Chapter 26
The moment of happiness's passing
While Vlad searched the area surrounding Devastated Castle for his brother, far north in Goddard Territory, the next force being sent to Aden had gathered. Standing amongst them, wearing an arm band tying her to Elmore, was Mune. She stared off into space without expression, her face devoid of all emotions. She'd been stuck in a perpetual state of reminiscing, only seeing memories of her past with Ballard and half seeing the world around her. Someone had seen her with swords outside of Goddard and automatically assumed she was there to fight and had shoved her into a unit. Now she stood, not hearing the commander has he barked orders to the fighters around her, and not feeling anything as she was shoved when those around her cheered in response to their leader.
"Excuse me…sorry. Please pardon me…" a familiarly accented voice came. Mune's ears perked at the sound of it and she woodenly turned her head towards it. Beaming brightly as if his face would break from it, Evzen pushed his way towards her. He had shed his elegant nobility clothing and now wore a white coat decorated with purple latticework, fluffy feathers decorating the collar of it. He wore leather pants outfitted with bits of metal that would protect his more vital areas underneath that. It was the Dark Elf version of the Avadon robes that Cesa wore, a set Mune had often snickered at for looking so outlandishly girly on a man. It startled her back into reality to see it coming at her on the body of someone she knew.
The pair stared at one another for several heartbeats, and Evzen finally broke the silence between them by reaching out to place a hand on her cheek and then move close to kiss her. This moment was broken as Mune let out an explosive snort and turned away with her shoulders scrunched up as she tried to keep her laughter contained. Evzen frowned slightly and tilted his head, stung that she'd rejected his kiss in such a way. She put a hand on his shoulder to keep herself from collapsing, her stomach cramping up with her laughter. Evzen glanced around himself with a grimace, embarrassed by the looks they were receiving for her display.
"Mune, they'll think you're mad." He murmured, putting a hand on her arm to help her stand straight up again. Tears streamed from Mune's eyes as she laughed, her soul breaking through the veil of grief that had been over her. It hurt as well as healed, and she wasn't going to try and stop herself.
"Why are you wearing that?" she finally managed to ask between giggles. Evzen raised an eyebrow at her question and glanced at the sleeves of his coat.
"What's wrong with it? Many distinguished people wear these robes." He said, stung by her words and the mirth in her voice.
"I'll answer for the lady, you look bleeding gay, feller." A grizzled man holding a spear said from next to Mune. He glanced at the faces around him before leaning in close. "Unless you are gay, then I'm sorry for insulting your lifestyle, feller." Evzen froze and glanced at the faces around him, afraid that others thought the same. He found several people smirking at him, but a surprising number of men winking and wearing expressions of appreciation.
"Forgive me Mune." Evzen murmured in a strained voice before grabbing her by her cheeks and pressing their faces together. Her laughter died immediately and her eyes widened as their lips met. She'd forgotten that they'd kissed once already, and this action froze her to the core. But if it were frozen with hatred or something else, Mune couldn't tell in that moment. It did the trick however, and the winkers faces drooped in disappointment.
"Company, move out!" the commander called.
"Alright love birds, either take it to the city or get moving if you're coming along for the fight." The grizzled man said, patting Mune roughly between the metal wings on her back. They broke apart with a soft gasp for breath, and Mune began marching with the group, her cheeks pink.
"What are you doing here?" Mune asked, not looking at him. She curiously wondered how she got placed in a unit heading for battle, and tried to recall the past few days. She shrugged and let it slide as this was the perfect chance for her to return to Aden.
"I was coming after you. Your brother asked me to make sure you didn't get into trouble." Evzen said with pride, happy that he'd been entrusted with her. Mune frowned greatly at this, and glared into the sky.
"I can take care of myself, Calisan." She grumbled, imagining her brother's face smirking at her from the clouds. She glanced at Evzen again. "But seriously, why are you here? You know we're heading right into the heart of war. Aren't you supposed to be getting married right about now or something?" Mune turned to face him fully, her eyes large. "You'd better not have run away, I'm not taking you back a second time. I will NOT go back to that city ever again."
Evzen chuckled to himself and glanced down at his hands, which clutched a simple wooden staff topped with a beautiful blue gem. "I called it off." He said sheepishly, his cheeks reddening slightly. Mune tripped over her feet with this, and stumbled into the back of the man in front of her. After flashing him an apologetic smile, she turned a gaze of horror onto Evzen.
"What do you mean you called it off? Why? I thought you were going to get your family back into favor with that wedding! What will they do now?" she hissed. Evzen sighed and gazed into the sky, looking the most unburdened that Mune had ever seen him.
"It didn't matter in the end. What's nobility these days anyway? It means nothing unless you command forces in battle." He said sadly, glancing at her. "One day I'll get Schuttgart Castle back for my family, but in my own way, on my own terms." Mune's cheeks turned pink at this show of subtle manliness that she'd never seen within him before. In her mind, Evzen had been a weak man, the type of weakness she used to bully growing up. It occurred to her now, in an almost humiliating epiphany, that he'd always been stronger than her; she'd just never seen it before.
"I…wish you luck with that." Mune said quickly, glancing away from him again. He looked at her as she began to gaze at her surroundings nervously, and grinned. He wouldn't say it for fear of violent retaliation, but she was so damn cute when she was feeling nervous; even more so when she was trying so hard to hide it.
Deep within the place Shilen had given her, far away from the war, Shizuka stretched out across a bed covered in creamy white sheets. She just had the best dream, and woke in a good mood. The gentle sound of a waterfall splashing into a pool sounded through the darkened room, and the pattern of light on water played across her walls. This home was close to the Abyss, and Shilen had made it for Shizuka for one express purpose.
Shizuka sat up quickly as she felt a presence enter her room, the wide filmy skirt of her muted yellow nightdress shifting around her. It was more like a robe than a dress, with the way it belted high on her waist and left her nearly bare from the waist down. One of its thin shoulder straps fell from its spot on her shoulder to drape seductively on her bicep as she grinned at the new person in her room.
"Come." She said enticingly, holding her arms out. From the shadows emerged the one whom Vlad had been searching for; Amari. His eyes appeared lifeless as he knelt upon the bed to allow Shizuka to embrace him. She kissed him lovingly in the way a lover would, and drew him over her as she laid back down. He held himself up, one hand on either side of her shoulders as she continued to kiss him, only half responding to her. She pulled away from him with a pout as she realized he wasn't enjoying her kiss.
"You don't like me." She stated with an even bigger pout. She draped her arms casually over his shoulders and played with the ends of his red hair as he glanced away from her.
"On the contrary, I like you as much as I am able to like the ex-girlfriend of my clan leader." Amari said bitterly as Shizuka drew him to lie next to her. Shilen had appeared to him after arriving in this place and told him what she needed of him. He had to merely be loyal to Shilen and do one simple task for her to get Ilyra back, but he was finding the task was harder to muster up the desire to do, despite the simplicity of it.
"Hmm…" Shizuka thought aloud as she snuggled against Amari's chest. The familiarity of her actions disturbed him, but yet he found he lacked the strength of will to push her away. "What can we do to make mother's favorite mortal happy…" she began, rolling over to lie on top of him. She placed her hands on his chest and rested her chin upon the backs of those as she gazed into his eyes playfully. Amari cleared his throat as his Dark Elf libido began to hum merrily at her closeness. Sensing it, Shizuka slid herself up along his body to lick his face from his chin to the tip of his nose with the end of her tongue before resettling herself. "Oh, I know!" she exclaimed, pushing herself up until she straddled his waist. Amari winced, his heart still not into being Shizuka's current plaything, but his body definitely eager for the job. "Why don't we get Amari a present?"
"What kind of present?" he asked, still wincing. Shizuka rocked slightly on his torso, obviously pleased with the reaction she was getting and turning it into a form of quiet torture.
"That will be a surprise." She said seductively, leaning down to kiss him again.
In the shadows, Terebel sat slumped against the wall, the blood swords still in his hands, his eyes blank and staring. A dark voice that was not connected to the swords he held spoke within his mind, urging him to do dark things. He wanted to go outside and gorge himself upon the blood of the living, to dance among their corpses. He wanted to destroy and kill until there was nothing left of the world but him and his weapons. He knew the only peace he'd ever find would be when nothing was left of the gods and their creations, just him and the deafening silence of nothingness. Narlafayn's face flashed through his mind and his body jerked from the shocks it sent through him.
"Her…she has what I want." The dark voice growled in his mind. "Take it from her, take her and rip it from her body." A dark grin forming on his face, Terebel pushed himself to his feet, never once releasing the swords he held.
Gran Kain's original plan for the swords was the flush out the destroyer, the one of his blood. The twins had placed protections upon Terebel under the guise of testing him with Giant's technology. All of the twisted torturous things he could barely recall were all efforts made by them to protect him from their father. Shilen had bastardized the weapons after their creation for the purpose of empowering the destroyer, and awakening the hammer within Narlafayn to distract the other gods while Shizuka went to work. She had been pleased that Shizuka had managed to retrieve him before her siblings were able to.
"Where are you going?" Lindvior asked as Terebel wandered through the hallways of Shizuka's home.
"Hunting." Terebel said in a dark voice, grinning as he passed the disguised dragon. Lindvior regarded him without expression, wondering if he should restrain Terebel. Finding himself just as unenthusiastic about Shilen's plans as Antharas, Lindvior turned away as Terebel slipped from Shizuka's home, and returned to the book he'd stolen from the mortal world.
"Gods damn it!" Ryonai shouted, throwing a broken table across his chambers as hard as he could. It crashed against the wall and broke into pieces as Vuylay opened the door into his room. She winced as he began to launch pieces of broken wall after it, and shut the door slightly as he aimed a rock in her direction unintentionally. "What do you want?" he stated more than asked as he returned to heaving rocks away from her.
"They've kind of elected you as king I think, they don't want to head out without your order." Vuylay said in a quiet voice, stung by his tone. He'd been downright cruel to her since Aden, barely speaking to her unless it was to reprimand her for something she hadn't done properly. He ignored her and continued to throw rocks against the wall. Finally having enough, Vuylay entered his room boldly and grabbed the rock from his hand. "Why are you being like this?" she demanded, holding the rock out of his reach as he tried to retrieve it. "You're acting like a five year old who didn't get the pony he wanted for his birthday."
"Don't reprimand me Vuylay; I'm not in the mood for your mothering." Ryonai snapped, reaching for the rock again. "Give that back to me." He demanded, holding out his hand. Giving him an icy look, Vuylay turned and launched it across the room where it smacked into an unlit oil lamp set in a nook, shattering it. Ryonai's mouth dropped open as the lamp was a family heirloom he carried with him always, one of the only things left to his family after they became poor on Talking Island.
"What have you done?" he cried, racing over to the lamp and cradling the shattered pieces gingerly. Oil ran down the wall in rivets, pooling where the floor and wall met. "This can't be replaced!" A pang of guilt hit Vuylay in her stomach, but she met his hateful gaze without emotion. Ryonai did exactly what she predicted he'd do; he turned his anger onto her. "This can't be replaced you bitch!" he snarled, standing and advancing towards her. She tried to jerk her hands away from him as he grabbed her wrists, resulting in a struggle between the pair as he tried to take his anger out on her and she tried to deflect him. It ended against the wall where he'd been grabbing rocks from, where he slammed her roughly against the broken masonry. She let out a yelp of pain, but quickly regained her composure to glare defiantly at him.
"Are you listening to me now or are you going to continue to treat me like I had something to do with the faults of the world?" Vuylay asked coldly, glaring at him. Ryonai growled in his throat and slammed her wrists against the wall, further pinning her there. He pressed in close as if to kiss her, but did not.
"You have no room to talk to me like you're the victim. You let Shizuka disappear." Ryonai said darkly. Vuylay's eyes widened and she looked at him in hurt shock.
"I had nothing to do with her disappearance." Vuylay said with a sob as tears welled in her eyes.
"Then why can't you find her? Didn't you tell me that you could feel her emotions? Why haven't you felt them? Are you telling me she's dead?" Ryonai demanded all at once, squeezing her wrists tighter.
"You're hurting me." Vuylay said with a wince as he pressed her harder against the wall.
"Why haven't you felt her emotions, Vuylay? Why can't you track her? Did you LIE to me about being connected to her to get yourself into my bed?" he demanded. Vuylay's eyes snapped open again and she stared at him in horror. Surely he didn't truly believe she would lie to him…?
The sound of a throat clearing came from behind Ryonai, and he turned to glance over his shoulder. Zaren stood in the doorway fully dressed for battle, and glancing away from the pair in embarrassment. "The leaders of the other units would like your presence for last minute battle planning before they head out, sir. The scouts have returned with the exact numbers of the Elmorean forces that are advancing." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Plus I would rather you didn't hurt a lady, sir despite whatever reasons you have. I don't really want to pick a fight with you."
Ryonai's head snapped back around and he stared at Vuylay as if seeing her for the first time. Tears ran from her eyes as she cried from both fear of Ryonai's temper and the pain he was causing her emotionally and physically. He released her in a hurry, ashamed of himself. His father had always had a bad temper and sometimes he'd witnessed him striking his mother or elder sister. It shocked and shamed him to realize he had become just like him in that moment.
"Tell them I'll be there in a moment." Ryonai said, his voice hoarse. He ran a hand over his face as if waking himself up from a bad dream.
"Will do sir." Zaren said, but didn't move from where he stood. Ryonai glanced at him as he stared patiently and frowned. He made a shooing motion with his hand, and Zaren shut his eyes in a blatant disregard of it. "With all due respect sir, I don't think I want to trust you alone with Vuylay right now. I'm waiting for her to compose herself to come with me."
Ryonai's temper flared for a second time and he opened his mouth to angrily argue Zaren's accusation, but stopped himself before any sound emerged. He sighed and sat down heavily on the edge of his bed. "Yes, you're right. Thank you Zaren." Ryonai said, defeated.
"Anytime sir." Zaren said, entering the room to gently take Vuylay by the shoulders and lead her out. He paused in the doorway to glance over his shoulder at Ryonai one last time. "And sir...I think you should turn over command to someone else for a little while and get some rest. You haven't slept properly since you gained Innadril Castle, and it's beginning to show." Ryonai nodded despite wanting to shout in argument to Zaren. It pained his pride to admit the Dark Elf was right, but he knew he was. Without another word Zaren led Vuylay away from Ryonai's chambers and down the hall.
"What have I been doing?" Ryonai asked himself, tears he didn't expect welling in his throat and tightening it to a painful degree. Vuylay had nothing to do with Shizuka going missing; she had been with him when Shizuka left. Had she gone of her own will? Was she secretly angry for his including Vuylay?
"She left because you were not what she needed to find." A female voice said. Ryonai glanced behind him in a hurry to find a woman with long, curly hair that glowed as if made from light standing behind him. She was nude, and her eyes were slit like a reptile. He opened his mouth to respond to her when she gasped as if scared and glanced to the patch of sky showing through the broken ceiling of his room. There was a flash of light that Ryonai had to shield himself from, and when it faded, the woman was gone. He glanced around his room in shock, and then put a hand to his head as he began to fear exhaustion was making him delusional. A shadow passed over the hole in the ceiling and he glanced up in time to see what looked like the tail of a white dragon swaying as it passed view.
"I…think I need to go." He decided, his eyes large. "Yes…definitely need to get going." With a renewed spring in his step he left his quarters, suddenly eager to be out in the air, even if it meant he was going into battle.
"Lord Innadril sir, they're only sending in one unit from Elmore, and they'll reach rendezvous point within the hour." A Hawkeye reported as Ryonai emerged from the castle into the inner courtyard. It was a flurry of activity as soldiers prepared for battle, the clatter of armor and weapons almost deafening. Ryonai wasn't certain where or how he became the mastermind behind the entire battle, but he wasn't complaining.
"How big is the one unit?" Ryonai asked as a squire hurried back and forth to assemble his armor to his body as he walked. He still had to wear his damaged red and black armor, but a merchant had been sent back to Aden to re-supply with weapons and armor for those overly damaged. Ryonai just had to protect his new Achilles heel until the merchant returned.
"As big as a unit and a half of ours, sir." The Hawkeye said, unable to keep the smile off of his face.
"Excellent, we've got the numbers." Ryonai said, smiling in return.
"Your first unit lacks defensive power, Ryonai." The leader of the second force called as he and the third force leader poured over their battle plans from across the courtyard. This man was the lord of Dion castle, and not someone Ryonai was fond of. Catching sight of Inderhoven amongst those racing around in preparation for battle, Ryonai flashed the older man a smile of welcome in passing as he made his way towards the Lord of Dion.
"What are you talking about; we should have plenty of defensive power." Ryonai murmured, glancing over the plans. He inwardly winced as the man was right. The first unit was made up of Haibane and a couple of the others that had followed his lead from Aden, and it sorely lacked the defensive power they needed. The rest of the defensive force was in the second unit under Vlad's command, and could not be switched. In Ryonai's force were two Paladins being himself and Leon, and two Shilen Knights, being Alucard and Zaren. The Shilen Knights were more of an offensive type of defense, and to truly be impenetrable they needed one more pure defensive type. Sharmin and Emixia had been placed in the other unit at the request of Gatz and Vlad, and Ryonai winced at that decision now.
"I can do it." Narlafayn's voice came. Ryonai and the other leaders raised their heads to look at her. She stood straight under their gaze, trying to meet their eyes without fear. She looked weak despite her show, the story the gods had told her still shaking her to the core. Ryonai had ordered her to rest, even though his immediate concern wasn't for her health, but to keep her as far away from contact with Terebel as possible.
"I don't think that's a good idea…" Ryonai began, trying to find a good excuse to keep her within the castle.
"Why, because you're scared of me?" Narlafayn challenged boldly, clenching her fists.
"What's this?" the Lord of Dion asked, waving a hand at Narlafayn. "She's not in a unit yet?"
"I'm a Temple Knight, and no, I'm not." Narlafayn responded quickly before Ryonai could say anything. Ryonai sighed heavily and covered his face with his hands.
"Well then put her in there, why'd you leave her out?" The Dion Lord asked, glaring at Ryonai. He excused himself from their presence and led Narlafayn away with an arm over her shoulders.
"Why are you doing this? You shouldn't be going out there right now." Ryonai asked her in a low voice. Narlafayn flashed him a glare and stopped to pull away from him.
"I am just as capable as anyone else to fight. Just because you know about me now doesn't change who I've been all along." She snapped, taking on a challenging stance. Her face softened slightly and she glanced away as a look of pain crossed it. "I can't feel…I mean, the hammer doesn't sense him nearby. I'll be ok." She added in a low voice. Ryonai gave her a half smile of sympathy, understanding how she was hurting, and that the only thing to distract her from it now was to go into battle.
"Alright, you're in the first unit. You'll be up front with Leon and I." he said, patting her on her head like a child. He turned away from her as she beamed brightly at him, embarrassed by her silent gratitude. "Oh…" he began, turning back towards her slightly. "Don't summon that third cubic…Sharmin told me horror stories about it in Giran, and I don't think we need you catching the attention of every monster within the vicinity while in battle." Narlafayn glanced away in embarrassment and chuckled nervously. She didn't think anyone but Terebel had seen the third cubic. Silently cursing the third fairy she wandered towards Leon, adrenaline pumping through her system for the coming battle.
"Alright, are we ready?" The Lord of Dion called out over the courtyard a bit later. He was met with cheering from his force, which would be heading out second. They'd finished planning for the battle, and were confident that they'd come out victorious. Spying Sprissa as she cast runic Orc magic to enhance the powers of Haibane, Ryonai slid over to her quickly and leaned in close to her ear. She smelled of wood smoke and exotic oil perfume, two scents that still caused his heart to race faster, even now when his feelings for her had quieted to a warm fondness.
"If something happens to me, I'm putting you in charge." He murmured to her. She gasped mid chant and turned to look at him, her eyes large. Nearby, Broud stood a little straighter, his eyes glued to Ryonai as Sprissa faced him.
"Why me? I'm not cut out to lead!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice. Ryonai smiled at her warmly and patted her on the shoulder.
"You are cut out to lead an entire race, my friend, so I have little fear that I've made the wrong choice." He said with a cocky smile. He could tell she was blushing under her veil by the way her body tensed, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. In the corner of his eye he caught sight of Broud taking a step forward, a look of jealous rage on his face. Lifting an eyebrow he glanced at him, and Broud looked away quickly, trying to hide his angry expression with an aloof look. "Your brother is quite protective, I see." Ryonai said, amused. Sprissa blushed again and looked away.
"Yes, he is." She responded mechanically, earning another raised eyebrow look from Ryonai. She shook her head and cleared her throat, trying to cover up her embarrassment. "I will do as you say, but I hope that it will not come to that." She said, placing a hand on his cheek. "Please stay safe."
"Now that you've shown such love for me, I will be certain of it." Ryonai said dramatically with a wink. He pulled away from her and gave Broud a grin before moving into the crowd of his gathered unit.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Ryonai said loudly, gathering everyone in his force's attention. "The first unit will go in followed by the second. Vlad, don't give your unit the command to attack until we've already engaged the enemy. Healers, make sure you stay behind the fray but close enough to cast magic. You will remain near the Orcs and bow users, understand?" There were nods of approval and murmurs of excitement. "Alright, let's move out!" Ryonai exclaimed, holding his sword up. His force shouted in response, holding up their weapons. They moved out of the castle and down the mountainside the castle sat on top of. Their goal of destination was the Eastern Border gate, the warring sides projected to meet just outside of the gates. It was a strategy devised by Vlad, to lure Elmore into Aden territory and then fight them, but he warned them that it would most likely only work once. Elmore was well known for guessing battle strategy quickly, making them formidable in war.
"I'm sorry." Ryonai murmured as he passed Vuylay on his way to the front of the unit. Her lips parted in surprise and she glanced up at him. "Stay safe." He said with a gentle smile, finding her hand and squeezing it. She smiled at him in relief as he moved on, and hugged herself as her throat tightened up.
Thus the two forces marched, the air still with the anticipation of the battle. Ryonai stood at the curve of a hill leading up to the Border Gates, watching as Elmore's forces gathered past the gates. To the west was the Blazing Swamp, the air full of the scent of sulfur from the tree that spewed forth molten lava directly from the bowels of Gran Kain's realm. His hands suddenly sweaty, Ryonai gripped his sword tightly and held it high above his head with a shout.
The two sides raced towards one another with the sound of his voice, Vlad's unit meeting the force in battle as soon as Ryonai crossed swords with a Paladin on Elmore's side. Narlafayn cried out in rage as she deflected the sword of a human with her shield and stabbed his middle with her sword. She looked at him without pity as he fell, his inexperience in battle apparent in the look of shock on his face.
Mune found herself fighting for her life against her own countrymen as she searched the faces of those around her for someone familiar. Evzen struggled to dodge blows from those around them and heal her at the same time, giving Mune more work to do to keep him safe.
"Was this your grand idea?" Evzen shouted bitterly as he ducked away from the swing of an Orc's axe. Mune met the axe with both of her swords and grunted loudly in exertion as she tried to find an opening to wound him.
"I didn't expect this!" she retorted, finally stabbing him through the shoulder and wounding him to the point where he couldn't grip his weapon any longer. "Let's get out of here!" she shouted, grabbing Evzen's arm and dragging him through the fray and praying no one would notice them.
"Stop right there!" a Silver Ranger exclaimed as they passed an outcropping of rocks. He dropped down in front of them with several other bow wielders, all with arrows pointed directly at the pair. Evzen dropped his staff immediately and held up his hands.
"We surrender." He said, his eyes large. Mune let out a disgusted noise and put a hand to her forehead.
Oonugh roared as he struggled against a Destroyer from the Elmore side. Their spears were locked together, and having not battled for so many years had left Oonugh weak. He winced as he was pushed down to his knees, rage not being enough to help him now. With a beast-like snarl Broud leapt over the bodies falling in front of him and swung his pole axe. It embedded itself deep within the Destroyer's side, cutting through bone and organs to finally pierce the side of his heart. The Elmore Orc gurgled in rage and jerked away from Broud, further damaging himself. He fell to the bloodied ground a moment later, not dead, but in enough pain to immobilize him.
"Thank you." Oonugh panted as Broud helped him to his feet with one hand. Broud flashed him a half smile, one that was laced with suppressed rage and caused Oonugh to tilt his head at his son curiously. Broud turned away from him before any questions were asked, and let out a battle shout as he ran for another Orc that was aiming an arrow at Sprissa.
Upon a mountain ledge above the fray, Shizuka and Amari approached the edge to gaze down at the battle raging on below them. Amari watched without expression, even his posture masking whatever emotions he was feeling at that moment.
"Such violence over something as trivial as royal pride." Shizuka said in a condescending tone. "Amari, use your magic. I want to see the power mother spoke of." She stated, looking at him.
"I am not your dog to command." Amari retorted, glancing at her. Being so close to the Abyss was doing things to Amari's mind, and he struggled to keep control of himself. His most powerful magic had been humming louder and louder since he willingly went to Shizuka, and the temptation to release it was difficult to ignore.
"Then by all means, please do what you wish to do the most." Shizuka cooed, running a finger across his shoulders as she stepped behind him. That was all the incentive the darkness with Amari needed, and he shut his eyes at the feel of her touch. When he opened them again, they flared and swirled with color similar to Shilen's viewing pool. The wind began to pick up around them as a voice that was Amari's, but did not come from Amari's mouth whispered around them. Several people below began to look up to the sky as clouds gathered in response to Amari's magic.
From the sky came a whirlwind, a funnel cloud that began at the Border Gates, flinging up those who lingered behind there. It did a little twirling dance, not harming those it flung, but making them dizzy and disoriented as they were spun through the air. It dissipated a moment after it appeared, and everyone at the gates looked around in confusion. What witchcraft had caused such a strange phenomenon? Smirking darkly, Amari let loose another flare of power, a new cyclone forming above the heads of those still looking around the gates in confusion.
"Bring me my other half." Shizuka murmured to Lindvior. The dragon bowed stiffly with one hand across his chest before large feathered bat like wings sprung from his back and he took to the sky. "Amari, don't just ignore the Aden side, there are naughty people there too…" Shizuka whispered into his ear as she returned to his side. His eyes jerked to the Aden side and the dark smile returned. Of course, how could he ignore the leeches pretending to be of cognitive speech? Such egos needed to be taken down a notch or two…
Narlafayn shielded herself on the ground as the wind picked up again, trying to keep the dust from hitting her in the eyes. Next to her, Sharmin shielded both she and Gatz with her shield, wincing as the dirt bit into their skin where the armor did not cover.
"What the hell is going on? Is someone playing with us?" Komugi's voice was heard shouting over the wind. Narlafayn raised her head as a strange feeling coursed through her. Her eyes widened as she noticed Amari upon the cliff with Shizuka, magic coursing off of his body like smoke. Her breath catching in her throat she began to push her way through the fighting crowd, deflecting blows from swords and axes as she went. Her eyes were glued to the ledge, her body trembling from the power coming from there.
"A…Amari!" Narlafayn shouted, her voice lost in the noise. She fell forward and scrambled to hold on to a dead tree as a strange vacuum feeling tried to pull her off her feet. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes widened as she found a cyclone dancing around the edge of the Aden forces, sucking up the second force that had just come in to help, and pulling people from Ryonai's force. Upon the ledge, Amari spread his arms as he inhaled deeply, and then let it out in a triumphant, dark laugh. The cyclonic vortex did not merely toss people around as it had on Elmore's side, this one took them high up into the air and then let those unfortunate enough to get sucked into it fall to the ground to their death.
"Vuylay!" Narlafayn cried, spying her friend clutching to the deteriorating bricks of the old highway that used to run into Elmore. She winced as the cyclone pulled at her, the tie binding her hair into a ponytail being pulled free. Her violet hair whipped about her face angrily as she held on. "Hang on, I'll get you!" Narlafayn shouted, inching her way down the tree trunk and towards her friend. By this time the battle was forgotten, as the Elmore side retreated for fear of being sucked into the vortex while the Aden side desperately located things to hang on to. As Narlafayn tried to reach Vuylay, Ryonai was doing the same, spying her as he helped Lavinia hang on to a boulder. Vuylay let out a whimper of fear as her fingers began to slip, and she glanced fearfully over her shoulder at the angry mouth of the cyclone as it continued to pull things into it.
Taking a breath, Narlafayn murmured a quick prayer to whatever deity would have her, and released the trunk to fly closer to her friend. At the same time as she released the rotted wood, a hole exploded into the mountain Amari and Shizuka stood upon, shaking them and interrupting Amari's spell. One of the Shadows of Halisha emerged from the hole, this one blue in color, her beast screeching in anger at being forced above ground. She darted forward and grabbed Narlafayn just as Lindvior, in his dragon form, darted from the sky and grabbed Vuylay in his talons. Unable to concentrate on his spell as the mountain shook, the cyclone dissipated as Amari fell. Ryonai jumped up as Lindvior flapped his wings to regain his lift now that the wind was gone, and grabbed onto the talon that held Vuylay. The Shadow of Halisha screeched angrily at Lindvior who roared in response, and the two beasts retreated away from each other having retrieved their prizes. The mountain repaired itself eerily as the Shadow disappeared within it, and Lindvior disappeared into a break in the clouds above them with Vuylay and Ryonai.
