Istven let the spikes impale him and as a result black colored blood game dripping down his chest as he hanged there on the spikes. But then he started laughing like crazy even though there was no emotion behind it. " You think I would use the light as my source of power? You are clearly mistaken. The darkness is my friend and perhaps my only friend. Plus. . . whats the point of trying to kill a heartless man . . .? No matter how many times you stab me in the chest, it will hit nothing !!" He said as he grinned his sharp teeth showing as he sent a wave of dark fire through the room.
Istven pretended to have been killed on impact and laid there on the stone floor, his hood had been pushed off revealing his head but his hair was covering his face. Then all the sudden the stone floor beneath them began to crack and shake. Istven jumped up and grabbed Bheliar by the neck as if to strangle him but instead he lifted him up and threw him into the wall, causing him to bust through it. He then lifted his arms up into the air as the light around them began to turn red and the wailing sounds of spirits began to sound in the air as Istven's pupils began to turn foggy and glossy gray. " What did you say about my powers being gone? Don't forget I sacrificed more then just my heart to get where I am !!"
" Well you see, even with that war going on I just didn't want to get involved. Not that I hated my fellow demons' motives, but I had other things on my agenda. I was busy trying to get back something that was stolen from me years ago. Long ago I wanted power, but the only way I could get that was to turn my heart and soul over to the darkness. But a pretty young flower came along and tried to defeat me, she could have done so but instead she stole my heart. . . No literally she stole it and hid it in order to prevent me from gaining power again. When I found her again I killed her and took my heart back, which by then was sealed inside of gem. But then I realized that my heart wasn't inside of that gem, it was a fake, my heart was sealed inside the flower's daughter whom I had lost track of. Right now I am still searching for the brat. . . and that's why I am still in the mortal world." He said putting the pipe out and began picking at his sharp teeth.
" Alright lets go." He said getting up and walking down a adjoining hallway that had a door at the end that lead to a room he had been renting since the bar also served as a inn for travelers. The man walked inside and waiting for Bheliar to come in and then he shut the door. " So what brings a demon like yourself all the way out here . . . and why is the animal outside of his cage in the first place?" The man said as he took out a wooden pipe and he began smoking some kind of weird substance that didn't seem man made, a dark purple smoke seeped out of the end and seemed to have its own shimmer to it. The smoke drifted out the open window but once outside it seemed to be invisible.
" I guess you are right, the quiet ones are interesting. Though if you want to have a truly interesting conversation, we could speak somewhere where there isn't so many eyes and ears. " He said simply as he petted the ring he wore which had a dark blue stone in it.
" Why would a blistering bright ball of energy like yourself, want to speak to a uninviting and icy man like me? I don't look like I could strike up a conversation do I?" He said with no emotion at all as he leaned against the bar in front of him .
The man at the bar just kept sitting, draining the poison from his glass till it was empty. He seemed not to take notice or care about Bheliar, he appeared to be totally stoic throughout it all. " Interesting tale . . . " Is all the man said in a gentle yet monotone voice that was as fluid and soft like that of a noble. It was the only response he had for Bheliar's story.
"I know . . . but who knows I might come out of this ok, so I can't loose hope now." She said moving away from the rail and standing up straight. " I guess I am a little hungry, is Richmond already down at the great hall? He isn't in bed." She thought to herself as she walked back inside. A man sat at the bar, hooded in a black cloak, he was drinking a glass of strong liquor and seemed unphased by the fact some ragged looking guy came rushing into the bar near death. Everyone else in bar including the bartender rushed to the mans aid, except the hooded man. He only smirked and chuckled under his breath, his pale ,long, slender hands and fingernails the only thing that could be seen of his body.
" If I owed someone a debt they would have gotten me when I was still vulnerable . . . they probably want me for something else. Maybe you are right I should start trying to live my life and stop worrying. " Suri said looking at the city below and the people moving about it.
" I've been having them ever since I was a child and they are pretty bad. There is always so much blood and darkness. . ." She said gripping the rail and leaning her head down so her bangs would fall and cover her face. " I just don't know why I have them at all, I have no memories of my early childhood, my family, nothing." She said as a raven landed on a roof a few stories up and cawed loudly in the mountain wind. " Because of my dreams I always feel like someone is after me . . but I don't know who the hell it could be. "
Seanrick was awoken by the ringing of a bell and glimmer of sunlight through the gray window curtains of the barrack he was sleeping in. Everyone who was destined for the front lines and who weren't departed slept in the barracks. Though Seanrick couldn't complain, it was either this or sleeping out in the stables and he'd rather deal with the stench of men then of the horses. Seanrick was sleeping on the top bunk, near the window so he could see out inside at the gloomy city before him. In the bunk below lay Nicolae but he was wide awake and flicking a bronze coin over and over between his fingers. Craig was awake too and Arthur was no where in site, he was perhaps out to take a walk like he normally did every morning. There was a knock at the door and right on cue Arthur came in with a smile on his face. " They are calling all soldiers to board the airships, the time for departure has begun. So boys lets get going." Seanrick nodded and slid off the top bunk as the other two walked outside of the room. Once they were outside, they caught glimpse of the airship field and the many airships for different uses that were parked. The largest one in the airfield was the one the soldiers were destined to board. It took a while for them to reach and soon they were at the foot of it. Meanwhile. . . A woman was screaming in the darkness and a blue glowing jewel lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Suri was on the ground and was unable to get up, she had no use of her legs and the blue moonlight bore down upon her. She felt helpless, afraid, and unsure what to do. A man in a grey hooded cloak came forward from the darkness, the moonlight lighting up his white shirt. He reached forward and grasped his palms around her neck. His hands were huge, slender, and had long fingernails. He was about to break her neck but he drew back as a voice out in the darkness called for him. He got up and walked off into the darkness without throwing another glance after Suri. Suri breathed a sigh of relief and looked up into sky which was almost blocked out by the dark branches of the trees above. . . Suri shot up in her bed, her heart was racing from fear and her breathing stressed. She was sweating at the brow and a feeling of confusion rushed through her body. This wasn't the first dream of that nature she had in her lifetime, it was one of many, many whose origins or meanings she knew little about. Suri jumped out of the bed and walked over to the doors that lead outside onto the balconey, she wanted a little fresh air to calm her nerves. Suri rushed outside while still being dressed in her long white nightgown and held onto the rail, her hair flowing in the cold morning wind.
" Alright . . . I think I understand now. Is dinner still going to be resuming or has it been cancelled? And will we be able to speak to Mr. Alux later on?" Suri asked him as Richmond looked around the room.
Richmond was quick to answer the questions the armorsmith asked, of course he wanted midnight blue armor with a silver design on it. As for Suri, she was slow to answer. Her mind seemed to be off someplace and her face full of worry. She choose a platinum colored armor with a attached black overskirt.
The group said their goodbyes and last words to eachother as those fated to go to war went up stairs following the officers as Richmond pulled Suri aside to follow the Commander, leaving Alux and his servant boy to inspect the giant gate. Alux held his hand above his head as a orb of light the size of a baseball appeared in his open palm to help him light up the gate in front of him so he could expect it.
" Yes your Majesty." Alux said softly his face frozen with worry as the Emperor left. " Nicolae, Seanrick, Craig, and Arthur you four will be the ones heading to the front lines. Suri and Richmond are too young and inexperienced to go, so you two will stay behind and be guardians to the Commander." Suri had a panic stricken look on her face as she realized the severity of the situation. " But Master Alux, the front lines are a savage place to go, are you planning to get them killed?!" She said as Alux walked towards the gate and began examining it. " Suri, you are not far enough in your training to be able to go the front lines and survive. Seanrick and the others are more then capable of handling themselves so do not question my orders." Alux replied as Suri seemed to be getting even more distressed by the passing moment. " But we can't just let them do this !!" Suri said stepping forward as she grabbed Alux by the arm, tears coming from her eyes."Suri I said enough !" Alux shouted at her as Seanrick came forward and put his hand on Suri's shoulder. " Don't worry everything will be fine, I promise, we can take care of our own." Suri pulled out of his grip and scurried off to a corner of the room as she began to sob quietly. " Soon enough she will understand how unfair times of war can be." Alux commented stoically as Richmond seemed to be just as stressed out as Suri was but he held his emotion in.
Alux looked at the gate and a concerned look came across his face, Nicolae gained a look of surprise on his face as he heard what the Emperor said. Its as if Alux and Nicolae knew something that the others in the group didn't. " Not just anyone can come and go through that gate. Whoever it was must have been a fiend of tremendous strength. . . Has anyone caught a glimpse of the escapist?"
The group stood close together with Alux out in front as they followed the soldier. When they were finally in the presence of the Emperor Alux bowed his head on respect as Suri and the others looked on. Her bright blue cloak adding a small dash of cheery color to the otherwise dark and dank room.
Alux, Nicolae, and Seanrick dismounted their dragons with ease as Craig and Arthur, the two human apprentices simply hopped off. Alux helped lift the little servant boy Thomas off dragon as Alux's nephew Richmond clumsily slid off and landed on the stone floor on his behind causing a roar of laughter to come from Craig and Arthur. Richmond stood up and brushed his trousers off of any dirt clinging to them from the floor. Suri was having a little trouble getting down though.
All the apprentices, the servant boy, and Alux climbed onto the dragons however the young servant boy and the nephew went along with Alux since they were afraid to go alone and seemed afraid of heights just as much as they were afraid of dragons. Suri was little shaky but mostly she was amazed by how high she was flying, she would never dream of being this high in the chilly night sky. Below them the trees seemed like only strands of a grassy field and the lit windows of the estate faded off into the distance as they flew away. " We are flying so high its unbelievable." The two human apprentices seemed just as excited as Suri except they enjoyed it to the point of it being like a amusement park ride. Nicolae and Seanrick seemed devoid of both the emotion of fear or pleasure, for them being this high in the sky was of little notice to them.
Alux nodded along as Kenton spoke, he then turned to Suri " Go get Seanrick and the others, we are going to leave tonight." Suri nodded and walked back down the hall, she rushed up a flight of stairs to the second floor where she marched down another hallway towards a room at the end. A light shone from underneath door showing that someone was inside and bustle of male voices within. Suri forced the door open revealing a cheery atmosphere within, one much different then the one down stairs. A smell of sweet pipe smoke and alcohol drifted out of the room, it seems the other apprentices were busy having a hangout after a week of vigorious training. The two human apprentices sat near the fire speaking, their ginger hair being illuminated by candlelight as one smoked from a wooden pipe. Seanrick, the vampiric apprentice with strange lime green eyes was talking to Alux's nephew, a strapping and stubborn young lad of only 16. Off in the back of the room , where the shadows casted by the fireplace's flames fell a pair of red eyes glowed dimming in the darkness, the red eyes belonged to another vampiric apprentice Nicolae,one who was more mature and less friendly then Seanrick. He leaned foward when he noticed Suri come busting into the room in such a serious manner. There was a moment of silence before Suri breached it with the news. " Master Alux wishes for everyone to come down stairs, we have been summoned by Emperor to be within his presence. Save any questions for later and just hurry and get down stairs quickly." Suri said as she gazed around the room at them and then walked out. A few minutes later the others appeared down stairs their travelling cloaks on, thy then followed Alux outside of the house and towards the dragons outside. Even the young servant boy followed along because he couldn't be left at home alone.
