Author's Note: Yes, Eclipse is a good guy now. His exact motives for
joining Rayen and the gang without killing Shade are still unknown, but
I'll get to that in some later chapters. Anyway, there will be no demonic
Melbu Frahma, Freefall. Aside from being cliché as hell, the demonic army
only started forming AFTER Dart and the Dragoons blew Melbu to tiny bits,
and therefore, he was dead and there could be no demon copy made of him.
The Shadow Virage's Endiness counterpart must have been one made by a group
of renegade Winglies, or simply have been made during the Dragon Campaign
and never found.
About the Dragons, I didn't forget them, I just decided that I didn't think Rayen would let them fight until they were bigger. But Eclipse must have gotten hold of Razeroth telepathically and told them about the Virage, so they showed up. I did have to go back a few chapters and look up some of the Dragons' names. I remembered Balaeris, Razeroth, and Ikarus, but the others I had forgotten. But I know them all now.
Freefall, although I'm hardly a member of the Raider Nation, I was a bit disappointed by the Super Bowl too. It would have been nice to see Tim Brown, a future Hall of Famer get a SB ring after 15 years of sticking by the Raiders, and to see Jerry Rice get one after all these years. But the best team won, there's no denying that. Tampa's pass rush prevented Gannon from getting anything going on offense. And now I'm ranting about football. Sorry, it's a guy thing.
Finally, revivals. I've never been big on the whole bringing-the-original- characters-back sort of thing. To me it's kind of unoriginal and detracts from the story. Besides, even if I did bring Rose back, she wouldn't be able to take the Prism Spirit (I don't think I've used that exact name yet, but that's what it's called) from Rayen. It moves on each time its predestined owner dies. Therefore, it's stuck with Rayen no matter what. Or Rayen's stuck with it, depending on your point of view.
Chapter 63
Nieva spun in with her rapier, slashing downwards, then right, then left. Her opponent, however, was always keeping careful track of her weapon's motion, and was able to block or dodge her strikes. She retracted her weapon, then thrusted forward, but to the Sacred Sister's great irritation, the emerald armor edged just an inch out of the reach of her rapier's piercing tip. Frustrated, the Red-Eye Dragoon started beating her wings and hurled several fireballs at Phil. If she was not able to get some rhythm going soon, this fight would be over as quickly as it had begun.
The Jade Dragoon spun his spear, deflecting one blazing projectile, then a second, and a third. He was playing the outlast game, letting his opponent throw everything she had at him while he expended as little energy as possible. It was not much like Phil's usual tactics, but the half-crazed looks of pure agitation that came over the female knight's face every time he parried a well-executed chop or edged just out of the way of one of her thrusts were simply to tantalizing to resist. He was amusing himself immensely, while the rookie Dragoons were learning something from watching the whole match. Shade and Oraeus, who had taken it upon themselves to oversee the training of the new recruits, had decided that the group could learn about fighting as Dragoons by watching more experienced warriors sparring, and had taken the match to the roof of the Crystal Palace to simulate terrain irregularities, and to show their uses and disadvantages in combat.
Of course, there was only so much one could learn from watching a simple sparring match, so Oraeus and Shade had decided to make things more interesting. They had decided four Dragoons would spar together in pairs. That way, the rookies could learn how Dragoons of different elements fought in tandem, making them both more effective on the field. Plus, they also believed that showing the new Dragoons to fight together instead of individually would bring them closer together, to unite them despite their differences. It was a win-win situation, if such a thing truly existed.
Shade backpedaled along the crystal spire, eventually jumping off it altogether, just as Dawn's berdiche came down where he had just been standing, with a loud metallic clang signifying that if he had been just a fraction of a second too slow, his head would have been cleaved in two. He beat his wings once, propelling himself to the same level as the Silver Dragoon, and hurled his longer blade, hoping to catch Dawn off guard and be able to go in for an easy strike. He had no such luck, however, as Dawn merely caught the blade in the gap between the crescent-shaped blade and the wooden haft. Shade dived; snatching his weapon back before Dawn could dispose of it and render him with only sword. He paid for it, however, when he turned around to see the Silver Dragoon's hand streaking towards him, gleaming with such an intense searing light that Shade could feel the heat even though it was still several feet away from him. He had to twist his body in a most uncomfortable way to avoid having a hole burnt clear through his stomach.
Kyra watched from a safe distance, along with Oraeus, Aquaria, and Sean. Oraeus was taking every opportunity to point out individual tactics, as the two members of both pairs had decided to fight on their own for the beginning rather than as a team. Aquaria was merely enjoying the fight, while Sean was complaining that he hadn't been allowed to join the fight. Oraeus had steadfastly refused, however, saying that there was no equal match for the Divine Dragoon, Rayen's power being too great and everyone else's too little. Besides, using the Prism Spirit without need was always a very big risk. There was just too much at stake, especially with their early successes and the people of Endiness rallying behind their cause. One appearance from the Apocalypse Dragoon could ruin everything they had strived to achieve.
None of this really concerned the Violet Dragoon, however. She was still preoccupied with her own problems. The Wingly had no idea why this thing was still plaguing her after all this time. Sure, she thought of it occasionally, but it was usually gone within a short while, pushed to the back of her mind by other things. But ever since Rayen had picked up on her strange behavior back in Ulara, it had lingered, hanging over her like some sort of ugly specter.
Nieva brought her hands together, nurturing the tiny spark within her into a roaring flame, and she channeled that flame through her hands, creating a gigantic orb of flame. "Omega Flare!" She drew her hands back and hurled the enormous fireball directly at the Jade Dragoon. Phil got out of the way quickly, but the heat was so immense he practically felt his hair singing. "You nearly roasted me!"
Nieva was already on the other side of Phil now, and had to do nothing but raise her hand to halt the huge sphere before it connected with something and exploded. "Oh well. You probably wouldn't have tasted very good anyway. Too stringy."
"Ha, ha. I'm busting a gut."
Besides, Nieva added silently, I was expecting you to dodge it. Slicing with her rapier, she divided the gigantic orb into hundreds of smaller pieces. Then, drawing her fist back, she punched the ball, so that the hundreds of individual projectiles scattered and headed towards the unsuspecting Wind Dragoon.
There was no way Phil could hope to dodge all of those, so he was forced to do the only thing he could. Spinning his spear between his fingers, he called upon the winds that raged around him. "Rose Storm!" The Jade Dragoon sighed in relief as the fireballs threw themselves uselessly against the barrier of his magic, but he was still irritated. He hadn't wanted to use magic yet.
He noticed that Shade and Dawn's battle had brought them their way. Flying over to them, he nudged Shade briefly. "Trade you." Shade, slightly preoccupied, only nodded. He was sure Phil had nearly driven Nieva insane by this point. The last thing they needed was a ranting mad knight on their hands. Besides, Shade would find it far easier to fight another opponent with a sword than against a polearm.
The two Dragoons switched, and the battle raged on.
************************************************************************
Rayen was paying only minimal attention to the sparring match outside, being in the middle of a lesson of his own.
"Remember what the old Giganto always says. Battle is an art form. Don't restrict it, let it flow."
"Yeah, yeah," Rayen muttered, gripping both hands tightly on Birathion's platinum hilt.
Eclipse waited for the Guardian Dragoon to make his move. This wasn't exactly a sparring match, for if it had been, Rayen would have him flat in no time at all. This was merely Rayen practicing the finer points of combat. Although he had technically only been in existence for a few months, Eclipse had all of Shade's assimilated combat knowledge, and was therefore just as proficient a teacher as his counterpart.
With almost no warning, the Guardian Dragoon sprung into action. He swung downwards, and when Eclipse dodged, he looped the strike around and slashed right. When the Protector was blocked by Eclipse's longer blade, Rayen chopped right quickly. Surprised by Rayen's fast reaction, Eclipse had to withdraw his hand to avoid having it sliced off. As it was, the sudden force of his blow knocked the serrated weapon from the Dark Dragoon's grasp.
With only one of his swords left, Rayen quickly disarmed Eclipse. The Guardian Dragoon removed Birathion's glinting point from Eclipse's unprotected throat and sheathed the blade. The older Dragoon was pleased. "Excellent. Keep progressing at this rate and no one will doubt your position as commander."
"Yeah..." Sensing that Rayen was lost in his own thoughts, the Dark Dragoon decided to leave quietly so that the leader of the Dragoon army could be alone. Rayen sighed and walked slowly out of one of the countless auditoriums of the crystalline castle and onto one of the shimmering parapets looking over onto the snowy city below. He found his gaze drawn once again to the portal, the eyesore maintaining its depressing glare over the countryside. He found himself again wondering if the gateway worked both ways.
Despite the army's role of defending Endiness, Rayen found himself yearning to go on the offensive. However, in order to gain the necessary support to cross over to the enemy's plane of existence, the Dragoons needed more of the victories they had been producing, enough for the citizens of Endiness to be fully convinced that they could defeat the opposition on their own turf. Rayen firmly believed that the only way to fully wipe out the enemy was to exterminate them in their own universe. Besides, if anything went wrong, they could always retreat through the portal back to Deningrad. None of the enemy forces would be able to get through to Endiness as long as they monitored the portal closely.
Rayen found his hand grasping yet another of his odd acquisitions. His fingers closed around the cool turquoise gem of the Dragon Block Staff. For some reason, he had kept it even after the artifact shattered when they used it to defeat the Divine Dragon. He had felt almost obligated to give it a safe resting place. He still didn't understand why. But he had a feeling, and he had learned that his strange premonitions weren't often wrong.
************************************************************************
"WHAT?"
The dark creature cringed. His master's rage was like a flaming axe, poised to lop off his head within an instant. But the blow never came. He gently eased one blood-red eye open, and saw his sovereign waiting impatiently for him to elaborate. He stuttered, stumbling over his words out of nervousness. "W-we are missing a piece of the st-staff. The g-gem. We c- cannot reforge it without th-the gem. It is the p-pivotal piece in the m- magic."
The mysterious lord's fury emanated from him in almost palpable waves, but he did not lash out and punish the messenger. "Very well. The staff would have been a useful tool against the Dragoons, nothing more. Already I can sense the leader of the resistance wanting desperately to go on the attack, preparing to walk neatly into our hands. Once we throw enough troops away to convince those fools to give him the support he needs, he will lead the Dragon Knights through the gateway. Then, we will close the portal behind him, sealing them in our realm. Then, the upstarts will slowly fall to casualties, until we can wipe them out with one final stroke."
The messenger sensed his master's anger abating, and he even mustered up enough courage to smile impishly, the sniveling servile grin revealing a single glistening fang. He had no knowledge now, in hindsight, why he had been so worried in delivering this news. His lord was great; the mere inconvenience of the Dragon Block Staff made little difference in the long run. They had the numbers, the leadership, and every possible advantage. What could possibly go wrong?
Author's Note: Long chapter this time. Yes. Anyway, I believe Nateo mentioned the Dragon Block Staff originally. I had planned on Rayen keeping the gem for a while. You didn't spoil the story, you just made me decide to bring back the staff into the story a little earlier than I had originally planned. Nateo also mentioned giving the POV of one of the amateurs. I might single out a couple of the rookies and make them minor characters, enough for me to track their actions and whatnot. Next chapter, we finally get to see what's been bugging Kyra so much!
Oh, and if anyone's wondering what my update schedule is, I'm going to try to get the next chapter of Crimson Wings up before I do Chapter 64 (I try to update this every three days or so, so expect 64 by Saturday), and then I'll probably work on a parody. Not sure which one yet, though.
About the Dragons, I didn't forget them, I just decided that I didn't think Rayen would let them fight until they were bigger. But Eclipse must have gotten hold of Razeroth telepathically and told them about the Virage, so they showed up. I did have to go back a few chapters and look up some of the Dragons' names. I remembered Balaeris, Razeroth, and Ikarus, but the others I had forgotten. But I know them all now.
Freefall, although I'm hardly a member of the Raider Nation, I was a bit disappointed by the Super Bowl too. It would have been nice to see Tim Brown, a future Hall of Famer get a SB ring after 15 years of sticking by the Raiders, and to see Jerry Rice get one after all these years. But the best team won, there's no denying that. Tampa's pass rush prevented Gannon from getting anything going on offense. And now I'm ranting about football. Sorry, it's a guy thing.
Finally, revivals. I've never been big on the whole bringing-the-original- characters-back sort of thing. To me it's kind of unoriginal and detracts from the story. Besides, even if I did bring Rose back, she wouldn't be able to take the Prism Spirit (I don't think I've used that exact name yet, but that's what it's called) from Rayen. It moves on each time its predestined owner dies. Therefore, it's stuck with Rayen no matter what. Or Rayen's stuck with it, depending on your point of view.
Chapter 63
Nieva spun in with her rapier, slashing downwards, then right, then left. Her opponent, however, was always keeping careful track of her weapon's motion, and was able to block or dodge her strikes. She retracted her weapon, then thrusted forward, but to the Sacred Sister's great irritation, the emerald armor edged just an inch out of the reach of her rapier's piercing tip. Frustrated, the Red-Eye Dragoon started beating her wings and hurled several fireballs at Phil. If she was not able to get some rhythm going soon, this fight would be over as quickly as it had begun.
The Jade Dragoon spun his spear, deflecting one blazing projectile, then a second, and a third. He was playing the outlast game, letting his opponent throw everything she had at him while he expended as little energy as possible. It was not much like Phil's usual tactics, but the half-crazed looks of pure agitation that came over the female knight's face every time he parried a well-executed chop or edged just out of the way of one of her thrusts were simply to tantalizing to resist. He was amusing himself immensely, while the rookie Dragoons were learning something from watching the whole match. Shade and Oraeus, who had taken it upon themselves to oversee the training of the new recruits, had decided that the group could learn about fighting as Dragoons by watching more experienced warriors sparring, and had taken the match to the roof of the Crystal Palace to simulate terrain irregularities, and to show their uses and disadvantages in combat.
Of course, there was only so much one could learn from watching a simple sparring match, so Oraeus and Shade had decided to make things more interesting. They had decided four Dragoons would spar together in pairs. That way, the rookies could learn how Dragoons of different elements fought in tandem, making them both more effective on the field. Plus, they also believed that showing the new Dragoons to fight together instead of individually would bring them closer together, to unite them despite their differences. It was a win-win situation, if such a thing truly existed.
Shade backpedaled along the crystal spire, eventually jumping off it altogether, just as Dawn's berdiche came down where he had just been standing, with a loud metallic clang signifying that if he had been just a fraction of a second too slow, his head would have been cleaved in two. He beat his wings once, propelling himself to the same level as the Silver Dragoon, and hurled his longer blade, hoping to catch Dawn off guard and be able to go in for an easy strike. He had no such luck, however, as Dawn merely caught the blade in the gap between the crescent-shaped blade and the wooden haft. Shade dived; snatching his weapon back before Dawn could dispose of it and render him with only sword. He paid for it, however, when he turned around to see the Silver Dragoon's hand streaking towards him, gleaming with such an intense searing light that Shade could feel the heat even though it was still several feet away from him. He had to twist his body in a most uncomfortable way to avoid having a hole burnt clear through his stomach.
Kyra watched from a safe distance, along with Oraeus, Aquaria, and Sean. Oraeus was taking every opportunity to point out individual tactics, as the two members of both pairs had decided to fight on their own for the beginning rather than as a team. Aquaria was merely enjoying the fight, while Sean was complaining that he hadn't been allowed to join the fight. Oraeus had steadfastly refused, however, saying that there was no equal match for the Divine Dragoon, Rayen's power being too great and everyone else's too little. Besides, using the Prism Spirit without need was always a very big risk. There was just too much at stake, especially with their early successes and the people of Endiness rallying behind their cause. One appearance from the Apocalypse Dragoon could ruin everything they had strived to achieve.
None of this really concerned the Violet Dragoon, however. She was still preoccupied with her own problems. The Wingly had no idea why this thing was still plaguing her after all this time. Sure, she thought of it occasionally, but it was usually gone within a short while, pushed to the back of her mind by other things. But ever since Rayen had picked up on her strange behavior back in Ulara, it had lingered, hanging over her like some sort of ugly specter.
Nieva brought her hands together, nurturing the tiny spark within her into a roaring flame, and she channeled that flame through her hands, creating a gigantic orb of flame. "Omega Flare!" She drew her hands back and hurled the enormous fireball directly at the Jade Dragoon. Phil got out of the way quickly, but the heat was so immense he practically felt his hair singing. "You nearly roasted me!"
Nieva was already on the other side of Phil now, and had to do nothing but raise her hand to halt the huge sphere before it connected with something and exploded. "Oh well. You probably wouldn't have tasted very good anyway. Too stringy."
"Ha, ha. I'm busting a gut."
Besides, Nieva added silently, I was expecting you to dodge it. Slicing with her rapier, she divided the gigantic orb into hundreds of smaller pieces. Then, drawing her fist back, she punched the ball, so that the hundreds of individual projectiles scattered and headed towards the unsuspecting Wind Dragoon.
There was no way Phil could hope to dodge all of those, so he was forced to do the only thing he could. Spinning his spear between his fingers, he called upon the winds that raged around him. "Rose Storm!" The Jade Dragoon sighed in relief as the fireballs threw themselves uselessly against the barrier of his magic, but he was still irritated. He hadn't wanted to use magic yet.
He noticed that Shade and Dawn's battle had brought them their way. Flying over to them, he nudged Shade briefly. "Trade you." Shade, slightly preoccupied, only nodded. He was sure Phil had nearly driven Nieva insane by this point. The last thing they needed was a ranting mad knight on their hands. Besides, Shade would find it far easier to fight another opponent with a sword than against a polearm.
The two Dragoons switched, and the battle raged on.
************************************************************************
Rayen was paying only minimal attention to the sparring match outside, being in the middle of a lesson of his own.
"Remember what the old Giganto always says. Battle is an art form. Don't restrict it, let it flow."
"Yeah, yeah," Rayen muttered, gripping both hands tightly on Birathion's platinum hilt.
Eclipse waited for the Guardian Dragoon to make his move. This wasn't exactly a sparring match, for if it had been, Rayen would have him flat in no time at all. This was merely Rayen practicing the finer points of combat. Although he had technically only been in existence for a few months, Eclipse had all of Shade's assimilated combat knowledge, and was therefore just as proficient a teacher as his counterpart.
With almost no warning, the Guardian Dragoon sprung into action. He swung downwards, and when Eclipse dodged, he looped the strike around and slashed right. When the Protector was blocked by Eclipse's longer blade, Rayen chopped right quickly. Surprised by Rayen's fast reaction, Eclipse had to withdraw his hand to avoid having it sliced off. As it was, the sudden force of his blow knocked the serrated weapon from the Dark Dragoon's grasp.
With only one of his swords left, Rayen quickly disarmed Eclipse. The Guardian Dragoon removed Birathion's glinting point from Eclipse's unprotected throat and sheathed the blade. The older Dragoon was pleased. "Excellent. Keep progressing at this rate and no one will doubt your position as commander."
"Yeah..." Sensing that Rayen was lost in his own thoughts, the Dark Dragoon decided to leave quietly so that the leader of the Dragoon army could be alone. Rayen sighed and walked slowly out of one of the countless auditoriums of the crystalline castle and onto one of the shimmering parapets looking over onto the snowy city below. He found his gaze drawn once again to the portal, the eyesore maintaining its depressing glare over the countryside. He found himself again wondering if the gateway worked both ways.
Despite the army's role of defending Endiness, Rayen found himself yearning to go on the offensive. However, in order to gain the necessary support to cross over to the enemy's plane of existence, the Dragoons needed more of the victories they had been producing, enough for the citizens of Endiness to be fully convinced that they could defeat the opposition on their own turf. Rayen firmly believed that the only way to fully wipe out the enemy was to exterminate them in their own universe. Besides, if anything went wrong, they could always retreat through the portal back to Deningrad. None of the enemy forces would be able to get through to Endiness as long as they monitored the portal closely.
Rayen found his hand grasping yet another of his odd acquisitions. His fingers closed around the cool turquoise gem of the Dragon Block Staff. For some reason, he had kept it even after the artifact shattered when they used it to defeat the Divine Dragon. He had felt almost obligated to give it a safe resting place. He still didn't understand why. But he had a feeling, and he had learned that his strange premonitions weren't often wrong.
************************************************************************
"WHAT?"
The dark creature cringed. His master's rage was like a flaming axe, poised to lop off his head within an instant. But the blow never came. He gently eased one blood-red eye open, and saw his sovereign waiting impatiently for him to elaborate. He stuttered, stumbling over his words out of nervousness. "W-we are missing a piece of the st-staff. The g-gem. We c- cannot reforge it without th-the gem. It is the p-pivotal piece in the m- magic."
The mysterious lord's fury emanated from him in almost palpable waves, but he did not lash out and punish the messenger. "Very well. The staff would have been a useful tool against the Dragoons, nothing more. Already I can sense the leader of the resistance wanting desperately to go on the attack, preparing to walk neatly into our hands. Once we throw enough troops away to convince those fools to give him the support he needs, he will lead the Dragon Knights through the gateway. Then, we will close the portal behind him, sealing them in our realm. Then, the upstarts will slowly fall to casualties, until we can wipe them out with one final stroke."
The messenger sensed his master's anger abating, and he even mustered up enough courage to smile impishly, the sniveling servile grin revealing a single glistening fang. He had no knowledge now, in hindsight, why he had been so worried in delivering this news. His lord was great; the mere inconvenience of the Dragon Block Staff made little difference in the long run. They had the numbers, the leadership, and every possible advantage. What could possibly go wrong?
Author's Note: Long chapter this time. Yes. Anyway, I believe Nateo mentioned the Dragon Block Staff originally. I had planned on Rayen keeping the gem for a while. You didn't spoil the story, you just made me decide to bring back the staff into the story a little earlier than I had originally planned. Nateo also mentioned giving the POV of one of the amateurs. I might single out a couple of the rookies and make them minor characters, enough for me to track their actions and whatnot. Next chapter, we finally get to see what's been bugging Kyra so much!
Oh, and if anyone's wondering what my update schedule is, I'm going to try to get the next chapter of Crimson Wings up before I do Chapter 64 (I try to update this every three days or so, so expect 64 by Saturday), and then I'll probably work on a parody. Not sure which one yet, though.