Purpose Chapter 10; Convergence.

...

Hiami wasn't sure how long it was going to take the thief to free his little female comrade, but she was starting to hope it would be sooner than later.

It had already been forty-two minutes, nonwithstanding, her conversing with the nightmare courtiers had been fascinating, as well as educational, she had plenty of data to bring back to Rata Sum, but now she was slightly concerned that they were going to blow their finely drawn cover, and the sylvari were beginning to become suspicious, eyeing her and her strange mannerisms from across the chamber warily. She was itching to get her greatsword back, and she didn't like being weaponless, a calculation she'd neglected to account for when agreeing to infultrate the Nightmare Court's haven. Alas, she stood, defenseless, glowering at any courtier that looked her way, in an attempt to dissuade them asking her any questions.

Where was that thief?

She grumbled beneath her breath and crossed her arms, trying to come up with some way to entertain herself while she waited. Her eyes were pulled to a corner of the center opening, where the Courtier she'd seen defeat the thief, randomly appeared as if from thin air. Her arms dropped to her side and her mouth gaped open. How did he do that?

"I'd shut that if I were you, sapling." One of the courtiers admonished, watching her face. She popped her mouth closed and turned away from the reddish hued sylvari, watching the Count walk into the hallway that the thief had left down some time ago. She had a feeling he was about to run out of time. She sighed, turning again to the reddish sylvari.

"You, do you have any greatswords?"

...

Kairith reached Iedreth's cell quickly after killing the Knight of Malice, and he selected the key, opening the thorns and nearly being knocked over when Iedreth lunged into his arms, grasping him around his middle tightly, her eyes flowing with fresh tears.

"Alright, we have to go, Iedreth." He said gently, placing a finger beneath her chin and lifting, so he could force her to look him in the eye. "We're not out of the clear yet. And we have to pick up a friend." Iedreth nodded, choosing not to ask abou the friend. That could come later. After they had escaped the dark nightmare court den. She went to follow him, but heard a resounding crack before an excruciating amount of pain shot through her leg, making her yelp and crumple to the ground, clutching her leg in bewilderment. Kairith spun around, eyes wide and rushed to her side, careful not to touch her and cause more pain.

"Where, where did it break?" He'd heard the snap. He was not so young as to not know what that meant. Whatever had snapped, it wasn't going to be an easy fix. He had a feeling it was her ankle, and he forced himself to look at it, cringing slightly when he saw the odd angle and the swelling around the skin.

"It hurts. I can't walk." Her voice was so small, so pained, and Kairith felt his heart plunge in fear.

"It's alright, we're getting you out of here." He said, more to himself than to Iedreth. He scooped her up, hauling her, bridal style, into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head against his chest, her body trembling from the shock. He adjusted her slightly and began to run, looking for the narrow path he'd spotted where there was a break in the foliage. He could set her there, hidden, while he retrieved the little disguised Asura that he'd tugged along with him, and then return and they would escape through a weakened edge of the clearing. He could hear footsteps coming their way and he grit his teeth, frustration evident on his face. Could nothing go smoothly?

He ducked into a small thicket, shielding Iedreth's body with his own, pulling some of the foliage down to block her white skin, and pink accents. He held a finger to his lips, but Iedreth did not need to be told, her eyes wide and breath seeming to have stopped altogether, her trembling, however, did not cease.

Kairith watched as the very bane of his existance, Count Meinhard, stalked by, looking decidedly perturbed as he completely ignored their presense, seeming distracted by something. Kairith waited until the footsteps faded to pick Iedreth up again, and resuming his jog to the center clearing.

To his surprise, Hiami was still in the clearing, and to his even greater pleasure, was holding a rather lethal looking greatsword, examining it with decidedly trained eyes, her manic expression sending a few of the courtiers walking away from her.

"It's such a strong, thick wood, and these barbs are nearly like metal, they're so sturdy." Kairith edged around the room, suprisingly not drawing stares, as many of the courtiers attention was on the strange "sylvari" examining a courtier greatsword. "And these illumination pods are positively fascinating, what gives them their incandescence?" The courtier, a male with dark mauve skin and brownish armour blinked, unsure of why she was asking him such questions, let alone having the answer to said questions, and shrugged at her.

"Does it really matter?" He asked her, the tone disgruntled. "It will serve it's purpose well enough."

"I'm sure it will." She said, a little ruefully, catching Kairith's eye at the last second. She nodded minutely, and lifted the greatsword carefully, and swinging it experimentally, a toothy grin emanating from her as she felt the balance of the blade.

"You seem to know a great deal about swords." The sylvari replied lamely, his tone slightly intruiged. "What was it you did before joining the nightmare?" The little asura smiled, her teeth slowly morphing into sharp points as her disguise began to melt away. The nightmare courtiers watched in bewilderment as the dark skinned sylvari with heavy, bulky bark armor disappeared, leaving a small, diminuative plate-wearing asura, holding a massive greatsword, in her place. Her pink dreadlocks seemed to quiver in excitement, and she grinned, her eyes wide.

"Well, I have always been an asura," She responded, swiping the greatsword and causing a shallow, but effective cut in the red sylvari, before brandishing the blade against the other scandalized courtiers. "But, you could say I've an eye for good craftmanship." Her moves were elegant, if not deadly, as she cut a bloody swath through the courtiers, all whom were too slow to draw their weapons as she cut each down, her small body moving with a peculiar speed and grace, the greatsword not seeming to be too heavy or too large to use effectively. She swung it as if it were an extension of her very being, and the courtiers scattered, not willing to fight the terrifying small creature.

"Go, I'll be right behind you!" She shouted to Kairith, her pink eyes focused on the incoming court members who were better armed than the initiates, and did not look worried about taking her on. She smiled at them, holding up the greasword.

"Sorry boys and girls, but this asura must bid you farewell, I have research to attend to!" And with a great swing, she launched the greatsword, spinning, towards the courtiers, sending them scattering as she made her escape, sliding under the brambles and shuffling after the two sylvari who had already bolted far beyond Briarthorn Den.

...

"That makes the last of them." Bryna's strides through Divinity's reach were quick, calculated, as she headed directly for the nearest waypoint. Eileria followed beside her, her eyes turned downward and brow furrowed.

"Yes, we should see them all at the summit now." Eileria replied, distracted. Bryna quirked an eyebrow, looking to her love.

"Is everything alright?" Eileria looked up in surprise, blinking.

"Yes, why?"

"You're doing that thing again." Bryna explained, sending a soft smile her way. "Where you take on all your worries at once." Eileria smiled with chagrin.

"You're right. Its just... I'm relieved, really, I am, to have this all behind us now. But... I have this feeling. Something is... " Her tone was frustrated. Bryna placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I have this feeling that this summit is inviting something dangerous into our midst. I'm worried for my mother." Bryna did not reply, her own face wrenched in worry.

"It's neccessary." Eileria continued. "Getting the leaders together is the first step in making this threat of the Elder dragon... well, important." She looked up at Bryna. "Trahearne can't do it on his own, and the pact forces allone won't be enough. This elder dragon is different."

"You are right, love." Bryna replied, smiling gently down at her. "So please, don't worry so much. There will be many soldiers and guards at this summit. You needen't worry about the leaders. They are strong in their own right. You need only worry about getting the support needed to go into Maguuma and stop the Elder Dragon before he truly begins to wreak havoc upon our lands." Eileria nodded.

"You're right. I'm moping. Positive thinking." She exhaled in a gust, putting a grand smile on her face.

"The summit will not be for a week or so... can we spend it home?" Bryna scooped the tall sylvari up, nuzzling her cheek against her own. Eileria's face darkened with a blush, and the norn smiled jovially.

"Of course, it's about time we spend time for just you and me to relax." She smiled. "I know of a really fantastic hotspring..."

...

Kairith didn't stop running into they were well past Morgan's spiral, easily accessible by the Warden camp, before stopping and setting Iedreth down gently on the grass, allowing her a moment to relax so he could assess her injuries. Overall, she didn't look too damaged, she'd been gone less than a day. And yet, her broken ankle and swollen leg where a dagger had torn through her skin was angry and festering, and she had bruises forming around her delicate ribcage. Her face was cut in places, as if she'd tried to push it through a bed of thorns. Her eyes were trained on him, and they were soft.

"Kairith, I will heal just fine." He didn't reply, kneeling down and pulling her into his arms, gently tucking her into him, where she fit perfectly, and he felt her sharp inhale of breath.

"Iedreth." He spoke, his voice low. Iedreth's arms snaked around his back, resting above his shoulders, as she breathed in his scent, closing her eyes. A low throat clearing opened her eyes to meet pink orbs not unlike her own, close to her face observing her with avid curiousity.

"Hello!"

Iedreth leaned back slightly, tilting her head at the asura. She hadn't actually seen one in person yet, though she'd seen a few in the dream. This one was unsual, and so bright. Her hair and eyes were precisely the same color of hot pink, and she had three very symmetrical markings on her face, which Iedreth supposed were a very pale grey-pink color.

"Hello." She finally responded shyly, tucking her white vines behind her ear gently. The asura grinned, her teeth sharp and slightly dangerous looking.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Iedreth." The diminuative creature responded, holding out a clawed hand to the white Sylvari. Iedreth took it and shook once, curious at the strange texture of the asura's skin, so different from her own, or Even Kairith's.

"Likewise...?" Hiami smacked her forhead slightly, then smiled sheepishly.

"The name's Hiami, college of synergetics. Warrior extraordinaire. Researcher of Sylvari consanguinuity. The pleasure is truly mine." Iedreth tilted her head.

"Consanguinuity?"

"It's a fancy word for relationship." Kairith interjected, an eyebrow quirked in amusement. "Hiami, thank you. It was kind of you to assist us."

"Not a problem!" She chirped, her eyes wide in delight, her hand wound tightly around her greatsword, which she had grabbed while running out of Briarthorn Den. "You did help me out after all. I gathered more than enough data for my thesis from the dark sylvari. Their dynamic is intruiging, they don't function quite as a conglomerate, and their goals and tendancies do not follow the standard archetype for an organization of their sheer size. It's all so fascinating!"

"Well I'm glad you got what it was you were looking for." Kairith replied, eyeing Iedreth's expression warily. She looked sick to her stomach.

"Indeed. Though I suppose now you are looking for a place to go where you can expect them not to follow you?" She asked, her arms crossing in front of her chest. Iedreth looked at Kairith.

"Do you think they will-"

"I know they will." He growled, his eyes in the distance, towards the Nightmare Court's den. "Meinhard especially does not appreciate when his goals are thwarted. He will try to kidnap you again. By any means necessary." Iedreth's stomach dropped as she recalled the events of her capture, and what little color existed in her face disappeared.

"I have a solution." Hiami offered, her eyes trained on the pink eyed sylvari. "Come with me to Rata Sum. We have plenty of healing technology there, we can assist in making sure your life-mate recovers-" Kairith and Iedreth both blushed heavily. "And I can continue to observe you while I write up my thesis! And of course, you'll be safe from the 'Nightmare Court'; We do have our own brand of troublmakers there however, but they'll pay little mind to you, since, no offense, neither of you do anything particularly flashy." Kairith looked at Iedreth, eyes glancing down at her injured leg. He sighed.

"Alright." He reluctantly replied, making Hiami jump in joy. "But, before you do any more of your... 'research', Iedreth needs to rest."

"Of course! Oh this will be fantastic! I cannot wait!" She squealed and nearly bounced on her heels as Kairth swooped Iedreth up carefully, heading towards the waypoint on their right.

...

Evari felt her ears twitch as the waypoint outside her labratory flashed again, letting off a rather large Charr and a human, both of whom broke off into seperate directions, though not before sending each other dirty looks, and went on their way. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her thermonautic javelin, tweaking at the crystals connecting to the couplers routed through the tip, an attempt at improving the basic spear to create something with a little more kick, something Evari felt the neccessity to do on a daily basis, considering how small she was. Often, even her peers snickered at her, laughing at her and her inventions, which mostly centered around weaponry. She grit her teeth in frustration, knowing her genius often was not seen as such by those not familiar with theoretical crystal energy base, but she still felt that she deserved more credit, she hadn't blown anything up yet.

Though she was really reconsidering it in the case of a particular Counceller that wouldn't let her be...

She brushed her teal braid off her shoulder impatiently, exhaling in a gust and reaching down with steady hands to settle the final crystal she'd found in a neat socket, to which a powerful glow began to emanate from the center of the spear. Her narrow teal eyes widened in glee, and she picked up the weapon, exlaiming "excelsior!" in glee, before her ear twitched and she turned to see a familiar pink asura step off the waypoint pad.

"Evari, a little help here?" Evari gently set her project on the table and waddled over to her sister, a brash warrior and alumni of the college of synergetics, and glanced up to see two sylvari, one holding the other, and her mouth popped open in surprise.

"Who are-"

"Nevermind that right now, Help me clear a spot out. You have really got to stop partitioning perfectly good weapons in an attempt to alleviate your pysche." Evari rolled her eyes, not responding to her sister, instead shifting over her pile of scrap and pulling out a lush rug, usually used when she stayed late at the lab, laying it out in a small section in the corner. She quickly closed both doors leading into the premise around the college, and hit a switch on the wall that shut off the waypoint, making sure no one could get in or out. She then turned to the two Sylvari, taking note of a very infected looking wound on the white one's leg.

"Is Praxx around?"

"No, I don't know why you'd think he'd devote perfectly good time here when he could be hypothesizing degenerative tissue deterioration in his own labratory-"

"Spare me, Evari." Hiami said, rolling her eyes at her small sister. "We all know how smitten he is with you. He doesn't come by to discuss parallel gem conversion on a daily basis just because of your percpicacity." Evari blushed, a dark pink on her dark grey skin, and turned herself away, crossing her arms and offering a grunt in her sister's direction.

"Well at any rate, he isn't here." She replied, coming closer to the two plant-humanoids. "So, who are these two? You can't just bring two strangers into my lab and expect me to say nothing and go about my business." Hiami shrugged, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

"They're a part of my thesis." She explained, gesturing to them. "I'll go into the details with you later, but for now, the alabaster sylvari needs medical attention. Who is nearby that I can get, that won't cause a fuss or attempt to sabatoge my research?" Everi seemed to think for a moment, before snapping her clawed fingers and smiling.

"I know just the asura, I'll be right back." She scooted off, leaving the two sylvari with the warrior, who sighed and turned back to them.

"I apologize for that, Evari can be quite vexatious for someone of her stature." Kairith shrugged, instead focusing on gently drawing Iedreth's leg out so it was straight, pausing when her face wrenched in pain.

"He had poison on his blade?" Kairith asked, knowing it was Meinhard that had done this to her in the first place. She nodded, pink eyes drawn to his.

"It was meant to draw me into the nightmare." She said in a small voice. "But...it didn't. Something went wrong." Kairith was about to ask for more information when the sliding door opened, and a new asura walked in, trailed by the small Evari, and Hiami audibly groaned.

"Progeny." Came a short, raspy voice, not at all matching the vibrant pink eyes beset upon wide cheekbones and a very severe a-line bob of silver hair. The two sylvari could immediately tell just by the eyes alone that this was Hiami's mother.

"Progenitor." Hiami acknowledged, sending a dirty look to Evari. Evari snickered, earning an admonishing look from her mother, who then waddled over to the two sylvari, tapping Kairith's shoulder and gesturing for him to back away dismissivly. Hiami shifted back a few steps, allowing her mother to observe the festering flesh. The pink eyed asura prodded the flesh and Iedreth winced, trying to hold still as she made her assessment.

"It's infected." She drolled out, kneeling down and pulling at the wound a little. "I'll need to aquire some of my supplies, but I should be able to cleanse out a majority of the infection and secure the wound. Let me see your other injuries." Iedreth hesitated and the asura made an impatient noise beneath her breath.

"Come now, I need to assess all of your injuries if I am to have any chance of rehabilitating you to full operating capacity. You are a mesmer, are you not?" Iedreth's eyes widened, and she blinked, shocked that the asura knew.

"How did you know?" She asked in a small voice as she lifted her shirt, exposing her rib cage to the physician. She took out a small notepad and began to draw a small sketch of the sylvari's anatomy, marking the wounds with little tick marks upon the paper.

"I can sense the deep magic within you." She replied, closing her notepad and stuffing it into her jacket. "I was a talented Elementalist myself before I cultivated these two nuisances-"

"Hey!" Evari and Hiami shouted together, earning a stern look and an eye roll from their progenitor.

"And thus, I can perceive minute aqueducts of magic that lay dormant beneath the temporal layout of the body." She finished, standing up and brushing her coat off. "I suggest you rest some, I will need some time to gather all of the appropriate contrivances necessary to generate a counter-poison, though your other wounds will merely need time to heal." She turned her pink eyes onto her children, who stood by quietly.

"I'll be speaking with you," she said, pointing to Hiami, "Later. Do not try to disappear." She left the room, and Hiami turned to Evari, her pink eyes almost burning with anger.

"Of all of the asura you could have grabbed, did it have to be our mother?" Evari merely smiled, her teal eyes teasing.

"She always wants to know how you are progressing. I thought I would kill two birds with one stone, or so the saying goes." Hiami growled in frustration, and Kairith shook his head, looking back at Iedreth, who looked as if she didn't know what to think of their situation any more than he did.

...

Another chapter for the docket! Woot! Chapter ten~ So we've made some progress, Iedreth has made her escape from the Nightmare court, and Eileria is working towards the summit, which will show the world just how dangerous Mordremoth is truly becoming. I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. We have a lot of ground to cover! Hope you're ready for the ride~ Until next time!