The Paths of Tragedy

"Coward," Jake spat as the dark knight disappeared. "I wouldn't have let our fight hurt anyone, and he knows it." Jake slammed his fist on the ground in frustration. He rose slowly, ignoring the large indentation he'd made in the ground.

"Don't give a damn what his name is," Jake muttered to himself. "All I want to know is about Sukani. That little bastard." Jake muttered several more oaths under his breath before he calmed.

"We should all go to Celeste, but first we need to be granted permission by the king, for we need an airship to reach that hallowed ground." Jake turned to Cairn, who had just recovered from a wound. The man continued his speech, respectfully addressing Jake. "Oh and why something tells me this dragon like being is either Hera Ledro or Jake?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, I'm Jake." He reverted back to his normal, human-looking form. "I just powered up so I could take him on. That cowardly jerk ran away." Jake turned his attention to the other man, the one clad in silver armour. "Don't get your hopes up about leaving yet, Cairn," Jake said dryly. "We still have this scum to deal with." Jake continued, jerking his thumb towards the hole in the wall, right beside where he'd thrown his Soul Shredder. "This ass tried to kill two guards, and just because they asked him what he was doing here. Hopefully, Wylliam got them into good hands."

Jake's ears twitched, and he looked over the wall. He saw Hera Ledro leap over the wall, and land swiftly on the ground. Jake smirked. Showoff.

Hera's glance shifted between their group and the silver clad man. The his eyes swept over to the Soul Shredder, embedded beside a bloody hole in the wall.

Hera looked at Jake, who gave him a swift nod. Hera approached their group, and spoke slowly. "Well, I have good news. I heard that you wanted to go to Celeste. The tournament is being held in Celeste. It's the 100th anniversary, the ticket-man said. I signed Jake and I up, so we'll be there. If anybody wants a free ride to Celeste, then you have to sign up for the tourney." Cutting past any questions that might come forward, he said, "It was a last minute decision that was made by the registrar."

Jake nodded. "Well, let's deal with this fool before we leave."

Hera turned and looked at the silver-clad man, narrowing his eyes. "Agreed."
 
Dropping to one knee when the dark knight revealed himself as being Lucius Silverwing, his former master returned. As his master stated what he should do he nodded in agreement.

"Yes master Lucius. Your sword shall do as you say."

As he said this he looked over at Zeria who had just awoken, and a sinister smile creped across his face. He then rises to his feet.

"Coward," Jake spat as the dark knight disappeared. "I wouldn't have let our fight hurt anyone, and he knows it." Jake slammed his fist on the ground in frustration. He rose slowly, ignoring the large indentation he'd made in the ground.

"Don't give a damn what his name is," Jake muttered to himself. "All I want to know is about Sukani. That little bastard." Jake muttered several more oaths under his breath before he calmed.

"We should all go to Celeste, but first we need to be granted permission by the king, for we need an airship to reach that hallowed ground." Jake turned to Cairn, who had just recovered from a wound. The man continued his speech, respectfully addressing Jake. "Oh and why something tells me this dragon like being is either Hera Ledro or Jake?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, I'm Jake." He reverted back to his normal, human-looking form. "I just powered up so I could take him on. That cowardly jerk ran away." Jake turned his attention to the other man, the one clad in silver armour. "Don't get your hopes up about leaving yet, Cairn," Jake said dryly. "We still have this scum to deal with." Jake continued, jerking his thumb towards the hole in the wall, right beside where he'd thrown his Soul Shredder. "This ass tried to kill two guards, and just because they asked him what he was doing here. Hopefully, Wylliam got them into good hands."

Jake's ears twitched, and he looked over the wall. He saw Hera Ledro leap over the wall, and land swiftly on the ground. Jake smirked. Showoff.

Hera's glance shifted between their group and the silver clad man. The his eyes swept over to the Soul Shredder, embedded beside a bloody hole in the wall.

Hera looked at Jake, who gave him a swift nod. Hera approached their group, and spoke slowly. "Well, I have good news. I heard that you wanted to go to Celeste. The tournament is being held in Celeste. It's the 100th anniversary, the ticket-man said. I signed Jake and I up, so we'll be there. If anybody wants a free ride to Celeste, then you have to sign up for the tourney." Cutting past any questions that might come forward, he said, "It was a last minute decision that was made by the registrar."

Jake nodded. "Well, let's deal with this fool before we leave."

Hera turned and looked at the silver-clad man, narrowing his eyes. "Agreed."

Reaching over and retrieving his mask from his shoulder Samael begins to survey the opposition. His eyes come back to rest on Zeria.

"Remember my love...everything I have done, I have done for you. I will be back for you."

With that said he suddenly vanishes into a cloud of dark mist.
 
Zeria dropped to her knees, crying still.

"He's gone....and the fighting is over......thank the gods..."

She braced herself against the wall.
~I can't believe that was Lucious...I only saw him for a moment, but it was really him...and this other place where people have mentioned...Celesta, I think...I'll have to go there. Julius must be there...~
 
"L.Lucius!!! I can't believe it." The moment he heard the name, Arthvader went down on his knees, collasped. 'What's going on here? I though he would change for the battle ever since that dreadful battle against Armageddon.' When Lucius disappear in front of the group, finding new reason for his journey, Arthvader stood up. He then turned his attention towards Zeria. "Come on Zeria, Let's meet up with Cairn."
 
"Hahahahaha" Cairn burst in laughter after he sees yet another of Jake's opponents slips through his grasp. He smirked, placing his right hand on his forehead and kept laughing for a while. Soon he took a deep breath, then lowered his hand and stared to both Hera Ledro and Jake, addressing to Jake with quite a good sense of humor. "It seems your enemies tend to run away kid. Better save your energies for the tournament if you want to win."

Cairn slightly rose his left eyebrow, as he stared to the whole made by Jake, then he sighed, slightly disappointed but happy to know that no one else was hurt. "Well I guess we should pay for that...hopefully the king will be thankful to us for protecting the city. So, what are we waiting for! Let's go. The tournament awaits!" With a lively and youthful spirit, the old knight Cairn rose his right hand and aimed to the royal palace with his finger. He smiled, gazing upon the uncorrupted splendor of the palace. "Oh and by the way, someone wake up Jonad. We can't leave him sleeping on the ground..." Setting his eyes on it, Cairn walked towards the ancient household of the Royal Family Bloodline. The gates of the palace were still open during this time of the day, and fortunately Cairn knows a few of the high ranking generals so obtaining an audience with the king shouldn't be that hard.
 
Hejaloki's modifications to the airship, allowed it to go much faster then it was made to do. The modifications allowed it to get to its destination in a two hours where it would have taken a day.

Hejaloki hoped Celesta held the power he needed to defeat the darkness.

"Come with me," Hejaloki said to Julius and they started walking through the ruins of Celesta.

Hejaloki was looking for the temple of light which should still be intact.

The temple of light is a dome with five towers. These towers channel energy towards the center. The center is an alter.

"What do I need to do?" asked Julius.

Hejaloki pointed to the alter and said, "Lay down there."

So Julius did as he command. Then Hejaloki came and stood at beside the alter.
In an ancient language he spoke the five standards of the angels.

Faith. One tower glowed.

Truth. Another started glowing.

Honor. Yet another glowed.

Sorrow. The 4th started glowing.

Love. The last started glowing and Hejaloki placed his hands in the air. He started to fly up towards the ceiling. Then once he reached the highest point all the towards glow with blinding light. This light will be seen by many everywhere.

Lights from all the towards hit Hejaloki and then he channeled it into Julius hoping it would destroy the darkness. Then it all went back to normal and Hejaloki floated down and was drained of his power.

Hopefully it worked Hejaloki thought...
 
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Seeing that Jonad remained unconscious, Cairn headed back towards him and tried to awaken him, yet all his efforts seemed to be futile. "Jonad! Wake up! Damn it...maybe he took it too far this time..." Cairn knelt besides him and kept calling his name, yet no answer was received. Disappointed and worried, Cairn summoned Gade and commanded him to carry Jonad to the inn. Just before Gade was preparing to lift Jonad, Cairn told him to wait. "Stop, let's see if Jonad wakes up....if not take him to the inn and await for us there. We will take him with us to Celeste. I will not abandon the friend who saved my life. On my honor, I shall pay my debt, someday...."
 
OOC: this post will be SHORT, read my post in the sign up thread to understand why.
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Even at Gairn's and Gade's best efforts to awake Jonad, he was as if he was asleep.
He was breathing, and his pulse was normal.
the only thing that separated this, from a normal sleeping state. Was the fact that it was impossible to awake him.
EVEN with magics, it would not work.
 
Hidden in the shadows outside, Mikhail watched as the two men watched over a third person sleeping on the ground. Cairn is half brother was alive and well, and just at his sight Mikhail felt a charge of hatred cross his mind.

"I could attack now...but something tells me i should keep watching over them in the distance and find out what they plan to do, as long as i remain in their shadows they will not notice that i am there, and when the time comes i will finish off Cairn. Hmmm...but for now i will just let the events unfold, the emperor will be pleased."






 
"It seems that Jonad won't wake up in a long time. Gade! Take him to the Inn and protect him with your life." A worried Cairn said while he stared at the unconscious Jonad. Gade agreed with Cairn's commands and proceeded to lift Jonad's body and placed him on his left shoulder, leaving his right hand free to wield his heavy battle axe. Gade nodded and then left towards the Inn, taking Jonad with him. Relieved to see that Jonad was in good hands, a very decided Cairn set his eyes once again on the royal palace. Suddenly, a strange cold breeze passed which made Cairn's bones chill abruptly, he knew what it was, the presence of evil still lingered in the air. "Malice is present in the winds...we must speak with the king at once!" Not willing to wait any longer, Cairn walked with a hasty pace towards the entrance of the royal palace, with fate altering foot steps willing to cast themselves into the unknown. The grand stone staircase leading to the gates was guarded by two heavily armed knights, wielding long 6 feet long spears and wide shields, bearing the insignia of the Royal Family. Cairn was halted at the gates, though as soon as he presented his Knight Insignia, he was allowed entry. Former leader of the Royal Knights or not, there were still people in the Royal Palace that respected Cairn and valued the years of service he gave to Seseu. Before going inside, Cairn left the guard a list of the names that they were granted permission to give entry and a few notes to give the guards a clue on how to recognize them.

The list reads as follows:
-Jake (side note, the little kid with explosive attitude)
-Hera Ledro (looks like the wisest of the crew)
-William (how can you not know this dude?!)
-Zeria (red hair)
-Arthvader (somewhat like a dude who can blow your jaw out with his fist)
-Samael (dude with silver armor, looks scary...is Zeria's Bodyguard)


The guard thought weird that it had all of these specifications, but Cairn knew why he added them.
 
Glad that at least the fighting was over, Wylliam walked back into the city to meet Cairn at the gate. As he walked, he couldn't help but feel that he had missed something vitally important. "Of course I missed something important," he said with a conceited grin, "I missed a chance to show off my brilliance in front of everyone." Comfortable with his self delusion, he tried once again to teach himself how to whistle as he walked toward the palace. His efforts were compensated with funny looks and giggles from everyone he passed. He stopped trying to whistle and scowled. Arriving and sitting down at the palace gate, he quite forgot his embarassment of moments ago, and began in vain to blow air from his pursed lips.

One of the guards walked up to him. "Sir, please leave the premise. Begging is allowed, but not so close to the castle." Wylliam snapped. "Begging? ME!? Do you have any idea who I am?! I," he repeated for probably the hundred thousandth time, but with no less enthusiasm or self-love than the first, "am Wylliam Morgan, the Dragoon with the Wyvern Eye! Seseu's most dashing and courageous mercenary! To not recognize my world famous looks on sight marks you as an obvious new recruit, but fear not! Ask any of your superiors of my daring exploits and learn of true heroism, there is no better way to achieve greatness even comparable to mine!"

The guard stared in silence at Wylliam as a breeze whistled through air. He then looked down at a piece of paper. "You said Wylliam? Come in, Cairn has gone ahead and told us to expect you." Surprised, Wylliam walked in. It didn't take long for him to find Cairn. "Hey! Sorry for making you wait, but the guard must've come from some backwater district. Didn't even gasp with amazement at the mention of my name! Oh well."
 
Having already made the required procedure to request an audience with the king, Cairn had no other choice than to wait at the grand hall. The grand hall of the palace was marvelous, worthy of royalty, with tall pillars that went from floor to ceiling, all made of concrete and marble, six in total, set at the sides of a grand staircase leading to the second floor, the banisters of the stairs made of expensive wood and decorated with small figurines of lions, knights, eagles and dragons.

The floor was also of marble, with square shaped tablets carefully placed on the floor which made the whole hall look like a giant chessboard. Guards were posted at every corner, every door, every stair, never left unguarded even in these perilous times. In this very hall Cairn awaited, leaning his back against the third pillar to the left of the grand staircase, he was gazing upon the beauty of the ceiling, decorated with paintings depicting a great war between dragons, humans, elves and demons. Perhaps, there was some reference to the Allsie in these paintings, but only Hera Ledro of Jake could tell. It was evident that the dragon with demonic eyes preying on his own kind could be no one else than the "black dragon" spoken in legend as a servant of darkness.

As time passed, Cairn noticed that of the group he left behind only William had arrived, but instead of greeting him he decided to await for him to approach the stairs.
 
It was times like these that made Wylliam wish desperately that he could whistle. The hall was beautiful, with a breath-taking painting of some battle canvasing the splendor of the room. So magnificent was the hall, that it very nearly made Wylliam rethink his own worth. Nearly, but not quite. "Now this is eligance!" he said, walking to the staircase. He ran his hand up and down the finely polished wood banister on the left, then looked over to where Cairn was leaning against the pillar. "I think I need to ask Seseu for a raise if it can afford this," he said jokingly, walking from the staircase to where Cairn stood. "You know, we haven't talked much since I joined the group. I'm a little curious as to your story. In my employ, I heard that a man with your name lost some important fort and fled. I've watched you long enough to decide that, even if you had done this, it is not something you would do now, so I thought I'd ask about it."
 
As he head towards the castle, Arthvader was stopped by several guards. "Halt, Just who are you? If you don't have a reason for being here, Then leave the premises." The guard said, expecting an answer from Arthvader. "I you want me to introduce myself, then fine. I'm Arthvader. I have come to ask the king several questions about what has been going on here. I'm also here to ask about the tournament that is about to occur in this town. Is that reason enough?" Arthvader said. The guards then looked at the sheet that Cairn wrote, and noticed his name on the list. The guards then opened the gate to the castle. "Sorry for the wait. Cairn told us that you would be coming. Please enter. Oh, and please, don't do anything reckless, okay." "What do you mean, reckless?" "Well... This sheet that we have here mentioned that you might punch someone's jaw out with your fists. " 'I guess this is what Cairn wrote to them about me. I'll have to talk to him about that later.' "Okay." As he entered the castle, he saw Cairn at the stairs. "Hey there Cairn? What's going on?"
 
Mikhail add to get inside, but obviously he was an enemy and could not simply walk through the front gate alone.

"Infiltration will be hard...i need more then luck to pass. I have to create an illusion it's the only way."

Focusing he turned his head to the sky with his eyes wide open, the clouds began to move a bit faster and the towns people looked at the sky, it appeared as though the clouds were descending, Mikhails eyes began to turn white he was now in a trance.

"(Clouds descend and obscure the view of my enemies)"

The temperature began to slowly decrease, and the air got heavier a small mist began to form and visibility was reduced. It took about 5 minutes until the main path which led to the entrance gate as well as the walls around it to be covered by the fog.

Regaining is composure Mikhail knew that it was now or never, he add to act.

Focusing yet again, he began floating above the air and slowly aproached the walls, the eye sight of the sentries was reduced so they did not notice Mikhail floating above them, and so he was able to pass the walls and get inside the castle, slowly descending into the ground.

Not long after that the mist began to fade away, and most people kept with their business not knowing that the fog did not have natural causes.

Mikhail quickly ran behind a wall, he knew he add to find the training grounds of the soldiers fast and get a uniform so he could walk freely around the castle, the soldier training grounds were on the lower levels of the castle so he knew where to go.
 
OOC: Info.
The gem that is spoken of here. Is an Anti-Magic Field generator.
It weakens ANY magical usage from a 100 meter radius, and completely shuts off any magical usage within 50 meters.
Already cast spells are not affected, nor are any enchantments on items (as in, Cairn's sword will still work)
It is fragile as glass, and VERY easily broken.
ANY form of crack in it, renders it completely useless.
----
I will use names, in front of the character I'm controlling as I am doing it.
To make it simpler to understand ^^
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Alumar Loren

A whip cracked, echoing across the damp cold stone walls. The sound if it ripping skin, followed by a roar of pain.
There where no hope, no hope of escape.
A new crack of the whip, followed by a new scream of pain, he opened his eyes.
“Where is it” A scruffy man asked with the whip in his left hand.
The prisoner looked in his eyes, but said nothing.
“Alright, if that is what you want” The man stated to the captive.

The captive looked at the yellow glowing gem. It was no larger then a common fist, and was as fragile as glass. But alas, he was chained to a table, and could do nothing but take the pain of torture day, after day.
“If it where not for that gem….. I would kill you all” He stated.
The scruffy man, as well as 4 others, laughed at his poor attempt of a threat.
<o:p> </o:p>
“Bring me that” the scruffy man stated. “Heh, ok” Another voice replied behind him.
The scruffy man again appeared in front of him, “Alumar Loren. Such a great wizard, reduced to a pulp. Being tortured by Gorgack the Great” The man grinned as he hit himself on the chest.
“Just wait, when I get out, I will K*” Alumar was interrupted by a kick to the jaw.
He spat out some blood, as Gorgack lifted his head “So, tell me. Where is the Amulet of D’Nyc?” Alumar just stared “The amulet is not to fall into human hands. *Cough*. It is too powerful” Alumar stated as he coughed up some blood. “Just look at you. The typical human, worthless” Alumar grinned. “Ok, if that is how you want it.” Gorgack stated.

A cut was made over the already scarred back of Alumar. But that was far from the worst.
I clear liquid was poured into the wound after, which made Alumar, experience the outmost pain.
He let out a series of screams, which rattled the very chains that hanged on the walls.
“Throw him back into the cell” Gorgack stated. “Don’t forget the gem. We don’t want our little rat escaping now, do we?” He grinned from ear to ear.

Alumar was loosened, and dragged along the stained cold stone floor, all the way until he was securely locked up in a dirty cell.
A guard where stationed outside the cell door, sitting on top of a chest, that Alumar vaguely remember his clothes where thrown in as well as the gem was placed on a table not far from the cell. Alumar was powerless.

He had tried bribing, he had tried lying. But every time he lied, they sent men to check up on the location. Or check the rumors.
There was NO way that he would crack, and give them the location.
<o:p> </o:p>
His vision started to fade as he wondered how long he had been there.
He looked to the sturdy wooden pole beside him, as he scratched another line in it.
The pole showed 24 lines now. He had been there for close to a month, living through this torture.
He looked at the gem, that evil Anti-Magic gem. “What is this world coming to, is there… no… honor..able… ones... left……” His vision faded, as he again fell unconscious onto the cold stone floor, as he had done many times before.
 
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Just before having a chance to reply to William's question, Arthvader arrived addressing to Cairn and asking for the reason of being here. "Well Arthvader, the king still values the years of service I've given to the kingdom, so he was willing to give us an audience in an hour or so. In the meantime feel free to wander around the castle." Cairn walked away from the pillar, rose his left hand and aimed with his finger towards a small wooden set of doors leading to the training chambers. "If you wish, you can train there. I am sure you won't have any problems with the guards. I've already spoken to the smith in there, his name is Balre, and he is waiting for you. He has a new set of armor waiting for you." As he answered Arthvader's question, Cairn then turned his attention to William, willing to tell him about the tragedy of Fortress of Helena. "It all happened a few years ago when I was assigned the duty to protect the frontier. I was head of the Royal Knights then, renown for my skills for being a great tactician and swordsman. Several months later after being assigned to protect the frontier, the Imperial Army attacked. At first, we were able to easily push them back but then...." Cairn took a deep breath and sighed, deception could be seen on his eyes. "We we betrayed, and Helena fell to Imperial hands. I couldn't bear the shame, and the kingdom felt I was not in condition to lead the royal army anymore. I guess I concurred with them somehow, after all I was never the same after losing the Fortress of Helena. For months, I've wandered the kingdom seeking for redemption, and found it as I took the responsibility of protecting the port town of Vlad. Soon after, I heard news of the advancing imperial armies, and I decided it was about time to face my fears and redeem myself for failing to protect my land. It wasn't my fault, but that wasn't an excuse for not giving my all to reclaim the Fortress of Helena. My mission is clear: I shall strike down the tyranny of the empire."
 
"Stabbed in the back, huh?" Wylliam sighed, leaning on his spear. "No plan is immune to sabotage. It has been the fall of many great tactics. Even if surrounded only by kin, there is no guarantee one of them wouldn't put a blade in your back for enough gil. Trust between comrades is crucial, yet it creates a fatal vulnerability, should a fellow be lacking in morals." He shook his head and smiled. "Sheesh, I'm depressing myself. Well, as little as it counts, coming from a human, I want you to know that you can trust me."

Wylliam turned to Arthvader. "Sorry I left so suddenly in the woods, but I thought Jake needed my help. Cairn said we have about an hour, you wanna spar a bit?"
 
Hejaloki was leaning over the alter in the temple of light in Celesta. Julius was turning in pain.

Hejaloki sensed that darkness has grown stronger. But how much stronger.

He reaches to try and reduce the pain Julius was feeling. Then Julius started to laugh demoniacally.

"You failed Hejaloki, this body is mine! Your over confidence hastened my return to this realm. Now the end is near." With that Julius raised a hand towards Hejaloki and let loose a bolt of darkness.

Hejaloki had a split second to raise a shield. That didn't stop him from getting blasted into the wall of the temple. Then Hejaloki fell to the floor of the temple.

Hejaloki was weaken for now.

Hejaloki looked up at the alter to a sight he didn't want to see. Julius was channeling energies from the five towers into himself...
 
Upon hearing Wylliam's request for a sparring battle, Arthvader responded. "Sure, I'll spar with you. Just wait for me at the training grounds. I have some quick business to deal with." Afterwards, he headed towards Balre, the blacksmith of the castle. Upon arriving at the workshop, he called out to Balre. "Excuse me, are you here Barle?" Then, from room ahead, Balre appear before him. "Yeah, I'm here. Now what can I do for you sir?" "Well, Cairn told me that you were looking for me." "Did you say Cairn? So, you must be Arthvader then, huh. Hold on a moment, I got something for you." Balre then headed back to the room. 'I wander, just what kind of armor is he going to give me?' As Arthvader was wondering, Balre came out of the room, carrying the armor that was going to be promised to him. "Okay, here you go. This armor was made with the best materials we had in this castle. Please, take good care of it." "Don't worry, I'll take good care of it. Well, I see you later then. So long." And with that Arthvader head to the training area, with his new armor equipped. There, he stood by a wall, waiting for Wylliam to arrive.
 
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