AN- Finally got to do something with Crane here, though his personal fans might not agree all that much. If dark stuff hurts you, I would skip over the last dividing line and read the TL;DR for those who skipped it. Anyways, here we go!


Balthanax hefted his greatblade, the teeming sword invigorating his own corrupted form with every touch. Every step held more spring, every leap forward held more enthusiasm- there was always fury waiting around the corner to be dispensed on some unwitting mortal, some bandit or the other. Thus, he had grown accustomed to this world- he was enjoying his time.

But what he found most peculiar was the Spiritual evolution. Since what he had termed 'The Banishment', the souls of some animals had evolved to have humanoid properties- as in, bestial animals still existed, of course, such as the wild birds and deer that hung around, but the animals who had evolved with such human-like souls had taken on the similar properties- likely growing to live in the remnants of the world about them. Not that he was complaining- a good soul was valuable here, if it meant getting the proper mana from it.

He was almost ready.

He had returned to this glade a number of times he couldn't quite remember other than that he had sensed the rift here, as well- raw and festering with a bubbling font of raw energy, of Chi and Mana, of Dark and Light, Life and Death. This was more than a font- it led somewhere only a skilled magician could sense and open the way to enter- or take something out. And his intention was, in the end, the latter- he had business.

Once upon a time, he had made siege on this world. But the humans had foiled him- and now, there were no other men to get in his way, except for one. What would the animals do? Not many of them seemed to possess the aptitude for magic like humanity- thus, it would be an easy conquest.

Of course, militia and nations would still rise. It was his duty to cut them down and to feed Orjinvaal further- this single blade was going to be the key.

He hefted the blade into the air for a moment, spinning it- feeling the exhiliration of it's motion.

It was singing.

His blade bit into a tree, passing bark and entering deep into wood. The area around the blade's impact began to drain of any and all life, the purple runes along the sword gleaming hungrily as it consumed more and more. The withering plant shrank and shrank, once tall and proud- now shriveled and weak. He continued to feed regardless, killing the tree, further and further, dead leaves falling to the ground- for him, it was pure bliss.

The roots shrank and left gaps in the soil as the tree began to further decompose into a dead ash, flowing off into the night breeze. The grass around the tree began to drain as well when the sword hit the ground- but he picked the blade up and sheathed it once more on it's back, breathing out as if he had just completed an intense session of massage therapy. He curled and flexed his fingers, forming fists before grunting.

Now to find an open glade.


The group had been traveling little more than two days, and yet the lands had changed rapidly before his eyes and under his feet. The human folded his hands behind his back, exhaling deeply- the current path led through a particularly beautiful forest filled with the colors of fall. Occasionally the odd traveler would approach, wave, and continue- the bandit here and there, who thought them easy prey before recognizing the distinct races making up the party and deciding otherwise.

The nights were a tad easier. Pitching a fire, collecting twigs and wood, setting up the sleeping cots before fixing the rations into something neutral everyone didn't mind eating. After that, some would sleep, others went off to do their own training- whatever the case, it always resulted in everyone asleep while Shifu awoke early and made preparations before waking the students.

No, a faint note in the back of his head struck. Of his students and their guest.

It was near to the afternoon where they found themselves at the beginning of the path up the mountain. Shifu looked between the torn path and them, gaze fixing on Salu'ir. "This -is- the place you saw, yes? The mountain?"

"Yep. My vision flew up, headed south, and passed up the mountain here." He looked up, scratching his head for a moment- noting the snowcaps on the tall peak. He looked at his garments, pondering if he was really prepared for this, but shook away his doubt and nodded back at Shifu.

"Let's go."

And so the trek up the mountain began. The group ascended the primary path rather easily, but soon it became lost to gravel and dirt- it had been cleared away from the rest of the foliage around the path, but it was becoming harder and harder to track.

The first wall to climb, they hit rather early on- nothing too tall, but enough to make someone take a look at their fighting style before bouncing up there to make sure they had the right flexibility to do so without help. Darkness was cresting the rest of the forest, but as they climbed higher, the more the sun's rays touched them.

Eventually, they were forced to find a place to camp- picking a place off to the side. Not quite into the snow-capped areas, it was still something decently peaceful and fitting of a rest. After dinner had been had, the students continued to chatter amongst themselves- Salu'ir secluding himself, assuming a meditative pose, and beginning to channel his Qi.


Shifu pulled Crane aside after a moment, the aviary creature nonetheless curious but holding a touch of concern. The last time he had struck out as an individual, it hadn't gone well- Being 'Jaded' by Kai had left it's marks. But nonetheless, he felt the call of duty as he followed the old man out.

Shifu turned around after a moment, staff clacking on the dirt ground. "I need you to do some reconnaisance."

"I...ah- yes, master."

Shifu nodded. "Do not engage if you find anyone- but first, fly to the peak of this mountain and find exactly what the Human wants us to find- before heading West." His eyes shifted uneasily. "A small amount of Chi has been flaring up and making it's way east. I'd like to get an idea of what it is."

The bird nodded before flapping his wings and taking off.

The night was beautiful for flying, in his opinion- he had never been the strongest when it came to flying, nor the most daring for any spectacular feats, but he had always enjoyed simply soaring above the clouds and being left to his own devices. Thus, he was grateful for an excuse to head out.

The human was interesting, of course, but the bird was far too introverted to ever properly get into a conversation that didn't address the group in general. But enough of that-

Nearing the peak, he flapped a few times before soaring around the peak- before what met his eyes nearly startled him out of the air.

Another Monastery?!

It was similar to the Jade Palace in design, but it was integrated into the side of the mountain- ruined creatures or old buildings lay strewn about, buried under snow and ice where the overhang of the temple's roof didn't catch. There wasn't any life- but still. The odds of such, here and now?

The note that it was abandoned suddenly piqued his curiousity- what if there was some sort of lost knowledge? Or if there were people inside that were hiding away? Surely this could serve as some sort of Bandit hideout, right?

Best to be thorough. He fell gracefully, landed with a buffet of wind- shaking off the night chill and faintly falling snow, he shook a thin leg and continued on inside, head lowering to be nearer to his chest. His hat wasn't doing him much favor, so he shed it- carrying it under a wing as he strode up to the great closed doors above.

"Hello," he called, "anyone there?" A leg reached up to knock on the door.

It shifted open a little, revealing the darkness inside. Crane squinted for a moment- there wasn't a stench of smoke or cinder- some figures lay here and there, beastioid or not he couldn't tell- so he turned away and closed the door to keep the snow further out.

Seemed empty for now.

Shaking his head, he exhaled heavily before lifting off the ground once more with a buffet of his wings, his hat slipping back on.
Little did he notice the small stone that had been caught in his hat's folds, engraved with a small, glittering rune.


Balthanax continued marching, gazing up at the night sky. The occasional bandit had been jumping him for a while now, and thus had kept Orjinvaal fed- and Orjinvaal kept him alive. Thus, the 'Last Human' was content.

There were still feral animals, sure. But most were humanoid- evolved. And that aroused his curiosity beyond any logical reason. The fact that they were developing souls similar to humanoids, that provided energy- why, it was almost a blessing.

He paused for a moment, listening. A disturbance of life energy in the distance caught his attention.

...ap, flap, flap...

He whirled suddenly, a chain of black and violet energies weaving into reality from his palm, tipped with a barbed hook, shot out and into the air. The blade punched through an avian wing before rooting- the rest of the conjured chain conjuring around his wrist. He yanked with a heavy hand, laughing as he felt the tension on the other end of the chain give way to his might- extending a hand in preparation.

A gangly sort of bird met his grip- with a white body, and a blue head, with reed-thing legs ending in the usual bird talons. It wore some variant of a chinese hat- and looked at him with those eyes. The eyes that had sentience, that knew right from wrong, that could hold off until dinner when mother called instead of hunting and devouring what they could.

The eyes that had a soul.

He tightened his grip on the neck, needle teeth shivering in and out as the conjured chain faded from reality- leaving a bleeding hole in the Crane's wing. It struggled, gasping for breath, clearly taken aback by the suddenness of this all- before suddenly-

Qi?!

His body became lined with it as his form tensed and delivered a helicopter kick, knocking the warlord off and back a few feet, landing in a kneeling stance. He paused before standing, cracking his neck and grinning deviously at the bird. "So, this bird nibbles back."

It flapped it's wings before wincing, noting the injured limb. "Gahk!" He looked back over at the human, eyes tracing over every detail- good. The crimson eyes leered out from the chattering maw of razors, waiting hungrily for a chance to rend and tear. He approached the bird, walking over and delivering a harsh stomp to a leg.

A sound like shattering bone rang through the air. The bird cried out in pain, kicking out and trying in vain to crawl away. "Wh...what...?" Balthanax lumbered over for a moment before perching on the bird's body, hovering for a moment.

"This is going to be fun."

What followed was a slur of memories for the both of them- all with Balthanax cackling madly, slamming his fists into the bird's head repeatedly. He laughed chaotically, before a particularly powerful slug threw the bird's hat off. And out spilled the stone- which caught Balthanax's attention.

He reached over, picking it up and inspecting it- no bigger than a computer mouse, but radiating with magic- no, an enchantment, a spell tied to it from another place. There was nothing that he could drain from here. His eyes looked back at the bird for a moment before grinning.

"...here. Spread a warning, won't you?" He took the stone and the hat, tracing the rune and watching it begin to glow brighter and brighter as it began to activate- placing that hat over it as he set them both on the bird's chest. "Tell your friends, your home, your village and the like that death is coming."

The bird lifted it's head weakly to regard the human. "...l- like... hell, Monster..."

"...monster? I AM A DEVIL!"

The last thing Crane heard before the portstone warped him off was the maniac cackling of Balthanax.


TL;DR for those too sensitive- Balthanax caught Crane spying and beat him to a bloody pulp before sending him back (somewhere!) using the stone which acts as a teleporation beacon, if you will.