A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Quite sorry for taking so long to put this up. My plans for this chapter changed hands a few times, and changed a bit. Thanks for sticking with me!
The group had rested at Ammariah's hut for almost a week, and had run into no trouble. The team was being trained, and they were all doing very well. Sara trusted Rhea enough to let her take over Grissom's training, as Mato wanted to start teaching her defensive and offensive moves against multiple targets. Jordan, who Sara trusted the most, was in charge of moving between each training session and report back to Sara.
When the sun rose in the morning, Sara was already awake, training with Rhea, who was using the late evening and early morning hours to teach her how to effectively use and control black magic. Sara had to admit, it was coming in quite handy, but was monumentally hard to use. When everyone from the team had assembled in the main room of the hut, they could feel that something was different. There was a feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air that morning, as if something big was about to happen. When Sara walked in, the first thing on all their minds was
"What's going on today?" Greg was the first to voice it
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone just seems kind of...excited." Nick said, struggling to explain the feeling
"What are you..."
"Sara, they don't know." Jordan reminded her quietly
"Oh yeah." Everyone looked at Sara with curiosity painting all their expressions
"What's going to happen? Some big battle?" Greg said, excited
"Uh...nothing quite like that." Sara laughed "Today we start our walk to the Senoba d'Anai'a."
"What in the world is that?" Catherine asked
"It means 'Day of Loyalty." Vera put in. She had become quite amiable despite her parents' deaths, and everyone had started to like her "It's when everbody from every realm gathers to hear the Leader talk about himself and his great plans for the future." Vera's tone sounded like she was shooting acid from it. She blamed the Ruler for her parents death, believing that he ordered someone to kill them.
"Yeah, it's a day long festival with food and games and things." Violet picked up "It's pretty much the one thing that connects all the realms."
"It's actually really fun, but it's going to take us two days to walk there. We have to leave now."
"Is this stupid day thing worth the stupid walk?" Warrick grumbled
"It doesn't matter if it's worth it or not. If we don't go, he'll find us and probably kill us." Felina explained "So, we don't really have a choice."
"Great." Nick rolled his hawk eyes "There's democracy for you."
"This isn't a democracy."
"Figure of speech." he laughed at their easy banter. Everyone was smiling and laughing-despite the tension of the day and all the walking- until Sara suddenly froze. Jordan was at the back of the group today, so Rhea was the one to step up beside Sara. The minute her eyes focused on the same thing as her friend's, she froze as well. Sensing that something was very wrong, the entire group stopped behind the two women, and let their eyes fall on what could have been the biggest, most frightening creature that they had ever seen.
The large being that was crouched in the clearing looked to be half human, half rock. It was growling low in its throat, and hunched over something dark that was trying to fight it.
"Shit." Sara muttered, instantly recognizing the thing.
"What is it?" Nick whispered, able to see it from above.
"It's a Scaneian." Rhea whispered back "They're really big, strong half human creatures. The original scaneians used to be humans-bad humans. They were shunned from our society, and went to live as a society of nomads. Now, they wait on the outskirts of the GCM to take unsuspecting visitors as revenge."
"I think it has a person." Sara murmured to Rhea "We need to go get them."
"Are you out of your mind!?" Dwight hissed, stepping forward "You'll kill yourselves."
"Relax." He and Rhea shared a tense look "We'll assess the situation as we go. If it gets too dangerous, we'll reassess. We do need to try."
"I'm coming too." he insisted
"No." Sara shook her head "We don't want to intimidate it. Just wait here. We'll be fine." Without another word from anybody, Sara and Rhea started moving slowly forward. The circled slowly around the clueless scaneian, assessing the situation as they went. There was indeed a person under the monster, and they were trying their best to fight their way out.
"We've got to get them." Sara muttered "You in?"
"Yeah." Rhea lit up her hands with black magic "Let's do it."
Almost too fast to follow, Sara and Rhea darted forward, both shooting the scaneian with their different shades of magic. The creature finally took notice of the two women, and turned around, bellowing. The person was still in his hands, and they both shuddered when they knew that they would have to get closer to it.
Coating the creature in their magic, they paralyzed it momentarily, and took that moment to strike.
Sara grabbed the person's arm and pulled them out of the talons of the Scaneian. The creature threw back its head and bellowed, not taking kindly to having its prey taken from it. Rhea was ready for that reaction. She shot 18 short and fast strings of black magic at it, slicing through it before forming a blanket, coating it and dissolving it.
The person wasn't moving very much, but with Sara on one side and Rhea on the other, they managed to make it back to the group. The two women helped the stranger sit on the ground, and then Sara crouched to face the mystery being.
"Are you alright?" she asked, trying to see the person's face beneath their large hood
"I will be." Came the raspy voice. The stranger raised one hand and undid the tie that kept their cloak on their shoulders. When the cloak fell, it revealed a woman.
The most unique thing about her was her skin. It was the deep colour of the night sky, contrasting with the whites of her eyes. The pupils themselves were the brightest colour Sara had ever seen. They were the colour of lightning meeting the midnight sky, and seemed shine as if they too were electrically charged. Her hair was the same almost white colour as her eyes, but was offset by various light blue strands. She was wearing a dress whose fabric matched the colour of her eyes and reached down to her mid-shins. The waist was defined by a very modest light blue sash. She carried no visible weapons, but Sara wouldn't have been surprised if she had one concealed somewhere, because all of her kind did.
"Who are you?" Rhea asked cautiously, also aware of the woman's position
"My name's Kellanaie. You can call me Kellan though." She said, her voice medium pitch but strong
"I'm Rhea, that's Sara."
"Who's the rest of the group?"
"You don't need to know that right now." Sara said shortly
"What are you?" one of Violet's warriors asked, confused
"Don't you know?" Kellan seemed more amused than offended, and Sara let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding
"She's a Storm Chaser." Sara explained
"What does she do? Make weather?" Greg asked
"Not even close." Jordan jumped in "Storm Chasers, also known as Storm Mages, are the fastest, most cunning and most deviously powerful beings in any realm."
"Yes." Kellan nodded and smiled at Jordan "We have the magic skill level of level 17 mages, the battle skills of the strongest warriors, the speed of leopards, the intelligence of the best healers…it goes on."
"Whoa."
"Yeah. There are very few of us left in these realms. Early on, people were- and still are- afraid of us. They think we're too powerful for our own good. They tried to kill us all, but since we're more powerful than they were…"
"They lost." Sara filled in "We'll let you be on your way." She nodded to Kellan and started to lead the group away.
"Wait!" Kellan yelled "I'm coming with you."
"Why?"
"I owe you. You saved my life, so I have to serve you."
"Consider it a favour." Sara shrugged "I'd do it for anyone."
"That's the other thing about Storm Chasers, though." Kellan explained "We're mysterious, and not usually very social, but when we owe somebody something, or if they're in our good graces, we're loyal to them for life."
"So…"
"So, like it or not, you're stuck with me." She grinned "It won't be too bad. I'll help you out."
"Uh…okay."
"Glad we've come to an understanding." Kellan nodded, pleased "Now come on, we'll all be slaughtered if we're late for Senoba d'Anai'a." Despite herself, Sara laughed
"Alright. Then away we go." She stepped aside to let Kellan take the lead. The Storm Mage didn't move.
"After you." Sara prompted
"Oh, that's what you wanted." Kellan rolled her eyes "You lead."
"I'd much rather…" Kellan cut her off
"Listen. I know that normally, the most powerful being takes lead, but if you're who I think you are, you're more powerful than even me. You lead." Sara's eyes widened. Usually Storm Chasers were arrogant, selfish beings who basked in their power and silent reign over others.
"Sara?" Kellan prompted, gesturing with her hand that Sara should start moving "Go. Seriously."
"Fine." She held up two hands, almost in surrender, and retook the lead.
"Wow." Was all that Catherine could say when she first saw the Grand Council Ministry. The group was on a hill, in a position where they could see the entire building.
"Yeah." Jordan breathed "As much as I hate our ruler, you have to admit that he makes a nice fortress."
The Grand Council Ministry was a building, located in the centre of a small, neutral land called Garillin. The building itself was surrounded by a wall made of heavy stone and onyx blocks. There were towers on each of the four corners, each with two guards and a lookout in it. Inside the wall, there was a large green that was already full of people ready for the Senoba d'Anai'a. The actual building was a very large, grey stone structure. The people of the mortal realm would have identified it as one of the best examples of gothic revival architecture, but everyone in the magical realms just knew if as the GCM building. It had a high peaked roof and two towers in front, framing the door. Two wings branched off from the centre building, drawing the eye to it. On the top of the centre building, there was a large clock tower shooting up higher than any of the smaller towers on the other wings. The entire structure was liberally windowed and intricately designed, showing off the Ruler's wealth.
"Come on. It's starting soon." Sara's voice broke through the almost trance-like mood that had come with everyone's first view of the building
"Now," she started as they descended the hill into Garilin "Pay very, very close attention to the grounds, the building and the attitude of all the guards. When you're going in the wall, look closely at its structure. Identify any weak points in the property. Perimeter included."
"Why?" Nick asked "Aren't we just here to be 'loyal' to this Ruler guy?"
"Officially, yes. We have a hidden agenda, though. In the final battle of the rebellion, we will be attacking the Grand Council Ministry. We can't just come here on a daily basis and get a guided tour of the place. This is where we get all of our information for the last battle." Everyone instantly turned serious, as if realizing for the first time how big the movement they were starting was. They looked at the building with a new eye. A critical eye.
"…need to split up." Sara kept talking
"Wait, what?" Greg asked
"We all need to split up. Into groups depending on our skills."
"Why?"
"Because," Sara sighed, annoyed with the constant explanations "As a large group, we seem suspicious. We're all of different skill level and type. Usually people with different abilities don't travel together. They'll suspect some sort of rebellion and keep a careful eye on us, even after we leave the Senoba d'Anai'a. That's just something we can't afford."
"So how are we going to split ourselves?" Grissom asked, the voice of reason
"I'll go with Rhea and Vera," She started "Ara, Greg, Rain and Cath will go together,"
"I'm going with Rain!" Violet said stubbornly
"Fine. Violet goes with Rain." Sara sighed "Felina and Nick go together with Warrick; Grissom, you and Jordan will go with Dwight. Violet, your warriors will have to go in alone because they're Capretian, but we've put a tracking spell on them. If they so much as take a step outside that wall, I'll know."
"Fair enough." Violet nodded
"What about him?" One of Violet's warriors pointed to Mato "And the Goddess? And the Storm Mage?"
"Ammariah has to go with the other divines." Sara explained "Because Kellan's a Storm Chaser, she wouldn't normally be caught with anyone other than another Storm Mage, and Mato's so high up, that it'd be out of place if he showed up with us."
"Can I go alone?" Vera asked "I have friends here that I want to see."
"Alright Ver. You'll catch up with us later?"
"Of course." Vera nodded excitedly "Can I go now?"
"Yeah." Sara smiled as the girl ran off down towards the building
"Any more rules?" Greg asked. It was supposed to be sarcastic, but Sara nodded
"If anyone provokes you into a fight, don't take the bait." She explained "The Ruler will be looking out for anyone with skills that could be harmful to him."
"What happens if he finds that person?" Nick asked
"Nothing good." Everybody cringed at the thought "Just keep yourselves in check. No fighting. Even if someone tells you that you have immunity. Just play it safe, keep your eyes and ears open and have a good time."
"How do we know when it's over?" Catherine asked
"You'll instinctively know. People will all start leaving at once. We'll all meet up back here."
"What if we can't find our way back? What would you like us to do?" Grissom spoke up
"You're all grouped with at least one person who knows about all this. They'll find their way back just fine. Do we all understand?" Everyone nodded
"Okay. Good luck." With that, they parted into their separate groups and went towards the wall.
"Welcome once again to the Senoba d'Anai'a." The Ruler said to the now large assembly "It is a pleasure to see all of your loyal faces here once again to honour the greatness of our joint realms."
In short he wants to thank us for keeping the war going on so long. Violet projected her thoughts into Sara's head
As always Sara thought back Now shut up. I can't concentrate with you in my head.
"However; There is one among us who is back from banishment!" The Leader's voice boomed out over the crowd, which had fallen silent "Her!" His large finger was pointed undoubtedly at Rhea. All eyes turned to the strawberry blonde, who looked almost defiantly at the leader.
"Why have you returned!?" He demanded
"I have fulfilled my obligation." She answered, projecting her voice all the way to the front of the green "I granted the wish of a mortal that was not directed at a god, therefore, I am granted another chance."
"I am well aware of the terms of your exile." He said "However, I believe that you need to be tested."
"Tested in what way?"
"You will be fighting two of my men." He gestured to two large, sturdy men at the front of the crowd "You will compete against them in defense with weapons and defense with magic."
"I've only just started re-learning those skills!" she protested "I couldn't possibly…"
"Silence!" he commanded. Despite her dislike for the man, Rhea stopped talking "You will compete. That is final!"
"Yes, sir." She nodded politely "I was wrong to question your orders."
"Very well." He nodded to the first man, a broad shouldered warrior with sable hair "Mesco, go."
The man stepped forward, unsheathing his sword. Rhea turned to Sara, her eyes wild
"I don't have any weapons on me." She hissed "How am I supposed to fight him!?"
"Here," Sara unsheathed her own sword and handed it to Rhea "Use mine."
"Thank you." Rhea moved to leave, but Sara pulled her back
"Turn around."
"Why?"
"Hair." Sara nodded to Rhea's hip-length hair "It's going to get in the way."
"Oh, yeah." The blonde turned around and Sara started twisting her hair into a low braid
"You're going to be fine." Sara told her quietly "Just watch his every move and be careful."
"Thanks."
"Oh, and Rhea?"
"Yeah?"
"Watch what you're doing." She whispered, almost inaudibly "We both know how good you really are. If you win either of these fights…"
"I know." Rhea whispered back "I'll watch it."
"Good." Sara nodded "Good luck." She caught Jordan's eye across the crowd and shot her a nervous look. Jordan shrugged and gestured to the two in the centre of the green.
The crowd had separated so there was a large circle in the centre of the area. The Leader had a clear view of the two competitors from the raised platform that he was seated on, and was staring intently at them, the beginning of a smile making his mouth twitch. The man who she was fighting was almost twice Rhea's size, and obviously an experienced warrior.
"Competitors at the ready." The Leader called out. Both Rhea and the man, Mesco, brought their swords up. Rhea was holding hers somewhat awkwardly, partly because she wasn't used to that particular weapon, and partly because she was going to throw the match.
"Go!"
At the sound of the Leader's voice, the two started circling eachother, both looking for the other's point of weakness. Rhea could see that Mesco was standing in a way that he could be easily un-balanced. If she struck him on his right side, she could throw him off his centre of balance and easily take him to the ground.
But I can't she reminded herself. Instead, she veered to the left too quickly and brought her sword out. Mesco's sword blade met hers in the air, and he flipped it out of her hands. Because she was moving too fast, the power of his sword meeting hers sent her backwards onto the ground. She stood up slowly and ran over to get her sword. There was a fire in here eyes, and she desperately wished she could fight to the best of her abilities. The man took her distraction to his advantage and stepped towards her. He thrust his sword towards the middle of her torso. Instead of twisting to the right as she could have, Rhea dropped to the ground, leaving her back exposed. Surprised, the man brought his sword down on her back lightly, but quickly, leaving a shallow cut behind it.
"Two points to Mesco!" The Leader called out, then said to Rhea "We're going to three. You're not doing too well." Without waiting for a response, he waved his hand at the two fighters, gesturing for them to continue.
Rhea studied her opponent carefully. She knew he was going to attack her on her right side, simply because she set it up so he would. Bracing herself for his move, she was surprised when he veered to her left and brought his sword up in front of him, trying to slice it vertically downwards. She easily blocked his blade with her own and looked at him, confused.
"I know you're throwing the fight." He hissed
"How?" she whispered back, their blades still locked
"Remember the Senoba d'Anai'a before you get banished?"
"Mmhmm." He pulled his arms up, separating their blades. They circled eachother as they continued talking
"Well, I was the one you fought in the last competition."
"Oh yeah! I remember you."
"Yeah, you almost beat me, but you threw that one too." He said "Then you got banished before I could ask you for a real fight."
"Yeah, I remember." She replied shortly
"Why are you throwing this?"
"Because I just got back. I'm not going to get killed this soon. And besides, you're a member of his guards. He expects you to win and he won't do anything to you."
"Fine." Mesco whispered "But I want to fight you later, alone."
"Agreed. Now just beat me." As soon as she finished her sentence, she turned so her entire defense was on her left side. He came at her from the right, and she turned around to miss the blade, leaving her back exposed. He brought his sword down on her back lightly, just gently resting the blade on her cut.
"That's three!" The Leader called "Mesco is the winner." The crowd cheered and the man nodded.
"I'll find you later." He said to Rhea privately "Then we really fight." She nodded lightly and left the ring, letting her head hang as if she was disappointed in her defeat.
"Nice job." Sara said quietly as Rhea handed her the sword "That was very believable."
"I'm glad. Hope it was worth slicing myself open." Rhea said, lowering her voice until it almost wasn't there "Now I just have to throw the duel against the mage and I'm good."
"What was with the conversation you had with that Mesco guy?"
"I fought him at one of these before I got banished." She explained "I had to throw that match too, because he was already a member of the Leader's guard. He's been waiting to fight me for real."
"And you agreed!?" she hissed "What if it's a trap?"
"I don't think it is. I can ask Violet if she could read his thoughts, but I think he just honestly wants to fight me."
"What if he…"
"Sara, relax." Rhea said, grinning "If it doesn't go well, I can just kill him." She made a small spiral of black magic come out of her finger "After all, we both know I can."
"Fine." Sara smiled "Now go do your worst." She pushed Rhea playfully towards the green, where the other mage was already waiting, his arms crossed. He was tall with jet black hair and green eyes. Not unlike Mesco, he was almost twice the size of Rhea with broad, solid shoulders. She sighed, having seen this man fight before. He was a good mage, but didn't think through his attacks and was very sloppy with his magic. She could have beaten him without trying, and knew that she was going to need to make an effort to lose.
"Ready!" called the leader when she was standing opposite her opponent. They both nodded, and he raised his voice to project it throughout the entire crowd "Begin!"
Rhea studied the man she was facing. His hands were now hanging loosely at his sides, ready to counter-attack. It was clear he expected her to make the first move, so she brought her hands up and sent a half-hearted stream of blue and pink magic towards the man who, for show, made a big deal of blocking it and sending a fast moving stream of yellow and silver magic towards Rhea. Putting on a fake expression of fear, she tried to block it, but the man's magic blew through her defense. She ducked with a squeak, narrowly avoiding the stream.
"One!" The Ruler called. Rhea ground her teeth, almost unable to restrain herself from blasting the Ruler into oblivion while he wasn't looking. Instead, she turned her attention back to the fight.
Before assessing again, her opponent started to get cocky. He shot a straight on spherical barrier of magic towards Rhea. She tried to duck out of the way, but he sent two streams of magic her way, on either side. Forgetting for a moment where she was, she shot an oval shaped pipe of black magic towards the sphere, and two spirals of regular magic towards his streams. When her counter-attack hit his offensive head on, and broke it, she gasped and froze. Staring at the Ruler, she tried to see if he had witnessed her slip. It appeared that he hadn't, but she mentally kicked herself for not being more careful. She let her opponent get an easy hit while the ruler was looking straight at them.
"Two!" he called calmly, looking somewhat dissapointed that she was losing, and that he wasn't going to get to kill her.
Her last hit was quite painful for her ego. The fight was pretty much equal-even with her throwing it. The man kept throwing badly placed shots at her, making it too easy for her to forget herself and deflect them. The last move he made was a stupid one. He shot only one wave, quite a thin one at that, straight into the middle of her torso. She held her instincts back and prepared to make the worst move in fight history. She turned around. Whirling away from the wave, she let her back face her opponent, leaving her momentarily blind. He shot her another sheet, wrapping all the way around her. It would have tightened in a real battle, but the Ruler stopped the fight with a wave of his hand.
"Three." He announced with a smile "It seems that our little exile isn't as smart as she thought. You may go." Rhea nodded glumly and slunk back to where Sara was standing.
"Nice touch at the end." the brunette complimented "I thought you were a gonner."
"Thanks." Rhea said, an annoyed edge to her voice
"You really wanted to win that one, didn't you." it wasn't a question
"I did. The entire time, I watched him make mistakes that I could have used against him."
"Just relax and enjoy the rest of the day." Sara said with a laugh "You'll get a chance for a good fight much later." she glanced up at the still talking Ruler "And against a much stronger opponent."