The Long Road

She closed the door behind him and went the close the window she had left open. Sitting down near him she almost jumped up again when she saw him cough up some blood. “We can still go to one, or I can still make one somewhere” She wrung her hands together looking at him worriedly.

That worried look turned to horror as he explained what was happening. “But…that’s…that’s…” She couldn’t even think of a word fitting enough for how wrong that was. Her vocabulary just wasn’t that big.

Jumping up from where she had sat down she darted to where her bag was and hefted it up onto her shoulder. “Then let’s go. No way would I want to stay here knowing that was happening, my safety an issue or not.” Going back to him she grabbed both of his hands and pulled on him gently.

“Come on, let’s go. We’ll find a spring or something that you can relax and heal in. If we need to get out of here fast I have the perfect way to get out and you wouldn’t have to walk.” She grinned though it wasn’t as merry as all her other ones. “I promise you won’t have to ride a horse again either.” She tugged on him again “Once we get to the edge of the forest I can shift into something easier for you to ride and that will get us out of here faster.” She pulled once more. “Please?”

He watched her for a moment, sealing up the cottage before he stood up shakily and sighed softly, "Whatever you think is necessary. I just don't want you to be here in a few hours when the dignitaries start to arrive." He held her hands for a moment, "You worry too much, ilemni. We'll be okay." He nodded at her speechlessness, "I know what it is. It's awful." He followed her out of the cottage and smiled softly, willing to do whatever she wanted. "That's fine. Just let me know what I need to do." He shuddered at the horse thought, "I think I could get used to riding you if I needed to, but let us hope it doesn't come to that." They walked out into the forest, she led and he followed.

“I don’t want to be here either. I’d yell at them all to leave and I be that would get me in trouble.” She was sure that if she started screaming ’run they’re going to kill you’ at the top of her lungs that she wouldn’t have use of her lungs much longer. While she knew leaving and letting people die would make her feel guilty probably for the rest of her life she was still selfish enough to want to keep hers.

She breathed d a sigh of relief when he finally got up and they left the cottage. “I worry just enough, thank you very much and it’s worse than awful. I just can’t think of a word that fits how awful.”

When they hit the forest line and they were out of sight of the village she grabbed his hand and tugged him towards a pretty good sized clearing she had seen on their way back. “I hope you aren’t afraid of heights or flying.” Turning towards him she looked first at him then at her cloths and sighed. It was a good thing she put on the worst articles of clothing she owned on. After she shifted they’d be nothing more than rags anyway. Looking back to him she slid her bag off of her shoulder.

“You’re going to need to hold onto this for me. I’m afraid I’d drop it if I did.” Holding her bag out towards him she waited until he took it from her before stepping back. “Wait right here. Don’t come into the clearing until I’m done shifting okay?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she turned on her heel and jogged towards the center of the cleaning.

Inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth she closed her eyes. She pictured what she wanted to shift into in her head and her body shuddered. Her body didn’t change like it had before; at first it just seemed to dissolve into a silver mist before expanding out to cover most of the clearing. As the mist started to solidify a massive shape started to take form. When the disappearance of the mist a winged dragon sat on its haunches, its red and blue scales glittering in what little light was left as the day closed.

^Told you that you wouldn’t have to ride a horse. This way you can actually stretch out and relax a little.^ she grinned, a fierce barring of sharp teeth though her eyes softened the look. ^Just climb on and we’ll get moving. I’d hurry though before anyone gets to the clearing.^


She laid her head down on the ground as she watched him walk towards her and climb onto her back. She waited until he was settled again before she got to her feet. Stretching out her wings, the tips just brushing the trees on either side of the clearing, she flapped them multiple times before she started lifting from the ground. ^Hang on, take off is the worst.^ The wind created from her wings bent the trees out of her way and with a light push of her legs they were air born. Within minutes they were soaring above the trees and away from the village. She knew the red of her scales would stand out against the sky but she wasn't worried too much. They'd be out of reach of most weapons in seconds.

(before any one goes bonkers I have permission to auto Fluffy from Fluffy so... :P)

He laughs merrily, coughing again. "Yes, it probably would. The Queen would accelerate her plans and have a party with everyone outside, including yourself." He looked at Laylani as she spoke, "Yes, quite awful indeed." He sighed softly and followed her slowly. "Well I usually stay on the ground..but I don't think I'm afraid of heights or flying." He watched her run off and did as she bid, staying out of the clearing. He grabbed her bag from her and slung it over his shoulder, "Alright, I can do that for you." When he heard her thoughts he entered the clearing and looked up at her. "Well then...this will certainly be interesting." He shook his head and coughed a little, chuckling to himself, "Won't really be relaxing a whole lot. Hanging on for dear life is more like it. Especially if someone sees you. Don't fly over the town." He gasped and looked around as she started to move, "Hang on?! Hang on to what? There's nothing to hang on to!" He grabbed handfuls of scales which scraped against his hands as she began to achieve flight. They soon made it up over the canopies of the trees to the surpised cries of elven scouts. Though they had fast reflexes, the shots that were fired bounced off the scales of her belly, the arrows unable to find a crease. They took to the sky and he held on for dear life, praying to every god he could think of.

^We will soon find out if you have such fears.^ Laughing at him her back rippled and the scales he had been holding turned into soft fur. The fur ran from the top of her head down to her tail so it provided a nice padding for him to lie on. ^Is that better? You should have a better grip now and you shouldn’t slide around so you’ll be fine.^

She heard the cries of the scouts but she ignored them, though the arrows hitting the scales on her belly tickled a little. The scales on her belly were more protective than anywhere else. She had thought at least that far when she shifted. She hadn’t been sure if they would be fired at but she was glad she took that extra precaution to protect herself. She knew she would regret this shift later but she knew she would be able to last long enough until they got to safety. She’d have to hunt and eat again later to make up for the massive amounts of energy she was using right now. However she deemed it a worthy time to go to such lengths to get them out of there. In the sky there was nothing to slow her down.

^When you see a place that will be a safe distance away point it out to me and I’ll land where I can. I promise you won’t fall off.^

She loved the freedom of flight, the feel of the wind around her. It was like she had no worries when in the sky. Flapping her wings she looked back towards the ground as the village got further behind them.

Silmar was nearing the source of the smoke.

Oddly enough, some of the areas along the path of destruction looked, somehow... healed, as if it had been blessed by some wild deity, or another entity that could weild such power.

He rushed ahead and found a clearing where Q and a tall cloaked figure weilding the strangest sword were. Q had her hand on the man's arm, asking what was wrong. Silmar stepped closer, and the Aragoth lingered behind, at the tree line, unsure of how safe the area was.

The man stood unmoving, staring blankly into nothing, as if... listening maybe? ... or watching?

Whichever.

The sword he had...it was odd, it's hiltguard was circular, as the handle... well, maybe not circular, more of an oval. The metal was flat, and more or less straight, and the point was inconspicuosly sharp looking.

Silmar had seen power before, and he knew that this man with that strange sword, had a goodly amount.

He looked past the man,

and saw the desolation.

The village was largely burned out, and there were no bodies. A large amount of foot prints though, as if some of the people had marched out. But, there was blood on the ground... scorched areas as well... and there were other prints that suggested that some had fled.

It didn't make sense.

Apparently, something had terrorized the town, then slaughtered a great amount of people, and a few had fled, although the were probably hunted and slaughtered.

And, maybe, maybe, this thing had made... zombies.

Zombies.

Living dead.

Undead.

What was this thing?

What could accomplish this carnage?

Silmar feared the answer.

A part of him hoped it was the undead, maybe he would be... excepted?

No, preposterous. Zombies had no.. feeling, no, personality, they had no compassion, or anger, or emotion. And would he betray this young archer by joining her former neighbors? Her former companions? Her former friends?

Never.









Still, the sight was shocking.

"What....what did this?" Silmar asked shakily.


************************************************** ***

[Necronas]

Necronas rode his moonstrider towards the Queen's palace, his long hair and cut ears made him look as Elvish as the Queen herself, and the obsidian circlet and silver jewelry which adorned his robe showed him as a noble. What shocked him was that not only Elves had entered the dome, but humans, orcs, goblins, drow, and all the other races of the land. This puzzled him. Why would the Queen bring her enemies into her palace? Was she secretly too weak to continue the war effort? Was she asking for peace? No, the Elves were known for their steadfast determination. There was something else going on...

The forest rustled and a scout began talking to him in Elvish. Luckily, he was quite fluent in their language.
"The poor bastards, all those humans and orcs going to their doom. Really calms the soul now, doesn't it?"
Necronas was shocked. What was this boy talking about? "Yes, a truly pitiful sight" he said. "What do you think is going to happen to them?"
"The Queen says its going to be arrows. Hundreds of them. Anyway, all the Elves are supposed to make sure that none of them are late for the ceremony. Go make sure they're all here, I heard one of the humans is still missing."
Necronas nodded his head and rode back in the other direction. He chuckled inside. He had been calmly walking to his doom, and if not for the moonstrider and his hair, he would have died there and then. A pet that he had simply taken at random, and hair that he was simply too lazy to cut. Once he was far enough to be unheard, he burst out laughing.

The most powerful of magics are no match for dumb luck.

[Vuxxa]

Vuxxa stood motionless in thought as battle preperations continued around him. ^No, I cannot do this.^ then he said back to himself. ^Yes, this will happen. There is no stopping it you fool. All the lands are ours. The world shall be covered by darkness as it should be. Decay and sorrow shall be it's reward. That is what it deserves. The majority of the people's of thsi world are fools, idiots! Minds simple as to believe anything. Yes, this is what they deserve, filthy humans, filthy elves, damnation to them all. All races are forsaken by this putrid world! The peoples just pawns of a game. The fools leading them deserve nothing.^ his banter continues on between himself ^This is not true, I refuse to do this! No!^ the other side responded ^It's too late. There is no refusal^ Vuxxa shook his head "Damn" he whispered to himself"

Minutes later he heard rustling through the forest and out bumbled zombies in all of their stumbeling glory devoid of any real motor funtions. He lauphed to himself ^Ah, zombies form the village. They may not be too impressive, still they have their uses.^ the village zombies fell into line with those already assembled. Vuxxa soon reached into a pouch pulling out a peice of parchment ^his was on that king whose kingdom i conquered. Oh how he pleaded to me for mercy, right before I had him slowly ripped in half. Well elven queen, looks like he won't be showing up. You only brung yourself to my attention.^ he hastily shoved the parchment back into the pouch. He sniffed the air before marching off to his tent.

[OOC: oooooooo we WILL all meet up in the Elven forest of notably poor hospitality!]

Originally Posted by Perloo

[OOC: oooooooo we WILL all meet up in the Elven forest of notably poor hospitality!]

(Not necessarily. Currently two of us are flying over and out of it...so...yeah.)

[Necronas]

(haha, the moment i come in, you guys leave. reminds me of one of those tom and jerry cartoons where theyre both hiding behind the same tree and looking in opposite directions all the time so they dont find each other.)

(Well shes a giant dragon in the sky. All you gotta do is look up )

[Necronas]

There was painfully little to do in the Elven forests. He would look at the trees that stood there for millennia, unmoving and unharmed. He would listen to the birds sing and the forest echo their euphony, but Necronas would not echo anything that he saw. He had hardened himself to feel nothing, for emotion was weakness, and he was utterly convinced that he had to be without weakness, without fault.
The last time he had been here he had come for the Queen's Arcana. An infinite number of scrolls, books and gems of both blue and green were within those walls, and Necronas had only been able to take a few blue spells. He felt that he should visit again. There was a certain element of risk in stealing that appealed to him.

This time there would be no knowledge of his theft. He would commit every spell he needed to memory and leave the entire library untouched. What he was not aware of, however, was that since the last time he had been here, the security had been tightened. This time he started with the green spells, enough to keep him alive if he chose to remain within the forests, and then returned to the blue spells which intrigued him. Suddenly he heard the voice of a woman, for the Queen was passing from her throne room to her bed.
"Fluffy, is that you? So you finally answered my summons!"
This Fluffy seemed like someone the Queen knew, and probably knew well. It would be foolish to impersonate him, for she would obviously note the difference in voice pattern, if not for the difference in appearance. No, it would be better not to be someone she had met before, but also not a complete stranger.
"No, your majesty. He was unable to come. I am his brother, Drake. I have come in his stead." One of the few tricks he had learned from his civilized life was lying, which had come in very useful on many occassions.
"His brother? Fluffy never told me of a brother."
"Yes, he doesn't speak of me often. He considers me to be quite embarrassing."
"Very well. Come here, Drake."
He had no choice. Necronas walked up towards the Queen and kneeled. "Your majesty."
"Drake, I require a favor of you. I am aware that a number of insurgents have been seen around my forests. They are both a threat and a nuisance to my people. I want them dead. All of them. One in particular, who has been here before. He is a powerful warlock, but his magics are of little use here."
"Consider it done, your majesty."
"I will." she said, smiling.
And as every Elven child knows, when the Queen smiles, bad things happen.

[Necronas]

Necronas was on the run. The Queen knew it was him. She had ensnared him under an entanglement spell, holding him in place with tight roots that grew upon his entire body. "We finally meet, Necronas. You didn't even introduce yourself the last time. I was truly hurt by your brusque exit. I am glad you chose to visit again."
She tightened the entanglement spell to the point of suffocation. Necronas's head began to buzz. He heard a distinct sound of the cackling of fire that drowned out everything else. The Queen's lips were moving but he heard nothing. He began to feel warm. He grew warmer and warmer until he realized it wasn't any of the Queen's spells: it was him. He was burning. His eyes turned molten orange and sparks began to fly around him. The heat and the buzzing grew more intense until his mind went blank and he was no longer able to think. His body, however, was more alive than it had been for a long time. His entirety burst into magnificent flames that killed every guard in the room and burnt the entanglement spell to ashes. It was not large enough, however, to burn the entire palace, for the ward placed around the forest limited his death spells somewhat. He ran back into the Arcana and through the window, shattering it, and onto the grass. A few more guards noticed him, and he cooly ran his arms through their necks, like blades of fire, burning them to ash. He ran further and as fast as he could. Soon he was exhausted, for flames could only live for so long. He fell onto his knees and collapsed on the floor, comatose, looking no different from a dead man.

His heart beat slowly and weakly, barely enough to keep him alive.

[OOC: the black god? Defeated? It hardly seems possible! Personally I wanted to see Necronas walk in the bakkriim ir whatever and slaughter all those stupid elves!

By the way, a dragon has two main weaknesses that you needn't use much magic to take advantage of. The first is the wings. Burn the wings with, oh, Idon'tknow a flaming arrow shot by someone with Q in their name.....

And two, shoot the eyes. Works everytime. The eyes are the real dragon weakness.

I'm a nerd, I would know *snort*, ok, kidding about the snort, but still!]

(Okay..A) My name isn't Fluffy. B) Please for the love of all that you find holy..read my posts and actually try to infer something from them)

[yes lord Escallion!]

[Qtchi]

[OOC: I'm terribly sorry...but could we please keep OOC comments in the OOC thread? It's kinda hard to scroll through all these huge gaps on my iPhone... That is what the OOC thread is for, after all.]

[ketotsue]

" I... it's my brother his the reason for all of this misery". His voice trembeled as he spoke. " I don't understand it though for so long now he was a becon of the light I don't see how he could stray into such madness... I fear it may be my fault, for ages past I was consumed by my own darkness and saught the death of countless lifes for my personal gain and now he has...". His voice stoped when he realized he was yet to find out who these people were. He then turned to face the strangers.

" I apoligize for my rudeness but time is still pressing, my name is Ketotsue" He then bowed to the two of them. " I do apoligize but time is yet short for my brother has amased an army to do his evil and it must be cast back to the void for I fear it is mostly constructed of mind slaves and the walking dead both of which I consider to be abominations, so if you don't mind I would have your names quickly". He then stoped and awaited the strangers reply.

He felt exhilarated as they took to the skies, smiling as he held onto the small patch of fur that she had shifted. The wind whistled past his ears and he laughed, leaning over towards her head. "We aren't meant to fly!" He yelled at her, "It's too enjoyable!" He grinned widely as he gazed at her back, wondering why she had shifted so much into fur. They soared past the forest and he pointed past her to a field near billowing smoke, "We can probably land there for a little while, and then figure out what we're going to do and where we're going to go from there." He smiled softly and relaxed a little bit, pondering why there was so much smoke.