Well, I've had three reviews after a week of waiting, I'll suppose
that I must start typing again and finish this up. I honestly expected to
get a lot of reviews and angry e-mails about what I did. Instead I got
mostly silence and that really pissed me off. The least you people
could've done was give me a flame or something, but no, silence. Those who
did review said that it was a little disturbing and I agree and that was
the point. Those who are not Fou Lu/ Ladon, ignore the below paragraph.
Granted, you're more likely to read it now than if I had told you not to
read it.
Fou Lu/Ladon, I'm curious, are you two people or one person who has an extra personality? If the former, I'm glad people have friends; if the latter, well that's rather pathetic and cheap to me. Your putting two reviews in the space allotted for one. What a bastard? You talked about non-existent errors and you claimed I didn't have enough drama. You also accuse me of being monotonous in my style. To the claim about a lack of drama, you clearly are obtuse. My entire story is dramatic it simply lacks the kinds of drama evident in other stories. My drama is in action and deceit. My contemporaries utilize drama of romance and crisis and dialogue. That's not my style, nor do I want it to be my style. Most stories on this site have drama like the kind of drama you want, I do not think that such drama is bad, but I disdain the idea of it being placed within my story. As to the fights being filled with monotony, I ignore that remark completely. Not only is it unfounded, but it's rather hypocritical. From my knowledge of the stories written for this category; at the risk of sounding arrogant, I have yet to stumble upon a story that has a style like my own. The final comment you leveled upon my person is that I have been advertising my story on review boards. I scoff at the very idea, clearly professional courtesy is lost upon you. I merely say that I would be much obliged if the author were to review my story after I have reviewed theirs. Now, if you had actually given me an e-mail address, I could have saved these other reviewers this rant. Shame on you.
Chapter Nine: Cursed Lineage
Ryu looked down upon the scarred valley below him. Two armies were struggling against each other over the siege of Werzingrad. The Windian Army had arrived upon the seen the morning after Ryu's... Rebirth, which was the only word for it in Ryu's opinion. Ryu continued to gaze down at the field of battle, for the moment they were evenly matched but the Windians were quickly, in terms of battles, being pushed back by the forces of the Rebellion. Well, that was probably a bad name for it considering almost none of the army down there was a Windian.
Ryu had picked up some information from a patrol of the so called Rebellion and squeezed some information out of it. Apparently this army was composed of the slime of the earth. The worst of all the races was represented in the forces laying siege to Werzingrad. Windians were the smallest but so far most effective race in the army seeing as they dismantled the greatest opposition from the inside. *Of course, most of them are now dead as well.* Ryu smiled wolfishly at that memory. Humans entered the equation as did Worens and Plainsmen. The big three were fighting against the weak one and the silent four, the Dragons, were blissfully uninvolved as the world outside them were killing themselves as the Dragons had predicted. *I guess now that I'm one of them I ought to join ranks.* Ryu thought glumly. The new being inside him smiled at that thought and began to nudge him in that direction again.
"Shut up!" Ryu yelled aloud at that voice, it had been plaguing him ever since he "woke up" from his ordeal. He couldn't really describe it as sleep since he knew full well what he was doing and decided the courses of action. But at the same time it wasn't him in the least, he was violent and random and ruthless but not like that. *Dammit, this whole ordeal is shaking the foundations of how I thought about myself. Well, not really but it certainly doesn't make sense. I would never, ever kill a woman like Nina especially when I was that close. It's that damn voice.* Ryu thought angrily as he relived his murder of Nina. The voice was the thing that told him to stab her, she had been looking up at him with such joy and hope that he was amazed he had it in him. The voice had screamed at him to kill her and the pain it had inflicted upon his mind rivaled the pain of the fire.
Then again, now that the voice was all but non-verbal inside his mind he regretted his fall from that new height. His death had brought out something that had always been lurking in the shadows for him, now that he had finally felt the power he craved it more. The world was comparably dead to what he had felt when his lineage possessed him. Ryu kicked a stone directly in front of him and sent it tumbling along before coming to a rest. Ryu threw one last look over his shoulder before continuing on his journey. He wondered slightly why he hadn't turned into one of the dragons like the legends said he would. He had remained himself but was well, felt like he was invincible but then again he always felt that way. But this time it was different, he was no longer just better, he was a master of all the he surveyed, he was capable of crushing any who stood before him with the flick of his wrist.
Ryu hadn't actually fought anyone skilled but he was sure that with the power flowing through his veins he could have killed Ryudo within a few sword strokes. He could have fought anyone and pushed aside their petty attacks like nothing. All of those thoughts inside him seemed to feed the voice inside, it began to talk again. Very quietly but at the same time, it appealed to Ryu's anger and feelings of glory. Ryu was tempted to give into it again, to feel the sweet caress of the Dragon, but he forced such thoughts away, not really seeing a need for it now that he was by himself and walking towards the Eastern Sea and eventually the Dragon Isles. That last thought sobered him up immensely. He was strong in the land of the Followers but the Dragons were strong to survive the harsh land and made even stronger by the gift of Ladon, a gift he possessed but seemingly could not use. The voice started to chuckle at those last thoughts but refused to elaborate for Ryu, leaving him just as lost as he had when he began to contemplate the situation.
Ryu sighed exasperatedly as he reached the apex of the slope of land, he looked at the radiant land before him spreading out endlessly, obscuring his final destination. At least Dorenog was below, providing transport for him to at the very minimum Gerristak which brought him even closer towards the Dragon Isles, though if memory served it would take more that just a ship to get him to the islands since they were protected against any Follower vessel. *Maybe the voice'll help me out when I get there.* Ryu thought hopefully.
* * *
Darkness surrounded them all, the only light was from a pair of glowing green eyes that swallowed up any other light. The figure who possessed the eyes leered down at Nina, a black knife clutched in its hands. The darkness grew all that more alien as the blade loomed larger in the night. Time froze for the winged girl as the knife propelled itself into the waiting heart of the Windian. The figure stood over the still form of the dead Windian. Eyes still alive with sight they registered the face of her killer.
Ryu's face broke into a smile as he stooped in front of her. "Don't worry Nina, it's my job to protect you."
* * *
Nina woke up screaming, her eyes wide in the darkness, terrified at the vision playing inside her dreams. Her scream ended and she panted for breath, her hand at her heart feeling it beat unnaturally fast. Nina's reverie was interrupted by the first rays of sunlight glaring in her eye and the door bursting open and a Royal Knight bursting in, sword drawn. "What is it your highness?" He asked hurriedly, his eyes scanning around for signs of danger.
Feeling rather embarrassed about her reaction to a dream, albeit a disturbingly realistic replay of events that had occurred, but a dream nonetheless. "It's not important. How long have I been unconscious?" Nina asked, trying to salvage some of her poise.
"Three days now your Highness, we thought you might not wake up." The knight said, concern coating his voice. Nina's eyes went wide with surprise, almost as wide as they had when she woke up from her dream.
"Three days! What's been going on?" Nina asked incredulously, quickly rising to her feet and confronting the knight.
"Your Highness, you should get dressed and then we will discuss the matter further." He seemingly ordered before closing the door and leaving Nina to herself. Nina frowned at the close door, angry at the dismissive nature of the guard. Throwing her hands up into the air and muttering darkly to herself, Nina went to the armoire and opened it to find that her traditional choice of clothing had been removed or lost, whether by the dictates of her father or by the maids. Whoever it was who removed it replaced it with some of the tackiest, most decadent dresses she had ever seen.
All were ivy or cream colored, with lots of pearls and fancy embroidering. "Great, just plain great, my kingdom is burning and they give me this to wear." Nina commented disgustedly as she pulled out one of the dresses. After five minutes of contorting herself into the dress, Nina stepped out into the hallway and was immediately flanked by the General of the Royal Knights and his second in command.
"Good morning your Highness. I suppose you would like to be briefed about the current situation?" The General asked politely and continued again once he got the nod from Nina. "You had apparently sustained serious injuries that rendered you unconscious, I was in the courtyard commanding the counterattack when you were carried out of the castle by Ryu. You were breathing fine but he looked to be somewhat askance. He simply handed you over to me and began to walk out of the courtyard. When I first saw him the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and most of my men felt the same, his eyes were different too. If I could be so bold as to offer up a hypothesis..." He started and continued again once he got the nod, "Ryu must be a Dragon which explains both the brutal murders and the eyes." The General finished his report and looked at Nina, awaiting her response.
Nina mulled this information over and tried to think about what it was supposed to mean. Ryu was a Dragon, that would certainly explain some things, but it did not explain his attack on her. She wanted to believe that he had gone crazy, or been possessed but the look he had in his eyes told her that he was fully in control of his actions. "Are you sure he didn't say anything to you before he left?" Nina asked looking shrewdly from one to the other.
The General remained silent and thought it over but his second in command apparently had an answer. "He only left a name, I guess he knew you'd recognize it, Ryudo." He replied as he scratched his chin. Nina halted immediately and looked at the two of them. It all made sense now. Ryu hadn't killed her, Ryudo had. They were twins so that explained how he had looked like Ryu except different. "Anything else your Highness?" He solicited.
"Yes, why do you keep calling me 'you Highness'? You usually call me Princess Nina." Nina queried looking from one to the other. They both appeared to be at a loss for words. All three looked at each other during the awkward silence until the General finally broke it.
"Your father is dead, making you the new ruler of Windia." He answered delicately.
* * *
Ryu sighed and leaned back against the jutting rock behind him. A pure white fire burned merrily before him and a haunch of some type of beast was roasting on it, slowly crisping above the blaze. The area surrounding him was desolate and almost completely lifeless, except of course for the occasional creature lumbering out of nightmares and into Ryu's path. The large beast, it was easily the size of the carriage he had used to take Nina to Werzingrad in, was crumpled on the ground beside him was covered in thick grey scales with horns protruding sporadically along its body.
Thinking about Nina stirred some rumblings of doubt inside of him. He figured she was awake or dead by now, and if she was awake then she may or may not believe that Ryudo was the one who had killed her. *Thank the Gods for twins.* Ryu thought as he grabbed the haunch of whatever meat and tore a big chunk out of it with his teeth. "Not bad." He muttered appreciatively at the taste. Ryu surveyed his surroundings again and found nothing but black, leafless, gnarled trees jutting out periodically amidst a grey backdrop spreading out over barren hills for miles in every direction.
Ryu felt something stirring within his body again, he lifted his hand involuntarily and focused a bit of magic energy. *The voice is acting up again.* Ryu thought exasperatedly. A figure began to solidify before his eyes and in a moment he was staring at his exact duplicate. If this had been the first time it had happened Ryu might have been surprised but the voice had a nasty habit of controlling Ryu when it deemed necessary. "Hello again." Ryu greeted his awkward half resignedly, tearing off another hunk off the strange meat. "Going to offer me an explanation of what the hell is going on?" Ryu asked bitterly.
"Maybe." The voice, or rather his double, replied shrugging his shoulders non-committaly. Ryu's duplicate did very little to actually help or enlighten Ryu. The only thing the voice ever did for him was take control of his body and direct him towards some unforeseen direction.
"Can you at least tell me where I am?" Ryu asked finishing up the haunch. He tossed the bone over his shoulder and settled in, closer to the fire.
"I suppose it can't harm anything. Right now we're in the Dragon Wastes. Hidden behind that perpetual haze of gray is the Dragon Tower and this spot we're taking our ease upon was the sight of the final battle between the Followers and the Dragons. In fact that specimen you're feasting upon, the Grimlock, is a construct composed of the dead at this battle site." The Duplicate explained, chortling at the situation. Ryu shrugged at that revelation and licked his fingers clean of the juices left on them.
"It's not bad for two-thousand year old corpses." Ryu replied leaning back in satisfaction, stretching before the flames. "So where to next Voice?" Ryu inquired, putting his hands behind his head.
"We're off to see the ferryman. He'll take us to the Dragon Isles." The Voice answered, beginning to dissipate into the night air.
"What a bastard." Ryu muttered as he closed his eyes and prepared for sleep.
* * *
Nina's world was spinning when she reentered it, her head aching and her body weak. She could vaguely make out the ceiling amidst the spinning fixtures along the wall and the two figures standing over her. Closing her eyes again and groaning in nausea she waited slowly for her sickness to subside. When she at last opened her eyes again she found the world was still again and the General and his second were standing over her, concern apparent in their eyes.
"It's good to have you back your highness." The General said, solicitously helping Nina to her feet. Nina inclined her head in thanks and straightened herself trying for the second time this morning to regain at least a modicum of dignity.
"So, my father is... Dead." Nina said, her voice faltering upon that word and all the emotions it conveyed. She had never been close to her parents, in fact for the longest time she had felt that there was no love between herself and her mother and father. But to know that they were now both dead, it shook her to her very core. She had always believed that her father would be around for her to hate in perpetuity but now it cheapened his memory to hate him so. *Damn you father.* Nina thought bitterly and immediately regretted it. Nina took a deep breath and tried as hard as she could to change the subject from her father's death. "What's going on in the city?" She asked, continuing their walk down the hall.
"The city is back in our hands, without the four leaders, the revolutionaries were almost helpless. Now outside of our city is another matter, it is currently under siege and our forces are being decimated as we speak." The General summed up the situation without missing a beat. He reminded Nina of Ryu somewhat with his inability to let death stagger him, Nina shuddered at the thought of that level of emotionless but continued on never the less.
"What do you think is going to happen next?" Nina asked keeping her eyes focused straight ahead, not wanting to even think about what was going on almost directly below her.
"Well, our forces will probably be killed to a man leaving the city defenseless. Fortunately they can't get up here, at least not for another year or so." He replied, his choice of wording seeming out of place given what the "fortunately" was.
"Any suggestions?" Nina asked, starting to let despair sink into her body.
"Our allies be called but I doubt there's going to be any real response. The Woren don't have the numbers and the humans don't see the need to help us. They're too fractured anyway. The only clan left is the Dragon and they'd be more likely to kill us and our enemies." The General answered glumly, obviously angry at their allies' lack of support.
Nina sighed in despair and continued her walk towards the throne room, her advisors flanking her. *What am I going to do? These people need leadership but right now I'm not sure where I can lead them to.* Nina thought, self doubt coloring her thoughts as she moved with purposeful steps. At last she entered the throne room and found it still in a state of disrepair.
Blood was spilled all about the flagstones and the tapestries. No servants could be seen cleaning the place, they had probably been killed or fled. The throne itself was ruined and stared at her mockingly, blood splattered across the gold arms and purple upholstery. Two holes had been punctured through and Nina quivered to think what force had done that.
Nina sighed again and took an undamaged seat from beside the wall and moved it to the center of the hall; right in front of the raised dais holding the throne, her back to it. "What should we do now your Highness?" The General queried, a glimmer of what could be mistaken for hope in his eyes.
"Send messengers to our allies." Nina answered, putting her elbow on the arm chair and cupping her chin in her palm. The General nodded and started to turn on his heel before Nina continued her order. "Send a messenger to the Dragons at Stungreng as well." Nina added, doubt reeking on her words.
* * *
OK, here it is. I hope lots of people review this story and those who wish to review under the anonymous moniker, please put your e-mail in cause otherwise I'd have to do what I did at the beginning of this chapter. As to why Nina has no mother, I just never felt like making one up. She was a test tube baby, literally. I think that my chapter might hit cliché once I get closer to the end but at this point, I don't much care. I also admit that Nina seemed a bit too trusting of Ryu about the Ryudo thing, especially after he told her that Ryudo was dead. Again, I kind of don't care about that.
Fact of the Chapter: Did you know that it was John Dickinson, a man who opposed American independence from Britain, who crafted America's first government: The Articles of Confederation creating the Confederation of States of America. Not the Confederated States of America, that was in the Civil War. Mildly interesting.
Fou Lu/Ladon, I'm curious, are you two people or one person who has an extra personality? If the former, I'm glad people have friends; if the latter, well that's rather pathetic and cheap to me. Your putting two reviews in the space allotted for one. What a bastard? You talked about non-existent errors and you claimed I didn't have enough drama. You also accuse me of being monotonous in my style. To the claim about a lack of drama, you clearly are obtuse. My entire story is dramatic it simply lacks the kinds of drama evident in other stories. My drama is in action and deceit. My contemporaries utilize drama of romance and crisis and dialogue. That's not my style, nor do I want it to be my style. Most stories on this site have drama like the kind of drama you want, I do not think that such drama is bad, but I disdain the idea of it being placed within my story. As to the fights being filled with monotony, I ignore that remark completely. Not only is it unfounded, but it's rather hypocritical. From my knowledge of the stories written for this category; at the risk of sounding arrogant, I have yet to stumble upon a story that has a style like my own. The final comment you leveled upon my person is that I have been advertising my story on review boards. I scoff at the very idea, clearly professional courtesy is lost upon you. I merely say that I would be much obliged if the author were to review my story after I have reviewed theirs. Now, if you had actually given me an e-mail address, I could have saved these other reviewers this rant. Shame on you.
Chapter Nine: Cursed Lineage
Ryu looked down upon the scarred valley below him. Two armies were struggling against each other over the siege of Werzingrad. The Windian Army had arrived upon the seen the morning after Ryu's... Rebirth, which was the only word for it in Ryu's opinion. Ryu continued to gaze down at the field of battle, for the moment they were evenly matched but the Windians were quickly, in terms of battles, being pushed back by the forces of the Rebellion. Well, that was probably a bad name for it considering almost none of the army down there was a Windian.
Ryu had picked up some information from a patrol of the so called Rebellion and squeezed some information out of it. Apparently this army was composed of the slime of the earth. The worst of all the races was represented in the forces laying siege to Werzingrad. Windians were the smallest but so far most effective race in the army seeing as they dismantled the greatest opposition from the inside. *Of course, most of them are now dead as well.* Ryu smiled wolfishly at that memory. Humans entered the equation as did Worens and Plainsmen. The big three were fighting against the weak one and the silent four, the Dragons, were blissfully uninvolved as the world outside them were killing themselves as the Dragons had predicted. *I guess now that I'm one of them I ought to join ranks.* Ryu thought glumly. The new being inside him smiled at that thought and began to nudge him in that direction again.
"Shut up!" Ryu yelled aloud at that voice, it had been plaguing him ever since he "woke up" from his ordeal. He couldn't really describe it as sleep since he knew full well what he was doing and decided the courses of action. But at the same time it wasn't him in the least, he was violent and random and ruthless but not like that. *Dammit, this whole ordeal is shaking the foundations of how I thought about myself. Well, not really but it certainly doesn't make sense. I would never, ever kill a woman like Nina especially when I was that close. It's that damn voice.* Ryu thought angrily as he relived his murder of Nina. The voice was the thing that told him to stab her, she had been looking up at him with such joy and hope that he was amazed he had it in him. The voice had screamed at him to kill her and the pain it had inflicted upon his mind rivaled the pain of the fire.
Then again, now that the voice was all but non-verbal inside his mind he regretted his fall from that new height. His death had brought out something that had always been lurking in the shadows for him, now that he had finally felt the power he craved it more. The world was comparably dead to what he had felt when his lineage possessed him. Ryu kicked a stone directly in front of him and sent it tumbling along before coming to a rest. Ryu threw one last look over his shoulder before continuing on his journey. He wondered slightly why he hadn't turned into one of the dragons like the legends said he would. He had remained himself but was well, felt like he was invincible but then again he always felt that way. But this time it was different, he was no longer just better, he was a master of all the he surveyed, he was capable of crushing any who stood before him with the flick of his wrist.
Ryu hadn't actually fought anyone skilled but he was sure that with the power flowing through his veins he could have killed Ryudo within a few sword strokes. He could have fought anyone and pushed aside their petty attacks like nothing. All of those thoughts inside him seemed to feed the voice inside, it began to talk again. Very quietly but at the same time, it appealed to Ryu's anger and feelings of glory. Ryu was tempted to give into it again, to feel the sweet caress of the Dragon, but he forced such thoughts away, not really seeing a need for it now that he was by himself and walking towards the Eastern Sea and eventually the Dragon Isles. That last thought sobered him up immensely. He was strong in the land of the Followers but the Dragons were strong to survive the harsh land and made even stronger by the gift of Ladon, a gift he possessed but seemingly could not use. The voice started to chuckle at those last thoughts but refused to elaborate for Ryu, leaving him just as lost as he had when he began to contemplate the situation.
Ryu sighed exasperatedly as he reached the apex of the slope of land, he looked at the radiant land before him spreading out endlessly, obscuring his final destination. At least Dorenog was below, providing transport for him to at the very minimum Gerristak which brought him even closer towards the Dragon Isles, though if memory served it would take more that just a ship to get him to the islands since they were protected against any Follower vessel. *Maybe the voice'll help me out when I get there.* Ryu thought hopefully.
* * *
Darkness surrounded them all, the only light was from a pair of glowing green eyes that swallowed up any other light. The figure who possessed the eyes leered down at Nina, a black knife clutched in its hands. The darkness grew all that more alien as the blade loomed larger in the night. Time froze for the winged girl as the knife propelled itself into the waiting heart of the Windian. The figure stood over the still form of the dead Windian. Eyes still alive with sight they registered the face of her killer.
Ryu's face broke into a smile as he stooped in front of her. "Don't worry Nina, it's my job to protect you."
* * *
Nina woke up screaming, her eyes wide in the darkness, terrified at the vision playing inside her dreams. Her scream ended and she panted for breath, her hand at her heart feeling it beat unnaturally fast. Nina's reverie was interrupted by the first rays of sunlight glaring in her eye and the door bursting open and a Royal Knight bursting in, sword drawn. "What is it your highness?" He asked hurriedly, his eyes scanning around for signs of danger.
Feeling rather embarrassed about her reaction to a dream, albeit a disturbingly realistic replay of events that had occurred, but a dream nonetheless. "It's not important. How long have I been unconscious?" Nina asked, trying to salvage some of her poise.
"Three days now your Highness, we thought you might not wake up." The knight said, concern coating his voice. Nina's eyes went wide with surprise, almost as wide as they had when she woke up from her dream.
"Three days! What's been going on?" Nina asked incredulously, quickly rising to her feet and confronting the knight.
"Your Highness, you should get dressed and then we will discuss the matter further." He seemingly ordered before closing the door and leaving Nina to herself. Nina frowned at the close door, angry at the dismissive nature of the guard. Throwing her hands up into the air and muttering darkly to herself, Nina went to the armoire and opened it to find that her traditional choice of clothing had been removed or lost, whether by the dictates of her father or by the maids. Whoever it was who removed it replaced it with some of the tackiest, most decadent dresses she had ever seen.
All were ivy or cream colored, with lots of pearls and fancy embroidering. "Great, just plain great, my kingdom is burning and they give me this to wear." Nina commented disgustedly as she pulled out one of the dresses. After five minutes of contorting herself into the dress, Nina stepped out into the hallway and was immediately flanked by the General of the Royal Knights and his second in command.
"Good morning your Highness. I suppose you would like to be briefed about the current situation?" The General asked politely and continued again once he got the nod from Nina. "You had apparently sustained serious injuries that rendered you unconscious, I was in the courtyard commanding the counterattack when you were carried out of the castle by Ryu. You were breathing fine but he looked to be somewhat askance. He simply handed you over to me and began to walk out of the courtyard. When I first saw him the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and most of my men felt the same, his eyes were different too. If I could be so bold as to offer up a hypothesis..." He started and continued again once he got the nod, "Ryu must be a Dragon which explains both the brutal murders and the eyes." The General finished his report and looked at Nina, awaiting her response.
Nina mulled this information over and tried to think about what it was supposed to mean. Ryu was a Dragon, that would certainly explain some things, but it did not explain his attack on her. She wanted to believe that he had gone crazy, or been possessed but the look he had in his eyes told her that he was fully in control of his actions. "Are you sure he didn't say anything to you before he left?" Nina asked looking shrewdly from one to the other.
The General remained silent and thought it over but his second in command apparently had an answer. "He only left a name, I guess he knew you'd recognize it, Ryudo." He replied as he scratched his chin. Nina halted immediately and looked at the two of them. It all made sense now. Ryu hadn't killed her, Ryudo had. They were twins so that explained how he had looked like Ryu except different. "Anything else your Highness?" He solicited.
"Yes, why do you keep calling me 'you Highness'? You usually call me Princess Nina." Nina queried looking from one to the other. They both appeared to be at a loss for words. All three looked at each other during the awkward silence until the General finally broke it.
"Your father is dead, making you the new ruler of Windia." He answered delicately.
* * *
Ryu sighed and leaned back against the jutting rock behind him. A pure white fire burned merrily before him and a haunch of some type of beast was roasting on it, slowly crisping above the blaze. The area surrounding him was desolate and almost completely lifeless, except of course for the occasional creature lumbering out of nightmares and into Ryu's path. The large beast, it was easily the size of the carriage he had used to take Nina to Werzingrad in, was crumpled on the ground beside him was covered in thick grey scales with horns protruding sporadically along its body.
Thinking about Nina stirred some rumblings of doubt inside of him. He figured she was awake or dead by now, and if she was awake then she may or may not believe that Ryudo was the one who had killed her. *Thank the Gods for twins.* Ryu thought as he grabbed the haunch of whatever meat and tore a big chunk out of it with his teeth. "Not bad." He muttered appreciatively at the taste. Ryu surveyed his surroundings again and found nothing but black, leafless, gnarled trees jutting out periodically amidst a grey backdrop spreading out over barren hills for miles in every direction.
Ryu felt something stirring within his body again, he lifted his hand involuntarily and focused a bit of magic energy. *The voice is acting up again.* Ryu thought exasperatedly. A figure began to solidify before his eyes and in a moment he was staring at his exact duplicate. If this had been the first time it had happened Ryu might have been surprised but the voice had a nasty habit of controlling Ryu when it deemed necessary. "Hello again." Ryu greeted his awkward half resignedly, tearing off another hunk off the strange meat. "Going to offer me an explanation of what the hell is going on?" Ryu asked bitterly.
"Maybe." The voice, or rather his double, replied shrugging his shoulders non-committaly. Ryu's duplicate did very little to actually help or enlighten Ryu. The only thing the voice ever did for him was take control of his body and direct him towards some unforeseen direction.
"Can you at least tell me where I am?" Ryu asked finishing up the haunch. He tossed the bone over his shoulder and settled in, closer to the fire.
"I suppose it can't harm anything. Right now we're in the Dragon Wastes. Hidden behind that perpetual haze of gray is the Dragon Tower and this spot we're taking our ease upon was the sight of the final battle between the Followers and the Dragons. In fact that specimen you're feasting upon, the Grimlock, is a construct composed of the dead at this battle site." The Duplicate explained, chortling at the situation. Ryu shrugged at that revelation and licked his fingers clean of the juices left on them.
"It's not bad for two-thousand year old corpses." Ryu replied leaning back in satisfaction, stretching before the flames. "So where to next Voice?" Ryu inquired, putting his hands behind his head.
"We're off to see the ferryman. He'll take us to the Dragon Isles." The Voice answered, beginning to dissipate into the night air.
"What a bastard." Ryu muttered as he closed his eyes and prepared for sleep.
* * *
Nina's world was spinning when she reentered it, her head aching and her body weak. She could vaguely make out the ceiling amidst the spinning fixtures along the wall and the two figures standing over her. Closing her eyes again and groaning in nausea she waited slowly for her sickness to subside. When she at last opened her eyes again she found the world was still again and the General and his second were standing over her, concern apparent in their eyes.
"It's good to have you back your highness." The General said, solicitously helping Nina to her feet. Nina inclined her head in thanks and straightened herself trying for the second time this morning to regain at least a modicum of dignity.
"So, my father is... Dead." Nina said, her voice faltering upon that word and all the emotions it conveyed. She had never been close to her parents, in fact for the longest time she had felt that there was no love between herself and her mother and father. But to know that they were now both dead, it shook her to her very core. She had always believed that her father would be around for her to hate in perpetuity but now it cheapened his memory to hate him so. *Damn you father.* Nina thought bitterly and immediately regretted it. Nina took a deep breath and tried as hard as she could to change the subject from her father's death. "What's going on in the city?" She asked, continuing their walk down the hall.
"The city is back in our hands, without the four leaders, the revolutionaries were almost helpless. Now outside of our city is another matter, it is currently under siege and our forces are being decimated as we speak." The General summed up the situation without missing a beat. He reminded Nina of Ryu somewhat with his inability to let death stagger him, Nina shuddered at the thought of that level of emotionless but continued on never the less.
"What do you think is going to happen next?" Nina asked keeping her eyes focused straight ahead, not wanting to even think about what was going on almost directly below her.
"Well, our forces will probably be killed to a man leaving the city defenseless. Fortunately they can't get up here, at least not for another year or so." He replied, his choice of wording seeming out of place given what the "fortunately" was.
"Any suggestions?" Nina asked, starting to let despair sink into her body.
"Our allies be called but I doubt there's going to be any real response. The Woren don't have the numbers and the humans don't see the need to help us. They're too fractured anyway. The only clan left is the Dragon and they'd be more likely to kill us and our enemies." The General answered glumly, obviously angry at their allies' lack of support.
Nina sighed in despair and continued her walk towards the throne room, her advisors flanking her. *What am I going to do? These people need leadership but right now I'm not sure where I can lead them to.* Nina thought, self doubt coloring her thoughts as she moved with purposeful steps. At last she entered the throne room and found it still in a state of disrepair.
Blood was spilled all about the flagstones and the tapestries. No servants could be seen cleaning the place, they had probably been killed or fled. The throne itself was ruined and stared at her mockingly, blood splattered across the gold arms and purple upholstery. Two holes had been punctured through and Nina quivered to think what force had done that.
Nina sighed again and took an undamaged seat from beside the wall and moved it to the center of the hall; right in front of the raised dais holding the throne, her back to it. "What should we do now your Highness?" The General queried, a glimmer of what could be mistaken for hope in his eyes.
"Send messengers to our allies." Nina answered, putting her elbow on the arm chair and cupping her chin in her palm. The General nodded and started to turn on his heel before Nina continued her order. "Send a messenger to the Dragons at Stungreng as well." Nina added, doubt reeking on her words.
* * *
OK, here it is. I hope lots of people review this story and those who wish to review under the anonymous moniker, please put your e-mail in cause otherwise I'd have to do what I did at the beginning of this chapter. As to why Nina has no mother, I just never felt like making one up. She was a test tube baby, literally. I think that my chapter might hit cliché once I get closer to the end but at this point, I don't much care. I also admit that Nina seemed a bit too trusting of Ryu about the Ryudo thing, especially after he told her that Ryudo was dead. Again, I kind of don't care about that.
Fact of the Chapter: Did you know that it was John Dickinson, a man who opposed American independence from Britain, who crafted America's first government: The Articles of Confederation creating the Confederation of States of America. Not the Confederated States of America, that was in the Civil War. Mildly interesting.