Quest For Atonement (Closed For BlondeAmbition4RP)

"God Dammit!"

Lucian swore loudly as he ran through the woods. He'd been crazy to run in here, but he'd had few other options. He ran now for his life and his freedom, running from men who had been allies only days ago.

Tree branches swatted and whipped at him, but didn't get any farther than his cloak or his armor.

The sounds of pursuit were loud in the woods. For many men were indeed chasing after the lieutenant turned traitor.

When Lucian finally reached a broad clearing, one where he could make use of his own skill and mobility, he stopped, trying to force his tired body to be calm, force his mind to think past what failure would mean.

Not a single minute after he stopped, Lucian's pursuers crashed into the clearing. They looked confident, and for good reason, they stood ten strong against one man.

"What do you hope to accomplish Lucian? You stand alone against us, with no possible chance of success. Give up now, and you might be lucky enough to be sacrificed to one of the demons."

Lucian didn't say a word, nor did he make a move as the ten men made to surround him. From under the cowl of the cloak, startling deep and intense blue eyes stared hard at them, sizing up each of them. Yes, he recognized them all, had trained with them, fought and killed with them. Already, Lucian could see in his mind, the weaknesses of each. Even surrounded as he was, he wouldn't give up and wouldn't go down. No, Lucian knew in his heart that he had played a big role in the summoning of the demons, and now he would do everything in his power to stop them and the people who'd sent them.

In the quiet of the forest the noise that the men made as they ran through the underbrush had been hard to miss. It may have even been comical in its obviousness had it not been so infuriating. Myrina, a member of the Amazonian tribe that inhabited the forest had been out hunting when she had heard the noise. She quickly began to move towards the sound, thinking it must be an attack of some kind. After all, why else would so many men be barreling through their territory as they were?

She made her way towards a clearing that she knew would be in the invaders' path. From there she knew she would have a clear shot to pick off a few of them with her arrows, buying her time until the rest of her hunting party could join her. They had spread out to cover more ground for the hunt, but no doubt they had heard the commotion as well and would not be far behind her.

She arrived at the clearing just as the first of the men came into view. Keeping herself hidden among the shadows of the trees, she lined up her arrow at the man as he stopped and the rest of the group came crashing into the clearing as well. She was just about to fire when...

"What do you hope to accomplish Lucian? You stand alone against us, with no possible chance of success. Give up now, and you might be lucky enough to be sacrificed to one of the demons."

The group of ten began to move to surround the man that she'd aimed her arrow at and she suddenly realized that he must have been trying to flee from them before... but why... and what was this talk of demons?!

She lowered her arrow, deciding to wait a moment and simply watch the situation unfold some so she could try and gather a bit more information before deciding who to fire upon.

Even with his knowledge of these men, it was impossible for him to follow their movements with the cowl of his cloak up. His left hand lifted to brush it back as he turned his body to the side, his right arm moving to the hilt of the katana sheathed at his side.

"I do not deny the part I played in their summoning." Lucian said as he turned his body slightly to the side, meeting the gazes of each of the men his gaze passed. "But I would die trying to stop them long before I bent a knee to them." Lucian stopped turning as he stopped talking, and no just as he settled into a battle-ready stance, the most reckless of the ten charged at him. Lucian had intentionally put his back to this man, trying to incite this exact thing, and he drew his katana from it's sheath as he turned to meet the man. His blade was high and wide, trying to come down with a killing stroke. "Emerald Razor." Lucian said in a whisper as he brought his katana around, his eyes already picking out one of the many weaknesses in his opponents defense. The blade came up and around, cutting the man's throat.

The other nine men were too stunned from what happened, but Lucian didn't hesitate for a second. The second the man's body hit the ground, he whispered again. "Quicksilver Motion." In the time it took them to blink, he closed the distance between himself and the gap in the circle that the dead man had once occupied. Even as he closed that distance, he was focusing on the next maneuver and whispering the words. "Mithril Tornado." He swung the large weapon over his head to build momentum as he closed the distance, then, just as when he was between the men, he used that momentum to make a sweeping strike that cut deep into first one of the men and then the other, lacerating deep into their sides and making them collapse. Even as the men collapsed, Lucian sagged forward ever-so-slightly, and he could feel a bead of sweat dripping down his neck. He knew his body would fail him if he didn't end this fight quickly, but that was easier said than done with seven opponents still standing.

The seven men wasted no time with surrounding him and charged recklessly forward, now trying to overwhelm him. Despite the odds, though, Lucian was ready. "Wall of Blades." Lucian whispered as he brought his katana up in a sweeping arc. It wasn't designed to hit the opponent, though, but rather his weapon. His blow struck true and knocked the man's weapon aside. Even then, though, Lucian wasn't done. He knew the next man was charging his back, and as he came back around from the sweeping strike, he whispered again. "Manticore Parry." His blade came down as the other man lunged forward. Lucian's blade impacted the man's, but didn't knock it too far. He shifted his body out of the way just far enough to make the man's attack impale his off balance comrade. With the man's weapon in no position to defend him, it was nothing for Lucian to continue with his motion, side-stepping around the man as he spun, kicking the man's legs out from under him. As the man hit the ground, Lucian's blade was already coming down for a lethal strike, cutting the man's throat.

Even with adrenaline coursing through his veins, Lucian's head bobbed down and then up, his overuse of the maneuvers threatening to overtake him. He dropped to a knee and barely caught himself on one hand. He heard the men charging and knew what he had to do. He hated it, knowing that he likely wouldn't have any strength left afterwards, meaning that if he didn't make it count, he was dead for sure.

Lucian lifted his head as he gripped his katana with a white-knuckle grip. He waited until the men were upon him, bringing their blades down for killing strokes before he acted, needing all five of them to fully commit before he made what might be his last move. "Adamantine Hurrican!" Lucian shouted the words instead of whispering them, hoping that his voice would lend strength to the body that so desperately needed it. He then surged to his feet, bringing his blade up and around. In a single fluid and possibly beautiful move he leaped into the air, forcing his exhausted body into a spin. His sweeping sword knocking the offending blades aside. Even then he wasn't done. As he came back around, still in the air, his sword came with him, and with a single, precise, and lethal slash, he cut down the five men that surrounded him.

It took every bit of focus for Lucian to even land on his feet, and even when he managed the seemingly simple task, he dropped to a knee once more. He was gasping for breath despite the short fight, and sweating profusely. His head hung low as he tried to recover enough to even consider trying to stand and head towards the safety of the tree line.

From her spot concealed in the shadows of the treeline Myrina watched on in amazement as the man began to take on his attackers with astonishing skill. She was confused however when after only two attacks on his part she could already note the way he sagged forward slightly. Was he tiring so soon? Her suspicions were confirmed when after only two more maneuvers the man's head bobbed and he fell down to his knee, the five attackers that remained encircling to overtake him. Just when it looked as if he would surely be killed however, with a shout he leaped up into the air in a final lethal move that was truly breathtaking to behold.

Afterwards the man's enemies lay disposed of upon the ground, but unfortunately for the man it seemed that he had overexerted himself in the process. Once more the man dropped down to his knee, and even though his back was towards her now she could hear his labored breathing clearly as he gasped for breath and hung his head low.

Now was her chance.

Slipping the arrow she had drawn before back into her quiver, she unsheathed one of her daggers instead. She wore two, one at each hip; and both were long, curved, and deadly sharp. Silent as a panther she stalked him from behind, moving across the clearing so quickly and so quietly that he was not even aware of her presence until he felt the edge of the dagger pressing against his throat.

"Drop your sword, or I'll kill you right where you kneel," she commanded him in a strong, sure tone as she heard the whooping cry of one of her sisters and knew they must be drawing near.

She answered the call, notifying them of her location.

"You are clearly exhausted and you are soon to be outnumbered again as well... do not make this any harder on yourself than it has to be," she advised him.

Lucian didn't know anything about this forest, let along the creatures that might dwell within it, and as such, he wanted to be out of the open as soon as he could. Despite his desires, though, he needed to rest for at least a little time before even making a journey as small as to the tree line. Just as he was about to try and get to his feet he felt the icy touch of a blade against his throat. His hand tightened on his weapon out of reflex, but even in his best condition he wouldn't be able to strike before the blade cut the life from him.

The sound of a female voice caught Lucian off guard, but not so much that he didn't hear her words. His eyes closed briefly as he tried to think of any other option, but sadly, in this time and place, there was none. He let his katana fall to the ground, and even as he heard it impact he regretted that he hadn't had time to clean it of the blood of his friends.

The whooping call nearby brought Lucian's gaze up to the tree line. The answering call of the woman behind him stripped him of any hopes he had of escape. His only hope now was negotiation. He took a slow breath as he lifted his hands to show that he held no other weapons.

"I mean you and your people no harm." Lucian said before swallowing and taking another breath. "I fled in here to escape those men, nothing more."

It was never good to be a hostage, but Lucian hoped that being a hostage to this woman and her people would be better than the fate that would have awaited him if he'd been taken hostage by his former friends.

The man's blood stained katana now laying on the ground, Myrina quickly shoved it aside with her foot so that it would be out of the man's reach should he be foolish enough to try and escape.

"Even if I believe you, it is not me that you will need to convince," she told him, lifting her eyes as she spotted movement within the tree line across from them.

Six women began to move into the clearing around them. All of them tall and toned, dressed in warriors garb fashioned from various furs and leather like herself, and their weapons already drawn.

"You can tell your story to our chief," she told him in a voice loud enough for the others to hear, "She will be the one to decide your fate."

She looked down at him, examining him for a moment and wondering if he would have the strength to make it back to their camp on his own.

"Can you walk?" she asked him as the other women drew closer, their eyes taking in the bodies of the men littering the ground and falling upon the man before her with suspicion.

The woman's words were a small comfort for Lucian. They at the very least told him that he was not going to die right now. While it would be easy for him if he just did something stupid and let her kill him, he was not the kind of man who would take the cowards way out. It was that reason that he had fled the castle in the first place, and for that reason that he'd fought and killed his former friends rather than let them capture of kill him.

Lucian's eyes did lift when he heard sound coming from the treeline. He watched as six tall and toned women stepped into the clearing. He could tell from their clothes that they were natives to the forest, and judging by the weapons they carried and the way in which he'd been greeted, they were also likely the reason strangers that entered didn't leave.

"The woman's next words about a chief didn't comfort him as much as her first words had. Tribal societies rarely trusted outsiders, and if this ground of 7 hunters was any indication, men were likely to be trusted even less.

It was the final question that actually caught Lucian's ear. It seemed to show some measure of concern for his well-being, however small it might be. "Yes, I can walk." Lucian said softly but with as much confidence as he could. Even as he answered the question, he wondered if he would be allowed to walk without being bound, especially with her already having noticed his level of exhaustion from the short but intense fight.

"Rise then," Myrina commanded the man, the edge of her dagger still at his throat.

Having witnessed first hand how much the battle had taken its toll on the man and not believing his exhaustion to be a ruse, she would have felt confident in leaving him unbound as they made their way back to the camp, but she had a feeling that her sisters would not be as comfortable with the idea. Sure enough, no sooner had she given the command to the man than one of the other women stepped forward, bringing out a rope that had been fastened at her hip and readying to bind the man's hands.

"We should check him for other weapons as well Myrina. Who knows what he could be hiding under that cloak," the woman, a olive skinned beauty with raven hair that was shaved on one side, told her.

Myrina nodded in agreement and lowered her dagger from the man's throat, stepping aside so that the other woman could conduct her search and bind the man's hands behind his back when she was through. She felt confident that the man would not try anything now that her sisters were there and he had so many weapons trained on him. Moving over to where she had kicked his katana aside, she bent down and retrieved the sword from the ground so that it would not be left behind.

Lucian heard the woman command him to stand, and when he did he slowly lowered one hand to brace it on the knee that wasn't on the ground. He pushed off of it and his other leg to rise slowly to his feet, keeping his other hand raised to show that he wasn't going to do anything stupid.

It wasn't the sight of the woman stepping forward that made Lucian remember something that he'd completely forgotten about until just then, but her words about searching him. He did let out a slow breath when he felt the blade of the knife leave his throat, but his body was still tense.

Lucian lifted both of his hands once more as the olive-skinned woman stepped even closer. He made no move when her hands lifted to undo the clasp near his neck that kept his cloak closed, and similarly did nothing when she made to brush both of the sides back. He closed his eyes when he heard her and the other woman in front of him gasp, and when he opened his eyes he saw that she'd actually staggered back a couple steps.

"Myrina, you have to see this..." The woman said with equal parts awe and disbelief as she stepped forward once more. Lucian could do nothing but stand there and let her part his cloak once more. Even as he watched as the women that clutched weapons tightened their grip and eyed him that much more suspiciously. He knew well enough what had shocked the woman so, and what the woman that had held him at knife point was about to see, and that was the suit of custom-made and hard-earned blue dragon scale armor that he wore beneath the cloak.

Myrina's head whipped around in surprise at the sound of the women's gasps to look back at them, thinking that maybe they had found another weapon on the man after all. Instead she found them simply staring at him, the one searching him having fallen back a couple steps in shock at whatever it was that she had found.

"Myrina, you have to see this..."

Seeing the other women clutching their weapons more tightly she feared the worst and instantly made her way back over towards them, sheathing her dagger and raising the katana in preparation to use the man's own sword against him if need be. She froze however as the man's armor came into view and she saw how the blue scales that it was made of shifted in the light. She had seen such scales before, though only from a wary distance.

"Dragon scales...," she breathed, lowering the sword and reaching out with her free hand to run her fingertips over them in disbelief and amazement.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the suit of armor more fully and realized that it had very clearly been made with great care to custom fit the man's proportions exactly.

"How did you come to possess such armor?" she demanded, her grip on the sword tightening once more.

The women's reaction to the dragon scale armor was as Lucian had expected. His head turned towards the woman called Myrina, but the look in his deep blue eyes was not once of conquest and arrogance, but one of sadness.

"My father, King Alexander, rules over the kingdom of Alexandria, the largest kingdom on this continent. He called his closest advisers to him and told them of a plan that was so ludicrous and absurd that if any of them dared to repeat it they would have been branded as insane. The plan was to gather the hearts of five of the oldest and strongest dragons in the world. He claimed that the hearts were a necessary ingredient in a ritual that would bring the kingdom enough power to dominate the entire continent, if not the world.”

Lucian paused for a quick breath before continuing before the amazon could cut him off.

“Opposition to the plan was swift but brief, because anybody who dared to voice it was immediately executed. My father demanded that an army of a ten-thousand men be sent to attack the lair of each of the five target dragons. One of his five sons would accompany and lead each army. He gave each of us a strange orb, and told us to shatter it in the presence of the dragon. It rendered them unable to use
their magic. He also gave every soldier in the group a potion that could bind their wings with webbing to keep them grounded. Thousands died before one of them managed to hit the beast in the air and bring it down. Even grounded and
magic-less It was a massacre. Every swipe of it's claws, fangs, or tail took out entire groups of men. It's breath killed hundreds at a time. I joined the battle proper after my men had weakened the dragon, but taken more than ninety-percent casualties. The blade you now hold is the blade that struck the death blow."

Lucian took several deep breaths as he was trying to talk as fast as he could easily articulate the admittedly absurd-sounding story. He was trying to get everything out before he was stifled or killed for daring to tell what no doubt sounded like an elaborate lie.

"My brothers fare about as well as I did. Each surviving man was granted a trophy of their choice, but the heart was saved for the king. Similarly, each group brought with a master armor-smith for just this purpose. It took weeks to craft the armor, but longer than that for my father to do what he planned next, the ritual that he claimed would grant us power..."

It wasn't until that point that Lucian's head finally bowed. He had no idea how the women would take his story, but he wouldn't have blamed any of the seven women for killing him for daring to tell it.

Myrina listened to the entirety of the man's tell and stared deep into his eyes as he spoke, right until he let his head bow in defeat, clearly not expecting her or her sisters to believe his tale. Her own emerald hued orbs had searched his deep blue ones the entire time for any sign of deception or dishonesty on his part... but she could find none. Either he was a master at lying... or he was telling the truth.

"What he says is unbelievable! Clearly he is lying, Marina!," one of her sisters spoke out in outrage, "Claiming to be a prince in hopes to have his life spared. I bet he stole that armor from the men that chased him. We should take him to the chief at once!"

Marina raised her hand to silence the woman and turned to give her a stern look, clearly upset at having her authority as the leader of their hunting party questioned.

"We will Viveka," she assured the woman, and the rest of her sisters, "But first I have one final question of our prisoner."

She turned to look at the man again, her hand gripping his chin and forcing him to look up at her again, her eyes meeting his once more.

"If what you say is true, if you truly are a dragon slayer and the son of a powerful king, then why would you be here now... running through the woods from a group of men that threatened to sacrifice you to demons?"

Lucian's eyes closed when he heard one of the women shout that he was a liar. It was an understandable reaction to his story, and he didn't blame her for it. As such, he made no further attempt to defend himself, knowing that there was nothing he could say just then that would help. She'd made up her mind, and that would be that.

Even when Myrina reassured the woman about what was going to be done with him and mentioned that she had one last question he did and said nothing. Similarly, he did not resist her attempt to grab his chin nor fight her when she forced his gaze to meet hers. He met her emerald green gaze, truly seeing it this time. He couldn't help but compare the pureness of her green eyes to that of his blue ones.

Myrina's question caught Lucian off guard, and his gaze flinched, along with the face that she still held firmly. It was true that she had known how exhausted he was, but that much could be seen. He didn't know she'd been close enough to hear the words that had been spoken, let alone see the fight that ensued.

"Because of the ritual that my father had told us about. He'd done nothing more than tell us about it, not saying anything at all about what would happen when it was completed, only the ingredients that he needed. He brought his advisers to the depths of the castle where he laid the hearts and other ingredients. We all watched on as my father started to chant words in a language I'd never heard before."

Lucian took a quick breath as he closed his eyes briefly, but opened them quickly enough. There was no way for him to not see the images in his mind that he was about to describe.

"It started small at first, a flicker of the candles, a breeze from nowhere, but then the hearts rose off the ground. They just sat in the air for a few second before slowly starting to spin. The spinning started to get faster as my father started to chant faster and louder. The hearts shifted in the air until they were no longer a circle parallel to the ground, but perpendicular like a window or a mirror. I could see through to the other side at first, but then the hearts started to smoke. The smoke didn't rise like it should have, though. It just filled the circle and stayed there, getting darker and darker. It stayed like that for a few seconds, and then just as my father finished, a blast of heat exploded outwards, knocking all of us back."

A pained look came to Lucian's face, but his voice didn't falter.

"When I looked back, the smoke and the circle were gone. There was an archway in it's place. I could see into the archway, and what I saw was enough to make me sick. It was a world that I can only describe as hell, fire everywhere with the sounds of screams coming from it. A creature appeared on the other side of the archway. It was more than twice as tall as a man, had huge bat-like wings, and evil looking horns. It had black scales like a reptile and was surrounded by flames. Even the two huge swords it carried were covered in flames. It was a creature out of a child's worst nightmares. My father had used us to open a portal to some sort of demon world. The creature didn't say anything though, and we all just looked on as the creature reached towards the portal. It got closer and closer, and when it seemed like it couldn't get any closer I was shocked to see it pass through the portal to our side. It started with just a claw, then a hand, and an arm. Before I could think of anything to do, the large creature stepped through the portal into our world."

Lucian stopped then and took a huge steadying breath as he tried to get the pictures our of his mind.

"Some men screamed and ran, others charged at the creature but were cut down like nothing. I looked at my father and he was...smiling. Worse than that, my brothers were smiling too."

Lucian's eyes closed once more, and he shook his head briefly before opening them once more.

"I stayed in that castle as long as I could stand it, hoping to think of or hear of some weakness the demon had or some way I could stop what we had done. Every day another demon crossed over into our world, and it took an entire fortnight for me to overhear a couple of the demons talking about the temples in this world and how they needed to destroy them as soon as they located them and were strong enough in number to do so. They mentioned four in total, one of earth, fire, wind, and water. Only then did I run. I wanted to tell somebody, but I couldn't risk it. If word got out what I wanted to do, I knew I'd be killed like everybody else that tried to flee or object. I got away clean, but on my way here I got sloppy, and some of my father's men caught up to me. I had to flee with nothing more than my weapons. I fled from them because I have seen and caused too much death, and I didn't want any more." Lucian turned his gaze towards the bodies of the men and spoke softly. "Two of those men were with me when I killed the blue dragon...They were... "He let those words hang for a second before continuing. "I know nothing of this place, but can think of no better representation of the element of earth than a forest, and this is the only one that hasn't been fully explored. I didn't know what to expect from...any of this...but I had to try."

Myrina listened carefully to the man as he explained the events that had eventually lead to him being chased through their forest by a band of men, men that apparently been sent to pursue him by his own power crazed family. She recalled now that one of the men had referred to him as 'Lucian' before the battle between them had ensued.

Once more her eyes searched Lucian's eyes and face as he spoke. She could see the pain and emotions openly passing over his features, and could tell that he was reliving the events that he spoke of to her in his mind's eye as he said them. Just as before she could find no sign within his gaze that he was telling her anything other than the truth, but the realization did not make her feel any better. Instead, she felt a chill of foreboding seep into her bones.

"I believe you, Lucian," she told him quietly, releasing his chin but her eyes still on his, "But as I said before, I am not the one that you will have to convince."

Stepping back she turned slightly and gave a nod to the others.

"Come, we will make our way back to the camp and let him share what he's told us with the Chief," she instructed the others who quickly fell in line to do as she said, two of them coming to grasp Lucian by each arm and guiding him behind her as she lead the way back to the treeline.

Despite all the things working against Lucian in that moment, there was one thing still working for him, and that was that he knew he was speaking the truth. Despite, that though, it was impossible for him to not be surprised when Myrina said that she believed him. Her second statement was something that she'd already told him, but convincing even one of them was something at least.

"I understand."

Lucian said simply before Myrina gave her next instruction to the rest of the group. Without having any real knowledge of the rules and expectations these women had, it was impossible for him to not be impressed by the way in which they so quickly and efficiently followed the command they were given, up to and including the two women who stepped on either side of him and gripped his arms.

Just as Lucian hadn't tried to break free of or attack Myrina, he also didn't fight these women now. The fact that they were simply holding his arms instead of binding him properly actually showed at least a small level of trust that he hadn't expected from them. He had no intention of betraying that trust, and gladly went with them, even doing the best he could to keep pace, despite the exhaustion that was still making his limbs feel heavy.

Lucian was far from the first invader that had come into their woods, and as such Myrina's disciplined hunting party had known exactly what to do when she'd given her orders, though his case was admittedly very different from the usual treasure hunters and poachers that they'd encountered before. He also had not tried to fight or resist them in any way, and he was still obviously tired from his brief but intense battle before. As such she did not feel the need to have him bound, and it seems that the earnestness of his speech had earned at least a small degree of trust from the other women as well as herself, for none protested about her not having done so.

Her strides were long and steady as she lead the group through the forest. After they had been traveling for a while she cupped her hand to her mouth and let out a whooping cry similar to the one she and her hunting party had used to locate one another before, only this one was meant to announce their arrival as they neared their village. Answering cries were soon heard coming from within the trees up ahead. She then made another call, this one slightly different than the one before. This one was the call that the hunters used when they had a prisoner with them.

Sure enough when they reached the village the presence of an outsider had clearly been expected, the normal routine of the inhabitants seeming to have been put on pause as everyone came out to watch the intruder be brought before the chief.

It wasn't as easy for Lucian to keep up with Myrina's and steady strides, especially with both of his arms still being held. Still, he did the best that he could under the circumstances. He would have tried to keep track of their path through the forest if he thought that it mattered, but he knew how large this forest was, and also could barely tell one tree from another. He also had no intention of trying to escape, because even if their chief didn't believe his story, him trying to run away would cost him any trust that he'd gained, and likely his life.

Myrina's sudden call pulled Lucian out of his own head. He heard the call back from what he assumed were scouts near the village. Myrina's second call was slightly different from the first, but it wasn't even worth guessing what it's meaning was.

Lucian did notice the trees starting to thin out which made him suspect that they were getting close to the village. His suspicion was confirmed when they stepped out of a tree line, and he realized the meaning of the second call that Myrina had made when he saw a large semi-circle of people waiting for them. He heard a murmur pass through the crowd of people and could see them talking among themselves. It was at that exact moment that he remembered that not only was he not bound, but his cloak was still open in the front, putting his armor on display for everybody to see. He took a deep breath as they stepped farther away from the tree line, knowing that what happened next would likely be more important than any of these people realized.

As they approached, the semi-circle of people parted and made way for a stern looking woman with beautiful dark skin and piercing grey eyes. She was dressed in a garment made of luxuriously soft fur and various jewelry fashioned out of animal bones and gold. Two guards, each holding a long pointed spear stood just behind her. Myrina approached the woman, bringing her right fist to her chest and bowing her head in salute.

"Chief Bellona, we found this man in our woods and have brought him to speak with you," she said lifting her gaze to look at the woman once more, "I found him being pursued by ten armed men who I overheard threatening to sacrifice him to demons before they attacked him. He was able to overcome their attack with great skill, but was greatly weakened after and did not resist when I apprehended him... he claims to be a prince who has come to our forest in hopes of stopping a demon horde that his father is unleashing upon the world."

She stopped then, turning to Lucian so that he may tell the rest for himself.

The two women that held Lucian's arms stopped him from moving forward as the crowd parted and a tall, strong, and beautiful woman with a stern grey gaze stepped through them. She was luxuriously dressed and ornately decorated, making It clearly obvious that this was the chief he was hear to talk to. The guards behind her and Myrina verbal acknowledgement only confirmed it. He made a mental note of the parts of his tale that she mentioned so he didn't anger their chief by repeating any more than he had to.

When Myrina stopped and turned back to him, the two women ushered him forward. At the same time, the two guards behind the chief stepped forward, the points of their spears aimed ahead of them in his direction, ensuring that even if he was able to break free of the women holding him and dumb enough to charge, he wouldn't be able to reach the chief.

When Lucian was beside Myrina, he was pulled to a stop. Each woman then kicked his knees out from under him, making him fall to his knees. They still kept a firm hand on his shoulder, though, making it quite apparent that this was how he was going to stay. He took one final steadying breath before he lifted his gaze to meet that of the chief and spoke.

Lucian started at the beginning, outlining his father's ludicrous plan, the fact that it came seemingly out of nowhere, and why he and the others were effectively forced to go with it. He followed that up with the strange orb that somehow prevented the powerful creatures from using their magic and the seemingly impossible of potions that somehow existed to help keep the dragons on the ground to make it even possible to kill them.

Lucian didn't have the same pained expression his face as he talked of the casualties the battles inflicted, because he'd already talked about it, gotten those feelings out for now, and definitely couldn't afford to show such weakness in front of the chief.

The part about his blade striking the death blow and the creation of his armor were easy enough, but talking about the ritual itself was anything but. Just thinking about the creature sent a shiver down his spine. He talked about how it crossed into their world as well as how and why he was able to steel himself in that moment and what eventually happened to everybody that attacked the creature and those who tried to run.

If there was one part of the story that Lucian tried to emphasize, it was the part about the demons weaknesses, the elemental temples, and the demons not knowing their locations. He talked about why he didn't tell anybody, why he ran, and why he was on his way here. He included the part about the ten men that pursued him being his countrymen, and two of them being friends that had been with him on his mission to kill the blue dragon. He finished his tale by saying that he hoped that these women knew of sort of temple in this forest that might somehow fit his story, and that if it did exist, all he wanted to do was check it out.

"If there is no temple or nothing happens inside it, I will ask no more of you or your people, and I will throw myself at your mercy. I know how this sounds, I do, but if you had seen what I saw, I can only hope that you would understand why I am risking my life to do what is right. I would rather die in the attempt that sit back and let such an end come to this world."

Lucian took a long breath when his story was finally finished, and finally bowed his head. As had been true before, he'd done all he could, and was unfortunately at the mercy of somebody who could never truly understand what he had seen and heard.

The chief was silent for a moment as she considered Lucian's words. Finally she spoke.

"You speak very sincerely, but there is still the chance that you could be lying about what you have seen... or you could simply be insane," she replied, narrowing her gaze at him, "I know of a temple here in our forest that could be the one you are looking for, but it is a long journey from our village and I can not trust you to travel there on your own since you could just as easily travel back outside of our forest instead and inform others of our location. Neither will I risk the lives of my warriors by sending them with you. They are needed here to protect and provide for our village."

She looked down sternly at him as he knelt before her.

"Besides, we are well hidden here within our forest and have been for hundreds of years. Why should I risk the safety of my people for a problem that will likely never even reach us?"

The silence that filled the clearing after Lucian spoke was maddening. The chief's grey eyes were hard to be sure, but not without wisdom. He could tell just from her eyes and her posture that while she might be as tough as she needed to be, she was likely a fair matriarch.

The first words that the chief spoke made Lucian's heart leap, but it quickly sank lower and lower as she continued to speak. He did nod along with her words as she outlined all the potential dangers that could come as a result of sending him alone or with any large number of her warriors.

Despite the chief's words, Lucian's eyes didn't reflect anger or even sadness, his gaze was as steady as hers, and he held her gaze for several seconds before he spoke.

"Every word you spoke is true, every one. You have no reason to believe a word I've said, and as much as I wish I had some form of proof of my words, sadly I do not. All I would ask is a moments consideration. If you are right, and I am lying, insane, or both, then your decision doesn't matter either way. If you suppose for a moment that I am right, though, and that there is a dark force growing that you can't see because of how well hidden you are, it won't matter how well hidden you are, because this is a force that will burn your forest to the ground if it has to. It will destroy or enslave everything in it's way, because when that time comes, it will be too strong to stop."

Lucian spoke his words with a simple and matter-of-fact tone. He didn't try to persuade the chief one way or the other, only lay the options and their potential outcomes before her.

"You say that you can't risk sending me alone, and I agree with you. You also say that you can't risk the lives of your warriors, and I agree with you as well. What about a single warrior, a volunteer perhaps? I would agree to travel under any circumstances you and this person might demand. If any one person here is willing to take that risk of their own free will, would you allow it?

Lucian knew he was taking a big chance now. He'd told the chief what she already knew, that she had no reason to trust him. She had posed a question to him, though, and that alone was better than her denying him outright. As such, he'd taken that chance in the hopes that even one of the people standing here would be willing to volunteer on his behalf. It did still depend on the chief herself, but maybe if she was confident enough to ask for volunteers, one of her own people would surprise them both...

The chief was silent for a moment again as she thought over Lucian's proposition. Finally she spoke, having reached her decision.

"Very well. I suppose if one of my warriors wishes to place themselves at risk for the sake of a story that could very well amount to nothing more than lies or a mad man's nightmare then I will not deny them that right," she agreed, though it was obvious by her tone that she still did not think the 'dark force' that he had spoken of to be a very realistic threat to their tribe.

She lifted her gaze then, addressing the rest of the women gathered around them.

"What say you sisters?... Are there any among you who would volunteer to accompany this stranger on his quest?"

A hush fell upon the crowd of women as they gazed upon him with skepticism and suspicion. For a long moment it seemed as if none would step forward to go with him, when suddenly...

"I volunteer," Myrina spoke out, stepping forward to stand before the chief once more, "I will go with him."

It was hard for Lucian to not feel at least a little uplifted when he heard the first two words the Chief spoke. He was less excited to hear the rest of them that followed, particularly with the tone. It made it very clear what she expected would come of his quest, assuming anybody even volunteered to go with him.

Lucian stayed in the high kneeling position as the chief posed her question to the women gathered around them. The silence that followed was absolute and utterly demoralizing. Despite his desperate hope that somebody would volunteer, Lucian was not about to disgrace himself by looking around and silently pleading with his eyes. When it became clear that nobody was going to volunteer, he lowered his head in defeat, knowing what was going to happen to these people.

A brief bit of movement beside him caught Lucian's attention, but it was the single voice that broke the silence that brought his head up. He recognized the voice, but almost didn't believe it was Myrina until he looked up and saw that it was her. It was true that she'd said that she believed him, but for all he knew in that moment, it was to ensure that he didn't try to fight back, even exhausted as he was. For her to actually volunteer against what she likely knew were the true wishes of her chief was astonishing.

With Myrina volunteering to accompany him, Lucian lifted his gaze back towards the chief. There was no arrogance in his gaze, simply the same steady determination that had filled his gaze from the moment he'd they'd met. All that was left now was to see if the chief would honor her word or use her position of authority to disregard her previous statement and have dealt with in whatever way she saw fit.

It was obvious by the look of surprise on the chief's face that she had not expected any of the women to actually volunteer to go with Lucian, least of all Myrina who was the head of the tribe's hunting party and whom had always been a favorite of the chief's. She opened her mouth as if she might protest and go back on her previous statement but then shut it again, her honor not allowing her to go back on her word even if she was the chief and it was within her power to do so.

"Very well," she replied again, her tone more sharp than before, a clear sign of her displeasure at the situation, "Darkness will fall soon, so for tonight the man will remain with us and then the two of you may depart for the temple in the morning with whatever supplies you may need... Until then it will be your responsibility Myrina to keep an eye on him and make sure he behaves appropriately and does not try to escape."

Myrina nodded, giving the chief another respectful salute in response. Outwardly her demeanor remained calm but inwardly she breathed a sign of relief, grateful that the chief had not been more upset at her for her slight rebellion.

"As you say Chief Bellona."

The chief just gave Myrina a stiff nod in return and then turned and left to return to her hut, her two guards following behind her. Once she was gone Myrina turned to the two women that were still forcing Lucian to kneel.

"Release him. I'll take it from here," she told them.

They quickly complied, taking their hands from his shoulders and stepping away to join the other women of the hunting party.

"Follow me," she instructed him, waiting to give him time to rise and then beginning to lead him to where here own hut was located within the village.

When the chief spoke her first two words, Lucian let out the breath that he hadn't even been aware that he'd been holding. He would now at least have a chance to do what he had come here to do. Regardless of what happened at the temple, he had at least tried, and in his mind that was enough for now.

The following words were about as one would expect with the chief putting Myrina in charge of him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid like hurt somebody or try to escape. After that, she turned and left, with her two guards following behind her.

With the chief gone, Lucian lifted his gaze to Myrina. He wasn't so much surprised when she dismissed the two women who were keeping him on his knees, but he was surprised when she bade him to stand and follow her without having him bound.

A lot of things were going through Lucian's head now, but he couldn't really be bothered with them right now. He gladly rose to his feet and followed Myrina. He couldn't help but wonder if she was taking him to her home or a holding cell of sorts.