The next morning as the group was eating breakfast, Xelloss and Kardray came walking up. Xelloss had a very self-satisfied look on his face, while Kardray just looked quite pleased. Lina stared at them before talking around her food. "Where have you two been?"
Kardray smiled. "Us? We've been talking all night. We left so that we wouldn't bother anyone with the noise." If anything, Xelloss' smile got bigger.
"Well, I'm all ready to go when ever everyone else is." Goury said (he'd just finished Lina's breakfast without her seeing).
"So are we." Zelgadiss said and Amelia and Sirius nodded.
"Alright. I'm ready to go now too." Lina stood up and dusted herself off (right after smacking Goury for taking her food). "You ready Filia?" Filia nodded, though she looked unhappy. "What's wrong?"
"I was just thinking about Valgaav." She stood as well and smiled at them. "We should go to see where Kardray is leading us." They all then turned to Kardray, who sighed and walked toward the cliff. There she turned the ring on her finger three times, and the stone began to glow a bright green. A bridge formed at her feet, leading over the cliff and beyond.
"This will take us to my home. However, you need to walk on the bridge before me, or it will disappear before you can fully cross." Lina shrugged at her words and walked up and on the bridge, everyone following. Xelloss hung back to walk beside Kardray. The trip took a few hours. When they reached the other side they were at the very base of a small mountain.
"Please say we don't have to climb this?" Lina looked very much against the idea.
Kardray smiled. "No, there will be no need for that." Kardray raised her left hand, the stone in the ring once more glowing brilliantly. The air before them shimmered before the illusion melted away, showing a valley where they thought there had been mountain. There were Ancient Dragons flying about the skies there, more than a dozen at least. Kardray started to walk down into the valley, her friends belatedly catching up to her.
"This is your home?" Amelia was looking around in awe.
"Yes. No one knows that there really were some survivors of the massacre by the Golden Dragons. They came here in the hopes of living in peace. I left the valley some time ago to see the world and learn magic." Kardray spoke quietly as always, but there was a slight strain in her voice. Some of the dragons had by now seen the people walking into their valley and were flying down towards some caves. One came from the caves and up to them.
This Ancient Dragon came and changed form as soon as it touched down. The form was human, that of a young woman, slender, tall, with long dark green hair. She had deep orange eyes, so much so they were almost brown, speckled with green, and a quick smile. She ran up to Kardray immediately and threw her arms around her in a hug.
"Oh Kardrinalin, it's been so long!" The woman had a lovely voice, if a little loud.
"It's good to see you too Kalli. It's been too long." Kardray disengaged herself from Kalli and indicated the others. "These are my friends. Lina Inverse, Goury Gabrieve, Zelgadiss Greyweres, Amelia Seyrune, Sirius, Filia ul Copt, and Xelloss Metallium." Kalli went white at the last name, but chose to trust her friend's judgement. "This, everyone, is my dearest childhood friend Kallimeri, Kalli for short. We grew up together, her mother practically raising me."
"She called you Kardrinalin?" Zelgadiss was watching both women closely.
Kardray blushed. "Yes, that is my full name. I introduce myself as Kardray since it's easier to pronounce and remember."
"And it sounds a little less non-human, right?" Kardray blushed a bit redder. "Oh well, you and your friends should hurry up. The elder is sure going to want to see you." She took Kardray's arm and continued walking down toward the caves. "Will you visit your mother while you're here?"
Kardray was silent, and at the wave of sadness Xelloss felt from her (the bond allowed him to feel her emotions without physical contact) he almost attacked the young Ancient Dragon. He settled for communicating telepathically with her. Don't be sad my love, we are here with you. If you need me to, I could torture the young one for you.
Don't you dare Xelloss! Kardray thought back to him, but she was smiling now. "Yes Kalli, I was going to visit her. But first should come the Elder."
"We shouldn't interfere with seeing your family!" Amelia, who had a strong sense of family togetherness, spoke up. "If you haven't been here for some time you should see her immediately!"
"No Amelia, a little longer won't mean that much, I assure you." Kardray continued walking in silence after that. Filia was amazed by the Ancient Dragons, the species she thought was all but extinct. There weren't many here, but there were maybe forty that she had seen. It was better than just Valgaav.
They were nearly to the caves when a somewhat older woman came out to see them. She wore a simple green robe tied with a plain brown belt. She turned her pale orange eyes on Kardray who stepped away from Kalli to approach. She knelt and lowered her head in respect.
"It's been a while Kardray." Her voice was low, but completely emotionless.
"Yes Elder, it's been a good number of years. I intend only to make this a visit." Kardray raised her eyes to the Elder.
"You've brought humans here, as well as a monster and a Golden Dragon. This merits some explaining." Her eyes had hardened as she'd said Golden Dragon. Filia shivered.
"Elder, the Golden Dragon's name is Filia, and she is a kind person. She knew nothing of the slaughter, and mourns the loss of the Ancient Dragons, she even helped one by the name of Val." Kardray never took her eyes off the Elder.
The Elder looked over at Filia again though. "Val? I knew one young one named Val. I had believed he was killed in the attack." Filia made herself meet the eyes of the Elder without flinching.
"He did survive, with help from someone else. He and I were happy until someone came and took him away. They did something to him to make him forget the sort of person he was." Filia couldn't help the tears that welled up I her eyes.
"Elder, she is very upset. As a favor to me, I would ask you not interrogate her." Kardray had venom in her voice as she spoke, and the Elder looked at her in disapproval.
"And the monster? Why do you vouch for him?" She made a humorless laugh. "Don't tell me he's changing his ways and trying to be nice."
"No, Elder, he is my mate." The Elder's laughter turned into choking as she looked at her in shock.
"What? You would dare to take a killer of our own race as your mate? Are you insane?" The Elder finally had a readable emotion; raw anger. Kalli had gone pale white and looked at Xelloss more closely. For his part, Xelloss stood with his eyes open watching the Elder for any signs of threat to his mate.
"Yes, Elder." A bit of bitterness crept into her voice. "Why not? If I can't produce children it's not as if I'm any good to the people here. I should be allowed to choose anyone I wish." Kardray stood, her manner turned mild once more. "We came here for a reason Elder, one which has bearing on the entire planet. Once our business is finished, we'll leave. I'll leave."
The Elder stood looking at Kardray for a moment before sighing. "You know we do not wish to drive you away from us. I react more out of shock, both at seeing you after so long and at seeing two of our enemies in your presence. Please, you and friends are welcome to stay for a little while at least." The Elder turned to go back into the cave. "Go see the others here, then come and tell me what brought all of you here." With that she walked away, leaving them out in a somewhat uncomfortable silence.
"You can't have kids Kardray?" Amelia sounded terribly sad at the idea.
"I don't know Amelia. We don't believe so." Kardray turned from the cave of the Elder and began walking toward a large group of trees.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Lina and the others went after her.
"To visit my mother, remember?" Kardray called behind her. Well, they were all curious about the woman who could raise Kardray, except Kalli who followed, but at a more sedate pace.
The group of trees was actually a grove, two stone monuments resting in the center, one much larger than the other one. Kardray stood before the smaller of the two, her head bowed. The large monument had many names inscribed on it, or so it seemed, the language being difficult to read. The one before Kardray had a single name on it, Malera. There were no other words on it at all. Everyone came to stand and look around.
"Your mother is dead?" Amelia's voice was hardly heard.
"Yes." Kardray turned from the grave and indicated the larger stone. "There were some Ancient Dragons who made it here, but were so badly injured they didn't survive long. Their bodies were incinerated, since there wasn't enough room to bury them, and they couldn't be taken to the Ancient Dragon's Temple. My mother is the only one buried here." Kardray seemed a bit proud of the fact.
"Why is she the only one?" Zelgadiss was looking around the grove. The spot was very beautiful and well tended.
"Because she was human." Everyone looked directly at Kardray. "My father's mate was one of the ones who died after making it here. In his grief, he left the valley and came upon a human woman who was passing very close by. He took out his grief on her, then left. The other dragon's found her, and brought her here. They healed her, and soon found she was pregnant with me, which should probably have been impossible. She stayed with them, and gave great aid to those who were still injured. She was a great healer, but she died just after giving birth to me. I've never known my father, since he never returned. It was assumed he was found and killed by the Golden Dragons." Kardray seemed to have no anger towards her father, or the dragons that may have killed him, she merely accepted it.
"That sounds terrible!" Filia felt more awful about what her people had done.
"Bad things happen, it can't be changed." Kalli spoke up finally. "My own mother had just laid her first brood, and had also lost her mate in the fight. She took Kardray in and raised her with her own young. We were practically sisters." Kardray smiled at her friend. "Unfortunately even we couldn't keep her here." The group looked at the half-dragon again.
Kardray took a deep breath. "About two centuries ago, I became restless. We don't believe I can reproduce with my mixed heritage, so I never had the urge to take a mate among the males here, especially since there are so few of them. I left, to see the world where my mother had come from. I became friends with Akahoushi Rezo, the Red Priest and was apprenticed by him." Zelgadiss looked angry for a moment then got himself under control since he probably hadn't been born yet. "I returned once, to see how things were, but home had lost some of its appeal. I actually found and own a few manuscripts of the Claire Bible, which is where I learned my blend magic, as well as some Chaos magic." Lina turned white, hoping she didn't know the Giga Slave (which of course she did, she just had never used it).
"So, what is this mate thing with Xelloss, huh?" Trust Lina to ask the most unexpected question.
"It's complicated." Both Xelloss and Kardray answered at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Great." Lina said sarcastically. Her stomach at that time growled loudly. "I'm hungry, where's the food?"
"If you'd like, you may join my mate and I." Kalli said. She turned and started walking away, everyone but Kardray and Xelloss following.
"Are you going to come?" Xelloss walked over to stand next to her, putting an arm around her waist.
"No, I think I'll use this time to go and speak with the Elder. I'll join all of you soon though." They walked together to the edge of the clearing before going separate ways, Xelloss kissing her briefly on the forehead.
Lina and company was all seated on the floor in Kalli's home. Kalli was serving them meat and vegetables from various bowls. Her mate, Aiden, was sitting in the back of the cave, by the nest (for good reason, there were eight eggs there). Kalli was a graceful host, and very polite. When Xelloss showed up, Aiden growled low in his throat, but Kalli shot him a look that clearly told him to shut up and behave. Xelloss smiled at him and came to site beside Filia, his favorite person to annoy (he was actually worried about Kardray and wished to seem more 'normal', if there was such a thing….). Kalli brought a bowl of meat over to him.
"Where is Kardray?" Amelia asked around a mouthful.
"She went to see the Elder now. She'll join us soon."
"So, Xelloss, who initiated the claiming?" Kalli was nervous for her friend, and hoped she hadn't gone over the deep end. Xelloss declined any food.
"I did." His smile got broader. "I didn't really think she'd counter claim though. Completely surprised me!" Zelgadiss blinked at him; amazed anyone could surprise him. Xelloss was about to say something else when he suddenly stiffened and his eyes opened, anger visible in them. He had just gotten a wave of distress from Kardray and was ready to kill someone. He ignored the others asking him what was wrong with him. What's wrong Kardray?
He got no response for a minute and was about to get up and find her when she finally replied. Nothing. The Elder just told me something I didn't know before. I'll tell you later. With that she cut the connection. Xelloss relaxed slightly, but stayed a bit tense.
"Xelloss!" Lina was ready to hit him, but was a little afraid of his response.
"Yes Lina?" His eyes closed and his smile returned. "Sorry about that! My mind was elsewhere." Lina looked ready to kill him, but subsided and settled for hitting Goury and taking the food he'd been about to eat.
"Well, I certainly hope you take good care of her. A lot of us here are quite partial to Kardray and though you're powerful, I'm sure we could annoy you." Kalli tried hard to sound authoritative, but next to Xelloss she wasn't very powerful.
"Don't worry, I'll be very careful of her. I've already threatened to torture you to make her happier." Kalli's mouth fell open in disbelief before her Aiden came and took over hosting duties. She went back to care for the eggs.
Kardray came walking in then. She was a bit white, and seemed distracted. Nevertheless, she still managed to come and sit beside Xelloss without fail. She looked up at Aiden and smiled in recognition. "So you finally got her to accept you, huh Aiden?"
Aiden smiled happily. "It took long enough. I think your leaving was the kicker. She needed someone to keep her in shape." Kalli blushed in the background while Kardray laughed.
"So, is this a new brood, or a first?" Kardray was looking at the eggs.
"First. She wanted to wait before having young." Aiden shook his head in mock suffering. He'd always been after Kalli, and had always wanted young. He was a little older that Kalli and Kardray, having been a hatchling when the dragons had come to the valley.
"Aren't I lucky." Kalli called from the nest. "I had still wanted to wait, but you know how these unexpected things happen." Kardray started laughing.
"So what did the Elder say?" Sirius asked. He'd stayed in the shadows, his cloak carefully covering him the whole time.
"The Elder gave me what we came for. She agrees that this is a dire situation, and if we need anything else, we have her full cooperation." Kardray said in a strait voice, while Lina gasped for air as she choked (does she do that a lot?).
Lina finally managed to get herself under control. "She had Galvera?"
"Well…yes. She also had Nezar." Everyone hit the floor around her, except the other Ancient Dragons. "It seems they both ended up here because of the strong pull on Galvera."
"This is a good thing, right?" Amelia picked herself up. "It means we have three of the weapons now."
"That's right." Sirius took a step forward. "Will you give me the weapons?"
"Nezar, yes, but Galvera I would like to hold onto." Sirius looked about to protest, but Xelloss glared at him (there are advantages to having a powerful monster as your mate). Kardray took out what looked like an odd dark rock and spoke a word. It instantly enlarged into Nezar, the claw-looking weapon. She handed over to Sirius, who made it vanish.
"So, I'd say we were doing pretty well. Where are we off to now?" Lina was full again, so she was once again in a good and tolerant mood.
"We should leave the valley before trying to pinpoint the next weapon, I think." Sirius was anxious to be leaving, but he sounded calm.
"I think that's a good idea. We can leave now, or stay until tomorrow if you like." Kardray was almost as anxious to leave. She liked her home, but it was very confining to her.
"We should leave tomorrow. I like the idea of sleeping somewhere safe from Valgaav." Kardray flinched, but it was subtle so that only Xelloss saw it. She shook her head when he raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
"We would be more than welcome to extend our hospitality to you." Kalli said. Aiden seconded that.
"Thank you. We really do appreciate it." Filia was trying to say little and draw no attention to herself. Kalli smiled at her kindly, finding the young Golden Dragon not at all at fault for what had happened before. Kalli was a very forgiving creature.
"I'd like to look around a bit, if that's okay." Zelgadiss was hoping to see if they had any books around here, preferably old magic tomes.
"There shouldn't be any problem with that. Some of the dragons here may even ask you questions about the world. I'm the only one who has left, and I'm not always the most forthcoming." Kardray said, a bit of humor coloring her words.
"May I look around as well?" Filia had an image of being attacked on all sides by angry Ancient Dragons.
"Of course!" Kalli exclaimed. "Aiden can take you around, to make sure you aren't bullied." Filia smiled in gratitude. Lina shrugged and looked around for desert while Amelia got up to go with Zelgadiss.
"I'm going to go out as well, I think." Kardray stood up and walked out, followed shortly by Xelloss. When he exited the cave, she was already in the air and flying to one of the higher areas on the other side of the valley. Xelloss vanished to follow her.
Kardray landed outside a small cave. The cave was covered with an old worn cloth that had seen much better days. She sat down on the ground outside the cave, her feet dangling into space since the little bit of ground dropped away a good two hundred feet into the valley. Xelloss appeared in the air behind her, careful not to make a sound. She would know he was there anyway, the bond between them being very strong. However, he didn't want to intrude on her if she didn't want him present.
"Come and sit down Xelloss. I know you want to ask me what happened with the Elder." Xelloss came and sat beside Kardray, being careful of her wings. He didn't say anything, if a thousand years of life had taught him nothing, he had learned to be patient. Finally Kardray sighed. "The Elder told me something new about my father. She had never mentioned it before, since she didn't want to cause me more pain at all I had lost of my family." Kardray shivered, so Xelloss moved closer to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "My father had young before me. I had a few brothers and sisters, one of whom was named Val." Xelloss stiffened.
"There is no guarantee that Valgaav is the one she means-"
"Yes, Xelloss, there is. There was only one Val, and he was my father's son. I'm fighting the only family member I have left!" Kardray drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Xelloss was at a loss as to what to do. Kardray wouldn't be able to bring herself to kill Valgaav now, unless perhaps he was about to kill Xelloss, and that was somewhat unlikely to happen. "Look at it this way, we fixed him once, I'm sure we can do it again. Valgaav really is a nice person underneath all his violence. Maybe you should tell him about this place." Xelloss waved his hand to encompass the valley. "His biggest issue is that he thinks he is the last of his kind." He leaned in and nuzzled her neck. "This could be just what he's looking for. A good reason to come to his senses." Kardray relaxed a bit, one of her wings folding over Xelloss.
"Maybe your right…At least I can hope, can't I?" She stood up with Xelloss and took his hand, leading him to the covered cave. She walked inside pulling him behind her. The inside of the cave was furnished with a few chairs and a table. There wasn't a speck of dust on anything, and the feel of magic was fairly strong in the sir. Kardray led Xelloss to another 'room' where there was a bed done in myriad shades of blues. Kardray turned to Xelloss. "Be my mate, Xelloss. Make me forget for a little while."
Xelloss pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. "There is nothing I would like to do more."
The next morning found them all ready to get moving. Zelgadiss hadn't found anything useful, but he had talked to most of the inhabitants. Filia was not attacked, but most of the Ancient Dragons looked at her coldly. Only the youngest ones didn't think much of her (though, they really liked her hair). Xelloss and Kardray showed up together, Kardray now in a dark blue shirt that was meant to accommodate her wings. Lina and Goury…well…they were Lina and Goury. Kalli would need to restock her food after they had had a go at it. Kalli and Aiden were there to see them off, giving them some new provisions. Sirius was already near the top of the valley, the stone in hand to direct them to the next weapon. Kalli came over to Kardray and hugged her.
"Take care of yourself. And come and visit again after the little ones have hatched. They'd like to know their aunt." Kardray smiled in response. Kalli did something unexpected then, she hugged Xelloss (he went stiff as a board, not knowing if he could hit her or not.) "Take care of her, or I'll find you and annoy you for the rest of my life."
Xelloss straitened his cloak when she pulled away. "I'm sure." He waved cheerfully at Aiden who was glaring at him and started after Kardray and the others.
"So Sirius, where are we going now?" Lina came up to look at the rock.
Sirius pointed along the direction the canyon ran. "That way. Though I don't have any idea how close it is." He put the stone away and began walking; Lina shrugged and then followed, everyone following behind them.
"You know, we still don't know who is behind this." Lina was walking with her arms resting on her head. "Can you tell us anything about them Sirius?"
Sirius was silent for a moment. "I don't believe they were from the Overworld, or from your world either. I myself did not get a good look at them, but I could feel their presence, and that they had great power. Why they need the Dark Star Weapons, I don't know. But I do know that we must stop them. The Dark Star Weapons have too much power for something evil to use. They'd be a threat to everything."
"Much like Dark Star himself was." Zelgadiss said. Sirius nodded.
"Wait a minute, you guys fought Dark Star? As in the Dark Lord Dark Star?" Kardray was looking at them like they were completely insane.
"Yes. Valgaav summoned Dark Star to this world, and then merged with him. It took all five Dark Star Weapons, the power of Shabranigdo and Ceified, and Miss Lina casting a Chaos spell to defeat him." Filia was in higher spirits since seeing the Ancient Dragons.
"This person couldn't be intending to do that, could they? Summon a Dark Lord?" Kardray had enough problems without a Dark Lord involved.
"I have no idea. I think our priority right now is to get the weapons, to make sure, in case that is the idea, that is doesn't succeed." Sirius had been worrying about the reason for wanting the weapons. They were incredibly powerful, and very dangerous if in the wrong hands.
They reached the edge of the canyon, and Kardray stepped forward to extend the bridge. It was shorter across this time since they had only to cross the canyon, not the canyon and part of the way to the valley. They immediately turned left upon stepping off the bridge, not wanting to waste any time. They all had their own fears and worries over what would happen at the next fight, or when all the weapons had been found once again.