Dark Ever After (closed for Kat)

[JadeKnight]

Hello everyone, it's time to continue the wonderful tale of woe that the wonderful realm of Grimm fairy tales. Everyone seemed to have their happy ending, Ariel married to Eric, Bella and her Beast, and Cinderella with her Prince Charming. However, it seemed that there was a darkness even within those pairings. Eric had been unable to sire any children, and the kingdom fell into a great famine. The Beast was cursed once more upon his wedding night, along with Bella and the rest of the staff. Charming turned out to be gay, leaving them unable to create a continuing bloodline.

Late one stormy night, the six daughters of the sea witch Ursala attempted to summon a great beast to wreck havoc upon the land for them. The spell went awary, with the summoned dragon killing them. After meeting with Ariel, the dragon made up his mind to become king of the land. Shortly after that, Eric brought in a drow who attempted to subjugate Ariel to his will. In order to protect his new offspring and chosen queen, the dragon sought the help of three faries to break the drow's grasp. After gaining their loyalty, the dragon kicked both Eric and the drow from the kingdom. At the same time, the dragon broke the curse over Bella and the Beast as he claimed and impregnated her as well.

Shortly before the wedding of the three, the dragon Kalveth fought with another younger dragon who had been trapped in the fairy realm the same time as Kalveth. The black dragon was subjugated and made into the protector of the realm. He also took one of the three fairy sisters as his mate, transforming her physically and making her whole once more. The other sisters were transformed into new forms, healing their broken bodies. A tournament was held shortly after the wedding, Cinderella and Charming's kingdom becoming Kalveth's as well.

With the help of the dragons' magic, their mates were able to stay young for much longer. Nearly seventy-five years of peace past as the royal family grew by ten offspring. Most of the offspring went off to take control over smaller provinces within the realm. A mysterious affliction hit Kalveth and Ariel, leaving them to become living statues forever in a loving embrace with one another. Their eldest daughter left the capital in search of a cure, leaving her mothers Bella and Cinderella to rule in her absence. The youngest of the three fairies remained with them as well. Salvia, still with Josephine, the former royal alchemist, had left years earlier to retire in a faraway area together. Zendoth, the black dragon who had become the king of the fairy realm, had disappeared mysteriously along with his queen and mate.

With the loss of the two ruling dragons, darkness began to move into the realm once more. It is uncertain where they came from, but a overwhealming large army of the drow struck at the land quickly. It took two years, but the army of darkness had swept through the land, killing or capturing within it's wake. As it stands, they are only a couple of days from overwhealming the very last kingdom where Bella and Cindarella are.

 

[katalynn]

Life has not been easy without father and mother. I spent nearly 20 years in search for them. I knew father could never leave the realm, he was bound here and protected it with his life. There was happiness all throughout the kingdoms and the fae realm for the longest time. Parties and events at least once or twice a month depending on the season and the celebrations. The fae realm is known for its parties, celebrating the guardians and the seasons and … well… just for fun! My mother certainly loved her parties and would find any excuse to have one. At times, they would just happen, a simple dinner party with a few friends and before you know, the entire realm is at the castle.

However, the darkness did return, and it started here in the fae realm. It originated from the mortal realm, although it was in a restricted area where it couldn’t leak into the mortal realm easily… Yet, it did find a way to leak into the fae realm and because of the magic that keeps this realm alive, it was able to grow. It found its way through the various portals of the realm, eventually reaching to the mortal realm.

During its growth and expanding of the fae realm, my father had decided to go investigate on his own. Against his wishes, mother had chosen to go with him… Needless to say, they never returned. I put out an entire search party for them, searching every tiny inch of the realm, going so far as to looking under rocks… this is a fae realm and even a rock could hide an entire cavern. As the days passed, the search party grew less, months went by and only a few remained to continue the search… the first year passed and life had moved forward as normal. Only now, there are no more parties. For twenty years, there hasn’t been any parties because they simply were not same without my mother…

Me on the other hand, I never gave up. I would continue to go out every day, at times for weeks, searching high into the mountains, then down into the depths of the caverns… Nothing came up, no hint or sign of where they could have gone. Although, I’m glad I kept searching, because I was able to discover just how much of this darkness as grown. There was an entire section of the realm that simply couldn’t be used. No life remained in this area, I could have sworn I heard mother screaming at one point… Yet, I couldn’t believe it to be true, it came from within the darkness, and I didn’t dare trust going into it.

It also provided visions from the mortal realm as well, a realm I have not paid much attention to since the disappearance. It showed a massive army consuming the lands… after a few moments, it directed its attention to the fae realm… Those visions have never left my sight, I dream about those visions every night. Every so often I would check the vision machine father had to take a peek at the mortal realm. Each time it looked worse and worse… I knew it wouldn’t be long until they found their way into the fae realm.

I have done what I could to seal off every single portal of the realm, refusing to allow any of the fae that remain here to leave… certainly no mortal is allowed to enter. I sealed the portals and hid them within the shadows. No matter what I do though, there is always someone out there that is more powerful, and it is only a matter of time before my seals are broken...

“It is time for me to leave…”

“But… your highness... you cannot leave at a time like this!! It is far too dangerous for you to be outside…”

The deep voice from behind spoke, a huge black panther with the feathers of a peacock instead of a cat’s tail.

“Yes, I know… but what choice do I have? I mean look at that… There is no way I have the means to fight against that alone. The fae are few in numbers due to the darkness here… I need help… I need to find the dragon queen of the mortal realm… I saw where she was last… I will start there…”

A heavy sigh and hot breathe blew over my shoulder before the giant panther head plopped on my shoulder… I reached up to pet his head, trying to provide some comfort…

“I will be careful Luthais… I will stay off the main roads and away from the main cities as much as I can. I must find the dragon queen though, she is our only hope…. At least I think she will be…”

I sighed while looking at the vision in front of me of an army marching through the sand lands…I gave Luthais a tight hug, he wanted to go with me, yet I needed him here to protect the realm for as long as possible. I packed up a light backpack and headed towards the nearest portal possible to the dragon queens last known location…

“I will back… I promise!”

With that, I headed into the mortal realm and luckily, I found out it was nighttime, which made traveling for the time being, much easier and soon I started to make my way in the general direction I had to go…

 

[JadeKnight]

I sighed softly as I stood on the edge of a ledge in the Midnight Mountain Range. It was the highest mountain range within the realm, bordering the edge of the desert and the final standing kingdom. I had chosen it because it gave me the best vintage point to take in everything and try and gather my thoughts. Looking down, all I could really see was a sea of black, the massive drow army poised to crush the last of the realm as far as I knew. Too many things had gone wrong, and I was powerless to do anything about it.

To see me now, no one would believe I was the dragon queen. At least I think I was the dragon queen. The last two years had become a blurry and my memories were all jumbled up. My name was Beth'la, daughter of Kalveth and Ariel. I remember leaving to search for something, but that journey didn't last long. Whatever that reason had been, it had gotten me stuck in an underground tomb in the desert. I had tripped some sort of trap after discovering some treasure and putting on a silver bracer. My left hand rubbed over the plain looking bracer, fingernails scraping the surface without scratching it. Shortly after putting the bracer on, I fell into a coma. I had only woken a few days ago to find the world changed like this and unable to remove the bracer.

Once I got outside the tomb, I foundt a large black mechanical dragon waiting for me. The only thing I have gotten out of him so far was his name, Zendo. I glanced over at the mechanical creature who was curled up in a small cave, watching me with gold eyes. I gave him a little wave for a moment before looking back out over the massive army. I seem to be more powerful in this new form, but it's still not enough to be of much help against this scourge. I take a few deep breaths for a moment before sighing.

"This is all kinds of wrong."

 

[katalynn]

While I moved around within the shadows, I started to think of the dragon queen and it hit me that she doesn't know of me. I have never left the fae realm until now and if I remember correctly, she was mated to my older sister. I paused with that thought, surely she knows the dark army took my sister? Shaking my head, she has to know.... I couldn't worry about that right now... There's more important issues to deal with, perhaps I can avoid that subject.. I hope.

It didn't take me very long at all to make it to the edge of the sandlands, this is the last known location that the vision machine had seen her in heading towards Midnight Mountain Range. Not that I seriously knew where that is, I only have an idea from this old map I had found in my library. As always the lands do change over time and the vision didn't give me any insight on what it is I'm looking for exactly. I do know that it will be a bit more difficult to move through the sandlands considering there's truly no shadow here and I can hear the army in the distance.

"Well, at least I didn't land in the dark armies lap! Sounds like a good distance to keep from them.."

I looked up to the skies, hoping the stars will guide me to some extent, again, I don't know this land and the stars are different than they are in my realm. No help there. With a heavy sigh I made my way in the only direction I knew of, hoping that perhaps the queen was in a city of some kind. Although, looking at this map and from what little I know of the sandlands, there is no major kingdom out here... small towns perhaps. I couldn't see the queen going to a small town though.

"What could possibly bring her out here? There's nothing here!!"

I looked around, trying so desperately to keep my distance from the dark army and all the while, determined to continue in at least one direction. If strayed off that direction, I would be in real trouble. So far, from what I can tell, the land remains true to the map. It's difficult to say how long that will last though. I wasn't fully prepared for the sandlands, not as prepared as I thought at first. I had to be extra careful with my water and since I don't like wearing heavy clothing, the first sand storm that hits will slice into my skin. Then the sun during the day, I realized I didn't have much protection against that either. How am I to know though? I don't need to worry about stuff like that in the fae realm....

"I had better find her soon, otherwise I just might die out here..."

I growled under my breath as I fought to walk across the sand in the same direction that at this point, my instincts are guiding me towards.

 

[JadeKnight]

I really had no idea on what I was going to do next. I was essentially powerless to help in any sort of way against this overwhelming army. The last kingdom was doomed to fail no matter how much they tried to stand up. I only hoped they would surrender to avoid as much bloodshed as possible.

I basically spent the rest of the day just watching the slow movement of doom from my perch in the mountains. Like a tidal wave, the army swept from the desert to move deeper into the forest and countryside, covering like a blanket. It was nearly evening when I decided to do something besides just watch. Calling Zendo over to me, I climbed into the large double saddle that had been formed at the point between his neck and body. Leaping into the air, I took us out towards the desert to see what was left.

It seemed the few settlements that had been formed were deserted, looking picked clean from the air. It gave me a chill along my spine as to how silent everything was in the wind. It was further along the border of the mountains, only a short distance from a lone oasis, that I spotted a figure in the sand. I frowned for a moment before Zendo dove towards the figure, landing beside her.

I recognized the female figure as a fae, but not who she was. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't place her. She appeared to have succumbed to the elements, so pitiful close to an oasis.

"What are you doing out here sweetie? How did you managed to avoid capture?"

I placed a hand gently on the unconcious fae's mouth, feeling her breathing. Figuring she was probably thirsty, I directed Zendo to pick her up and take her over to the oasis. Figuring that we were safe for the moment, I setup a litle camp with a fire. I drew some water from the oasis before wetting a piece of cloth and laying it on her forehead. Once that was done, I started up a meal of cooked fish for when she awoke.

 

[katalynn]

I ended up getting severely lost, I had tried to stay close to the boarder as much as possible.. at the very least keep it in sight. Unfortunately, I had to make a quick decision to change direction because the path I was going in was quickly leading me straight to the dark army. There's very little choice in the direction I could have taken, going back obviously did me no good.. Forward clearly isn't a smart option, going back towards the boarder and into the forest would been logical.. although, that's exactly where the army is headed... I only one option and that was to go around the army, avoiding their path altogether.

By this time, the sun had started rising. At first it wasn't so bad, it remained cool for a few hours at least. The closer to midday it got, the hotter it became and I wasn't watching my water supply. I did try to use some fae magic to keep cool, though all that did was use extra energy. I did use to find a general direction of a possible water source and a small trail came into view, which I began to follow. I knew I had to be close because the path grew brighter, however, there's no way I was going to make it. My water had run dry and each step became agonizing as I'm not used to walking in this kind of environment. I did try to fly most of the way, again, that was too much energy spent. It did get me a little closer and it did keep me from leaving tracks at least.

I just couldn't make it though as I only laid down for a moment, wanting to catch my breath and relax enough to regain some strength. I must have passed out because the next thing I knew, there's a scent of food in the air, the scent of fire and the crackling of fire also woke me up too. It took several seconds for my eyes to adjust to the scene before me. A huge mechanical dragon, something I have never in my life seen before. Also, there was a fox like female with many tails.. that alone caught my attention as I slowly sat up, raising my hand to my head for a moment as some cloth fell down.

"What happened? Where am I?"

I glanced around, realizing this is where my trail was trying to lead me to as I saw the pool of water. Turning my attention back to the fox, there's denying of how beautiful she looks. That thought alone caused me to blush and shy away as I turned to dig into my pack for my water bottle to refill..

"I have no seen your kind in a very, very long time. I had thought that your kind had all vanished like... others have."

I gave a weak smile, almost cussing myself out as that is no way to start a conversation. Especially with someone that just rescued me. Shaking my head with an almost defeated look, I took a long drink of some water and smiled softly.

"Anyway, thank you for saving me... I am not used to being in this realm, I should have studied it more. My name is Zynphya. What shall I call you?"

 

[JadeKnight]

It took me a moment to notice the young fae shifting before sitting up. I catch the damp cloth before it hits the ground.

"Easy, you were out for a bit. This is just an oasis near the border."

I smile a little at her blushing as she turns away. I raise an eyebrow for a moment at her comment about my kind being vanished long ago. It takes a moment to realize she is speaking about my current form. I giggle a little for a moment as I shift the cooking fish over the fire.

"That's a bit of a story."

I pluck one of the skewered fish from the fire and offer it to her.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Beth'la, former queen. And that is Zendo."

I point to the dragon, who lifts his head up for a moment before laying it down once more. I wonder if I should have said dragon queen, but not sure how she would take it.

 

[katalynn]

I smiled while taking the fish, though fish isn't really my kind of food, it smells funny and tastes all wrong... I really didn't have much of a choice. It is a meal all the same and my supplies were running low. I paused for a moment, holding the fish barely at my lips when I heard the name you gave. Admittedly, it did take me a moment to really recall where I knew that name from, since my thoughts are still a bit fuzzy from passing out.

"Beth'la? That's the name of the Dragon Queen... I mean, I suppose others can use that name too.. It's just, that's the one that I am searching for."

Glancing at the fox again, once blushing slightly at how beautiful you are, silently cussing myself again for staring and turned my attention back to the fish, taking a bite mainly to distract myself.

"The Dragon Queen went missing a few years ago, the lands really could use her right now. So I left my realm in search of her. This is the only last known location I have of her, which is why I'm here..."

I took another bite of the fish, slightly surprised at how good this particular one is. I considered on how much I should honestly say to you. To me, you are a stranger and I have no idea what your intentions are. Especially after learning you are using the Dragon Queen's name.

"I am the youngest daughter of Zendoth, the black dragon of the fae realm. I have been in charge of the fae realm for a very long time. I need help though. The darkness keeps growing in the realm and it's only a matter of time before the dark army breaks one of the portals. I've never been to the mortal realm until now. I had to work my way around that army and i ended up getting lost out here.. It seems that's when you found me.."

I had a gut feeling I've spoken too much.. the truth of the matter is... I really didn't have much more to lose.

 

[JadeKnight]

I listen quietly to her as i pick up the other cooked fish, munching quietly. It doesn't take much to hear the despair in her voice, along with the sadness and confusion. I am not really sure how much I should reveal, since everything is still fuzzy to me. If I was truly the dragon queen, it was a sorry state of affairs for me to try and recover from. In all reality, there was nothing short of a miracle to turn things around. I just didn't see anything like that on the horizon.

Zendo did lift his head at the mention of Zendoth, eyes whirring in the darkness. However, he didn't saything for several seconds before laying his head back down. Whatever secrets he was hiding, he didn't feel like sharing them either.

"Even if the Dragon queen could be foundt now, I'm not so sure it would make a difference. Too much of the mortal realm has been ravaged, destroyed, or taken over by the drow. If the kingdoms had been able to amass their own army together in the beginning, then perhaps something could have been done."

I ate a couple more bites before shaking my head for a moment.

"My memory is fuzzy and I only woke up yesterday from some coma. I'm not sure how long I was asleep, but things were pretty peaceful before I ended up in a coma. Or so I remember, everything is a blur now."

I tossed the remains of the fish aside before standing up and stretching.

"I won't suggest that we do nothing, but we really can't do much against this army now. Perhaps we could try a rescue of some sort before trying to figure out how to counter things."

 

[katalynn]

The movement of the dragon did catch my eye and I watched him for that moment. For a split second I thought perhaps, maybe... However, that is no way for a real dragon to end up.. mechanical dragons are created with magic and who knows what else. My father was born as a dragon, blood bones, living and breathing. I must have really missed him if I'm thinking that.... Even if it is possible, then what of mother?

I sighed, tossing the fish bones into the fire and laying back down, digging into my bag for my cloak.

"The kingdoms... the humans mostly... had gotten corrupted by the darkness... It messed with their minds, making them paranoid and it went from there. Soon it affected the fae of this realm too.. There was no army to summon when they are busy fighting each other.... I... I watched it happen with at least two of the kingdoms."

I curled up in my cloak, pulling my pack close. I didn't have any intentions of sleeping, though I am still pretty exhausted from walking in the sun.

"The dragon queen may not be able to do anything about the armies. However, my mother gave her the power to deal with the darkness... From what I little I have seen of the army, they seem to be feeding off this darkness. If maybe we lock the darkness away again.... It might at least hurt the army..."

I shrugged, unable to keep my eyes off her and the dragon... She is just too pretty to not look at. I never had a partner before, I certainly never been attracted to a female before. There were a few males but I never bothered with them... Yet, there's just something about this one. I did think about what she said about, with just waking up from a coma. Just like with the dragon, I didn't want to believe what the imagination is telling me. She is a fox, nothing at all like the dragon queen... although, there is something about her eyes. The dragon though, his reaction to my fathers name kept nagging at me..

"It is just an idea though... I have no idea if it will work or not. And what kind of rescue are you thinking? I don't know where they take everyone. How would we get in? I'm sure wherever they are, it is heavily guarded."

 

[JadeKnight]

I put my left hand on my hip as I look out over the darkness of the night, listening to her speak. Something sparked in my mind as she spoke about a power to cull the darkness. An image of a scroll flashed in my mind for a moment before it disappeared. I don't say anything for a few moments as a flickering light in the distance caught my eye. It doesn't seem to change position, and be only one that i can count. I don't believe our campfire will be seen as the oasis is surrounded by a screen of thick bushes. I pull my eyes from the point of light to look down at her.

"If the dragon queen is ever found, then she can use this power. In the meantime, just survive."

I lift my right hand for a moment, rubbing my nose before continuing.

"It will probably just have to be a snatch and grab from the air. We'll just have to grab whoever we can and get out as quick as possible. The army covers an area that would be way too difficult to just sneak in and out without problems."

I moved over to the closet palm tree, scratching a few runes upon the bark. The runes glow briefly before the tree collapsed to the ground in a large pile of logs. Grabbing a couple of logs, I carried them over to the fire, adding them in.

"You probably should stay close to the fire when you sleep. The desert can get pretty cold. Zando can keep the fire going for us and watch for intruders."

I carefully laid down on the other side of the fire from her, my tails splaying out around and over me. I take a deep breathe before looking over at her, studying her in the dancing firelight for a few moments before closing my eyes.

 

[katalynn]

I watched as she laid down on the other side of the fire, the firelight made her seem a thousand times more beautiful. If that is possible. I did my best to not stare though, wondering what is wrong with me. At a time like this, when the world is falling apart, I'm getting distracted by a beautiful creature. I don't know if it is simply because I had a soft spot for kitsunes or what... I just knew that I wanted to touch her, to play with her tails and so much more.....

Shaking my head, I sighed and forced myself to close my eyes. Perhaps I just need some real sleep and everything will be right again.

"Well, if we ever do find the queen... I know where the source of the darkness resides. I am unsure of the exact location in the mortal realm... But, I know where it is leaking into my realm... That seems to be a problem for another day though."

I yawned and stretched out a little and decided to watch the fire for a little bit. Normally I would fire for my visions, yet, I'm slightly afraid of the visions right now so it ended up being a way to relax more and help me sleep.

"Snatch and grab huh..... hopefully it'll be that easy..."

I was mostly speaking to myself, though clearly loud enoug for her to hear without thinking much of it. I can only assume she knew where they were keeping the prisoners... However, she did say that she just barely woke up from a coma too. This was becoming all to confusing to an already fuzzy brain. I needed sleep and hopefully I can think more clearer in the morning.

~~~

Sadly, sleep did not come easy. Vision after vision kept pouring into my dreams. I knew the difference between what was vision and what is dream. That is one of my skills after all, I see things that no others can. In this case however, the visions were random and honestly made no sense at all. Being in this general area, I saw how the Dragon Queen fell into a trap and it faded from there, giving me teasers after that. I had no way of controlling these visions in this realm, this realm simply didn't feel right to me and my senses are all off.

At one point my dreams took me back to the darkness in my realm and I woke up startled to the sound of my mother screaming once again. I'm not sure how long I slept, but the fire was almost out and both the kitsune and dragon were sleeping... At least I think the dragon sleeping. Do mechanical dragons sleep? I got up and went to the pool of water, splashing a little on my face and taking a drink as I sat back to stare at what stars remained as the hint of sun is starting to color the night sky.

 

[JadeKnight]

The dragon didn't really sleep as much as it went into shutdown mode a short while to recharge. While it was off, it absorbed the energy of everything in it's surroundings in tiny amounts. The process was slow, but it didn't take much to recharge the dragon. Despite being shutdown, it did have passive hearing that would bring it back into active mode if anything was heard. The dying of the fire as little embers popped brought the dragon from it's slumber.

It didn't move for a few moments, only opening it's eyes at the sound of the fae's splashing. There was a soft whir as he lifted his head up to watch her for a few moments. He soon turned his head towards the fire to check on it. He stood up carefully before picking up a couple of logs between his teeth. Moving over to the fire, he laid the logs on the fire carefully. He nudged the embers around until the new wood began to catch, sitting back on his hindquarters.

He turned for a moment towards me laying upon the ground. As he nudged me gently with his snort, I reflexively swatted at him without waking up. Seemingly satisfied, he turned his attention back to the quiet of the oasis and our surroundings.

Meanwhile, the drow army made their move. Although they had given the last kingdom a time of two days to surrender, they moved to strike without warning. Despite being on high alert, the bull rush was overwhelming with the superior force. The drow really weren't keen on keeping the males who fought alive, killing most of them. All of the women and children were taken as slaves. Despite their attempts to hold out, Bella and Cindy were beaten and collared. Their dresses were torn to rags before being dragged out with the other slaves. The whole kingdom was put to the fire after the royal treasury was emptied.

 

[katalynn]

I smirked while watching the interaction between them. Clearly she isn’t going to wake up anytime soon. However, something in the far distance caught my attention more. My senses have always been very sensitive to my surroundings and being in this realm, they seem to be extra sensitive. I can hear the faint screaming, scent of smoke filling the air.

I looked around for a point, Zendo would have been an obvious choice. I didn’t want to disrespect him by just climbing on him without asking. I could easily fly up in the sky for a real good vantage point, unfortunately the sun is climbing higher and I could easily be spotted now. Especially not knowing what is out there watching. For all I know, we could be watched right now.

Looking around, I found the highest tree possible and flew to the top of it. I couldn’t see much with all the smoke pouring into sky, fires consuming the trees… The screams is what I heard above all else. The direction alone told me everything I needed to know as the tears broke free. I’m glad I sealed and destroyed all the portals in that area. Even if they found where a portal used to be, it is useless to them, there is no activating those portals.

All I could do though is fall my knees and watch the billowing clouds of smoke and fire in the distance. Little by little the screams did fade out into nothingness. I had no idea if they took the queens or killed them I only knew how helpless I truly felt in that moment. There’s nothing I can do and eventually they will do the same to my realm…

” I need to return home… it was a mistake to leave.. I have go back… I can’t stay here and nothing…”

I was talking to myself, not paying attention to the dragon or to Beth’la. I didn’t move right away either, frozen in my place in the tree. Though, I did glance down at my pack for a second, wondering if it was worth taking. Looking back up to the smoke, thinking about your plan of rescuing only one person out of how many? What good will one extra person do that we can’t?

Shaking my head…. “No…. I have to go home…. I have to protect my realm…”

There is extreme sadness and near panic in my voice, tears flowing freely at this point. Zendo can easily see that I’m about to take flight any second. There’s no doubt he can sense the pounding of my heart as I kept watching the fires and smoke growing… I knew it was bad, yet to actually see and hear it like this made reality hit harder than expected…

 

[JadeKnight]

When she decided to fly up to the top of the tree, Zendo huffed softly. He reached out and used one of his claws to lightly flick my nose. I gave a little growl, batting at the offending digit. He huffed once more before trying it again. This time I growled as I quickly sat up, looking to him.

"What is it?"

I couldn't hear what the fae was saying yet, but the dragon motioned towards her with his head. It took me a couple of seconds to see where she was, sighing softly. I motioned for him to come closer as I stood up. He laid his head down on the ground before i quickly scrambled to stand on his head.

"Come on, up."

I did a little balancing on top of the dragon's head as he lifted upwards once more. He walked over till I was beside the tree the fae was on. He lifted his body higher till I was even with her, at which point one of my tails wrapped lightly around one of her ankles. I slipped my arm around her waist gently for a moment.

"Easy now. There's nothing you can do by yourself. Calm your self."

It took me a moment to spot the rising smoke in the distance, shaking my head. They had moved sooner than I thought. Despite what had happened, there was a silver lining to things. If they had moved during the night, it meant there was a chance they would have to rest and regroup.

"I know a place with a better view. Let's go and check things out from there before deciding on what to do. Alright?"

 

[katalynn]

I wasn’t paying any attention to my surroundings at all. I had tunnel vision at this point and all I can see is the path leading home. I stared off in the direction of where I came in from, if i flew fast and hard, I should be able to make it. That is my only thought and by the time I spread my wings…. I felt something curl around my ankle. First instinct is to pull away, having no idea what it is…

Then soon another sensation crept in, forcing me to look down at this point. A fuzzy tail holding its grip on my ankle and an arm wrapping around my waist. Both seem to be calming me down and slowly guiding me towards the source. Through teary eyes I looked up to see both dragon and kitsune staring at me….

”I need…. To… I need to go home… I have to destroy all the portals…. My…. My realm will be next….. I…. I have to protect my realm….. from that….”

I looked in the distance where the smoke is still flooding into the sky. The entire I barely noticed that my feet were following the soft guidance of the tail. It wasn’t until I felt metal at my feet as I stepped closer to her.

”I can not let that happen to my realm. Majority of the portals are sealed or destroyed…. Depending the location….. Still, it will not take them long to find a sealed portal…. I have….. I should have destroyed them all….”

I felt sick to my stomach when the scent of death finally reached me. It was very faint still… yet it carried in the wind…. I couldn’t stop myself when I turned to hug her, hiding my face into her shoulder.

 

[JadeKnight]

I was quiet as her words spilled out, just letting her speak. I did listen to what she was saying, knowing how she was feeling. I was still recovering my memories, but could also feel the heartache from losing my home. Though I couldn't say it aloud, I knew that what she was wanting would most likely be futile in the grand scheme of things. However, it would probably lift her spirits a bit if she tried something.

"I understand. I really do."

I lifted one hand to pet her head gently, running my nails lightly through her hair as well to try and calm her. At the same time, Zendo began to slowly lower his head to the ground so that we wouldn't fall off. The rest of my tails wrapped around to gently hug and comfort her as well.

"We can go and see how things are going from higher up. If possible, we can do something to help protect the fairy realm. We'll also need to check out the beach near the dragon queen's castle. I believe that's where the possible breech is."

 

[katalynn]

I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, I knew the horror that waited in this realm. I’ve been watching it for a time now, the visions have been getting worse everyday. This seriously shouldn’t be of no surprise… Yet, the scent in the air, the screams still rings in my ears. The visions don’t provide that, fathers vision machine don’t provide it either. I wasn’t prepared for that reality.

I took the few moments, letting her calm me down. The comfort of her tails gave off a sense of protection, her scent overpowered the other scents filling the air. It almost felt as though we were in a bubble That blocked out the world.

“What shall I do? The source is there, I do not know exact location though. They use it, they will not leave it unguarded…. And that is one area in my realm I could not touch. They have a chance to use it….”

I couldn’t finish that thought. Shaking my head, I thought had a bit more time. I had wanted to get to it first. I tried once more to look in the direction, her tails were blocking my view though. As if she is giving me these few moments of peace.

“I… I will follow your lead. I will be okay.. Thank you for helping me…”

I considered sending a message to my realm somehow, to have those that are left to destroy the portals. I just wasn’t sure of how to send such a message or if anyone will get it..

“I am ready to go when you are..”

 

[JadeKnight]

I smile for a moment as she seems to calm down and get herself under control. It was perfectly normal for her to be upset in the current situation, but it wouldn't help in the long run. Giving one last little rub on her head, I pull away from her, my tails releasing from around her.

"I am happy to help. I think the next little bit will be rough."

Zendo lowered himself down to the ground, giving us the needed help to climb on his back. I help her on first before climbing and sitting in front of her. A moment after we are settled, a series of metal bars come out of Zendo to latch over our laps to keep us in place. A moment later and the dragon leaps into the air on several downbeats of his wings.

Flying high in the sky, I direct him to circle above the invaders. Looking down, a blanket of darkness covered the entire area and concealed them from sight or sound. It also seemed that we were going unnoticed from the ground, which was a good thing. I directed Zendo to stop and hover so that i could use a spell.

"I had planned on the mountains as a viewing area, but this works just as well. My viewing spell will help us see what is happening below."

I weave my hands in the air in front of us, speaking softly. I finish the spell with my pointer fingers and thumbs in a square, slowly pulling them apart. As I do, a small semi-transparent square box appeared in front of us. I pulled my hands away, the box showing the sacked castle as being a little closer. Using my fingertips, I am able to manipulate the image to zoom, unzoom, and shift the box around to bring the landscape in closer focus like a magnifying glass.

"We can see how things are before heading there. Here, try it out."

 

[katalynn]

The tears still remain as we flew, though they are silent tears and I’m calmer than mom ago. I do have to admit that I honestly couldn’t recall the last time I rode on a dragon. I used to ride on father’s back as a child… but that was so long ago. I had my own wings after all. The bar caught me off guard, finding it interesting as it held us in place. Which I gripped onto it tightly when zendo began to move to take flight. It’s mostly from not being used to another having control that freaked me out.

It took a couple minutes for me to really calm down enough to loosen my grip on the bar. Watching her do a spell is a nice distraction too, paying attention to how the cube works.

”I knew someone a long time ago that could create these. She was elder of the realm. She let us kids play with it.”

A soft smile played on my lips as I held the cube, manipulating it the way she instructed. Though, looking at the ravaged land, that smile faded rather quickly. I did at one point find Bella naked, bruised and bound to a pole in the middle of the gardens. I wanted to instantly save her, yet that would be impossible right now.

After looking around some, I pointed to a spot some ways up the beach.

“There is fae portal in this general area, I did what I could to seal it, yet that is the one where the darkness leaks into. I think it is underneath though, I don’t see any sign of it from above..”

 

[JadeKnight]

I stayed silent as i watched her manipulated the viewing spell, a frown on my face. I figured things were bad, but they turned out worse than I imagined. I shook my head a little at seeing the way Bella had been treated, my hand on the bar tightening. I remembered that Bella was my mother, and she should not have been treated like that. I also knew that it could be some sort of trap to lure in any would be rescuers. There was nothing I could do.

My attention was pulled away as the fae continued to scry and pointed to a spot on the beach. I nod softly for a moment before a moment before dismissing the spell.

"Alright, we can check it out. Hold on."

I tell Zendo to continue towards the beach, but I don't tell him to head towards the point she wanted. They instead veered towards the castle, towards the beach area. Flying as high as we were, there was little chance of us being spotted. We looked the size of a bird, soaring above the clouds. The air was a bit chilly, but bearable to me.

It took a little while, but we soon diving down towards the beach area a little ways from the castle. The hairs were standing up on the back of my neck as my head moved around quickly to check out the area. Things were not right at all, and I was given barely a few seconds to take everything in. Zendo was hovering only a few feet above the sand when everything became a blur.

The area looked as if some major attack had taken place, many areas of the beach glassed over from magical fire attacks. There was no sign of the living statue of Ariel and Kelvath. The sand was partially indented as if it had been shifted before disappearing. The magical image of the hot springs which had hid the standing circle of summoning stones was gone. Half of the stones were gone, the rest partially crumbling from some sort of impossible type of spell. The dimensional tear that had been allowed to leak the darkness in was fully exposed as the clouds of darkness bellowed into the air from it.

"Kill her!"


I blink for a moment at the angry shout, looking to see where it came from. A robed figured suddenly jumped out of the rocks and ran towards Zando, leaping up easily and wrapping it's arms and legs around the dragon's tail. As the figure clung to him, several metals bars emerged from his tail, wrapping over the figure like a tight cage. As female voice shouted from beneath the hood, realizing what happened.

"NO!"

There no more time to react myself as several figures leap down the rocks as well, drow and drider. I lift the arm the bracer is on reflexively as several spells are hurl at us, giving me little time to reaction. Instead of striking any of us, the magic arced toward the bracer and were absorbed into it. Each strike caused the bracer to bright until everything seemed to explode with a bright light before I lost consciousness.

 

[katalynn]

The events happened so fast that I had no idea how to react. Someone jumped onto zendo, yet was instantly caged. Two more jumped on, instantly attacking her without hesitation. I proceeded to try and help when another jumped on my back. My body reacted on its own defenses, spikes from my back piercing the invader, retracting to let the body fall to the ground…

“Zen… get us out of here quick…. To the clouds… get high up inthe sky…”

I barely finished the demand when he started climbing to the skies. Anything could have happened to him, their magic could do any number of things to a dragon…. I’ve seen it… We had try though. Two more managed to jump on, one attacking you, the other after me with a dagger in hand.

I didnt have time to react though, the dagger sliced my arm deeply right when I was blinded by a bright light. I screamed, holding my arm close while hearing more screams when the invaders fell from the dragon. It took a minute for my vision to focus again.

When I looked around, I saw her unconscious, being held in place by a bar. I looked back to see the one is still caged, thankfully unconscious as well. I scrambled to make way towards Beth’la, holding her close as we reached the clouds. I didn’t look around yet, my main concern is her and trying to wake her.


Calling her name a few times, petting her hair and thankful she’s still breathing. I closed my eyes, holding her close and using abit of healing magic to encourage her to wake up. I did take notice the air smelled strange and the overall feel of the air is different too. I cou think bout that right now. My arm is still bleeding and I can feel the exhaustion from losing so much blood taking over… I had to wake her up first though…

 

[JadeKnight]

The magical burst of energy has teleported us to another plane, unknown to us. We can ended up inside a very thick cloud bank, unable to really see anything. A loud rumbling was heard all around us, followed by a strange large sharklike fin of an unknown metal bumping against Zendo's right wing. Angry, the mechanical dragon spewed forth a massive stream of electricity in the direction of the retreating fin. However, this was the wrong thing to do.

As the electricity hit the cloud bank, the charge erupted wildly through it and around us. He did get the source of the fin, several explosions heard but unseen through the cloudbank. The electricity turned on us, with the dragon getting the brunt of the backlash while only a small jolt for myself, Zynphya, and our third passenger. Zendo screeched loudly as he suddenly seized up and went into a dive. The jolt was enough to wake me up.

"Wha-?"

I bolted upright as my hands clutched at the bar for support. I barely noticed Zynphrya as my attention was focused on the strange landscape of tall, square and reflective buildings. I could tell something wasn't quite right as Zendo didn't really seemed to be moving much. Tiny arcs of elecricity seem to dance over his body that I could see,

 

[katalynn]

I didn't like this place at all... there's too much happening and I couldn't focus on just one thing. I'm trying to wake you up, yet at the same time very distracted by the cloud and strange fin. My powers seemed weaker in this place, too much electric current surrounding us. I tried to stop Zendo from shooting more electricity into the cloud, i could feel the energy rising in him.. I was too late though. The jolt didn't hurt me at all, but it did push me towards the back.

I struggled for a moment to find my balance once more. Though I realized that the jolt hurt Zendo. We were falling rather quickly into the unknown. Who knows how far down the ground really is, or what is waiting for us down there. I noticed the captured guest we carried is unconscious.. I have no idea if it was from too much excitement or if the jolt stunned them. I couldn't be concerned with that right now.

It was painful to use my powers here, I'm very confused as to why it's so painful... but I had to keep us from crashing. Using the elements around us, mostly the electric currency.... I managed to put a protective bubble around us.

"I.... can not keep this up for long.... we need a place... to land.... quickly...."

I spoke through gritted teeth as the pain ripped through me. I did my best to keep us floating instead of falling. Though, I had no chance to focus enough to find a landing spot...

 

[JadeKnight]

There was so much going on around us, I couldn't really focus on any one thing. Strange flying metal birds were darted around between the strange and very tall square buildings around us. There was a vast array of sounds closing in as I tried to focus on anything at all. The wind was cold as it rushed passed up, while I could barely feel the familiar thrumming of Zendo beneath me.

Zendo seemed to partly understand what was happening, his wings spreading wide to capture the most wind as possible. The protective bubble helped him as well, as we gilded and partly dove downward between the tall buildings. A small boxy contraption with three people barely got out of the way as we rushed past them. One even pointed a strange square object at us, but nothing seemed to happen. I soon spotted a series of lower square buildings as they rushed at us, Zendo seeming to guide us towards them. I barely noticed a large crowd in the distance, shambling between the buildings towards a line of dark clothed figures in front of several boxy looking contraptions with swirling blue and red lights atop of them.

Zendo reached out his legs for landing atop a black stone and gravel building, but he didn't have enough strength to fully brace up. I lurched forward as the dragon hit and slid halfway across the small roof before stopping with a deep rumbling groan. I would have tumble off if it had not been for the safety bar, which pulled away from me and Zynphya, along with the stranger on his tail.

The bump on the gravel was enough to wake up the stranger, who groaned and slowly as she sat up. The hood of her robe fell away as she put her face in her hands with a groan.

"What is going on..."