p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: large;"Chapter 31/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (?)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen, wake up!" A voice called out to Fallen. The voice woke her, her eyes shot open, as her upper body shot up. But rather than finding herself within the small house herself and everyone else rested in, she found herself in a spacious, clouded world. The clouds were orange and pink, and she lied on a glass surface. As if she was floating on air. She stood right up, looking around herself./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Where am-" Her thoughts were cut off once her eyes met with a familiar face. Or, what was left of it. "Ruhe…"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe stood in front of her. Horns grew out of his head. /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span lang="en-US"From what Fallen observed, only his arms had turned to white scales/span/span/span/spanspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;". His head was only half skin and scales. And his back sprouted black and white dragon wings. Or perhaps, Erpel wings?/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"It is both a treat… and a bittersweet feeling to see you doing so well, Fallen." Ruhe told her, not having a single flicker of emotion on his face. "You've come so far. And grown so strong."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen went silent, unsure what she could say to him. She looked around where they stood, guessing she could start there. "Ruhe… where are we?"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe was silent as well, hearing her question. "Explaining is a lot harder than just giving the name." He informed her. "Der Grosee Himmel. Home of the Erpels, and their Lord."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen's eyes opened wide, hearing they had a lord. "A lord… and… Der Grosee Himmel…" She whispered, eyeing her surroundings once more. "Did he bring me here? Or was it you?"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"It was me." Ruhe answered truthfully. "He patiently waits for you. If you and your Guardians manage to defeat the other Erpels."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"If…" She whispered to herself again, her eyes looking at the clouds below her. She knew her chances were small but… hearing 'if' was pretty heart dropping. "So… this Lord. What's his goal? Is he the one causing those anomalies to open around the world?"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe nodded. "Yes. His goal is to have humanity be what he has become. One among the Erpel." Ruhe's eyes looked down to his hands, looking at his scaly hands. "As am I. But… I'm not sure if humanity is ready for such a thing."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"We weren't even ready for what came through those Anomalies." Fallen pointed out. This was beyond crazy to her. Knowing there was another… world? Who knew what this place was. But there was life here. Powerful life. "Why wouldn't he just tell people what he wishes for humanity? Along with the other races in the world?"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe shook his head. "Humanity is his only concern. Elves, and any of the sort aren't worthy to him to turn into Erpel-Kin."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"So what will he do with them?" Fallen asked./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Kill them all. The Erpels will find them and kill them all. And humanity will advance into a new age of magic and nature. Any who refuse are simply killed with the rest."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Kurve and Strake would be killed, if he was victorious. The idea of that did not sit well with her. It wouldn't with anybody, but it especially made Fallen quite fearful of the possible future. "And what about you? You're just… doing as he wants?"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"If I don't… I'll be turned into a monster." Ruhe answered Fallen. If not vague to what he was truly to be turned into if those conditions were met. "And truthfully, I'd rather hold onto what humanity I have left, before I am to be killed."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen could already tell by who's hands it was going to be by. It just added to the fear of upcoming deaths that could happen. Her hands clenched tightly, trying to calm herself. "If we were to defeat the other Erpels… would that mean we'd have to fight you and your Lord?" Fallen asked anxiously. She almost didn't want to hear an answer./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe nodded slowly, with a sad look on his face. "Fallen… if we are to face off… I wish to tell you one thing." He looked right at her. "Do not hold back. I'd rather die with my humanity remaining, as I've told you before…" He soon stepped up to Fallen. "Promise me, Fallen."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I'll… try./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I don't know if I can… -/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Will you even still be human when I see you again?" Fallen asked, implying she wasn't sure if she could keep that promise./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"If not… it's my own weakness. Not yours." Ruhe told her. "I will try my best to retain my humanity. And if I do… you will know." Ruhe assured her./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Before Fallen could speak, she saw a rift open underneath her feet, as she would slowly sink down. "Ruhe! Wait! What about the Alexander and Ramuh Erpels!? Where are they!?" She asked desperately, reaching a hand out to him. "Please! I just want all of this to end!"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I know as much as you do… but I do not doubt you will find them. Because you are destined to say all of this planet." Ruhe encouraged. "Your Guardians will see to it too. You're unstoppable."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Those words filled Fallen's heart with courage. While she sunk down the rift, her spirit was risen thanks to Ruhe. "Thank you… Ruhe. I promise… I'll put an end to your suffering. And the Erpels." She soon sunk into the rift completely./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (Fallen)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen's eyes shot open the moment she fell into that rift. Her eyes darted the room quickly, seeing everyone was still asleep. Her breaths were quick, as she tried to slow them down. Her hand touched the ground next to her, only to hear a gagging noise. With a shriek, she moved her hand immediately in fear, seeing Bereit was sleeping right next to her. Not only that, her index and middle finger were covered in his spit. Grossed out, she flung her hand around, trying to get it off./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen? What the hell is wrong with you?" Bereit asked in an upset tone of voice./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I'm sorry!" Fallen apologized, in a hushed tone. "I woke up from a… well, I don't know if it even was dream. Ruhe was there. Telling me about… well, everything that's happening right now."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, what?" He asked her, as he sat up a bit. He guessed he wasn't gonna sleep anytime soon. Besides, the sun was rising anyway./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The Erpels have a Lord. Someone behind the Anomalies. And his purpose…" Fallen pursed her lips. "Actually… I should tell you when everyone else is awake." Fallen explained to him. "I hope that's okay with you."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Yeah, I think it's better if they know." Bereit agreed, before he lied back down. "By the way, Strake should be back with some fur coats for us." He informed her. "So hopefully the trek up the mountain won't be as bad."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded. "Actually… I'm gonna go check out that storm. I'll be back soon." She told him, standing right up, patting the dust off her clothing./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Alright. Be careful." Bereit warned her, before he lied his head on his makeshift pillow again./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded gently, as she stepped out of the small house, immediately being reminded of the bone chilling cold that awaited her outside. She shuttered a bit, before she looked towards the huge storm. But surprisingly, she saw Shiva standing right in front of it. Her light blue hand was touching the storm's cold wind. Slowly, she brought her whole arm through it./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Curious as to what she was doing, Fallen approached her Divine, and stood right behind her. "What's wrong, Shiva?" She asked her./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva moved her arm away from the storm, as she then looked at her arm. She saw even her arm, a being of pure cold, was getting some form of cold reaction to it. It turned a bit purple. She clenched and opened her hand a few times./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen observed what had just happened in front of her, narrowing her eyes a bit. "It's cold even for you?" She asked in a surprised tone of voice./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva simply nodded./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"That's crazy." Fallen stated. "If it's too cold for you… how are we gonna stand a chance?"/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva tilted her head a bit as a response./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen got a sense as if Shiva was questioning what Fallen said. Then again, Bereit was a Lord of Fire. But… he was hesitant to use that kind of power. So she didn't see him using it. Or perhaps, now would be an exception. "Well… we have the coats coming from Strake. And… hopefully, Bereit can use his fire." Fallen said, looking back at the small house. "Though… I have my doubts."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva gently patted Fallen's head, leaving a bit of snow on her head./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen smiled, as she then looked back at the storm. "Shiva… to think we're gonna face an ancient, Dragon version of yourself. It's kinda crazy, don't you think?"br /br /Shiva nodded./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I wonder if it'll recognize you as it's own. Or maybe you aren't even related at all." Fallen began to speculate on all of it. If there was even any relation between the two. Or maybe there was something beyond a relation. Her eyes gazed upon the storm that was few meters away from her, huffing a warm breath in the cold air. "To think I was just a meager summoner on a path to win my mother's approval. But now… I'm… or, we, are on a quest to save the entire world. Though, if I'm being honest, I don't want people to know I did it."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva looked at her summoner, tilting her head once more./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen saw Shiva's expression from the corner of her eye. "Well… I'd rather not be swarmed all the time by people. I'd rather just have things be the way they were before, you know? Bereit and the kids back at Ozean. With his captain and them. Along with Vanessa and her father, Kurve going back home to his people. My sisters and I being together again. Scharf with his son…" She fell silent, putting her hands together. "So many of us have people to go back to. I don't know Zelkova and Imbir all that well, unfortunately, but they most certainly have people waiting for them back home."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"It almost brought tears to Fallen's eyes. It made her wish this truly could all end. But her and her guardians had to put in the effort to win the fate they wished for the world. With that in mind, she gave a confident huff. "Do you mind if I use Ifrit for a change? He could certainly keep us warm on the trek."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva crossed her arms and looked away, as if upset by what she said./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Wait, you're not serious, are you?" Fallen asked./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva soon turned around and stuck her tongue, and then gave a playful smile from her dark blue lips. Showing she was only kidding with her summoner. Her summoner's survival came before anything else./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen couldn't help but giggle. "You and that sense of humour." she told her./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva soon slowly disappeared. With that, Fallen turned back to the small house and walked back to it. She needed her sleep. Well, whatever sleep she could get. But as soon as she did, everyone walked right out, all having a nice, fluffy cloaks on their bodies. And the cloaks all ha dark blue and white colours to them, but all had different patterns to them./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"You guys are up early." She pointed out to everybody, as she approached them. "And well dressed too." She added playfully./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Speaking of dressing." Kurve spoke, as he walked up to Fallen, giving her the cloak that was meant for her./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen eyed the cloak for a moment, and happily accepted it. "Thanks, Kurve." She told him, as she brought her coat around her body. She had to admit, it was incredibly cozy in this. Though… it was a shame it didn't cover her legs. "I really should get some pants…" She whispered, and then eyed Vanessa, seeing she had shorts too, if she hadn't already known that./span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"You should be thanking Strake for that. She made them." Kurve explained to her. "They're so fluffy and comfy. I hope it'll keep us warm up the mountain."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Funny you should mention that." Fallen pointed out, remembering she could tell them about the advantage they held for the trek up the mountain. "With Ifrit by our side, we'll have another means of warmth. So maybe this journey up the mountain won't be so bad."/span/span/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Don't get so cocky, summoner." That familiar voice spoke up. Fallen turned to see Strake again, seeing her have that fur coat of her own still on her shoulders. But not only that, she held a spear in her hand, the spearhead having the design of an eagle's beak. And a pair of wings in the middle of the shaft./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Strake then turned to the whole party, crossing her arms in front of herself. "We may have warmth, but it's still a hell of a journey up there. Not only that, a lot of snow blocking out vision. So we stick close throughout. Understand?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Everyone nodded in response./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"No way I'm staying away from the fire that keeps me alive." Tier commented, looking towards her sister. She had to admit, it was impressive that her sister could do such a thing. Kinda made her jealous. "And I'm not talking about my sister." She added playfully./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen giggled./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Alrighty, everyone. We've got dragon… or, an Erpel to slay." She then motioned her head towards the storming wall of ice. The entire party followed her, soon facing their enemy./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen brought her staff forward, spinning it in the air, two fireballs circulating around her. She brought the staff right to the ground. "Ifrit, I need your flames!" She chanted. Soon, the fiery demon came to them. He had a slumped back, leaning down on all fours, his legs having hooves. His claws were as sharp as a tooth from a shark, as well his own set of teeth. And the fur that covered his body was a mix of red and orange, with some small lines of yellow around his mane. His plain skin being a deep black. The demonic being's pure white eyes looked upon the storm wall, knowing what his purpose was./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"That thing sure is scary lookin'." Imbir commented quietly./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit created a giant sphere of warmth. As it expanded, the sphere reached the storming wall. While it didn't completely negate it, it tamed a portion of the wall enough for the party to walk through it without any worries of harm. But only by stepping through it would they find out if they were free of harm./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit was going to step up and test it, but Zelkova walked right past the party. He brought his hand right to it, feeling the cold for sure, but there wasn't any horrible feeling what so ever. He brought his hand back, smiling faintly. "We're in the clear." Zelkova announced. Not that there was any doubt, but he was a white mage. The health of his comrades was his job./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Most of the party smiled upon hearing that. With that, they walked right through the storming wall. Fallen reminded herself about what she wanted to tell everybody, but given their current situation, it seemed it could wait for the moment./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"There would be nervousness or relief to see the other side, if there was anything to see to begin with, given airborne snow and wind blocking their view./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Dear lord." Vanessa said in surprise. "We really can't see jack past the wall." She stated, now that she could truly see what was beyond it, or lack there of what she could see./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"As long as we stay together, we'll be okay." Strake stated, everyone soon huddling close together. They soon began to follow Ifrit, as his hooves left burning on the snow./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit eyed the tracks, finding it kind of cool that he left such big prints./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The whole party made their way up the mountain. While the warmth of Ifrit's raging flames was pleasant, the cold still gave them a chilling gust. Little did the party know that the winds weren't the only thing that were coming their way./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"So, Strake." Imbir spoke up. "Are there any monsters on the mountain?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Quite a bit." Strake answered. "But with this storm here, I get the feeling not too many of them are out and about. Hell, I bet they're in hiding."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I wouldn't bet on it." Scharf commented. "We seem to have a tracking record of jinxing this kind of stuff, so I suggest you stop where you are."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"We'll be fine. Just keep your eyes n' ears open." Strake suggested. "I know a good amount of the mountain. So if we've got any blocks in our way, I can try and find a way around."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The party continued on their trek. Not much was said among the group. They all had one focus in mind. To survive. It seemed to be going well, but like most adventures, it sure doesn't last long./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit was getting some examining glances from certain members of the party. It wasn't everyday they got to see such a beast up close. But they noticed Ifrit came to a halt, staring right ahead of them. He made a low growl, as if to warn his Summoner and Guardians that danger was afoot./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Heads up, everyone. I think Ifrit smells something." Fallen warned everyone./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Everybody got their hands on their weapons, ready to draw when the time came./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"And that time was now. Bursting out of the snow, creatures that looked like smaller forms of sharks appeared before them. At least six of them. Their maws were wide open, revealing their sharp teeth, and their red eyes looking right at everyone./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"And here I thought the ocean sucked because of sharks." Vanessa said, as she drew her gun, ready to rain bullets on them. Everyone drew their weapons, ready to battle these monsters./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit struck first with a wave of fire, making the monsters avoid it by jumping right over it. But that ultimately left them vulnerable./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier sent three wolves to jump and grab some by their necks and rip them open. Their wounds were as black as night, a trademark of the shadowy wolves of Tier./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"One of these shark-ish monsters leaped for Fallen, but she had her ice glaive formed and ready to cut. And she let it have it with one broad and clean swipe across it's face./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Two more jumped for her, but both met with a projectile colliding. One was shot in the head by a bullet from Vanessa, and the other earned it's death by Kurve's fireball./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"With that little battle out of the way, everyone sheathed their weapons and continued their way up. Up until they came to a halt, with a tall and steep path of ice./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The party gazed upon their obstacle, as did Ifrit./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit, I think you're up." Bereit spoke up, looking towards the towering beast./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"He simply growled at Bereit, before he sunk his claws right into the icy wall. It then stood still, waiting for the others to get on./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Well? Who's getting on?" Fallen asked her Guardians./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Everyone looked among each other, as if there was a choice to be made./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I'll get right on." Scharf said with a shrug of his shoulders. "From how I see it, he can carry up to four of us. On his shoulders and his back. Unless his hair doesn't rip off from the weight of our bodies."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"That's true." Fallen agreed. "Well, any of you can go first." She offered./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit shrugged, as he walked towards Ifrit and got right on his left shoulder. Scharf did the same, getting on the opposite./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier clung onto Ifrit's back, and Zelkova did the same. Without a single growl from Ifrit. And with that, Ifrit made his way up the icy path. His claws broke through the thick ice, leaving a bit of a trail of melted ice along the way. If the claw marks weren't intimidating enough, the long line made from him would surely send shivers. /span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit made it to the top of that icy path, soon letting everyone off his body. One by one, Bereit, Scharf, Tier and Zelkova got off of him. But when they thought Ifrit would start his descent to the others, a large spear of ice came down from the snowy storm ahead of them. Ifrit had been pierced right through the head. He slowly lost grip of the ground and fell back. He melted into ashy light, having to retreat to heal./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"And with that, the cold and harsh winds hit everyone like a bull's charge. They all held their cloaks tightly./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Guys! Sis!" Tier shouted from above, looking down at them./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"What happened!?" Fallen asked from below./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Something killed Ifrit! Some kind of ice spear!" Tier answered. "How are you guys gonna get up now!?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen looked down a bit, then looked at Strake. "What about that path you mentioned?" She asked her. "Do you think it's still good for us to go there?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Strake nodded. "It's kinda risky, given it could be frozen. But I think if we're careful, we should be fine."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded, before she looked back up at her sister. "We've got our way! Go on without us! We'll catch up!"br /br /"You promise!?" Tier asked her./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I do!" Fallen called out to her sister./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier frowned a bit, looking to the side. "This is some situation we're in…" She whispered to herself. "Good luck, sis!"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded. "And you, with the others as well!"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (Tier)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier looked back at Bereit. "Well, we have someone who can use fire at least."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit nodded, as he brought his hand up and summoned a large ball of fire. He soon spread it into smaller spheres around the four. They began to walk forward, until there were faint blue lights in the stormy front./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit had a bad feeling. He immediately put the fire out among the four. "Get down!" He shouted, as he crouched. A small spear of ice flew right over him, everyone soon doing the same, barely escaping the cold spear./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit narrowed his eyes. "Looks like the Erpel is tracking us from the fire. Explains how Ifrit was hit with such a precise shot."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"So we gotta go without any fire?" Scharf asked./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Seems so. Sorry guys." Bereit apologized, soon standing up and walking forward. "Either way, we've got an Erpel to destroy..."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"This was a dire situation indeed. They were separated. And fire for warmth was an issue. They had a source of warmth, but is it worth the risk?/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Save your game up to this point?/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Yes/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"No/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (?)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen, wake up!" A voice called out to Fallen. The voice woke her, her eyes shot open, as her upper body shot up. But rather than finding herself within the small house herself and everyone else rested in, she found herself in a spacious, clouded world. The clouds were orange and pink, and she lied on a glass surface. As if she was floating on air. She stood right up, looking around herself./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Where am-" Her thoughts were cut off once her eyes met with a familiar face. Or, what was left of it. "Ruhe…"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe stood in front of her. Horns grew out of his head. /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span lang="en-US"From what Fallen observed, only his arms had turned to white scales/span/span/span/spanspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;". His head was only half skin and scales. And his back sprouted black and white dragon wings. Or perhaps, Erpel wings?/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"It is both a treat… and a bittersweet feeling to see you doing so well, Fallen." Ruhe told her, not having a single flicker of emotion on his face. "You've come so far. And grown so strong."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen went silent, unsure what she could say to him. She looked around where they stood, guessing she could start there. "Ruhe… where are we?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe was silent as well, hearing her question. "Explaining is a lot harder than just giving the name." He informed her. "Der Grosee Himmel. Home of the Erpels, and their Lord."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen's eyes opened wide, hearing they had a lord. "A lord… and… Der Grosee Himmel…" She whispered, eyeing her surroundings once more. "Did he bring me here? Or was it you?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"It was me." Ruhe answered truthfully. "He patiently waits for you. If you and your Guardians manage to defeat the other Erpels."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"If…" She whispered to herself again, her eyes looking at the clouds below her. She knew her chances were small but… hearing 'if' was pretty heart dropping. "So… this Lord. What's his goal? Is he the one causing those anomalies to open around the world?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe nodded. "Yes. His goal is to have humanity be what he has become. One among the Erpel." Ruhe's eyes looked down to his hands, looking at his scaly hands. "As am I. But… I'm not sure if humanity is ready for such a thing."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"We weren't even ready for what came through those Anomalies." Fallen pointed out. This was beyond crazy to her. Knowing there was another… world? Who knew what this place was. But there was life here. Powerful life. "Why wouldn't he just tell people what he wishes for humanity? Along with the other races in the world?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe shook his head. "Humanity is his only concern. Elves, and any of the sort aren't worthy to him to turn into Erpel-Kin."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"So what will he do with them?" Fallen asked./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Kill them all. The Erpels will find them and kill them all. And humanity will advance into a new age of magic and nature. Any who refuse are simply killed with the rest."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Kurve and Strake would be killed, if he was victorious. The idea of that did not sit well with her. It wouldn't with anybody, but it especially made Fallen quite fearful of the possible future. "And what about you? You're just… doing as he wants?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"If I don't… I'll be turned into a monster." Ruhe answered Fallen. If not vague to what he was truly to be turned into if those conditions were met. "And truthfully, I'd rather hold onto what humanity I have left, before I am to be killed."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen could already tell by who's hands it was going to be by. It just added to the fear of upcoming deaths that could happen. Her hands clenched tightly, trying to calm herself. "If we were to defeat the other Erpels… would that mean we'd have to fight you and your Lord?" Fallen asked anxiously. She almost didn't want to hear an answer./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ruhe nodded slowly, with a sad look on his face. "Fallen… if we are to face off… I wish to tell you one thing." He looked right at her. "Do not hold back. I'd rather die with my humanity remaining, as I've told you before…" He soon stepped up to Fallen. "Promise me, Fallen."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I'll… try./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I don't know if I can… -/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Will you even still be human when I see you again?" Fallen asked, implying she wasn't sure if she could keep that promise./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"If not… it's my own weakness. Not yours." Ruhe told her. "I will try my best to retain my humanity. And if I do… you will know." Ruhe assured her./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Before Fallen could speak, she saw a rift open underneath her feet, as she would slowly sink down. "Ruhe! Wait! What about the Alexander and Ramuh Erpels!? Where are they!?" She asked desperately, reaching a hand out to him. "Please! I just want all of this to end!"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I know as much as you do… but I do not doubt you will find them. Because you are destined to say all of this planet." Ruhe encouraged. "Your Guardians will see to it too. You're unstoppable."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Those words filled Fallen's heart with courage. While she sunk down the rift, her spirit was risen thanks to Ruhe. "Thank you… Ruhe. I promise… I'll put an end to your suffering. And the Erpels." She soon sunk into the rift completely./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (Fallen)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen's eyes shot open the moment she fell into that rift. Her eyes darted the room quickly, seeing everyone was still asleep. Her breaths were quick, as she tried to slow them down. Her hand touched the ground next to her, only to hear a gagging noise. With a shriek, she moved her hand immediately in fear, seeing Bereit was sleeping right next to her. Not only that, her index and middle finger were covered in his spit. Grossed out, she flung her hand around, trying to get it off./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen? What the hell is wrong with you?" Bereit asked in an upset tone of voice./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I'm sorry!" Fallen apologized, in a hushed tone. "I woke up from a… well, I don't know if it even was dream. Ruhe was there. Telling me about… well, everything that's happening right now."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, what?" He asked her, as he sat up a bit. He guessed he wasn't gonna sleep anytime soon. Besides, the sun was rising anyway./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The Erpels have a Lord. Someone behind the Anomalies. And his purpose…" Fallen pursed her lips. "Actually… I should tell you when everyone else is awake." Fallen explained to him. "I hope that's okay with you."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Yeah, I think it's better if they know." Bereit agreed, before he lied back down. "By the way, Strake should be back with some fur coats for us." He informed her. "So hopefully the trek up the mountain won't be as bad."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded. "Actually… I'm gonna go check out that storm. I'll be back soon." She told him, standing right up, patting the dust off her clothing./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Alright. Be careful." Bereit warned her, before he lied his head on his makeshift pillow again./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded gently, as she stepped out of the small house, immediately being reminded of the bone chilling cold that awaited her outside. She shuttered a bit, before she looked towards the huge storm. But surprisingly, she saw Shiva standing right in front of it. Her light blue hand was touching the storm's cold wind. Slowly, she brought her whole arm through it./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Curious as to what she was doing, Fallen approached her Divine, and stood right behind her. "What's wrong, Shiva?" She asked her./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva moved her arm away from the storm, as she then looked at her arm. She saw even her arm, a being of pure cold, was getting some form of cold reaction to it. It turned a bit purple. She clenched and opened her hand a few times./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen observed what had just happened in front of her, narrowing her eyes a bit. "It's cold even for you?" She asked in a surprised tone of voice./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva simply nodded./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"That's crazy." Fallen stated. "If it's too cold for you… how are we gonna stand a chance?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva tilted her head a bit as a response./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen got a sense as if Shiva was questioning what Fallen said. Then again, Bereit was a Lord of Fire. But… he was hesitant to use that kind of power. So she didn't see him using it. Or perhaps, now would be an exception. "Well… we have the coats coming from Strake. And… hopefully, Bereit can use his fire." Fallen said, looking back at the small house. "Though… I have my doubts."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva gently patted Fallen's head, leaving a bit of snow on her head./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen smiled, as she then looked back at the storm. "Shiva… to think we're gonna face an ancient, Dragon version of yourself. It's kinda crazy, don't you think?"br /br /Shiva nodded./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I wonder if it'll recognize you as it's own. Or maybe you aren't even related at all." Fallen began to speculate on all of it. If there was even any relation between the two. Or maybe there was something beyond a relation. Her eyes gazed upon the storm that was few meters away from her, huffing a warm breath in the cold air. "To think I was just a meager summoner on a path to win my mother's approval. But now… I'm… or, we, are on a quest to save the entire world. Though, if I'm being honest, I don't want people to know I did it."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva looked at her summoner, tilting her head once more./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen saw Shiva's expression from the corner of her eye. "Well… I'd rather not be swarmed all the time by people. I'd rather just have things be the way they were before, you know? Bereit and the kids back at Ozean. With his captain and them. Along with Vanessa and her father, Kurve going back home to his people. My sisters and I being together again. Scharf with his son…" She fell silent, putting her hands together. "So many of us have people to go back to. I don't know Zelkova and Imbir all that well, unfortunately, but they most certainly have people waiting for them back home."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"It almost brought tears to Fallen's eyes. It made her wish this truly could all end. But her and her guardians had to put in the effort to win the fate they wished for the world. With that in mind, she gave a confident huff. "Do you mind if I use Ifrit for a change? He could certainly keep us warm on the trek."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva crossed her arms and looked away, as if upset by what she said./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Wait, you're not serious, are you?" Fallen asked./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva soon turned around and stuck her tongue, and then gave a playful smile from her dark blue lips. Showing she was only kidding with her summoner. Her summoner's survival came before anything else./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen couldn't help but giggle. "You and that sense of humour." she told her./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Shiva soon slowly disappeared. With that, Fallen turned back to the small house and walked back to it. She needed her sleep. Well, whatever sleep she could get. But as soon as she did, everyone walked right out, all having a nice, fluffy cloaks on their bodies. And the cloaks all ha dark blue and white colours to them, but all had different patterns to them./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"You guys are up early." She pointed out to everybody, as she approached them. "And well dressed too." She added playfully./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Speaking of dressing." Kurve spoke, as he walked up to Fallen, giving her the cloak that was meant for her./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen eyed the cloak for a moment, and happily accepted it. "Thanks, Kurve." She told him, as she brought her coat around her body. She had to admit, it was incredibly cozy in this. Though… it was a shame it didn't cover her legs. "I really should get some pants…" She whispered, and then eyed Vanessa, seeing she had shorts too, if she hadn't already known that./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"You should be thanking Strake for that. She made them." Kurve explained to her. "They're so fluffy and comfy. I hope it'll keep us warm up the mountain."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Funny you should mention that." Fallen pointed out, remembering she could tell them about the advantage they held for the trek up the mountain. "With Ifrit by our side, we'll have another means of warmth. So maybe this journey up the mountain won't be so bad."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Don't get so cocky, summoner." That familiar voice spoke up. Fallen turned to see Strake again, seeing her have that fur coat of her own still on her shoulders. But not only that, she held a spear in her hand, the spearhead having the design of an eagle's beak. And a pair of wings in the middle of the shaft./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Strake then turned to the whole party, crossing her arms in front of herself. "We may have warmth, but it's still a hell of a journey up there. Not only that, a lot of snow blocking out vision. So we stick close throughout. Understand?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Everyone nodded in response./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"No way I'm staying away from the fire that keeps me alive." Tier commented, looking towards her sister. She had to admit, it was impressive that her sister could do such a thing. Kinda made her jealous. "And I'm not talking about my sister." She added playfully./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen giggled./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Alrighty, everyone. We've got dragon… or, an Erpel to slay." She then motioned her head towards the storming wall of ice. The entire party followed her, soon facing their enemy./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen brought her staff forward, spinning it in the air, two fireballs circulating around her. She brought the staff right to the ground. "Ifrit, I need your flames!" She chanted. Soon, the fiery demon came to them. He had a slumped back, leaning down on all fours, his legs having hooves. His claws were as sharp as a tooth from a shark, as well his own set of teeth. And the fur that covered his body was a mix of red and orange, with some small lines of yellow around his mane. His plain skin being a deep black. The demonic being's pure white eyes looked upon the storm wall, knowing what his purpose was./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"That thing sure is scary lookin'." Imbir commented quietly./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit created a giant sphere of warmth. As it expanded, the sphere reached the storming wall. While it didn't completely negate it, it tamed a portion of the wall enough for the party to walk through it without any worries of harm. But only by stepping through it would they find out if they were free of harm./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit was going to step up and test it, but Zelkova walked right past the party. He brought his hand right to it, feeling the cold for sure, but there wasn't any horrible feeling what so ever. He brought his hand back, smiling faintly. "We're in the clear." Zelkova announced. Not that there was any doubt, but he was a white mage. The health of his comrades was his job./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Most of the party smiled upon hearing that. With that, they walked right through the storming wall. Fallen reminded herself about what she wanted to tell everybody, but given their current situation, it seemed it could wait for the moment./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"There would be nervousness or relief to see the other side, if there was anything to see to begin with, given airborne snow and wind blocking their view./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Dear lord." Vanessa said in surprise. "We really can't see jack past the wall." She stated, now that she could truly see what was beyond it, or lack there of what she could see./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"As long as we stay together, we'll be okay." Strake stated, everyone soon huddling close together. They soon began to follow Ifrit, as his hooves left burning on the snow./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit eyed the tracks, finding it kind of cool that he left such big prints./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The whole party made their way up the mountain. While the warmth of Ifrit's raging flames was pleasant, the cold still gave them a chilling gust. Little did the party know that the winds weren't the only thing that were coming their way./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"So, Strake." Imbir spoke up. "Are there any monsters on the mountain?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Quite a bit." Strake answered. "But with this storm here, I get the feeling not too many of them are out and about. Hell, I bet they're in hiding."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I wouldn't bet on it." Scharf commented. "We seem to have a tracking record of jinxing this kind of stuff, so I suggest you stop where you are."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"We'll be fine. Just keep your eyes n' ears open." Strake suggested. "I know a good amount of the mountain. So if we've got any blocks in our way, I can try and find a way around."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The party continued on their trek. Not much was said among the group. They all had one focus in mind. To survive. It seemed to be going well, but like most adventures, it sure doesn't last long./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit was getting some examining glances from certain members of the party. It wasn't everyday they got to see such a beast up close. But they noticed Ifrit came to a halt, staring right ahead of them. He made a low growl, as if to warn his Summoner and Guardians that danger was afoot./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Heads up, everyone. I think Ifrit smells something." Fallen warned everyone./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Everybody got their hands on their weapons, ready to draw when the time came./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"And that time was now. Bursting out of the snow, creatures that looked like smaller forms of sharks appeared before them. At least six of them. Their maws were wide open, revealing their sharp teeth, and their red eyes looking right at everyone./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"And here I thought the ocean sucked because of sharks." Vanessa said, as she drew her gun, ready to rain bullets on them. Everyone drew their weapons, ready to battle these monsters./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit struck first with a wave of fire, making the monsters avoid it by jumping right over it. But that ultimately left them vulnerable./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier sent three wolves to jump and grab some by their necks and rip them open. Their wounds were as black as night, a trademark of the shadowy wolves of Tier./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"One of these shark-ish monsters leaped for Fallen, but she had her ice glaive formed and ready to cut. And she let it have it with one broad and clean swipe across it's face./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Two more jumped for her, but both met with a projectile colliding. One was shot in the head by a bullet from Vanessa, and the other earned it's death by Kurve's fireball./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"With that little battle out of the way, everyone sheathed their weapons and continued their way up. Up until they came to a halt, with a tall and steep path of ice./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"The party gazed upon their obstacle, as did Ifrit./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit, I think you're up." Bereit spoke up, looking towards the towering beast./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"He simply growled at Bereit, before he sunk his claws right into the icy wall. It then stood still, waiting for the others to get on./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Well? Who's getting on?" Fallen asked her Guardians./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Everyone looked among each other, as if there was a choice to be made./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I'll get right on." Scharf said with a shrug of his shoulders. "From how I see it, he can carry up to four of us. On his shoulders and his back. Unless his hair doesn't rip off from the weight of our bodies."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"That's true." Fallen agreed. "Well, any of you can go first." She offered./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit shrugged, as he walked towards Ifrit and got right on his left shoulder. Scharf did the same, getting on the opposite./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier clung onto Ifrit's back, and Zelkova did the same. Without a single growl from Ifrit. And with that, Ifrit made his way up the icy path. His claws broke through the thick ice, leaving a bit of a trail of melted ice along the way. If the claw marks weren't intimidating enough, the long line made from him would surely send shivers. /span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Ifrit made it to the top of that icy path, soon letting everyone off his body. One by one, Bereit, Scharf, Tier and Zelkova got off of him. But when they thought Ifrit would start his descent to the others, a large spear of ice came down from the snowy storm ahead of them. Ifrit had been pierced right through the head. He slowly lost grip of the ground and fell back. He melted into ashy light, having to retreat to heal./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"And with that, the cold and harsh winds hit everyone like a bull's charge. They all held their cloaks tightly./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Guys! Sis!" Tier shouted from above, looking down at them./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"What happened!?" Fallen asked from below./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Something killed Ifrit! Some kind of ice spear!" Tier answered. "How are you guys gonna get up now!?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen looked down a bit, then looked at Strake. "What about that path you mentioned?" She asked her. "Do you think it's still good for us to go there?"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Strake nodded. "It's kinda risky, given it could be frozen. But I think if we're careful, we should be fine."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded, before she looked back up at her sister. "We've got our way! Go on without us! We'll catch up!"br /br /"You promise!?" Tier asked her./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I do!" Fallen called out to her sister./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier frowned a bit, looking to the side. "This is some situation we're in…" She whispered to herself. "Good luck, sis!"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Fallen nodded. "And you, with the others as well!"/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"3/span/spansupspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"rd/span/span/supspan style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" person (Tier)/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Tier looked back at Bereit. "Well, we have someone who can use fire at least."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit nodded, as he brought his hand up and summoned a large ball of fire. He soon spread it into smaller spheres around the four. They began to walk forward, until there were faint blue lights in the stormy front./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit had a bad feeling. He immediately put the fire out among the four. "Get down!" He shouted, as he crouched. A small spear of ice flew right over him, everyone soon doing the same, barely escaping the cold spear./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Bereit narrowed his eyes. "Looks like the Erpel is tracking us from the fire. Explains how Ifrit was hit with such a precise shot."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"So we gotta go without any fire?" Scharf asked./span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left""span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Seems so. Sorry guys." Bereit apologized, soon standing up and walking forward. "Either way, we've got an Erpel to destroy..."/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"This was a dire situation indeed. They were separated. And fire for warmth was an issue. They had a source of warmth, but is it worth the risk?/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Save your game up to this point?/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Yes/span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"No/span/span/p