' " So you're the new kid, huh?" A man asked a 10 year old Ginger. She didn't look at him. Her green eyes fixated in a pout, looking away.
" I get it, you're upset your parents sold you. " He said to her, crouching to look at her, eye-level.
" Everyone here is upset, one reason or another. The only thing you can do now is try to do what you're supposed to."
" And what am I 'Supposed' to do?" She asked, angry still. The edge of her eyes were still red from crying.
" Fight. " He said, getting up, extending a hand. She looked at it for a few more seconds, before taking it, and he pulled her up. '

Marceline felt a burning on her chest, and she shot up, back craning, eyes and teeth clenched shut.
" Breathe." She heard Icarus said.
She took a few shallow breaths, that eventually got deeper.
" You okay?" He asked.
" Yeah, I'm-" She opened her eyes to find a man with blonde hair, and red eyes, smiling childishly at her.
" You're... Where's your helmet?"
" In the pond with Rivenel."
" Who's Rivenel...?" She asked.
" Some guardian dude."
" ...What pond?"

" Oh good, you're back. We were almost out of card games. " Kat said, looking at them walking in.
Dante was grumbling, looking at William vengefully. Based on the size of the coin purse at his side, and the smile plastered on his face, he was obviously a full time winner.
" Did Ginger ever come out?" Marceline asked. They shook their heads no.
" I think it's almost done though." Dante said.
" How do you figure?" Marceline asked.
He got up, and walked over to the door that led to the hallway where Ginger's room was. he grasped the doorknob, and his hair started to stick up.
" Aren't you going to open it?" She asked, smiling a little at his hair.
" Can't."
" Why not?"
" Last time he opened it things started floating." Kat said, shuffling the cards.
" Oh, and guys, look, Icarus lost his helmet." Marceline said, gesturing to the smiling man.
Everyone looked at him at the same time.
" Where'd you get the scar?" William asked, reaching to touch to scar. Marceline heard a skip in his heartbeat, but he didn't move from the pre-teen's hand.
" I've been doing this kind of thing for a while." He chuckled.
" Icarus," Marceline said, looking at him.
" Yyyeeees?" he asked, smiling.
" Can I talk to you?"
" Sure." he said, walking with her to the other halfway that isn't electrified.

' Ginger was knocked out of the white rectangle that painted the edge of the training area.
" Ugh, no fair!" She said, walking up to the man who greeted her when she first got there, Derrick, he said his name was.
" What do you mean?" he asked, tapping the wooden floor with the two wooden poles that acted at Training swords.
" You stole my sword!"
" It's allowed, in the matches."
" it...It is...?" She asked.
" Yes. You can steal the opponents weapons." He said, looking at her.
" What... What are the rules...?" She asked.
" There are none. You go in the arena, you push the opponent out of the ring, or make them unable to fight for 10 seconds."
" But... By, unable to fight..." She took a step back.
" Yes, killing is allowed." he said.
" I could..." She swallowed.
" I could die out there?" She asked.
" Yes." He said, looking down on her.
She didn't say anything, she just stared at the ground.
" I don't a think a sword is really for you." He said, suddenly more chipper. Derrick and Ginger had been practicing for about 3 days, and they had 4 more until her physical training was done, whatever that meant.
" Then what is?" She asked. She caught the significantly longer pole.
" A staff. " '

" What was that, back at the castle?"
" The pond?"
" No, stupid. " She said, sighing.
" You were holding back this entire time? " She asked.
" Mhmm. " He said, cheerfully.
" Why?" She asked.
" To avoid suspicion."
" From who?" She asked. As soon as she did, she got the feeling someone was watching her, she nonchalantly turned around, but the room was empty, other then her and Icarus.
" People." He said, looking around as well.
" By the way," He began.
" Gerrick, he..."
" His angel." She said.
" We both knocked each other out, but she can come into this world of her own magic, and she healed him." She said, clenching her fist.
" He said..." He looked at at her.
" He said what?" She looked back.
" He said that he and I were going to battle."
" You... Damn." She said, walking over to the window.
" What, what is it?" He asked.
" It was a draw, but since he walked away first, he gets to fight one of my comrades to see who deserves Darkovia."
" Me?" He asked.
" Icarus, Gerrick isn't some vampire you can just behead. He has angels on his side."
" Yeah, but..."
" But what?" She asked.
" I have a really big sword." He said, twirling the doom blade.
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
" We're doomed..." She said.

' Ginger hit the side of Derrick's practice sword with one side of her staff, then spun around and hit it again, then stood on the tips of her toes, and kept hitting in quick succession, moving forward, until.
" Dang!" She heard Derrick say.
She was dizzy, but when she steadied herself, she realized.
She had pushed Derrick out of the ring.
" Good job! " Sam clapped from across the room. Sam and Derrick were co team leaders.
" I did it?" Ginger asked, panting hard.
" Yeah, you did. Looks like the staff really is the weapon for you." Derrick chuckled.
Ginger tiredly chuckled as well.
" Okay kiddo, now it's my turn to teach you." Sam said. '

Lance touched his face, which was slowly being broken down by the cloak's darkness.
" My Master." Nightbane said.
" Yes, I know, I need a new host." He said.
" I know, which is why, I brought you this. " Nightbane dropped the body of the King of Red.
" I can't possess a dead body, you dunce." He said, looking at him.
" He isn't dead, my Master, he has the preserver amulet, I slipped it into his pocket when we were meeting. " He said.
" Ah, good, Nightbane."
" When will..." Nightbane said, looking at him.
" Will I possess you? I imagine as soon as you get the ring of Magnus. " He said, another piece of his pale face cracking, and turning into black aura with the rest of the cloak.
" Magnus..." Nightbane said, returning to his human form, which was a strong looking, rather tan man with black hair and eyes.
" The elven word for 'Power'. "
" Yes, there is a certain amount of power that one must have before I can possess them. This one has the power of hate, the king has the power of command, and while you are quite powerful as a werepyre, you are unnatural, and need a more, pure, original power. "
" I understand my lord, I think i'm getting closer to finding it."
" Good, now if you'll excuse me." A black tendril wrapped around the King's 'Corpse', and began dragging him into a separate chamber.

Scarlet threw her wine glass against the wall.
" Sister," a man said, with red hair and eyes, just like Scarlet, walked towards her.
" Stay the hell away from me! " She spun around towards him, sparks of flames cascading at her heels.
" Scarlet, I didn't kill father."
" I don't care about him! I don't care who did it! He had the crown, there is no rightful ruler to the kingdom of red! " She groaned, and fell into her throne, covering her face with her hands.
" Scarlet, look, Gerrick is the one who killed our father, that gives him a token of ruler ship, if we kill him then we get to keep the kingdom."
" Only one of us." Scarlet stood up, and looked at her brother, Bloodlust.
" Sister, do you honestly think that I wouldn't share the kingdom of red with you?"
" We hardly know each other!" Scarlet said.
" Look, we can both kill him at the same time, and then we can have the kingdom in equal ruler ship. " He said.
" ...Fine. "

' " See? This is fire magic." Sam said, the magical flame burning above his hand.
" Another word for it is pyromancy. "
" So, you're going to teach me pyromancy? " Ginger asked.
" No, i'm going to teach you how to use magic, and then you figure out what kind of magic that you, yourself, have."
" ...Then how do I do that?" She asked.
" First, close your eyes," Sam said, Ginger did so. They were in a room, sitting on the carpet, and the only lights was a multicolored candle in the middle of the room, separating Ginger and her magic mentor.
" Then, breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth, slowly, deeply. Imagine your body is full of steam, and every time you breathe, the steam whirls, and mixes, and churns."
Ginger imagined her silhouette, with the image that Sam described to her.
" Hold out your hands like your holding a delicate animal, like a bird." He said, she did so, and her hands were buzzing, like something was vibrating in them, but there was nothing there.
" Now , imagine the steam, slowly coming out of your hands, rising the bird up." He said, she did so, and her hands felt hot.
" Open your eyes." he said. She looked at her hands, a green light coming out of them, and Ginger could feel the steam rushing to her hands to be released, and when all of it was gone, the light dissipated, and Ginger passed out. '

" So, Kat. " Marceline said, watching her play cards with Dante and William.
" Yeah?" She turned to look at her.
" What kind of person is Bloodlust?"
" Manipulative, smart, powerful, pick your choice." She said, getting up.
" How am I supposed to beat him?" She asked.
" Well, you have that Scythe." Kat pointed at her necklace.
" Luna?" Marceline asked.
" Yeah."
" What does this have to do with it? I mean, sure, i'll use it to fight him, but if it can't beat Gerrick, what good is it against Bloodlust?"
" Reap. "
" What?" Marceline asked.
" I studied Luna once, I wanted it a while ago, but I decided I wanted this baby more." She patted the katana at her side.
" Anyways, when you cut someone with Luna, it leaves behind a residue that allows a second hit. " She said, gently holding the necklace from Marceline. She slid the point of the crescent moon shape on her finger tip.
" Say 'Reap.' " Kat said. Marceline looked at her for a few seconds, then shrugged.
" Reap." there was a spark on Kat's finger and her fingertip began bleeding a little.
" Fuck! I didn't expect it to hurt that much." She laughed and sucked on the wound.
" Sorry." Marceline held the necklace.
" It's okay, but, Bloodlust drains the blood of his sacrifices, and instead of simply drinking the essence of it like other gods do when the sacrifice hits their realm, when someone is sacrificed to Bloodlust, he makes their blood his own. He's also the reason for a few minor wars, in which he soaks up the blood from the earth and takes it into his being."
" Which means?" Marceline asked.
" Which means he has the blood of about 1000 men, and the only way to kill a god permanently, is by draining their blood. "
" Is there any other way?"
" Usually you can seal a god away, but Bloodlust is so new of a god, that there has been no weapon forged that can seal him. But he's still new enough to be just weak enough for you to kill him."
" By 'reaping' him?" Marceline asked.
" Yeah, you can use insanis to cause all of the cuts, and then use reap, keep the spell going until he's out of blood, and then you can kill him when it gets down to his human blood."
" But begs the question, I don't have that much power, how the hell do you propose I keep that spell lasting long enough?"
Kat began to look saddened.
" I, I didn't mean to upset-"
" No, it's not that." She interrupted her.
" It's... I know a way for you to get that much power." She said, rubbing her shoulder. Marceline raised a brow.