A/N: I return from my couple of weeks of holiday armed with the reworked version of chapter 8-now with completely rewritten Reeze section!

Chapter 8

The Summons

Gulldo clicked his beak in his equivalent of a smile as he lowered down to perch upon the banister that surrounded his master's home, his wings flicking slightly in the air at the soft sound of humming drifting out through the open window. When he landed, his green feather coated head twitched to the side slightly as he look through the open door to see Wynn sitting cross-legged before a set of boxes that lay in the corner of the room, her green hair lying lose around her head, void of the usual ponytail, and her brown cloak hanging from a hook on the far wall, giving the girl a casual and content appearance that she normally wouldn't show.

The bird paused as he listened to her hum, the soft tune sounding both joyful and solemn at the same time and he took a step forwards, tilting his head in the other direction. He didn't recognise the song, it wasn't a tune that had originated from any of the bards or remembrances that wrote the great poems and songs typically heard in the village. No, whilst they tended to be happy and strong in their belief in the forest, this sounded lost and calm at the same time, as if sung by someone who held hope for joy despite times of pain. It was a song from Wynn's past, Gulldo could tell that much, music that must have risen to her subconscious as she rummaged through the boxes that contained various momentums from her time before she joined the Gusto tribe.

"Oh hey there Gulldo"

Gulldo jumped slightly as Wynn's voice broke through his thoughts, instinctively flapping his wings as if to get away from a threat before he managed to pull himself back together and flew into the room, giving a slight cooing sound in acknowledgment to the charmers greeting. He felt disappointed that he had been noticed, because he knew that there was no way the girl would resume her humming whilst she knew someone was watching and he had been enjoying listening to it…

"I'm just going through a few things" Wynn said to him, guessing at whatever mute question he was going to ask her with a kind smile "Thought the place could do with a clear up"

Gulldo simply clicked his beak again as he watched her pull out one of the boxes and begin to rummage through the contents. He saw her pull out thick books and scrolls along with random pieces of fabric, each baring various symbols and runes that only Wynn would be able to understand, and place them into piles that she could sort out later. Feathers, long empty pots of ink, a compass and even a children's toy all piled up around them and Gulldo found a strange fascination in these items of the charmer's past, playing a game with himself in trying to guess what she would pull out from the box next.

It was only when she found herself holding a small framed picture that Wynn paused in her reorganising, her mouth twitching in a faint smile as she stopped to examine it. Tilting his head slightly questioningly as his wings flapped around him, carrying his body back into the air so that he could fly to land upon the charmer's shoulder, Gulldo gazed down at the picture she was looking at with his own blood ruby red eyes.

He found his head twitching to the side agin involuntarily as he found himself looking down towards a set of six children, each wrapped in cloaks and wielding staffs, all smiling warmly at Gulldo as they looked up towards him from the black and white image. The bird felt a twinge of mixed emotions as he instantly recognised the image of a younger Wynn, his beak clicking slightly as he saw a smile upon the girl that he could only describe as innocent, the smile of a girl whose whole world revolved around the friends that surrounded her. By her left shoulder hovered the small form of a dragon, a tiny creature that beamed outwards with an open mouthed grin as its serpentine body curled slightly around her shoulder as if in mid embrace, wings held high.

Gulldo felt his feathers rustle and twitch around his neck as he found himself looking into the drawn face of Petit Dragon, a strange sense of distaste that almost felt alien to the bird familiar beginning to twirl through his guts at the sight of the his predecessor.

Wynn often spoke to him about her time before she had come to live with the Gusto, of the time she had spent training with her fellow charmers under the teachings of a woman named Doriado but her former familiar had always been something of a touchy subject for the girl. From what little he did know however, the tiny dragon had left Wynn in search of a source for greater power, a path that had led to its own destruction. Whilst the bird knew that there had to be more to the story that Wynn wasn't telling, Gulldo still saw looks of sorrow cross his master's expression whenever the dragon came up in one of her talks about the past and that was enough for him to instantly dislike the creature. If he ever met Petit Dragon, Gulldo thought to himself, he would give the dragon a piece of his mind…

"Am I interrupting?"

Both charmer and new familiar jumped as their inner thoughts were broken by a third voice calling into the room, a set each of red and green eyes rising to see a tall figure step into the room with hood drawn.

Wrapped in a deep white cloak and baring a staff that looked more like the branches of a tree that had grown in upon itself, the priest Musto smiled down at the Charmer as he stepped into view and gave a need nod of respect. Charms and icons baring the symbols of the Gusto priesthood hung around his chest and upon his robe, making his position in the Gusto society clear and a thick jewel of deep green pulsed at top his staff with contained power.

"Just doing a bit of reorganisation" Wynn said as she placed the picture back down with a last glance before standing and dusting herself off, Gulldo flying from her shoulder to land on a nearby ledge, his mannerism showing irritation at having been startled again "What can I do for you Musto? Have I done something to tick off the priesthood again?"

Musto simply smiled as he pulled his hood down, revealing a short green coloured goatee which always made Wynn struggle no to laugh, and fixing her with eyes that seemed to be a strange mixture between green and gold. Musto had always been a figure of respect for Wynn, ever since she had first arrived at the Gusto tribe years before. In order for an outsider to join the tribe a member of its order had to vouch for the newcomer and agree to take them under their wing in a way and, had it not been for the fact that no priest was permitted to do this, Musto had often said that he would have done this himself in place of Windaar, who had only really done it after some convincing from Reeze. Since then however, he had been the one to keep her in check and show her the ways of the tribe in place of Windaar and had been there for her after she herself had been initiated into the ranks of the priesthood, always showing a great amount of patience and kindness beneath a stern exterior.

He reminded Wynn a little of Doriado…

"You aren't in trouble with them this time Wynn" the man smiled, using the charmer's real name instead of the one she had been appointed after Windaar had vouched for her "At least as far as I know. In fact I have been sent to give you a summons to the council"

"Summons?" Wynn frowned as she shoved the box she had been routing through back into its place. Usually the other members of the priesthood left her out of the gatherings of the priesthood, keeping such talks for only the inner circle of the elite priests and she was fine with that, after all it saved her from the boredom of sitting through the boring talks about events and arrangements for tributes to the forest and everyday life for the tribe. "If they want me to attend a council meeting then it must be something important"

"Indeed" Musto nodded "I know not what though"

"Hmm" Wynn simply sighed as she walked across the room to where her robe hung and placed it around her shoulders, straightening her white blouse and picking up her staff, smiling slightly as the crystal built into its hilt glowed under her touch. The staff had always been with her, since the start of her training as an Elemental Charmer and she always felt complete when she gripped it. She smiled slightly as she poked at the prone form of a rabbit doll that lay on the windowsill beside it, the slowly yellowing doll bobbing slightly under her touch. Then, with a quick straightening of her hair she turned and walked over towards where Musto was once again placing his hood back up "Lead the way then"

Clicking her fingers with a smile, Wynn angled a shoulder to allow Gulldo to once again fly over and land upon her before following Musto from the room, her mind wondering slightly as they walked, trusting in her own feet to carry her.

If the council viewed a meeting to have a high enough importance that they were summoning every member of the priesthood to attended then it had to be something important to the tribe as a whole…and in a tribe that was in a state of war that could be anything. Small Gishki forces were constantly marching along and into the outer lines of the Gusto territories, as if searching for weak points or back entrances through their defences and small skirmishes had broken out across all of the main roads through the forest. Clashes of armies that were quick and bloody due to the small numbers used on both sides but were still enough to be felt through the soul of the forest, the very animals seeming uneasy whenever they saw bird mounted Gusto flying to where ever their next ambush would be.

She hadn't seen Reeze in nearly a week now, the warrior having been tasked with helping in the defence of the central road and thus would have been caught in the most of the fighting as the Gishki hunted for ways into the forest. She never doubted for a second that her friend would be able to fend for herself upon the battlefield but that didn't mean that she didn't worry every time she heard of a new skirmish being fought across the forest.

And then there was Eria. If any of the information and propaganda that came through the Gusto council about the Gishki tribe was to be believed then the entire tribe was now dedicating itself towards the aim of fighting the war and perfecting foul ritual spells that gave birth to monsters unlike anything nature would have created. There were tales of monstrosities that resembled giant crabs or worms moving around the border and giant ogre like creatures that marched alongside the Gishki patrols. Wynn knew that Eria would not willingly aid in the creation of such monsters yet had heard that the charmer of water had now come to play a key role in the casting of those very rituals…

She could only hope her old friend was ok…

….

Reeze groaned to herself as she pulled her mind from the abyss of slumber, her star shaped eyes tightening against the evening light that glared down upon her from the tree blotted sky. Her hand instinctively rose to cover her face as she felt a wave of nausea grip her before she was able to fight it back down and rose from the rock she had been laying upon, mentally scolding herself for ever being stupid enough to think it would have made a good pillow no matter how tired she had been at the time. The dull throbs of pain seemed to accompany the stinging of the various cuts and bruises that covered parts of her arms to make an overall numbness that left her drained as she pushed her body backwards across the grass she had been sleeping on to instead use the rock as a backrest, leaning back on it as she looked around at her surroundings.

The camp that the division of soldiers she was stationed with had made was nothing special to look at, the few blankets and cooking areas that had been set up were only really meant to be used for a day or two before they were sent to wherever the Gishki were moving next, forever moving to push them back where they attempted to enter the forest. Said Gishki groups were small in number and rarely matched from the same direction, making Reeze feel like they were still simply testing the Gusto defences. It felt to her like they were still caught in the prelude to a great conflict that would be fought for the very soul of the Valley…like every fight that had occurred over the last few weeks were still waiting for some catalyst to open the gates to full blown war.

All the fighting still felt like the calm before the storm…

With a groan, Reeze shook her head clear of such thoughts and allowed her eyes to drift closed again. She could feel fatigue from fighting grip around her body like a lead vice as her arms dropped back to their sides, muscles she didn't even know she had voicing their distaste to her beneath dark blue burses. She had always thought the thrill of fighting as something great; she had joined the Gusto armed defences in the belief that it was a way to do something for the good of the forest and the tribe without going down the route of joining the priests who called her to them simply for the shape of her iris. She was a great fighter, capable of feats of agility and tactical blows to a foe that made her more than an equal for any of the Gishki warriors she had been facing and she had lost count now of the amount that had fallen beneath her staff in the last two weeks. But, for all of the good she knew she was doing in fending the Gishki from the forest, she couldn't help but lose sight of the glory that she had expected.

Looking down at her hands, she sighed as she remembered how just the day before they had been covered in the blood of a young Gusto warrior who had fallen to the blade of a monstrosity born from arcane magic rituals. She had fought alongside him as they engaged the monster, its four arms glistening with liquid and black blood as it swung swords and chains towards them, but had failed to protect him as a blow from the beast had gouged through the boys chest and sent blood pouring through the air. She could still see the sight of the boy stumbling back, hands rising to his chest as if hoping to prevent his own organs from falling free from the hole in his body before he had crashed into the dirt. The ritual born beast hadn't even paused to watch the boy fall.

He had been a year younger then Reeze…

Again the warrior girl shook her head and tried to push the thoughts from her mind, instead deciding to focus her attention upon correcting the metal band that held up the left of her two large plums of hair, taking comfort from the way her hands fell into automatic set of motions at an action that was every day and normal. She felt her head bob slightly as the band came undone and the large clump of orange tipped green hair fell free to fall across her face and combed her figures through it, clearing what little amount of dirt she could before scrunching the end back up and clasping the metal band back into place. Her eyes closed as she wrapped the red ribbon back around the tip of the band ran her hands along the length of the oversized ponytail, using the sense of touch to ensure it was done correctly where her eyes could not see. Once she was satisfied she proceeded to do the same with the other before allowing her arms to again drop to her sides.

With a frown, she opened her eyes and tilted her head to look towards where one of her hands had banged against something cold and hard, a smile twitching across her face as she saw a bowl of a thin, watery stew lying beside where she lay from where someone must have left it during her sleep, leaving for when she work up rather than trying to wake her. It was a kind gesture and, even though the already watery stew of bread and herbs was now cold and flavourless, she dug in hungrily as if just now remembering how hungry she had been and made a mental note to find out who had left it and thank them.

After a while she again looked up from the bowl, chewing on a chunk of soggy bread thoughtfully, and found her eyes falling upon the small collection of blanket covered bodies which lay in the corner of the clearing they had camped in. Six bodies, each delicately covered by a deep green blanket baring the Gusto logo and with their weapons lay alongside them as a gesture of respect. Six men who had died fighting this day against the Gishki and six men that Reeze had been fighting alongside of…six men that had died fighting.

"All return to the spirit of the world around them" She heard a priest say from where he stood beside the bodies, laying a blanket over the body of a man who bore a harsh slashing wound to his neck. Upon his cold chest was the tiny form of a green feathered bird, the man's familiar that had died alongside its master in the fight now to be buried alongside him. "We all rise from the bounty of life and we all return to it to grant new life to the soil and thus to all life. Those who fall fighting to preserve the order of life die for the highest of reasons and shall be remembered as such"

It was a sermon she had heard carried out too many times since she had left the safety of the main Gusto village and marched with the rest of the warriors, one following each clash with the Gishki to mark the deaths of any Gusto that fell. There were none given for the Gishki, those who had dared to threaten the forest were simply buried where their bodies would perhaps redeem their fate in some way by decaying and providing life giving nutrients to the forest whilst the monsters they marched with were burned on great pyres, the unnatural bodies having no place in the passing of life.

"Why the long face?"

Reeze jumped slightly as a voice from behind her broke her from her train of thoughts, her tired hands finding the strength to instinctively reach up and grip the hilt of her staff from where it lay beside her, ready to defend herself before she managed to register the smiling face of a boy leaning over her shoulder from behind with raised eyebrows. Even then it took her another moment to even manage to work out why he was there when he should have been back at the village, not all the way out at a military camp…

"You look tired"

"Kamui? What are you doing here?"

"I thought you could do with some company" The boy grinned as if the statement was the most obvious thing in the world before he swung his body away from the branch he had been hanging from by his legs, using the resulting momentum to fling himself upright to land on his feet beside Reeze "And judging by your mood I was right"

Reeze simply huffed as she shook her head at him, unable to prevent a smile from twitching across her face for a brief moment. Only Kamui would travel the many miles that stretched between the village and the camp, into the middle of what was now in all regards a war zone where he could be killed simply because he thought that a friend of his might possible lonely. She felt the need to scold him for being so foolish to spend what must have been the better part of a day traveling and then a second day to travel back to and from a very dangerous place simply to check up on her but she couldn't help but feel touched at his concern. Kamui always had other people in mind and had often said that he hated seeing people upset or depressed, most notably Wynn whenever she got nostalgic and would always do his best to put them right. It had been his idea to throw Wynn a private party during the tribal celebrations the month before and now he had sacrificed whatever plans he could have had to visit her.

"Well you've been gone for a long time now…" He said, seeming to guess at what she had been thinking "Wynn and I were starting to get worried"

"I can handle myself out here Kamui" Reeze frowned "It will take more than a few Gishki brutes to put me down…though this food is coming pretty close…"

Kamui smirked as she tossed the bowl to the side, spraying its grey contents onto the base of a tree with a look of distaste. His brown cloak flapping slightly as he turned and began to walk away, gesturing for her to follow in a very 'walk with me, talk with me' manner. For a moment the warrior girl simply watched him before following out of the boundaries of the camp and into the forest where they could talk in peace from any prying eyes. For a time the two talked of how things were back home, how the conflicts were effecting everyday life and other points that seemed irrelevant to anything really and were simply spoken off for the sake of having something to speak about. For a few moments Reeze was able to forget about the fact that she was fighting in a war and just talk with a friend as she had done before.

"So when can we expect you back home?"

"When the forest is safe" Reeze found herself frowning at her companion, unsure as the when their conversation had moved to that topic

"Yer but when will that be?" Kamui smirked "You've been at it for a couple of weeks now and you still haven't sent the Gishki home crying. I'm disappointed"

Simply rolling her eyes, Reeze bite back the desire to snap at him about how the fighting was not a laughing matter, that the fighting was a serious threat to things but found a look of honest worry hidden behind his humours expression. Yes, she thought, that was how Kamui handled things that worried him, he made jokes.

"I'll have to put on my scary face next time I see them then" She grinned back, deciding to humour him "Like that time you let Falcor lose in my house and he tore up my furniture"

"Hey he was only young then!" the boy blushed, embarrassed at the memory of the destruction his familiar had carried out "And he was excited to see you"

"Hmmm" Now it was Reeze's turn to laugh as she watched Kamui look down towards the floor, giving him a nudge in the arm to show she wasn't still cross. She had lost count that day of the amount of apologies the boy had given whilst she had forced him to clear up the mess, holding her staff in hand the entire time to ensure he got the point "Ah well, you did a good enough job clearing up"

For a second they were silent again before, as if someone had flicked a switch, Kamui's eyes flashed back into life and his enthusiastic tone returned like it had never been interrupted, changing the topic quickly before he managed to get into trouble again "So I've been listening to what some of the priests have been talking about back at the main village, you know, doing my usual eavesdropping and they were talking about you the other day"

"I couldn't care less" was Reeze only reply, mentally sighing as she imagined what new sort of plans the priesthood would have for her. Ever since she had been born with eyes tainted with the image of the Gusto star logo, something that could not be explained, the priesthood had often tried to recruit her into their ranks and she had refused them at every turn. Now with war looming over the tribe like a hungry animal, she could only imagine of how they intended to make her into a figure head for their movements.

"Yer yer I know" Kamui shook his head with amusement, his eyes flashing with a look of anticipation "But they weren't talking about taking you from the fighting this time. They are already talking about giving you a higher position in the military actions of our tribe now that the Gishki are our enemies. Guardian Reeze has a nice ring to it me thinks"

Reeze stopped walking at his words, her eyes fixing upon the boy for a time. A Guardian was the appointed name given to one of the military leaders of the Gusto tribe, someone who's task it is to guard the forest from those who would see harm done to it and to guard the lives of those that called it home. It was a title of great respect for any warrior and there were only three in the entire tribe. Her commanding officer and mentor, Windaar, was a Guardian, leader of her group of warriors and final word in whatever battle plans or ambushes they planned complete with the combat powers to lead them from the front in a way Reeze could never do…she didn't even have a bird familiar!

"I'm no Guardian…"

"Already aiming for the rank of Sage Reeze?"

The Whirlwind of Gusto felt her face flourish into a embarrassed blush as she turned to see the hooded shape of Windaar himself appear as if on cue behind her, emerging from a patch of deep shade beneath a massive oak tree, his narrow green eyes looking down at her with a look that she honestly wasn't sure was one of humour or warning.

"N…No of course not!" She shouted a little too loud as she took a step back and held her arms up in a defensive manner with palms forward. Beside her she could hear Kamui struggle to not laugh at her reaction and she made a mental note to kill him later "I'm a frontline soldier sir! Nothing more than that and happy to be so…if anyone should be granted the rank of Sage it would be you"

"Hmmm" Windaar raised an eyebrow beneath his brown hood as he folded his arms. "Well lets both hope that it doesn't get to the point in which a Sage is needed yes?"

"Of course sir" Reeze simple nodded, looking down towards the ground as if hoping it would just open up and eat her right there.

The rank of Sage was one only ever given to a member of the Gusto tribe in a time of greatest need, when hope begins to fade and the very existence of the tribe is threatened. A sage was given complete command over all aspects of the tribal life, from the gathering a food to the army in the hopes that having a single commander leading them towards their aim would bring a more united front to the tribe that, whilst it came at the cost of freedom for the tribe, would make hem a more efficient force without the clashing of ideas from three separate Guardians. Of course such a roll was only given to someone who the tribe could trust completely to lead well and also to give up the power when the time comes, someone selected personally by the priests themselves. Windaar was right…they had to hope the conflict with the Gishki would not come to the stage where a Sage was needed…

"Either way" Windaar said, changing the subject "I'm afraid Reeze that you will have to simply make do with being a messenger for now"

"A messenger"

"Indeed" her commander nodded with the trace of a smile "The priests are calling for all of the Guardians to gather in the main village in order to attend a meeting of sorts that they seem to be holding. I can tell it's something important but, if I'm honest, I hate the slowness of those meetings. Thus my dear, I'm sending you in my place"

"What?" Reeze sighed, failing to keep the disappointment form entering her voice "Your taking me from the front lines to listen to a bunch of old men talk about the front lines?"

"Pretty much. Think of it as a break from the fighting"

"And what am I supposed to tell them?" The girl found herself looking in the general direction that the priest she had seen before had been "I doubt the priests will appreciate you sending someone in your stead if they sent you a personal summons"

"Tell them I'm too busy fighting to save their lives" Windaar simply shrugged before turning and starting to walk away, his smile vanishing as he fell back into his usual serious persona "Hell, tell them that I'm dead if you want. That way they won't send me any more summons…"

Long before the relations of the Gusto and the Gishki had come anywhere near the state of war that now raged between the two of them, before Noellia had decreed that the Gishki needed to expand their territory in order to survive, the two tribes had been allies that traded resources and goods with one another. Whilst they had for the most part done this via the main roads of the Mist Valley forest, a few of the more shadowy deals had taken place in a vast network of caves and tunnels that ran from across the border of the tribes. Starting from the base of a rocky cliff that ran along the shore of an outskirt town under the Gishki tribe it consisted of a vast networks of tunnels that lead to dead ends and waterfalls, but most lead to a second small village in the near the centre of the Gusto territory, just a few miles away from the Gusto main settlement. However, when the relationship between the two tribes slowly began to fall apart due to mutual distrust and disagreements the paths were closed and the underground ways had fallen into disrepair, leaving many of them unusable.

Now Avance could feel his frustration growing with every step as his eyes ran across the chunks of caved in rock and broken support pillars, his eyes narrow as he regarded the destruction of the paths he had been intending to use. When he had offered up the plan to use the tunnels to seek though the Gusto lines to Noellia, he had been expecting to find them open and free to be used as they had been years ago but now they lay shattered and beyond his hope of accessing. He had sent scouts to hunt through the entire span of the tunnels to hunt for a way through but already he was starting to imagine the anger of his mistress when he returned in failure.

Behind him, a set of Gishki warriors marched in silence behind him, the only sound emitting from them being the bounding of their feet and the odd splashing sound of whatever aquatic features they bore shifting around them. This sound, when it fused with the ambient noses of the cave around them made an eerie shift in the air that did little to ease Avance's unease. If the scouts didn't return successful in their quest to find an open path than he doubted he would be trusted with another mission for a long time…and he had sent the best scouts he could, creatures who lived in these very caves.

"They shall return soon my lord" One of the men said, walking beside him with fish like eyes tilted towards Avance as if he sensed what he had been thinking "The Visions know this cave better than anyone. If they cannot find a way through to the Gusto territory than none exists"

"That's what worries me" Was all the silver heard warrior said as he scowled at pillar of stone that lay shattered upon the floor, its surface decayed by time to the point of shattering under its own weight.

The group fell into silence again for nearly half an hour, the warriors marching behind Avance as they moved deeper and deeper into the cave, finding paths blocked by rubble or simply falling into pits where the ground itself have crumbled. Avance's anger was slowly glowing and his men didn't dare speak up to him, his hand constantly resting upon the hilt of his sword. With a flick of his wrist, he moved the group down another tunnel and lead them into the blackness within only to call them to a halt when a fait voice whispered out towards them.

"That way is blocked too…"

Avance made no form of reply as he turned his head just enough to be able to watch a new shape appear in the corner of his eyes. His mouth twitched slightly as he registered the wet shine of light reflecting from a sickly wet, scaly hide as a creature that somewhat resembled one of their Shadows looked up towards him with four orange eyes which stared outwards void of any form of iris. Its skin was leathery and made a disturbing sloshing sound whenever it moved and thick webbing ran between its figures and ran along the entirety of its legs, fusing them to the creature's lower body and tale in such a way that it was forced to waddle forward rather than walk properly. Behind it flowed a long tale ending in a fishlike fin which swayed in the dirty cave water and in place of feet it simply held a single toe like structure which by all rights should not have been able to support the creature's weight.

The creature was a Gishki Vision, a strange sub species of the Shadows that played a key role in the Gishki society, so named for the fact that they bore a strange skin which allowed them to morph their scales to become less obvious to a naked eyes. Even when he was watching it, Avance kept feeling like he was losing sight of it as its scales seemed to shift and blend with the rocks around it that, a perfectly camouflaging body that was only broken by the its glowing eyes and a large jewel that had been fused upon its forehead, the shape of the Gishki Mirror seeming to pulse an icy blue as the beast moved to stand before Avance and bowed.

"We are at your disposal my lord" The Vision hissed, its voice harsh and slippery as its toothless snout twisted to form the words, four eyes closing just long enough to hold a shimmer of respect before opening again to prevent its body vanishing from sight again. When a Gishki Vision closed its eyes for any length of time the magic fused within the mirror it wore upon its head, a gift upon the sub race as a symbol of companionship by the leader of the Gishki that Noelle had succeeded, took effect and increased the natural camouflaging ability of the Vision and made it all but invisible to the naked eyes. This had been given as a way for the Visions to be able to have safety from predators that lived in their caves, notably when the vision was asleep, but now, under the command of Noelle's more realistic view of the world, it allowed them to be used as spies and infiltrates.

"What are you reports?" The silver haired soldier asked simply, finally turning around fully to face the hunched creature as he ignored the curses and shouts of the men around him who had only now noticed the presence of the Vision, startled by how close it had come before revealing itself.

"We have scouted through the tunnels" The Vision hissed, its webbed hand gesturing deeper into the cave as if to prove its point "Many paths through to the other side have been lost to the passing of time, cave ins and decay have claimed many of the routs that were often taken…"

"Is there still a way through?" Avance asked, allowed a tinge of warning to enter his voice as he felt irritation rise at the seeming delay tactic that the Vision was taking as it spoke only of paths lost. As far as Avance was concerned, paths that could be taken may as well not exist and thus had no point in even being mentioned.

Before him, the Vision simply looked downward, its orange eyes twitching within its angled skull as it seemed to struggle to find words and a long red tongue appearing to lick at its lipless beak with a twinge of unease. A strange silence fell upon the group as Avance stared coldly at the creature and the men around him glanced at each worryingly, cautious of how their commander was going to react to the Vision's lack of a useful reply. The moment seemed to drag on eternity as the silken gripped them before Avance simply sighed and drew the sword that hung from his belt, using the tip of its blade to lift the Vision's chin upwards.

"I can tell from your actions that you don't want to tell me about the path that is still open to us" he said, his voice low and eerily calm "Why is that?"

"Because the way is cursed"

Avance raised an eyebrow as he turned to see a second Gishki Vision appear beside the first, the new comer's eyes blinking slightly as they adjusted and its webbed hands flexing slightly. Around its shoulders, the new arrival bore a deep blue fabric which was rimmed with the golden fish like patens that marked members of the Gishki tribe and the mirror upon its head glistened brightly as the beast nodded. This was clearly the leader of the Vision group that had met them and even now, sets of orange eyes could be seen opening around the party as an ever growing number of the beasts revealed themselves to be surrounding the Avance's group.

"Cursed?" Avance felt his grip tighten upon the hilt of his sword as he stepped away, his eyes narrowing as the creatures above stared down towards him. He had never trusted the Visions, their natural deceptive nature making their motives unclear and unpredictable and he their presence made him feel uneasy to be near the creatures.

"Yes" The leader of the visions hissed back, a thick figure tapping its temple as it waddled a couple of steps forwards "We hear voices whenever we pass through that passage…whispers from a time long past that echo of horrors we don't understand and we see…"

"You see what?"

For a moment the Shadow seemed to struggle to find the correct words before he simply looked back up with distant eyes.

"We see the swarm…and endless swarm of life and death that stairs back at us with a never-ending hunger"

"I'm hardily going to stop the mission I have been given because of some ghost stories"

"You don't understand" The Vision droned, its orange eyes almost looking towards him pleadingly towards him "We can feel death within that tunnel. It is not a path that should be taken…no matter what the reason"

"Silence!"

The leader Gishki Vision fell silent as he looked away from Avance, his orange eyes closing slightly in anticipation of a blow that never came. Instead, Avance walked over and knelt before the creature with a dead pan expression.

"You will take me to the path through these caves to the Gusto lines, and we will use that route to further our cause. Do you understand me?"

"Yes…"

"Good, then we shall hear no more of this" Avance nodded as he stood again and began to walk in the direction the Vision's had first come from "We shall pass through and back out before whatever these phantom voices belong to even know we are there"

As the group began to leave, the leader of the Gishki Visions simply shook his head as he began to follow, muttering a sentence in silence as he began to follow.

"The swarm already knows we are here…"

Chapter 9 - The Tomb, is almost