tortured his mind, tempting him to turn in his rage state. She never imagined he would turn to a baku of all things. Had that been the only way he could think of to escape. He had never even told her.

Lady swallowed the bitter mix of anger and sadness and then set her jaw, trying to hide the feeling. She couldn't afford to be anything but confident when others were relying on them.

"Coraxe belonged to Mallory and if the dagger broke the blood seal, then the Baku belonged to him as well," she replied, her voice sounding thicker than before.

Alex opened her mouth, then closed it again, not sure what to say. It was clear Lady hadn't known about this, and that finding out now had caught her off guard.
"I am so sorry," Alex managed to say. "I mean, I should have told you sooner it just... slipped my mind." Standing there in a forest with a dead deer between the two of them, Alex realized maybe she could have picked a better moment to share this information. Still, getting it off her chest felt good at least. "I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Iravanis tore at his mind and the Shadows tempted him to end his suffering, to join them, He refused, many times, unlike my brother," Lady said, for once unable to bear the knowledge alone, "It was an even greater burden than I knew."

A long moment passed and she sighed, gathering herself. "I am sorry about the Baku. They are not the most friendly creatures and you faced him alone. You did well, Alex."

Alex blushed again at the praise. "Well, he wasn't exactly friendly, but he said he couldn't touch me unless I made a deal with him so," she shrugged, "it wasn't a big deal." Thinking back on how terrified she had been of the Baku, she felt like saying it 'wasn't a big deal' was pretty much an outright lie. But she was a guardian, right? She was probably going to face worse things than that damn Baku, so she might as well try to at least sound prepared.
And to be prepared meant knowing what you were up against. "How do these Shadows operate?" Alex asked. "I mean, what made your brother's case different from Mallory's?" She tried to keep her voice gentle, which she wasn't very good at.

Lady resumed walking trying to think of how to answer that question. What had made her brother so different? Made him turn to the Shadow and betray them? When she thought it over, the answer was simple.

"Mallory carried Iravanis' curse, but hewanted to be a Guardian," she replied quietly as she started to walk again, "Doriane never wanted to be a Guardian, though he enjoyed the title."

Alex remembered what Victor had told them, about how the oldest child of certain families would become a Guardian. "So he didn't want to be a Guardian and you did... You know, after Otherworld is saved and all you should think of a better way to recruite Guardians." She wasn't so sure herself whether she was being serious or not.

Lady chuckled as she continued walking alongside Alex. "That is the hope. The Shadows have destroyed much of my home, but where there is destruction, there is also a chance to change things. To start over. I think you and the others are an important part of that."

They made it to the Carenium entrance and she drew Sperest with her free hand, tapping the mosaic in the middle. The trap door slowly opened, revealing the stairs below. "Once we get to the kitchen, I will show you how to skin the deer and we can see about lining your quiver with it," she smiled.

Alex would be lying if she said she didn't feel slightly nauseous at the thought, but she would simply need to find the courage. She had already killed the animal, what happened to the body from here on didn't matter.
She smiled a bit shakily, then managed to fuel her gaze with some conviction and nodded. "Sure thing."​
 
Eryth was sprawled out on the floor of the training room. It was just after noon, at the peak of the day, and the heat was killing him. It felt ratger steange to not be able to sweat. His muscles just worked at their snappy rate until he started to melt away. He even tried panting, but that hadn't helped either. Now he was just lying around like a lizard, his frill semi-lifted to get air flowing over its huge surface area. Corbin was still in his hand from the training, but not tightly. It was just too hot to do any more right now.

Alex had taken a break from practicing with Faliq, opting to try some moves with Coraxe instead. At least with bows she had some experience, but daggers were a whole new world for her. It tired her out much faster than training with Faliq had so far, so she decided to take a break and get herself a drink. As she was sheathing Coraxe, she noticed Eryth in the corner of her eye, lying on the floor. She frowned and walked over to him. "Hey Eryth, you okay? Need some water?"

"Yes and yes." He mumbled. "It's too hot to move."

"You can say that again," Alex mumbled as she wiped some sweat off her brow. She took off to get some water and returned with two glasses a couple minutes later. She held one out to Eryth, waiting for him to sit up and take it.

Ery rolled onto his side to use his arm and adjust his tail from under his legs to under his back. He rolled back to a sitting up position, his tail no longer in danger of being painfully squished beneath his weight. "Thank you." He took thebwater and dumped it on his head, the cool evaporation whisking heat away from his black scales. "Ahhh."

Alex took a sip of her water, then smirked at Eryth's actions. "Is this a lizard thing or were you just that hot?"

"I can't sweat anymore!" Eryth said excitedly. "At all. It's terrible. I get so hot and can't even cool off. Plus black is never good for avoiding heat in the first place."

Alex nodded. "Oh yeah I know. I wear a lot of black. But I'm lucky I'm pale, at least I have a way out while you... can't really tear your own skin off, huh?" Her look turned a bit more apologetic. "Sounds sucky. But I'm sure there are eh, good sides to this too, right?"

"Well I'm a frillie argonian, so that's pretty awesome. And I can smell everyrhing better now." His tongue shot out briefly, accentuating his point. "And I love the tail." His tail came over his lap as he felt along the scales, just about cuddling it.

"Heh." Alex sat down next to Eryth and took another sip of water. "Well, I usually play as a dark elf, but maybe next time I should go argonian... You know, if there is a next time I play Skyrim..."

"Histskin is pretty nice if you're reckless like me. In the game that is. But yea... I don't think I'm ever going back now."

Alex had to resist the urge to slap herself. Of course Eryth couldn't go back the human world looking like that. "Ah, yeah sorry... I mean, I'm not sure if I wanna go back either. I have to say most of what we do here beats sitting in my human world apartment being depressed all day." She shrugged. "Though that might change when we actually start fighting."

"Mhm. It's been a nice change I guess. I couldn't really imagine leaving all this anyway, the wonder and fantasy and everything. Just my family, you know. I worry about them."

Alex thought about her own family, her parents. They had been great to her, but were always convinced she was wasting her life. She supposed they had been kind of right. "You're all about helping people, right? I'm sure your parents would understand if they, you know, knew about all this... God, it's weird to think there are clones of us back in our own world."

"I guess so. I did save a dragon yesterday. I'm still going to miss them anyway. Maybe they'll get to say goodbye to my clone, that'll make them feel better."

Alex's eyes widened. "Wow, you saved a dragon? What happened?" She decided to drop the parent topic. It seemed to only bring both of them down.

"She got into a fight with something and Victor got me to go help him with her. Nasty gashes across her belly and torn up wings. We had to cauterise her wounds they were so big. She woke up a bit later and just about chased after me, but I got away too quickly. These legs were made for sprinting."

Alex glanced at his legs. "Damn." She had to admit his appearance was still strange to her. She had to get used to it. "I can't run to save my life, but that's why I have a bow I guess, so I don't have to run anywhere to shoot something," she chuckled.

Eryth noticed Alex's look at his legs and rolled back, lifting them in the air and shaking them a little. "They look kind of funny, don't they? Digitigrade like canines and raptors. Big claws too. Maybe I should take up kickboxing."

Alex grinned. "Maybe. Who knows, maybe those Shadows have two weaknesses. Forge weapons and your feet."

Eryth grinned at Alex. "Your wit seems sharp enough to do some real damage too."

Alex chuckled, then shrugged. "Ravenclaw," she said in a 'what can you do' tone.

"I never actually read the Harry Potter series. There's a snake one, right? I think I'd join them."

Alex put a hand over her chest in mock-indignation. "I can't believe this. Such an integral part of human culture and you haven't read them!" She grinned again. "Although I haven't read them either. I've seen the movies. Also the snake one would be Slytherin."

"Now, I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I am rather partial to reptiles."

Alex looked him up and down, letting her eyes rest on his frill for a second before shooting back to his face. "I was not aware, no."

Eryth rolled back forwards, pushing himself to his feet and taking a few springy steps forwards. "Say, are you hungry? I want to go find something to eat."

"Oh yes, I'm always hungry." Alex pushed herself up from the floor, though less gracefully than Eryth with his springy legs. "You're not about to tell me you want to hunt for crickets in the forest though, are you? Because a deer I can shoot but I'm afraid crickets are a bit above my level."

"Crickets? No, I..." The thought of eating like other reptiles hadn't occured yet to Eryth. It made sense, sort of, and it didn't sound all that unpleasant for him to find some six-legged-snacks... "I never thought about that actually. Now that you say it though..."

Alex sighed. "Something tells me I should not have suggested that," she mumbled. "If you wanna try out a scary reptile diet I don't mind coming with you, but I am not touching any bugs."

"... Now I'm really torn. My head says no but my stomach says yes. There's probably something better around the kitchen anyway, I think I'll start there." Eryth grinned and picked Corbin back up, resting the mid-size poleaxe on his shoulder before he started to bounce along down the hall to the kitchen.

Alex followed him. The prospect of a sandwhich sounded really good to her right about now.

Eryth got to the kitchen first, lacking a "slow" walking speed. It was just past the great hall, and looked quite rustic with its large stone block construction. The wood oven was thankfully off right now, and Eryth wouldn't start cooking from the inside out by coming in.

Victor pushed open the galley door with his back and hobbled inside caring a solid wooden box in his free hand. As soon has his eyes landing on Alex and Eryth rummaging through the kitchen, he stopped and gave a quick bow. "Alex, Eryth, anything I can help you with?"

Alex nodded. "Actually, we were looking for something to eat. Do you have any sandwhiches lying around?"

Victor set the box down on the counter top carefully and thought about what he could offer them. "I have some bread, butter and jam. Would that work? Or I can pull some of the venison from the cold room."

"Do you have a lot of vegitables around?" Eryth asked, his mouth starting to water at the thought of a venison BLT.

"There are some in the cold room as well, just ask before you eat it. It may be meant for a potion rather than for eating on a sandwhich," Victor chuckles as he picked up the box again and headed toward the heavy wooden door to the back, "I'm going in there myself. I need to grind these little guys up for something I'm working on and the cold makes them easier to deal with."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "'Grind up these little guys'? What are you up to?"

The soldier paused and grinned some as he slid open the box lid revealing hundreds of large, black insects milling around inside. "Cave crickets. It's part of a spell for increased energy I'm working on."

"...Hey uh..." Eryth licked his lips. Crickets were foor for plenty of human people, right? Sure they roast theirs, but his lizards back home always seemed to prefer live ones. "Dobyou think I could just... Have one? Real quick?"

He shrugged. "If you'd like one, I just have to have enough for the spell."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at the situation. "Guess there's no need to go hunting after all."

Eryth's claws reach into the box, snatching one of the crickets and holding it by the shell as its legs squirmed away. He was having second thoughs, but his instincts were strong. He lifted it over his head, dropping it down into his open jaws and chomping down on it with a snap.

Victor gazed at Eryth expectantly, waiting to see what the scaled Guardian thought of his snack.

"Tastes like espresso bean, but savoury. Hey... Do you happen to have a farm for these?"

Victor raised a brow and started laughing. "No, I just caught them in the caves near the beach, but there are plenty all over the island."

Alex frowned. "Wait so he has lizard taste now too? Does this happen often to people who go through the Forge?"

"Hmm... If I could figure out a heat source I could make a closet farm." Eryth mumbled to himself, thinking over the prospects of a buffet of cricket flavours for him to feast on. "And get some basil and mint... Hmmm."

"Not often, but changes do happen," Victor replied, "There have been guardians with drastic changes, like wings for example."

Alex's eyes widened. "Wings? Seriously? I'm almost jealous." Her eyes swept the massive kitchen. "Where did you say the bread, butter and jam was again? I'm afraid I'm not really into crickets like Eryth."

Eryth grabbed another quickly, tossing into his mouth and snapping down on it just as quickly. "Sorry, I shouldn't be eating all your ingredients. I can do bread and jam too."

"In the bread box over there on the counter, and the jam is in the cupboard of above that," Victor nodded to Alex, before snagging a few more crickets from the box. "Here if you like them, I'll catch some extra next time."

Eryth cupped his hands, trapping away the little snacks. He bounced between his feet in joy. "Oooh! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Victor laughed and pulled open the door to the cold room. "Butter is in here, if you want some flavor on those."

Alex went over to the bread box and grabbed some bread, as well as jam from the cupboard, and began making a sandwhich for herself.

Emee popped out from the bread box with a squeak and ran away with bread load clutched in his paws.

Alex jumped back with a "Jesus!" and stared at the fluffy thing as it ran away.

"Emee! Give the bread back!" Victor called to the retreating house sprite. Emee squeaked and ran around the room before climbing the counter and offering the bread back to Alex, having chewed a fair portion of the end off.

"Yeahh thanks..." Alex took the bread and carefully tore off the part chewed on by Emee. "You didn't feed him any more of that radioactive gatorade, did you Eryth?"

"Nope. No gatoraid today." Eryth open his hands a little, dropping a cricket on the counter before snapping it up in his mouth quickly. "These aren't actually that bad other than the feet tickling as they go down. Are you sure you don't want to try one?"

Alex gave him an incredulous look. "100% sure. Not a big fan of live foods."

"You could drown one first. Ooh, I bet they would be great sauted!"

Alex scowled at the thought. "Pass."

"So Alex..." Eryth munched another cricket, just about swallowing them whole now. "How's Faliq coming along?"

Alex swallowed a bite of her sandwhich and smiled broadly. "Faliq's great! I've never had anything like it. I mean, its influence is... amazing! It's like it's helping me find a part of myself I think I lost a long time ago." Alex realized she was probably oversharing a bit and quickly took another bite out of her sandwhich. After she swallowed it, she asked Eryth: "What about Corbin? You working together well?"

"Oh he's been a handfull. Influencing would be putting it lightly. I did find out one of his abilities this morning though."

Alex raised her eyebrows in amazement. "You did? What kind of ability is it?"

"There was this shade that grabbed me, and Corbin's staff wasn't doing anything so I swing the hammer around and it froze him. It was like it got stunned, totally immobilised."

Alex grinned. "Oh my god, that sounds so cool." She sighed. "I wish I knew some Faliq's abilities. So far it hasn't done much aside from shoot things... Though I should say it does that quite magnificently." Her expression turned a little more serious. She wondered if she needed to do something specific to activate Faliq's abilities. "How did you activate the ability? Did you feel like, a tingle or something?"

"Mostly at the time I was focusing on not dying, so I'm not really sure, but it did aort of feel like a tingly electricy thing. Lady said it had to do with willpower, that I willed it to stop in some way so I could get away."

"Willpower, huh?" Alex mumbled. She stored that information away in her mind. "Wait, what did you do with the shade afterwards? Did you leave it there frozen?"

"Well... I woukd have, but Lady came from behind after and..." Eryth dragged a claw across his throat. "She said he'd reform though."

Alex pulled an annoyed face. "They reform? Sounds like a pain... Though I guess we have bigger problems to deal with, huh?" She thought about the darkness she had seen the day before, spreading over Otherworld like a blanket.

"That patch... I saw it from the top of the building, Emee took me to go look. It's incredible... I don't know how we're going to fight that thing."

Alex wished she was more of an optimist. Then she could smile and say something cheery like 'I'm sure we'll find a way!' Instead she sighed and glumly agreed with Eryth. "I don't know either..."

Victor had been listening to the two speak from the cold room as he ground up the rest of the crickets. He was confident with the four of them, they could battle the darkness. He only wished he could join them. He hopped out into the main kitchen and put the mashed critters onto the countertop. "Lady is stronger than she looks. She wont let you down. You all will battle the Shadows. And you'll win."

"We don't really have a choice. Not in fighting, I mean, but in winning. We have to win, we just do."

Alex nodded. "It's either winning or dying, right? So yeah, I guess that's not much of a choice at all. We're not gonna give up." She chuckled. "And I think that's the first time in my life I said those words and actually meant them."

Victor grinned and started to walk out of the kitchen, box of crickets in hand, but then he paused, thinking over the fact they would be going into the field. Turning back, he looked to the two Guardians. "Do you mind if I ask a favor of you?"

Alex shrugged and smiled. "Depends on the favor."

He hesitated for a moment. He had no desire to burden the new Guardians. They had enough on their shoulders as it was, but he couldn't help but ask the selfish request. "I have five brothers taken by the Shadow. If you see any of them, can you give them an honorable death. Please. You'd know them if you saw them. They'd look very much like me, even in Shadow."

"Oh shit." Eryth mumbled. "Yea... We can do that for you Victor, anything. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," he nodded, "I'm just grateful that they wont stay in the Shadows, if you see them. I know you'd be honorable and do it. The Guardians that defected...they didn't care about people like my brothers. You're of a different sort."

"Well... thank you. We'll do the best we can to save them and everyone else. I don't really know what's going to happen here in the next few weeks, but I'm happy to have an ally like you to guide us."

Alex smiled sadly. "Yeah, I would hope we're different..." From what she had heard of the original Guardians, she wouldn't have gotten along with them very well. "I'm sorry about your brothers, Victor."

Victor nodded. "It's alright. When its all over and they are at peace too, that's enough." Then he hobbled out of the galley door, leaving rhem to their lunch.
 
Lady took little time putting on her armor in the armory. With nimble fingers, she fastened her greaves and cuisses, then breast plate. Shoulder guards and vambraces. Her silver armor became a part of her, the laurel leaf insignia emblazoned on her shoulders. It was not the insignia of her house, but she had not marched under that banner in years. The sign was her own. In her full armor, she strapped Sperest at her side and then donned her gloves, hiding the scars with thick leather. As she finished the door opened.

Victor shuffled in first, his crutch clacking on the stone floor, and then the sleepy looking Guardians trailing behind. She turned to them, left hand resting on Sperest's pommel. Her eyes roamed over the three, giving them a moment to wake up.

"I am sorry to have woken you so suddenly," she said, "But the time has come to go into the field. The Shadows have broken through the defenses surrounding one of the last remaining strongholds in the east. It will be little time before they reach the second barriers. It is up to us to see that they do not succeed."

She stepped to the side and motioned to the table behind her laden with equipment. While they had been training she had been gather the best equipment she could find. "For Eyrth, grieves and gloves. To protect your hands. For Hazel, and Alex, leather bracers and vests. These will protect you in the field. Ready yourselves."
 
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For a second Alex thought it must be a trick. A practice round or something. But the look in Lady's eyes told her this was real, and she felt the strangest combination of excitement and dread. The real battle would begin here, this is where what they did would start making a difference. This was also where their chances of survival would start to dwindle. Nerves settled in her stomach, forming a stampede of tingles. From her memory a line from Pirates of the Caribbean surfaced, in Davy Jones's raspy voice: 'Do you fear death?' She couldn't help but think that somehow it had been Faliq that had pulled it up.

She would answer that question in actions instead of words. With a stiff nod to Lady in response to her command, she stepped forward, trying her hardest to not portray any of the nerves she was feeling. She started putting on her equipment.
 
Eryth hesitated to move forwards, not only out of sleepiness, but out of fear. He had faced a Shade before, and trained against the golems, but they were knowns for the guardians that came before them. These Shadows, the creatures they were facing, had nearly destroyed the entire planet and now it was up to them, earthlings, people who had never even seen magic, to go and reverse it.

Alex's step forward was enough to bring his own heart to move. She seemed fearless, determined, and just the slightest bit scary to him. He wasn't going to let her down, or anybody. He took a deep breath, straightening up and marching up next to Alex to the gear Lady had brought.
 
THERE WILL BE A NEW POST IN SF IN 2 DAYS (ON SATURDAY). WE HAVE COME TO A POINT IN THE RP WHERE PLAYERS WHO DO NOT PARTICIPATE OR DO NOT WISH CONTINUE CAN/WILL BE LEFT AT THE CARENIUM UNTIL THEY WOULD LIKE TO RETURN OR QUIT. IF YOUR CHARACTER IS LEFT AT THE CARENIUM THEN YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO RETURN UPON PM TO ARYAMAJOR.
 
Lady watched in silence as the three put on their equipment. She had come to a decision with the help of James and Victor’s opinion, and now that things were being put into motion that could not be undone, she felt it wise to listen to their council.

Clearing her throat, she looked at them all. Alex looked ready to tackle the world, Eryth looked sleepy with his frillies still slightly droopy. Hazel was strangely quiet. She couldn’t blame Hazel for being nervous, if that was the cause of her silence. She had yet to feel any sort of bond with her unnamed weapon. Sometimes those types of things took longer than others, but she wasn’t ready.

“With the recent attacks on the Carenium it has been decided that it would best to leave two Guardians here to hold the island. If we cannot keep our own home safe, how can we protect others?”

Her eyes shifted to Hazel and she gave the new guardian a gentle nod. “Hazel you will remain here with James. There may come a day when you two will be called to the front, but for now I ask that you remain here. Train. Protect the Forge.”

Victor brightened a bit at hearing Hazel had been chosen to stay. She was brave for even coming here but, she would be safe in the Carenium along with himself and James. He could teach her more, if she wanted to learn, and ask many more questions about the human world. Maybe even get to know her better too.

With matters settled, Lady walked to the door and motioned for Eryth and Alex to follow. “We will leave for the the easternmost section right away. Follow me.”

She lead them outside into the early morning light. The wisps were just starting to fade into trees along with the mist, and the air was still. As they walked toward the docks, Raina crowed and swooped down from the dome, clutching a small of supplies in her hand. The bird had been stubborn about taking Aster’s place, but she relented at the mention of a jerky treat and the offer of more to come. She may have been highly intelligent but her motivations were simple ones sometimes.

The thunderbird followed them from above as they made their way down to the docks. It was obvious that nobody had used the wide wooden dock in a long time. It was covered in the greenish film of mold from the stagnant mangroves surrounding the area.
Lady knelt on the end of the dock, her armor clinking lightly as she settled onto her knee. if they had more of the magnus-crows transport would be much faster, but James’ pet had been the last of its kind on the island. They would have to take the slower, but still trustworthy means.

“Reius!” she called, “Wake up, Reius! We have need of you!”


A long moment passed as she looked over the nearly still, brackish waters that made the wide river leading into the ocean. Then, bubbles began popping up near the dock, small and barely noticeable at first. Then, they began to grow, roiling into a frenzy until a large shadow began to emerge from the deep. The shadow was round and took up more than half of the river as it came up to the surface. First, a round dome broke through the water, looking almost like patterned brown, rock as it sent a waves over the shore. A rush of water signaled a second portion,bobbing up to the top. The creature's head had a curved beak-like mouth and was covered in reeds. It tried to eat away the soggy plants as its yellow eye slowly moved to look at Lady.

“You called, my dear? -Crunch- It has been a long time. How do the Guardians fair?-Crunch-”

Lady smiled kindly at the ancient reptile. He was a kind, old soul that had found her on the shores of the main land and taken her to the island for the first time years ago. He had a tendency to forget things from time to time when he slept though.

“It has been a long time, Reius,” she replied, tugging off one of reeds wrapped around his beak, “The Guardians have need to cross the waters. Will you take us?”

The turtle turned his massive head and looked to Eyrth and Alex while he chewed. “-crunch-They smell differently from the others. From a different place.”

“They are,” she chuckled, “Humans.”

Reius peered at them as his eyes blinked slowly through the weeds drooped over his head like a ragged wig. “I’ve not met a human yet,” he said curiously, “A human Guardian. I have been asleep too long it seems. Tell me of the while we travel, dear.”

He turned sluggishly so his back was butted against the dock, causing the murky water to slosh through the pylons.

Lady took careful steps onto his ridged shell, avoiding the slick spots and piles of weeds that had been dredged up along with him. It felt strangely good to be going back into the field, even if the stakes were higher than they had ever been. It was comforting to know she was actually doing something now and the responsibility was in her hands.

“Come aboard, Eryth and Alex,” she gestured with her armored hand, “Otherworld awaits.”
 
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Alex felt like she had swallowed a bomb, her stomach filled with tingles of nerves and excitement and dread. She wasn't sure how much of what she was feeling came from herself and how much from Faliq. Her eyes also briefly scanned Coraxe, safe in its sheath on her belt, its ruby pommel glowing softly. Alex wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but the light seemed to be... calming.

When Alex finally took a step towards the giant turtle, it was as if her body moved on its own, so her mind could figure itself out in the meantime.
"Well Reius," she said in a tone that was meant to be lighthearted but came out more shaky than she'd intended, "if it makes you feel any better, I have never met a giant. talking turtle either. We from the human world tend to use boats..."
 
Eryth quickly picked up in the cool air of the morning. It seemed like the mornings and evenings were the perfect times of the day for him, his active hours even slipping into the night and much too early in the morning as he had taken to midday naps since the change. It was a little hard for him to find a pace to walk along with Alex and Lady, but the walk to the dock provided enough time to adjust.

He began to wonder if they were going to be swimming across as Lady called out to Reius. His massive form bubbled out of the water and loomed before them, his ancient scaly hide dripping with water as he gazed down at them.

Eryth wanted to bolt. Not in any direction in particular, just run somewhere. Move fast and burn off some of the rush of adrennaline and excitement that had flooded his veins. His feet bounced back and forth, Corbin shifting on his shoulder with each movement. His face pulled back into a smile as he took a few eager steps to the giant.

"This place is so nuts, I love it!"
 
Reius took them through the mangroves and eventually into the open sea. The water was a deep blue and glittered with the morning sun as white caps from the wind peaked over the waves. The breeze was humid, but a bit cool, clinging to the coolness of night still. Lady eased herself down to the turtle's back, staying close to his head, so she could tell him of the world. She told him of the Shadow's invasion, and the state of the Guardians. "But I have brought 4 humans from the forbidden realm, Reius. New Guardians to help save Otherworld."

"Human Guardians," the ancient reptile chuckled with a strange clicking sound, "You never followed the traditions."

"Never had much use for it," she smiled, "The humans are good Guardians. Their world is not like it once was."

The day wore on as they bobbed through the sea, the sun growing higher and hotter until land was visible in the distance. It started as a line against the horizon and then grew more distinct as they paddled forward on Reius. The beach laid out before them for miles along the horizon as swarms of seagulls crowed over head. Raina gave a warning call to Lady from above and she stood up, squinting over the beach. Things were worse than she thought.

Crawling along the breach were more of the undead, They stumbled blindly in the sand with their haphazard limbs dragging in odd angles. Their sickening stench of rotted flesh caught on the breeze, making her nose curl.

"Get ready," Lady said to the young guardian's behind her, "We may have a fight on our hands when we disembark. The undead are still roaming, and from here I cannot tell if they are in the grips of Shadow or not. The Shadow used to the undead bodies to forge into the sunlight when the attacked the Carenium and I fear they may have done the same on the beach."

As Reuis brought them closer, sliding into the shore, some of the dead were attracted to the splashing sound and began inching their way toward their landing spot. Lady drew Sperest as she leapt from the turtle's back, peering at the pack of 20 or so corpses groaning toward her.

"Not Shadowed, but a pest all the same. They will be good practice. Aim for their heads, my friends." Then, without hesitation, she charged forward, water and wet sand kicking up from her boots as she went.
 
The breeze, the blue waters and Reius's bobbing over the waves had done a magnificent job of calming Alex's nerves. As Lady spoke with Reius, Alex took the opportunity to connect with Faliq some more. The weapon seemed to have a presence in the back of her mind constantly when she was practicing, but sitting around and staring out at the ocean had caused it to fade somewhat. She wanted to see if she could find the weapon's presence without it being accompanied by the sense of greedy excitement she had gotten used to. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. smelling the salty waters.

Her meditating was interrupted by Lady telling them to get ready. She opened her eyes again and at once the excitement came flooding back into her through her connection with Faliq. The sight of all the undead was worrying, but Lady's voice calmed her somewhat. They were not Shadowed, that was a good thing at least.
After Lady charged into them, Alex quickly got to her feet but did not head to shore just yet. Her position on Reius's shell gave her a better vantage point than she could get in the middle of undead mob. She grabbed Faliq and quickly shot an arrow at one of the undead. She shot a few more, enough of them hitting spots that mattered, yet enough of them wasted in a way that made Alex flinch. Moving targets were still not her forté. Still, she managed to clear somewhat of a path.
"I'll cover you two, go!" she said to Eryth.
 
Eryth had sat down on the edge of the giant tortise, piddling in the water with his tail and toes as they went along. Something seemed off, but he couldn't quite tell until the wind changed. He made the mistake of shooting his tongue out at the odd smell and his mouth was quickly filled with the reek rancid flesh.

He was used to seeing bodies injuried in accidents, blood, even burn victums, but the sheer smell his new tongue provided was too much. He lurched forwards, grabbing onto the edge of the shell as he hurled into the water.

- - -

Eryth wiped his face as they approached getting unsteadily to his feet. Lady hopped over the side, diving right into the mob as Alex shot arrows around her. He was stunned, not sure what to do until Alex spurred him forwards. He leapt off after Lady, hitting the sand running and slamming the spear of Corbin right into the nearest undead's chest cavity.
 
Eyrth's blow to the undead monster collapsed it's chest and the weapon sank deep into the rotten flesh, but did not fade away. Instead, it grabbed the Corbin's pile and slid its self along the weapon until it's spine became caught on the beak. Others began clambering over to the frilled-man, dropping bits of jiggling flesh as they stumbled forward in the sand. Arrows, sank into a few of them cracking through their skulls with heavy thunks. The felled ones turned to grey ash in the breeze, disappearing as if they had never existed. Several of the remaining monsters turned to Alex, and started wading through the waters to end the archers rain of arrows.

Lady dodged left and right, stepping through the mob with speed and keeping the accuracy of her steps at its maximum. They were only undead, but with every corpse their was the possibility of one or more being Shadowed, hiding in plain sight. Luckily there were not very man to deal with. Shearing off the heads of each she came across was simple, even against their clawing hands. When she looked back, it seemed as if Eyrth was struggling with one stuck to the end of Corbin. "Heads and spines!" she reminded him.
 
Alex continued shooting arrows as long as she was able, trying to keep the Undead from mobbing her like they did Eryth. Not every arrow hit its target however, and the distance between her and the walking corpses was getting too small for comfort. In the corner of her eye she saw something red glowing. Coraxe.
These Undead were not possessed by Shadows, which meant...

Alex slung Faliq on her back, then took Coraxe out of its sheath. Not quite waiting for the corpses to reach her first, she took a firm hold of Coraxe and leaped off Reius. As a shot of adrenalin rushed through her, she plunged Coraxe straight into the nearest Undead's skull with a battlecry. Now to not get overwhelmed by the rest of them...
 
Eryth took a powerful step forwards, quickly stepping back with a yank on his weapon to free it from the monster's chest. He spun Corbin around, bits of flesh flying off as he moved the handle end around to knock the closest undead in the temple.
 
The undead fell to dust under Corbin and Coraxe with ease. One particularly vicious corpse stumbled toward Alex with teeth gnashing only for it's head to be sheared off by Sperest. The head tumbled down to the sand, rolling away before crumbling like the rest. Lady nodded to the two Guardians with approval, as she wiped bloody goo from her lightly glowing blade.

"Well done, you two," she smiled, "and welcome to the mainland in Otherworld."

Reuis shifted a large, clawed foot over the sand and clicked an angrily at the fading corpses before turning to the three of them. "The dead rarely roam so far."

"Yes, there have been more used by the Shadows and they have been roaming further from Olympus," she sighed, her brow furrowing.

"The Olympian clan's power wanes," the old turtle croaked back.

Lady didn't reply. Olympus was one of the last remaining strongholds not taken by Shadow to the east. If they fell, the entire sector would be taken, making their work that much harder and Otherworld that much closer to the blackness.

"Aye. We will make sure sure that it does not. Such as it is. Thank you, Reius for your help."

The turtle nudged her hand with this beak. "For the guardians, I must. For you, my dear, always."

His scaly head turned to Eyrth and Alex. "Be strong, be brave and take caution in what you see and hear. Not all is as it seems."

With those final words, he shimmed his way into the surf and sank beneath the waves in a swirl of foam.

Lady watched her friend go. Would it be the last time she saw him? The idea of it stabbed at her chest and she pushed it far back into her mind. There was no room for those thoughts with the task at hand. Turning to the two guardians she nodded.

"Alright, we are standing in sector one of Otherworld. Perro's Castle is the stronghold here and also the keeper of the Gate. That is where the trap was triggered. We will trek there and see what has become of the gate. I cannot tell you what we'll see on the way, but stay close."

Without further delay, she began walking away from the breach and toward the hills dotted sparsely with trees and lit by bright sun.
 
Alex was grateful Lady had been there to decapitate that corpse before it could have jumped on her. She wondered if she would have reacted in time if Lady hadn't been there. She shook her head. It didn't matter.
She sheathed Coraxe, but didn't quite let go of it yet. She didn't respond verbally to Lady - she was too busy trying to calm down the roar of adrenalin that still seemed to be rushing through her. Instead she nodded along with what Lady said and followed her when she walked away.
Alex had to admit this place was extraordinary. If it weren't for the Shadows and corpses and all the other things that could jump out at them at any second, it would have been a great vacation spot. She took a deep breath of the beach air and finally managed to calm down the storm in her head.
 
Lady had fell near triple the foes that Eryth had, her skill with the blade as clear as ever as they took a breath.

Well, they did. Eryth fell to his knees, exhausted from the fight and overwhelmed with the lingering stenches of ash and rotting flesh. He heaved, spitting up only saliva into the mess of sand on the beach.

"That's it? We just... And you are just... Hey! Wait for me!"

He put his large feet back under himself, nearly tipping over and having to catch himself with Corbin before he trotted back to them. "Can't we take a minute here? I feel like I'm gonna melt."
 
Alex stopped in her tracks when she heard Eryth call out. He looked exhausted. "Ah, sorry!" she said. She smiled apologetically while wiping some sweat from her brow. It was no wonder he was tired... not to mention he couldn't sweat. Alex wondered if maybe the only reason she wasn't on the floor herself was that she was getting by on residual adrenalin alone. If that were the case, she figured it wouldn't be long before she burned out. 'I'm grateful to have Faliq by my side, at least,' she thought to herself. If there was one thing the soul weapon did well it was keeping her on her feet.

"You okay?" she asked Eryth. She contemplated patting him on the back or attempting any other sort of comforting gesture, but that would probably be awkward for both of them. So she gave him a thumbs-up, which she only realized afterwards was probably equally awkward. "Hang in there, buddy."
 
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