-1 TWO ARMIES stood on each side of the vast, abundant plains of Aerth. On east of the plains stood the nation of Cerulea, Snow Clan's capital. On the west side was Zelos, Fire Clan's capital. The two clans of feline shape shifters had been fighting for about a century. Selene, the Queen of Cerulea stood in front. The Feral Nations: Fire Clan, Snow Clan, Leaf Clan, Thunder Clan, and Shadow Clan were divided in the Sacred Forest of Aerth. The Forest took up more than a fourth of Aerth and was on the center of the Planet. Most trade warped around them. Within these nations, royalty always had the strongest and purest magic because in their on descendants were given more power to rule.
Lady Selene, a Snow Leopard Shape shifter stood in front of her nation. Pale skin and eyes the color of winter, she wore tight, white leather pants and a shirt ensemble. On her belt was a tan leather sheath. She shifted into her secondary form of a Snow Leopard. Snowy, pearl white pelt and black rosettes adorned her from her shoulders to her paws. Her eyes were the color of ice. As she turned to her fellow warriors, her deputy, Aurios, second-in-command, walked with her down the ranks. "My fellow warriors and huntresses," she mewed, getting louder every comment," Fight for your families! Fight for your mate! Fight for your lives!!" She unsheathed her claws, unleashed her war cry and ran in a burst of speed and onto the plain. Leopards, Lions, and Tigers and cats of all sorts and sizes collided with each other. The queen's paws were engulfed in blue flames and she glided upwards into the air before the collision and so did someone else on the latter side. While in mid-air, she ran on the air that allowed her to fly. The latter figure had red flames on their paws. They ascended until they were above everyone else.
As they hovered, Selene realized that it was the leader of Fire Clan was none other than Flamestar. He had the tan pelt and amber eyes of the fierce, majestic lion he was. He hissed at her. She opened her mouth and a cone of fire emitted from her mouth and passed on each side of Flamestar's blue transparent shield, but he took some of the force, descending to earth at a slow rate and quickly recovered and flew in an arc before hitting the ground. So, Icestar, you know Elemental Magic. Very impressive, but I can do much, much more, he said telepathically. He leveled opposite of her and growled. He closed his eyes and then he split into duplicates, surrounding her.
He must have thought that she didn't know Duplication magic; she did the same and they appeared as two rings connected. I can imitate any of your simple, little tricks Flamestar; Remember: I am a leader as well, and a strong one at that. I was a Grand Mystic before you were even born. Don't ever underestimate my prowess because I am older than the two of us. I am and will always be stronger than you, she saidTurning and leaping away from him, she soared farther into the sky. She then turned and then sped down to earth. While in mid-air, she transformed into a white light, her body forming into a comet like mass and crashed down to the earth. She exploded and the warriors in the vicinity were blasted backward.
The explosion's peak was as high as a skyscraper. Tell your clan to stand down. We will finish this alone, she echoed. Flamestar fell to the ground and all the warriors fell back. They surrounded the two leaders and they all shifted back to their human forms. Flamestar had on all black and his coat trailed down to his ankles. He unsheathed his sword revealing a broadsword. It was crimson red and its handle was silver. At the bottom, the pommel was a deep, red garnet stone polished like a small egg.
"Kovarios, prepare to battle!!" Selene unsheathed her sword. Light and flexible, the long sword was silver and the blade was transparent light blue. It was a marvelous blade and it almost looked like it was formed out of crystal. Her pommel was sapphire blue. She knew very well he didn't train in the human form where as she trained in her both forms, but she trained in human form the most. She took one step; turning sideways and stretched her empty arm. A cone of cold air was released from her palm and blew Kovarios backwards, making everyone fall that was in his way. Most people never had seen the queen in an Agni Kai. But people who did, knew that she dueled with the speed and grace of a leopard, much like her animal form. He got up and cursed at her. "Pura!" A white jet of light shot towards her.
Icestar jumped, executing a back flip dodging the attack. "I challenge you to an Agni Kai, Kovarios. You wouldn't rather take the cruel punishment of the great, glorious Spiritclan for declining, would you?" she suggested. An Agni Kai was a fire duel. Fire magic the only magick you could use. By Feral law if you refused an Agni Kai, your rank was reduced by one level. By doing so your magic was weakened. She knew by making him mad, he would lose control and then she could seize her chance to strike. "Sure! Why not?" he said blandly. He was mad and her plan was working.
She said the ancient incantation that would activate one. There was a bright white light and she was atop a mountain. Selene shifted form and took to the skies. Flying in the sky was just like on the ground, you had to ride the air currents by running and gliding. Most Feral's didn't fly because they had the fear of falling. When she landed she took her human form. Kovarios was in a whitish sphere levitating a few feet of the ground.
"What took you so long? I was actually worried." he said in a pouting way. "Okay," he started, cuffing his shirt. "Under what terms are we fighting under?" In most Agni Kai's, there was always someone who had a condition, usually a reward or a form of punishment. "Only one, just one. If I win, you must leave my kingdom alone…," she hated to do this, "and if I lose, I will give up my kingdom for my whole reign." she said. She knew that they had been at war for centuries. Her mother was young when this all started and she still rules by her side. Now see, Fire Clan's treachery was greater than Shadow clan's. Shadow clan mostly consisted of rouges, runaways, and exiles. Their evilness ran deep, almost to the core.
"Fine, I'll duel you on those terms. But if you lose, you, Selene must give up your siblings." He said with a smirk. "You see, even if my brother married you after I banished him from my clan, do not mean those siblings of yours don't have any sort of blood of the royal Fire clan family. By Feral law, if you die, those siblings aren't yours anymore. They're mine by birthright!!" He said wildly moving his hands in multiple directions. She walked in a circle. That's a hard choice, She thought to herself. "Okay, I agree." she turned on her heel and walked away from him, giving herself and him some room. By law, when an Agni Kai was fought, it was always in your second form. That way the two opponents couldn't cheat. She shifted into her second form and he did the same.
"Ready?" he asked. "Yeah." she responded. He commenced it by charging and Icestar quickly jumped and dodged the attack. When she landed, she turned in a circle, ran and tackled Flamestar with supernatural speed, she almost was a blur. He crashed into the side of a tree. He whimpered and then he hissed, getting back on his feet. She backed up and unleashed a blue ball of fire. He jumped and in mid-air, unleashing a white crescent shaped light. She dodged the assault and instead, the white light sliced a tree in half. He recovered and ran towards her; she did the same. They met and collided with each other.
They wrestled in every way, form, and fashion. She had enough of this. She dashed forward leaving a trail of white light similar to the tail of a meteorite. She talked him in his side and this time they keep going forward, pass the trees, a stream and finally off the mountain's forest. Knocked unconscious, Flamestar fell to the ground. There was a loud crack and he just laid there on his back. Trying to subsist the damage he took. She approached him slowly. "I told you that you would lose. I am a far stronger opponent than you thought. "She said. She shifted back to her human form and kneeled in front of the injured body of the lion. "I…Guess...So..."She knew that if he spoke anymore he would lose his last life. When cats get divinely favored by the gods to lead clans, Spirit clan, the Feral's afterlife, grants them 3 lives and deputy's always got 2 lives. Placing her hand over his fractured rib cage, she said in incantation. A gold, yellow light hovered between his ribs and her hand. The bones grew back in place, and the blood disappeared." I might look innocent but that doesn't make me weak." She then turned around and took three steps away. She turned to face him and then she disappeared in a shimmer.
A young man clad in red leather walked down a long corridor. He had his sword out in his right hand, ready to strike. As he reached the end, there was two soldier's standing guard before a grand door. Here in Cerulea, the soldier's magicked their robes instead of using armor. It made them faster and more evasive. "Sir, do you have an appointment with the queen? If you do, please present her sigil." said the solider on the left.
The young man just stood there and looked down at his sword. Then they soon realized that he was hiding his scent and was from Fire clan. They started to grab their swords. Before they touched their sheaths, the young man raised his left hand and muttered a word while clutching his hand, making it a fist. The soldier's clutched their hearts and fell. He reached for the handle of the double doors and he was blasted backwards by a blue light. He got up and then disappeared in a fire.
She sent a message confirming her victory to Aurios and told him to meet her at her quarters. She knew he would ask what happened and did she kill him and the whole bit. Aurios was the 'all ears' type of person. She shimmered into her Grand Hallway.
The walls were the color of caramel and had intricate designs that seemed to give of a young, vibrant light. There were plants in vases of white tiger lilies and blue roses. When she reached the end of the hallway, the two guards that were on duty were lying on the floor and blood soaked the carpet were they lay, dead and still. What in the world happened here…she said to herself. She unmagicked the door and walked in.
"So," the voice said. Yet there was nobody in the room. "The so called Queen of Cerulea has returned..." Selene looked around trying to find where the voice was coming from. The voice sounded like Kovarios but different...younger….
"Amycus, come out of the darkness and into the light. You could see your own kin here." Selene explained.
"Stop playing games with me, lady. I swore my loyalty to my father. And to the Helin side. I couldn't..." He trailed off.
"Well...I guess we have to do this the hard way." Selene said. She knew she could perform the force change on Amycus, but he would have to denounce his loyalty to his own clan. And that was something he would do. "Revealius!" she cried out. A young man, in his mid twenty's appeared. He wore red clothing of the scorching, Fire clan. "I guess so." he said boldly. With inhuman speed, he ran towards Selene. She lifted her right arm in a quick motion and Amycus fell to the ground. "Come to our side. You would have a reason for fighting in is war. Your ambitionous father has no power over you." she said while blocking and dodging every one of his attacks with ease. She assumed her Aura form. Her powers had reached its climax. The furniture, vases and other things started to levitate, gravitating a circling around her. She was furious. Her Aura, starting to become visual, in the material plane, represented shades of blue surrounding her body.
She extended her arms, releasing white threads of electric from her palms. He screamed and moaned in pain. The he laid there motionless.
She descended and landed lightly on the floor. "Don't underestimate me like your father did. He almost lost another life, his last one in fact." she said correcting herself. Some Feral's were able to gauge someone's base life force by reading their aura. It resembled colored lights and when someone raised their own power to the max, it usually flared out of control. She used her aura and created a thread and slashed Amycus on his face from his left temple to his chin. He was blasted backwards and landed on a table, breaking it. "GET OUT!!!!!!!" Selene raged. He lifted his head looking at her from the floor and disappeared with flames accompanying him.
"Insolent brat." she said. Snapping her fingers, everything went back to normal. The tables…the vases… She walked onto the balcony, jumping in-air and she turned into golden lights and transformed into a hawk and took to the skies.