Disclaimer's on chapter 1

~#~#~#~

'Just what are you waiting for?' Grazel asked the image of Dragias the bigelow projected. 'Do you want to die like Belcitane?'

Dragias just remained silent as if being a child that was receiving a scolding from their parent. It was unlike him to refrain from speaking. However, this was the leader of the Magi he was before, one of the only people he had to bow to and respect.

'You're pathetic; just as he was. I was just telling Shapur how useless you are' Grazel continued inclining his head to the Farian standing beside him. 'Right, Shapur?'

'He's stroking the Farian's ego' Trent muttered from the corner as he watched as Shapur bowed in mock humbleness.

'Want me to stroke something of yours to make you feel better?' Isaac teased earning a scolding look from his superior.

Ignoring the banter from his two subordinates in the corner, Grazel calmly leaned his head on one hand as he scrutinized Dragias.

'I hope you're not growing fond of them' He spoke with an underlying coldness in his voice. 'In any case, Pactmaker or not, it surely cannot be that difficult to kill someone who trusts you with his life. Mark my words, if you don't act soon, our relationship…'

The sentence was left hanging as everyone in the room knew what would happen upon failure of a given task.

Dragias understood perfectly as the image of Lord Grazel faded from view. Dragias knew what he had to do, why he had dropped off the radar. Yet, what stopped this knight from killing the Pactmakers of the White and Dragon Knights? Was it the bond they shared over wielding weapons of an age gone passed? Or something else entirely that was hidden beneath the armour he so proudly wore?

~#~

In order to reach Frass Chasm, a valley full of steep gorges and canyons that spider webbed many miles over the lands south-west of the Flanders, the group had to return to Greede where a gondola would take them to the eastern entrance of the canyons. However, due to the small number of travellers who wished to go and return from there, it usually took four to six hours between trips resulting in the group having to wait around for several hours until the next gondola came.

During the time until the next gondola arrived, the group took the chance to repair their equipment and stock up on supplies and provisions which would certainly be needed either during the trip through the canyons or further depending on whether or not they had managed to actually rescue the princess.

All too soon, the time was nearing for the Frass Chasm gondola to arrive and the group reconvened at the gondola station and waited as their transport came into view on the horizon. Within days, they would be seeing the Magi again, this time trading the princess for the Arks in their possession instead of crossing steel and magic in a rescue attempt.

Leonard though was not feeling too confident about the idea. Time and time again, they had won against the Magi and yet let them escape with Princess Cisna still in their clutches. Now that it was coming down to negotiations and trade-offs, Leonard could not help but wonder if it was his ineptitude wielding the Knight that brought this upon him or some cruel twist of fate to have her continuously slip through his fingers.

'She'll be fine, Leonard' Yulie comforted him seeing that he was quiet and not himself and knowing just what was going through his head. 'We're going to save her'

Leonard just nodded his head but it seemed as if he was doing it out of hearing Yulie talk to him as if it were just an automatic response as he stepped into the gondola.

'He looks like his dog just died' Caesar commented causing Yulie to "accidently" step on the young Lord's sandal clad foot as she followed her best friend.

'Was it something I said?' He asked managing to chuckle through the pain in his foot.

Alastor shook his head at the Dragon Knight Pactmaker's foolishness as he moved passed him and into the gondola. He would've thought that, with his "dragonsight", Caesar would have seen the feelings Yulie harboured for Leonard and would not have made light of the situation. Following the archer onto the gondola's observation deck, the Spellcaster stood at the opposite end of the deck and just took in the view knowing that she would eventually talk to him just like the last time something like this had occurred.

'I can't help but feel like he's forgetting about me' She mumbled once the gondola had left Greede and had begun soaring through the sky towards their destination. 'It's as if nothing else matters to him as long as the princess is safe'

'Some people are like that when a loved one's in trouble' Alastor shrugged. 'It's times like that when he'll need you just to keep him safe from doing something stupid'

'If you're trying to comfort me, you're going about it the wrong way' Yulie told the Spellcaster giving him a half-hearted glare.

'Do you really want me to hug you in full view of both Kara and Caesar?'

Even with the cool wind whipping her face, Yulie still felt the heat rise in her face at his words. While it would have been great to have actually been hugged by someone that probably cared about her more than Leonard-no offense to the lad-the cons greatly outweighed the pros this time around. For the time being, at least.

~#~

'The snake!' Cyrus snarled bringing his hand down on the wooden table causing surrounding plates and tankards to jump slightly. 'Sarvain acts as though Balandor is his to rule! Arrogant fool!'

The former Captain of the Castleguard and his group had reached a small village on the far southern edges of the Lagnish desert where they had decided to rest for the time being until they planned their next move. Unfortunately, it seemed as though they would be there for a while as the Captain seemed intent on drowning his sorrows in the cheap liquor the tavern provided.

'Please, Sir, keep this up, and you'll be in a terrible state when we reach Faria's borders' His second in command pleaded.

'Captain, you really should stop drinking' Another of them suggested.

Cyrus ignored their requests focusing more on emptying his tankard of the burning water that was attempting to wash away his hardships and burdens. Realising that his tankard was empty, the once proud Captain just laughed as he dropped the tankard to the table.

'I'm not a Captain anymore, just a drunken fool!' He joked although he was the only one who laughed at it.

The members of his little group could only watch on sadly as the man they respected and admired fell apart. Looking at him now, it was hard to imagine that he was once known as Cyrus the Young Lion for a brief window of time in the Chaos Legion before stepping down to instead sign up for the Castleguard to protect the King and princess. In light of recent events, he was in his rights to turn to drink hoping to find death or peace at the bottom of each tankard he emptied.

'All I am…All I was, I owe to King Valtos and Queen Floraine. Were it not for their kindness, I'd either be starving or dead' Cyrus declared sadly. 'His Grace treated me like his own son, his flesh and blood. Until then, no one loved me. No one!'

Cyrus brought his hand down on the table again with enough force this time to disturb all the plates and tankards on the table.

'And I will honour him! I'm going to give my life to Balandor!' He proclaimed staggering as he stood with one hand clasped over his heart.

While they were worried about their friend and superior in his drunken state, it did not stop them from being moved by his words. Cyrus had willingly given up all thoughts of his own future to protect a great man, having nothing else to neither lose nor gain save for the happiness King Valtos gave him when asking for him to be his son.

'He was a great king…' He muttered as if is earlier actions had tired him out. 'And an even better father'

He was alone now. With no king to protect and no father to guide him, Captain Cyrus of the Castleguard now had to cut his own path through fate. The same path his old comrades in the Legion took four years ago when they were forced to disband.

~#~

Deep was not near enough an adequate word to describe how immense and shear the cliffs of Frass Chasm were. To Leonard and the group, it was as if someone had taken a huge blade and just hacked at the stone leaving gouges wide enough for the town of Balandor and perhaps even the free city of Greede to fit in quit snuggly.

'Of all the places, he had to pick Frass Chasm' Caesar grumbled apparently having a view opposite of Leonard and Yulie who were tempting to peer over the edge in an attempt to see the bottom in wonderment.

'What are you talking about? It's beautiful' Yulie remarked giving up on trying to look over the edge to view the landscape. She could just picture being here during a setting sun and a certain someone alone with her easily.

'I'm guessing you don't know what the word "frass" means' Caesar queried snapping the archer from her daydream.

'Why, what's frass? Is it bad?' Leonard asked without looking away from the gorge he was peering into.

'I hope you like insects' Kara advised as she walked past the youth.

The moment her words reached her younger sister of sorts, Yulie practically froze up. While she only hated direspiders in general, the phobia also made her slightly scared of bugs: specifically if they were roughly the same size as direspiders and had at least as many legs. While it was impossible for other bugs to be as big as her multi-legged nightmare, there was still the off chance that they would encounter direspiders causing her to subtly edge closer to Alastor if nothing else but to put him between her and the bugs in question.

Leaving the station, the group were surprised when Foz swooped down before them. It seemed that, instead of them asking the princess if she was alright, the Princess wished to talk to them.

'Leonard, are you alright?' She asked the moment she saw him sounding worried and troubled.

'Fine. What's wrong?' Leonard replied in concern.

'I should apologise. Not just for putting you in danger again, but…also for convincing Grazel to make the trade here. It was my idea' Cisna confessed.

The group was confused by the princess' words. Why would she ask their enemy, her kidnapper, to make a negotiation in a faraway place when there were perfectly good spots that were not in the open all around Balandor? Not to mention, why would she want to talk to Grazel after all the harm that has befallen on her because of him and his group?

'With each passing day, more memories keep coming to the surface. Memories of a much older time when my people, the Athwani, flourished. Now, I know that I share their blood' Cisna said as she explained about what had been happened to her over the last several days of inactivity on both fronts. 'It's as though visiting the ruins opened some door, and now I'm rediscovering who I am'

'You're her' Eldore muttered in surprise quiet enough that no one else heard him.

'You don't know the threat the Knights pose. If they were to come together, that would be it: the end of the world foretold in the prophecy' Cisna pressed shuddering at the visions of past memories showing the Knights cutting through the defences of Athwan and other nations who had dared to side against them.

Having fought against Leonard and Caesar when they were transformed, Alastor could easily vouch for the Princess' words. Even his magic, powerful as it was, was nothing more than raindrops bouncing off a hard surface, only stunning them for a brief second at best. And that was only if he was lucky enough to catch either of them off guard.

'But there is a way to stop it' The Princess continued. 'We must stop the Knights from uniting…by destroying them'

'Not to doubt your words Princess' Caesar politely butted in. 'But me and Leonard both took on the Black Knight at the same time and didn't even put a scratch on him. And unless Al here has some rather impressive tricks up his sleeve we've yet to see, there's no way anyone else can come close to beating the guy'

There was truth in his words. The Knights were practically invincible to anything other than another Knight and even then, it seemed as if a battle between two would only end in a stalemate. Truly, the Incorrupti were the greatest creation in the war tool arsenal.

'You can do it' Cisna proclaimed her eyes never leaving Leonard despite speaking to them as a whole. 'To do so, you must find a sword called "Talion", the only weapon up to the task'

The name was foreign to them, although Caesar thought it sounded like a cool name for a blade.

'Thaumus Rock was built to honour the warrior Thaumus, a troll, who fought against the Knights and became a great hero' Cisna told them. 'Before he marched into battle, the wise men of Athwan forged a sword that could pierce the Knights' armour. They named the holy blade "Talion", which means "an eye for an eye". If you could find that sword, then perhaps you could destroy the Black Knight'

This was the reason why Princess Cisna asked Grazel to make the trade off in Frass Chasm. If Leonard was able to obtain the blade and wield it against the Black Knight, then both the Princess and the world would be free from their reign of terror if they were to succeed in obtaining the five Knights.

'You must have told them about Talion as well. How else were you to get Grazel to agree?' Alastor suddenly put in frowning at the Princess.

The rest of the group minus Caesar and Eldore looked at him in shock and Leonard was actually about to round on the Spellcaster when Cisna's next words halted him.

'It is true' She admitted sadly wishing there had been some other way for this to happen.

'That's quite a gamble, Princess' Caesar said actually sounding serious. 'The Magi will be at the Rock too. If they get to it first, guess who's in trouble?'

'It's risky, but it's also our only chance'

The heaviness behind these facts about the holy sword and that the Magi knew about it was immense. No matter which side had the blade, it would be almost certain that Death's shadow would be lurking around the other side to guide them to the next world.

'Find the sword, Leonard. You must' Cisna urged the youth before her clearly believing he was the only one that could succeed in the task before them.

'I will. I promise' Leonard swore sounding as if he was ready to move heaven and earth for her.

'Hurry, before something terrible comes to pass' She said wrapping her arms around herself clearly frightened by what the future may hold in store for them, Leonard in particular, regardless of whether they accomplish this mission.

'Please don't let it, Leonard' She whispered as her image began to fade reaching a hand out to Leonard who clasped it before disappearing into nothingness.

Leonard stared at the spot where Cisna's image was for a few seconds before walking off down the pathway that lead along the side of the canyon, his resolve and determination to obtain both the princess and the sword from the Magi and end this once and for all with the others, seeing that the time for standing around was over, quickly following after him. All except for one of them.

'Looking to send a message to someone?' Eldore asked of Kara who had remained rooted to where she stood with a thoughtful look upon her face.

Snapping out of whatever internal discussion she was in, Kara scoffed and headed after the others muttering under her breath about presumptuous old men. Eldore frowned at her retreating form before following after her.

The path the group began to proceed along was treacherous in its own right. As well as the various monsters, ranging from killer scorpions and umbral flowers, a dangerous, evolved and more sentient form of the Venus Flytrap, to the more challenging trents and trolls if they came upon one, there was also the factor of the pathway leading straight through parts of the canyon as if something had tunnelled through it or narrow rock bridges that could give way at any given moment. That was without including the steep drop one could experience were they to venture too close to the edge whether during a fight or not.

It was several hours into the journey before the two main Spellcasters of the group, currently walking at the back of the group, decided to bring up the topic on something Alastor had overheard during the Princess' talk about why they were here.

'So who's this girl the Princess reminds you of?' He broached quickly glancing at the Swordmage walking alongside him.

'What do you mean?' Eldore asked acting the fool although it was a worthless ploy considering who he was talking to.

'When the Princess told us how she had memories of her past-life as an Athwani, you muttered something about her being…someone' The Spellcaster elaborated. 'So out with it'

While the tone was light, Eldore could easily tell there was a sharp edge to his words as if saying "speak now, or I'll force it from you".

'Do you remember in the Lagnish Desert, you speculated that the Princess gained a Magical Inheritance that contained the sealing lore that was used against the Knights ten thousand years ago?' Eldore asked receiving a nod in reply. 'Ever since, I've been wondering who she might have inherited it from'

'And now you think you know who it is' Alastor finished nodding his head in understanding. He had been pondering the same thing himself now and again but not as much as the old man.

'Indeed. The Queen of the Athwan'

Alastor stopped dead in his tracks for a second at Eldore's words before catching up to the Swordmage.

'That's a little too presumptuous, don't you think?' He said trying to get his head around it. 'I mean, I know they're both royalty from different times, but that's still a bit of a stretch, don't you think?'

'Setti did say that the Queen would be reincarnated along with the Emperor of Yshrenia' Eldore pressed despite agreeing to the Spellcaster's logic. 'Even if I am wrong, perhaps the Magi believe this also and would explain why they kidnapped her instead of killing her along with her father'

Both Spellcaster's held solid arguments. And yet, perhaps only the founders of the Magi possibly held the answers to the questions their discussion brought up.

For now, however, it would have to wait as the ground began to tremble as the group reached a rather sharp corner of the single walled pathway.

'W-What's that?' Leonard asked as he tried to stay on his feet as the tremors grew worse.

'Get ready, it's coming' Eldore warned them.

'It? What kind of "it"?' Leonard asked of the Swordmage before noticing a dust cloud forming at the far end of the canyon from the corner of his eye.

A guttural roar was heard before an enormous drake like worm on legs appeared from the cloud, barrelling through the canyon kicking up more dust in its wake as it careered through the path created by the canyon walls. If that were not amazing enough, what appeared to be several gliders were chasing after it despite looking like mere mosquitoes in comparison to its gargantuan size.

Whoever flew those contraptions were clearly skilled as they weaved through the falling rocks as they sped passed it before coming around and dropping a rough half dozen bombs each on top of the creatures spine covered back causing it to stop for a second and secrete a greenish gas that gave off a foul stench that attacked the groups olfactory glands even from where they were standing. Evidently wearing some sort of gasmask, the pilots swooped through the green smog, skilfully moving through the spines huge as tree trunks, as their crafts collected the gas.

By the time the huge creature had recovered from the assault, the five little gliders were already flying away, their whoops of a successful harvest carried on the winds for all to hear.

'What was that?' Leonard asked trying to catch another glimpse of the creature through the green smog.

'A greaver: a creature unique to this canyon' Eldore supplied for him. 'They're supposedly the ones that created the canyons they now run through. Hence Frass Chasm: the canyon made by giant worms'

'Uck! No wonder Kara asked if we like insects' Yulie muttered wrapping her arms around her waist as she tried not to envision the huge creepy-crawlies coming after her. Direspiders were bad enough without adding those things to the picture. 'But who were those people attacking it?'

'Those would be the Windwalkers. They're a tribe of papitaurs who live in the Chasm' Caesar answered as he watched the fog begin to settle. 'You saw their gliders? Well, they survive by chasing after the greavers and harvesting the gas they give off'

The archer stared incredulously at the Dragon Pactmaker before turning to Alastor clearly hoping he could elaborate on the topic.

'The gas it gives off can be used in a lot of different potions depending on how it's used. And because most of them are either rare or critical for certain practices, it pays around a thousand or so guilder at least per jar' Alastor said after hearing Galileo go on about how the gas could become a variety of potions for over an hour one time.

'Yup, those little stink-jockeys are loaded' Caesar agreed with the Spellcaster.

'Well I wouldn't want their job'Yulie shuddered it was bad enough just seeing the creature. To be even closer than those Windwalkers were things her nightmares would include from now on.

'Come on, then. We need to hurry' Leonard pressed about to run off along the path to make up lost time before Alastor's staff was brought in front of him.

'Not with that gas lingering about ahead of us' The Spellcaster said indicating the path up ahead that was hidden under the green fog. 'On its own, that stuff can put you under in less than a minute. Inhale enough and you're practically asleep for the rest of your days. Or until a monster comes looking for a snack'

With Alastor's words, along with the sun sinking below the horizon, it was a unanimous decision that they would set up camp for the night.

~#~

'Okay, I hate this place!' Yulie moaned as she tried to get some sleep before it was her shift on night watch.

It was slightly harder than normal considering the noise made by the wind as it blew through the Chasm causing the fabric walls of the tent to rumble with each breeze, coupled with the fact that she was in a place where her phobia practically thrived. If that were not enough, her best friend got the longest straw allowing him to get a full night's sleep. At least there were no direspiders to deal with.

She would not have minded talking with Kara for a spell in the hopes of tiring herself out talking and arguing about anything and everything that crossed either of their minds but, unfortunately, she was out taking her shift. Now that she thought about it, Yulie could have sworn that she heard Caesar's voice out there as well. After a few minutes trying to hear what was being said, the archer heard the definite sound of someone falling down.

Perhaps, if she was lucky enough, she could catch the two of them in an awkward position, more than likely Kara attempting to strangle the young Lord whilst straddling his lap. Either way, it would even the playing field against Kara and her teasing about her and Alastor, even if she did not mind it.

'Hey, what's going out here?' She asked as she exited the tent pretending that the noise they made had woken her up.

While hiding it well, she was disappointed when she saw that, while the two may have been close at one point, Kara was now standing at the opposite side of the fire while Caesar was still sitting on the ground looking at the blonde woman with a look she was unable to place right now.

'Nothing much. I was just about to hit the sack anyway' Caesar shrugged as he picked himself up letting out a yawn. ''Night, Kara. Let's talk again soon'

Kara looked away from the young Lord as if repulsed by whatever it was he was implying whereas Yulie was just plain stumped about it.

'About what?' She asked curiously.

'Nothing special' The young Lord replied to the archer's question as he passed her and entered the tent the males were using.

Yulie was half expecting him to add something along the lines of…something that would contain hers and Alastor's names at least. To not say so during a good chance, something had to be affecting him.

'How Alastor managed to put up with him for three years must have been nothing short of a miracle' Kara muttered sourly sounding as if she was complimenting the Spellcaster for enduring something she was having a losing battle with.

'I'm sure he sent a few spells Caesar's way during his time under him' Yulie reasoned smiling at the thought. 'Not enough to actually hurt him, but to at least warn him about who his servant was'

She was sure she saw Kara's mouth twitch upwards before returning to the frown that could probably rival Alastor's. Whatever had happened between the two, Yulie was pretty sure Caesar had said something rather provocative to turn Kara into another sour puss. One was bad enough, even if Yulie was mellowing him out somewhat.

'If he tries whatever he did again tomorrow night, just sock him one in the kisser' Yulie advised the swordswoman.

This time, Kara did actually smile. 'You forget that I used to work in a tavern as a dancer. I know how to deal with men who wish to get between my legs'

'Hit them between theirs' Yulie finished causing the two girls to laugh at their discovery of being on the same page when coming to dealing with men they did not like.

'If you want, I can take your shift for you' Kara offered changing the topic back to tonight's affairs and events.

Yulie shook her head, seeing as she was up she might as well start her shift. Kara seemed to look concerned obviously knowing that the younger girl hated anything with more than two or four legs but decided against it seeing as the girl was as stubborn as herself.

'Don't let the bedbugs bite' She joked before entering the tent she and Yulie shared.

'Oh, that was uncalled for!' Yulie called after her retreating form only receiving a reply in the form of her hunting knife, bow and quiver being thrown out for her.

While Yulie may have been angry with Kara over the pun, it quickly dissipated as a cold gust of wind blew over the camp causing her to huddle close to the campfire to try and keep warm. There was little hope of having a peaceful night this time around. Worst case scenario, she just woke up Alastor and asked him to start his shift seeing as he was on after her.

The sound of movement behind her caused the archer to spin around, bow at the ready, aiming at the darkness where the noise emanated from. She was just coming to the conclusion that it was just the wind blowing something over when another noise coming from the opposite direction had her spinning round again only to see nothing but darkness again.

'I really hate this place!' She whined under her breath as she attempted to keep strong despite believing she was the opposite.

As they had journeyed together, Yulie could easily see what skills everyone brought along with them. Asides from the Knights, Leonard had become an impressive swordsman most likely due to making the pact with the White Knight while Caesar's already impressive skill with a spear increased; Eldore, while not as skilled with blades and magic also knew quite a bit about the Knights as well as the lands they were travelling; Alastor- well, it was fairly obvious what he contributed; even Kara, who only knew a handful of spells and how to use a blade, had the conviction and drive to carry on her own path no matter who or whatever tried to stop her.

And then there was herself: a Spellcaster in training who was skilled with a bow. Not really much in comparison to the others. She did not have any reason to be here other than to help her best friend and first crush and even that seemed to be dwindling.

'What am I even doing here?' She asked to the biting winds.

'Trying to get warm, by the looks of it'

Out of fright and reflex, Yulie spun towards the direction of the voice and let loose an arrow towards it not even registering that the speaker was someone she was beginning to warm to more and more each day. Fortunately, ever since his first experience with the short tempered girl, Alastor was expecting this one and magically stopped the projectile in mid-air letting it hover for a second before letting it drop to the ground.

'I must be losing my touch if that doesn't surprise you anymore' Yulie grumbled half-heartedly as she sank back down in front of the fire hoping to at least keep her fingers warm.

'What's got you all jumpy tonight?' Alastor asked as he sat down on the nearby log just behind her apparently not at all effected by the coldness of the night.

'Oh, nothing much. Just the fact that I'm so cold I can barely feel anything and that I'm in a place where I'm the insignificant insect while the real bugs are bigger than me!' She knew it was not right to snap at someone who was only asking if she was okay, but inside her heart of hearts, she was hoping that the former Dark Magician would pull another trick out from his sleeves to make her feel better.

She was not disappointed. The moment she felt his hand touch her shoulder, Yulie could feel herself becoming warm again as if she was standing in the middle of a field on a warm summers day.

'Better?' He asked as he started to pull away from her.

He was not quick enough, unfortunately. Seemingly emboldened by whatever the Spellcaster had just done to her, Yulie grabbed his wrist before pulling herself into his lap and wrapping his snagged arm around her waist.

'Much better' Yulie agreed only just keeping in the laughter at the flustered yet irritated look Alastor sported.

'You do know that I can hex you into a thousand pieces in a thousand ways, right?' He queried sounding a bit agitated by her actions.

'Then why don't you' Yulie shot back daring him to do something she knew that he would not.

Alastor seemed tempted to hex her just to prove her wrong were he not currently trying to ignore how comfortable she felt in his arms. Sure, he had women sit in his lap before, but they were doing so just to get something out of him be it money, power or just to be noticed as his girl. Yulie, on the other hand, was just Yulie, as plain, simple and confusing as that.

'You're incorrigible, you know that?' He muttered backing down from the staring contest they were having and looking anywhere else but at her.

'I'm just getting that hug you promised' She giggled resting her head against his shoulder. 'Besides, you seem to bring out the best in me'

It was true in a way. While with Leonard, Yulie had moved slowly using subtle hints and the like to nudge the youth's mind in the right direction with failed results most likely due to the fact that the two had known each other for so long. With Alastor, on the other hand, ever since Yulie had accepted that she had feelings for him, her actions were definitely bolder especially if they were alone like now. It was as if he somehow inspired or encouraged her without realising it.

'You sure it's not the worst?' Alastor retorted actually picking her up bridal fashion and placing her on the log beside him.

'Jerk!' She muttered. 'You would leave me to fend for myself in this monster riddled place? What would happen if one found me?'

'He'd turn to stone'

No sooner had the words left Alastor's mouth did he find a glaring Yulie with a clenched left hand in front of him. He actually felt intimidated by the sight. But only just.

'What was that?' She growled.

'Nothing' The Spellcaster replied not wanting to experience another blow like last time. It was worse than that one time he got drunk with the Legion and woke up the next morning.

'In that case, I'm going to bed. Night' She stated before quickly darting into her tent before the Spellcaster could comprehend he had been swindled.

Alastor blinked once, twice even thrice before seeing red at the girl's nerve to dump him with the remainder of her shift to go with his own. With a fierce motion of his arm, he made the fire roar to at least twice its size before being reduced to mere dying embers.

'She's got Ceal's skill in archery, coupled with Azalea's cunning and Elma's short temper' He thought out loud to himself unable to hide the small grin. 'And I thought those three by themselves were a handful when together.

~#~

Staring out of the portal into the pale moonlight that rained down from on high, Grazel could not help but smirk as he look to what tomorrow would bring him. Before the sun set the following day, he would have the two Arks Belcitane failed to obtain and possibly the only weapon that could thwart his plans. All thanks to a staged conversation he had Trent and Isaac perform beside the princess' chamber.

'Tomorrow will be a significant step towards our goal. Be sure not to fail in your part in all this' He said to the person standing just outside the pillar of moonlight spilling from the portal.

Despite being encased in darkness, the contours suggested the person was female. One whose face was sure to be the last thing the Pactmakers see.

~#~#~#~

Another chapter done & I've finally pierced the 100,000 word barrier!

Review if possible & 'til next month

Watch this space & peace out!