Aftermath:
Corypheus walked through the cheers of his followers. They had achieved a great victory by defeating Solona Amell and recovering spirit of the Old God Urthemiel. Now he just had to recover Razikale and Lusacan and then he would be able to put his ultimate plan into motion. This victory was just the first step and now it was time to inform his followers of their plans.
Corypheus placed the limp body of Solona on the ground "Take her to a cell, we will need her later." Two Venatori Guards picked up Solona by her arms and dragged her away. Corypheus then turned to his gathered army of Venatori "Members of the Venatori, today, we have achieved the first step in our mission. The Old Urthemiel, is now in our hands." He held the Urthemiel card high into the air as the crowd cheered "The war between the Warriors and Spellcaster faction may be over but it has left this world in a shattered state. The nations are weak but they are still a force to be reckoned with."
"Master." Gordian asked "What is our objective now?"
"We still need to recover the two remaining Old God cards." Corypheus replied
"We have another one close with the girl's brother." Livius stated "Why didn't you just duel him as well, we could have had both of them."
"The girl was more important, soon I will have one of my most loyal followers back." Corypheus replied "Besides, he will spread the message to his friends and break them down. They are still a threat but with the girl's loss, now they are weakened. Now, what is the information on the location of the final Old God."
"Master." General Samson called "Agent Lucanus says that the Western Approach may be a useful area to explore. The area is littered with old ruins from the Dragon Faction, it may have at least some information on the Old Gods."
"The Western Approach does not have much there other than old ruins." Corypheus replied "That makes it a good location for us to make a foothold. General Samson, have lieutenant Macrinius establish a base in the area and then scout the ruins, we need all the information we can get before investigating, I want the last Old God spirit found fast so I don't want to be wasting time."
"As you command Master." Samson stated "And what of our operation around Wycome?"
"Send Denam and Carrol to oversee the operation. For now I need you here to coordinate our moves." Corypheus replied and then he turned to Calpernia "And you, get the ritual chamber set up, it's time to reward our new friends."
"Yes Master." Calpernia replied.
...
Back at Kirkwall, the capital of the Warrior Faction, people were unaware of what had happened. Kallian stood at the main gate waiting for her friends to return. She knew how Solona felt, it was hard for her to see her father plus some of her friends be taken away suddenly like that and then feeling like it was her own fault since it was her they were targeting. Alexis and Sereda also stood with her.
"Do you think they will be much longer?" Sereda asked
"Hopefully not much." Alexis stated "I just hope they can talk some sense into Solona when they find her. I know it's hard but she has to stop blaming herself."
"She also doesn't want to put us in harm's way." Kallian added "The Venatori have been targeting her and she thinks that everything is her fault."
"In some way it is." Chazz muttered but stuttered at the glare Alexis gave him "I mean, I know it's not her fault that she's been targeted, there's nothing she can do about that but the Venatori are targeting is because of her and it's why we're stuck in this strange world."
"Well, once they all return, Dorian and I will set about trying to reopen the portal and get most of you home again." Cassandra stated
"But what about Neria?" Kallian asked
"And Dr Crowler?" Alexis added
"And Leliana and Alistair." Zevran asked holding the crystal that Alistair had been sealed inside after his loss to Alrik "What about all them."
"Alistair should be an easy fix." Cassandra stated "But we can't all stay here, Dorian and I will try and get the others back but we're not keeping you all here, it's too dangerous."
Chazz then looked over and saw something approaching "Hey, I think they're back."
The others all looked and gasped when they saw Dorian and the others all return. They smiled and were ready to welcome them back but as they got closer, they all saw that something was wrong, Sereda could see dried tear strains on Daylen's cheek and the others all looked down. As they approached, Daylen suddenly shoved past them and ran inside the walls.
"Daylen, what's wrong?" Sereda called "Are you alright."
Kallian looked at Aedan and could see they all had disappointed faces and he could see that someone was missing. "Aedan, what happened?"
"Where's Solona?" Alexis added "Is everything alright?"
"No, it's not alright." Jaden stated
"We have a major problem everyone." Zane added
"What do you mean?" Sereda asked
"It's Solona." Dorian finished "She's gone."
"Gone!" Alexis gasped "What do you mean gone?"
"She duelled the Elder One Lexi." Jaden replied "And she lost."
"What do you mean she lost?" Sereda demanded
"You heard him Sereda!" Aedan scowled "Solona was beaten and now the Venatori have both her and Urthemiel's spirit."
"That means they now have five of the Old Gods spirits." Cassandra stated "There are only two left and Daylen has one."
"And if the Venatori gets all seven, who knows what they can do." Dorian finished.
Theorn was just as upset as Daylen was "So what do we do now?"
"Well, I guess we have to figure out some plan." Dorian stated
"And what of Solona and the Venatori?" Jaden demanded "What do we do about them."
Chazz looked at him "Well for one, we shouldn't rush things, just look at what happened, Solona rushed in and now she's gone."
Zane sighed "As much as I hate to admit it, Chazz is right. We cannot afford to take any more risks. We've already lost so many to the Venatori in a short space of time."
"But we can't just let that stop us." Jaden stated
"I know that Jaden." Zane replied "But we need to form a plan, we need to try and figure out what the Venatori are doing. We also need to protect Daylen, he now holds one of the keys to the Venatori's success, he must be protected now at all costs."
Theorn looked at where Daylen had run off to "I'm going to have a quick word with him." He stated "He needs to know that we all know how he's feeling and that we're with him."
"You do that." Cassandra stated "I'm going to speak with Fiona and Cullen and see what we can do."
...
Solona groaned as she slowly began to regain her senses. She found herself lying in a dimly lit room and her back seemed to be cold and uncomfortable. She found that she couldn't move around or even try and get up, all she could do was move her head around, this allowed her to see that she was lying on some kind of large stone slab and her legs were bound by magical bonds to one end and her hands were bound above her head.
A loud laugh was heard and Solona managed to look and see Corypheus enter the room with Gordian, Calpernia and Livius who was carrying a large bag. "So, I see you have woken up girl." Corypheus laughed "I guess you're wondering why I brought you here instead of sealing you in a crystal. Well it's because you are going to help us."
"Dream on!" Solona snapped "That will never happen! I will never help you!"
Corypheus laughed "You already have." He stated and brought out the Urthemiel card "You've brought us the spirit of Urthemiel and you have a bigger part to play. You see girl, you are the key, the key to helping me bring back one of my most loyal followers who was sealed away when I defeated the first time, but with you, I will be able to bring her back. But first, I wanted to show you how much more powerful I now am thanks to you bring me Urthemiel's spirit."
Livius and Gordian placed two large jars on a nearby alter, one was filled with thick black goo while the other with a thin red liquid. Some kind of bat then landed next to them. Solona watched as Corypheus chanted in some strange language and then glowed dark red, he then sent a large beam of light towards the altar and soon, there was a large flash of light which made everyone cover their eyes. When the light dimmed, Solona saw three figures where the altar had once been, two men and a woman. One of the men was dressed in a long black robe and had a bald head and had half his face covered by a leather mask, the other man was dressed in some kind of body armour and wore a black hat with a silver mask while the woman had green hair and wore a red revealing dress and had very pale skin. Solona only took a moment before she realised who these people were, she had seen them before.
"Camula, Titan and Frenic?" Solona gasped "But, how can you three be here?"
Camula laughed "Did you really think we would be gone forever little girl."
"The Shadows are a dark place but then again, so are these Venatori." Titan sneered
"And since I am an expert of the Shadows and a former associate of the Venatori, I was able to contact them and make a deal with them." Frenic added
"Now that we have our bodies back, we can get our revenge on your friends." Camula laughed "We are now involved in this new plot to take over the world."
Corypheus laughed "You will all get your chance." He stated "Now that I have brought you here, you will serve me as part of our deal. Just remember who's in charge around here, Titan, as a master warrior, you will serve under General Samson's command, he will assign you a mission while Camula will serve missions under Livius. As for you Frenic, you have a much bigger task, you know what I need you to do."
"Of course Master Corypheus, soon the mighty blood queen will be back." Frenic sneered and looked at Solona "You little girl are about to play a major role soon, I look forward to seeing my old mentor return
Solona was now feeling a deep sense of fear, she had no idea of what the Venatori were wanting or who this Blood Queen was. She remembered the stories of the Blood Queen from a tale her father had said but she thought it was just an old Halloween tale, was there some truth to this tale but if so, what was her connection to it. Solona was feeling scared as the Venatori left her alone.
"Daylen, Theorn, all the others, wherever you are, I hope you can do something about the Venatori." She said to herself "Because I doubt I will be of any help now, in fact, things look like there's about to get a lot worse."
...
Daylen sat alone in the barracks that the Warrior Faction had granted to them to sleep in after Commander Meredith's defeat. He sat down on one of the beds, he was shocked when he witnessed his sister's defeat at the hands of Corypheus. He did not know what to do, Solona had always been a skilled sister and he could not think of a time when she had truly been defeated, sure she had lost all her life points in the duel against Kagemaru but Jaden in the end had managed to defeat him. Now Solona was gone and not only that, the spirit of Urthemiel was now held by the Venatori which gave them five Old God spirits.
He brought out his Razikale the Old God of Mystery card that Solona had gave him after she defeated Gerion Alexius during first year, she had always said it would be too dangerous to keep both the Old God spirits close together. "Why?" he whispered to the card "Why were the Venatori solely after my sister? Why not me as well? I mean, I too have an Old God spirit's card, so why have they not targeted me as well." He closed his eyes as a few tears began to fall from his eyes.
"You alright bro?" a voice called and Daylen turned to see Theorn enter.
"Do I look alright?" Daylen snapped and then sighed "I'm sorry that was uncalled for, it's just, Solona..."
"I know, we're all in shock." Theorn stated "Cassandra and Dorian wanted to send us home now, they say that this is getting too dangerous, but I think you know what we all think."
"There is no way we're leaving now!" Daylen snapped "The Venatori have messed with is and they need to pay."
"I agree but we need to be careful." Theorn replied "I'm sorry to say this but Solona did act recklessly and has paid the price, we cannot do the same."
Daylen wanted to argue but knew what Theorn said was true, as much as he loved his sister, Solona did act recklessly and did do something stupid, the Venatori used her anger to draw her in by targeting her friends "I still don't know why they targeted her like this, I mean why her? I too have an Old God's Spirit so why haven't I been targeted."
"There has to be more to it that just the Old Gods" Theorn stated "But for now, we have to make plans, no more rushing into battle, we need to talk with the Warriors and the Spellcasters, they know more of this land, if we combine their knowledge of the lands with what we know the Venatori are planning, we may be able to come up with some leads and take out some of the Venatori's leadership. We may not be able to go after this Corypheus right now but we can target some of his high ranking lieutenants. Once we take them out, the Venatori may be weakened enough for us to target the Elder One himself."
Daylen then stood up from the bed "You're right, so where do we start?"
"We start at the Warrior's palace, that's where the Warriors have gathered, Cassandra's there now talking to the Warriors and Spellcasters to get their aid." Theorn replied
Daylen sighed "They were just fighting each other a few days ago, can they keep away from each other's throats?"
"From what I've heard, most of the fanatical warriors are gone now." Theorn stated "Only Mettin is left and he's been imprisoned, hopefully the new Lord Commander of the Warriors will understand the situation."
"I sure hope so otherwise we're going to get nowhere." Daylen replied and then he and Theorn left the barracks to join with the others.
...
The two friends soon made their way up to the Warrior's palace also known as the Gallows, this had once been a major prison by the Ancient Dragon Faction and then converted into a fortress during the fight against the Fiend and Zombies before the Warriors used it as their headquarters. Daylen was shocked to find the statue of Meredith was still in place where she fell but there was still the dark aura surrounding it and everyone kept clear. The two of them found Zane and Sereda waiting for them.
"I'm glad to see you're fine now Daylen." Zane replied
"Well, I just hope that the Warriors and spellcasters won't start fighting each other and help deal with the Venatori." Daylen stated
"Well, since both factions have witness the Venatori themselves, they both recognise the danger they pose." Sereda stated "So they've both agreed to put their differences aside although they still don't trust each other fully."
"Cassandra and Dorian are waiting for us with the faction leaders." Zane added "So let's go and see them."
The four of them entered the Gallows and went into a large room where a map was laid on the table, Daylen could see that this map was a layout of the entire land as best they could do. All of Daylen's friends were there but only Cassandra and Dorian were at the table, the rest were just watching from the sidelines. Daylen also saw Grand Enchanter Fiona along with her second in command Anders were there and to Daylen's surprise, Cullen was at the table.
"So from your information, these Venatori are seeking the Old Gods spirits?" Cullen questioned
"These are the powerful god cards that the Dragon Faction had and how they conquered all of this land." Fiona stated "They were so powerful that they were sealed away."
"And now the Venatori wish to conquer this world again using them." Anders finished
"That is basically their plan." Dorian stated
"And now they hold five of the spirits." Cassandra finished "We have one of the two remaining but the other one is still missing."
"Then one of our objectives must be to find it before them." Anders stated
"We cannot let it fall into their hands." Dorian claimed "But we have no idea where it could be."
"Well, if the Venatori are looking in old ruins then the Western Approach would be an ideal place to search." Cullen claimed "There's no permanent inhabitants since the Fiend and Zombie war devastated the region but it is full of old ruins from the Dragon Faction plus old forts they could use to hold the region."
"It would be worth investigating." Dorian replied "Any other ideas though?"
"Well, there is also the Arbor Wilds." Fiona suggested "That was once said to be a sacred place for an offshoot of the Dragon Faction and that place has barely been touched since. It may come to nothing but it is a suggestion."
"We'll keep it in mind for now but the Western Approach may be a good place to start for now." Cassandra stated "What about the Venatori commanders, taking them out will help weaken the group."
"Well, from what you've told us, it seems this Livius is probably the most senior member after Corypheus although we hold no information about him." Cullen stated "However I do know some things about General Samson, I know because I know him personally."
"You know General Samson?" Anders hissed "How?"
"Because he was one of us." Cullen argued "He was never the best of us which is why it does confuse me as to why Corypheus appointed him as general but he was once a member of the Warriors until he was expelled by Commander Meredith."
"Why did she do that?" Dorian asked
"The official reason was because he had neglected his duties." Cullen stated "However he was actually found to have been sneaking love letters between a man called Maddox and his sweetheart. Meredith had a harsh policy of no romance, she felt like it would corrupt our duties. Eventually Samson was caught and both he and Maddox were expelled. Samson was also a strong addict to a substance called Lyrium, it's a drug used by the Warriors to gain powers but it can be addictive so its use is highly controlled. Corypheus may have used Samson's Lyrium addiction to gain his service but I guess Samson is following orders blindly, he's not the man who is good at making independent decisions. We may be able to target him if we can locate his whereabouts."
"Wherever he is, it still seems that the Western Approach would be the best place to start." Anders stated
"I'll have some scouts start looking for an area to set up camp and we can have a forward base there to check on activity." Fiona stated "Griffin Wing Keep and Adamant Fortress would be ideal places since they're both highly defensible places."
"Good, the Venatori have made the first strike, now we will strike back against them." Cullen stated "We've had our differences but now we need to see that if we don't stand together, they will tear us apart and destroy our ways of life."
Soon the meeting ended and Dorian and Cassandra gathered everyone together "So I guess we'll be going to this Western Approach then." Jaden stated
"We will." Dorian said "We'll meet up with the scouts there and then we'll make our plans on investigating this. We can cover more ground if we split into teams but we must stick to the plan. I will lead one group while Cassandra will lead another and Zane will lead the final group."
"Who's going with who?" Chazz asked
"Daylen and I will stick together." Theorn stated
"As will Sereda and I." Aedan added
"I think I'll go with Aedan's team." Kallian stated
"Alexis, Chazz and I will go together as well." Jaden added
"So I guess I'll go with Daylen and Theorn." Zevran finished
Dorian nodded at the teams "Then I'll take Aedan's team, Zane will have Jaden's while Cassandra will have Aedan."
"Now that we know what we're doing, it's time for us to take the fight to the Venatori." Jaden smiled
"We will take their operations down one bit at a time and rescue Solona and the rest of our friends." Alexis added
"We have a lot to do everyone." Zane stated "But this will be a start."
"Because we are friends are we all stand together." They all said at the same time and they placed all of their hands together.
Daylen was in deep thought as they did this 'Don't worry sister, we will find you and rescue you and then we will all be able to go home.'
Chapter End:
Notes: Well, after nearly a year, I have completed a chapter on this story. While my Dragon X may not be a very popular series compared to some of my other stories, I am still a major Yu-Gi-Oh fan and so I refuse to abandon this story. No duel in this chapter since it would not really fit and I did not want to add a duel in just for the sake of it. I plan on doing a chapter on Wolf Awakens next although I do hope to get another chapter of Rise of the Divines done before the end of 2022.