Fivefold Star

by Dantaron

At the end of the Golden Age, five Adepts swore an oath to fight for the future of Weyard. Their names remain an echo unto the present age... Dullahan, Sentinel, Valukar, Star Magician, and the Wise One... this is their story. [Memoria Series]

12. A Star of Mars

Chapter 12: A Star of Mars

Part I: Sailing the Skies

The day dawned bright and warm, the golden shine of the rising Sol breaking over the land and anointing it with a golden light. The clouds above, spreading across the sky in fluffy ribbons, were likewise bathed in the selfsame golden glow. The light dappled the leaves of the trees, mingling with their green hue to create something out of a beautiful dream. Birds began to chirp the morning greeting, and the dawn chorus arose around the sleeping Fivefold as the world awoke with the sounds of life. Last night's fire was merely embers, burning on the last breath of their life as a fresh west wing arose, bringing the sweet smell of the sea with it and stirring the embers to a glow. A rabbit, coloured brown to blend with his surroundings, hopped through the midst of the sleeping Adepts, his nose twitching nervously.
Cinaed's eyes snapped open; the light red irises alert and wide awake. He grabbed the haft of the spear lying beside him, and in one fluid motion, rolled over and impaled the rabbit through the heart. It twitched once, and then stopped moving. Cinaed gathered what branches and bracken he could find, and alight them with Blaze. Reaching into his boot, he brought out a long hunting knife and began to skin the rabbit. He incinerated the skin and entrails, then spiked the meat on his spear and began to roast it over the fire.
The scent of roasting rabbit wafted over the other Fivefold, and they stirred in their sleep. Yawning, Maris stretched and opened her eyes, then brightened. "Something smells great!"
Cinaed smiled, intently watching the roasting bunny. "Yeah. Breakfast is cooking." After the other Fivefold had awakened and readied themselves for the coming day, Cinaed deemed the roasting rabbit to be near completion, and disengaged it from its spit on the end of his spear. Redrawing his knife, he sliced it into thin pieces and proffered one to each of the Fivefold on the end of his dagger. The Fivefold accepted it eagerly and they sat in a circle to eat, after thanking Cinaed and the Elementals for providing them with food. They tore hungrily into the meat, while Maris ate daintily by nibbling at it with small bites.
After they were full, they doused the already dying campfire and rolled up the blankets, preparing for the road again. Flasks were refilled from a nearby stream; Orior brushed a feathery frond along the ground to erase all traces of their camp, as a precaution from monster pursuit and Regnoare. They hefted their packs on their back, and began walking.
Suddenly, a small screech came out of thin air as a vague blur hurtled down from the sky and landed with minimal impact on the ground in front of them. Zelexseon looked up, smiling slightly. "I hope you weren't planning on leaving me behind, were you?"
Orior stepped forward and smiled. "Not at all, good Zelexseon. We knew you'd catch up with us."
Zelexseon crossed his arms. "Hmph. Don't presume to know things, Orior. It does not become you, or anyone for that matter. Let's go with all haste." With that, he cast Volatilis, and once the violet wings of Psynergy spread to their full length, he sprung to the sky, followed closely behind by the other Adepts.

It was a great day for flying. The golden Sol shone upon the land, spreading a golden haze through the moisture in the air, making it sparkle and glimmer, The sunlight heated the earth beneath them and created thermals, pillars of warm air that bore them to even greater heights, so much so that the trees and rivers seemed all in miniature. The Fivefold, with Zelexseon, flew ever northward towards Prox, their hair streaming back as they went with all speed. Below, the great Shaman Lake spread its waters, countless tributaries spreading the water that came down from the mountains. Daring each other to go nearer, the Adepts swung down and skimmed the crystal surface of the lake, spraying water in their wake. This spray gleamed as the sunlight passed through it, and golden beams of light arrayed themselves across the Adepts. Fish leapt out of the water for pure joy at the delight of the day, performing a complex dance of weaving and flipping. The Fivefold beheld all this beauty, and their hearts were exceedingly gladdened. Even Zelexseon had to admit to himself the wondrousness of that day.
Ever after, the Fivefold remembered that singular day, when the world seemed pure and all things possible, for the joys of Volatilis were yet undiscovered. They had made a new ally in the form of Zelexseon, and possessed three of the Elemental powers. So then, when gold danced on the air and fish swam the sea, the Fivefold were filled with joy.
"Hey Zelexseon!" Orior said, gliding down beside the Adept, who was flying all alone at a lower altitude. "Have you ever beheld Shaman?"
Zelexseon scowled. "Of course, though I haven't been there in a long time."
Orior grinned. "Then you'll have to see it again. Come on!" With that, he grabbed the Adept's arm and dragged the protesting Zelexseon up with the other Fivefold. "We're going to Shaman!" He announced, and the Fivefold nodded. They altered the course, aiming for a far-off range of mountains, on the other side of which lay the territory of Shaman.
Flying gracefully through the mountains, past sharp ridges and yawning crevasses, the Adepts crossed the mountains and emerged over the rolling fields of Shaman. Long-stemmed grass blew in the wind, waving lackadaisically without a care in the world. The Adepts soared down and roared over the field with immense speed, so much so that it seemed the greenery would burst into flames. But, of course, it didn't.
The Plain of Shaman was enclosed on all sides by mountains, and a single cave was the only means of passage therein. Most of the town was built on the mountainside far above the plain, so that it oversaw the field like a governor over his district.
The Adepts alight softly in front of the town, the wings of Volatilis closing with a soft snick and dropping the Fivefold quietly on the dusty ground before the town gate, which was an arch of ornamented wood painted in colours of red and blue. Most of the structures were made of a soft fabric, hung from wooden rods. They appeared deceptively fragile, but they were reinforced with Psynergy to an incredible strength. The more wealthy people dwelt in homes of stone, and the chief in a grandiose house across a large brook that meandered through the town. The road through the town wound through a canyon, and on the other side of that canyon is the famous Trial Road, where Yegelos and Hoabna fought their battles.
The inhabitants were of a wild strength, appearing infused with the uncontrollable might of beasts. The men were tall and broad, muscles rippling beneath loose cloaks of animal fur and tunics of leather and feather. The constant heat of the sun browned their skin, and their natural brown hair flowed in wild manes and twined with ornaments like beads, feathers and bone. Their faces were narrow and chiselled, oft painted with natural extracts to be coloured red, blue, green and yellow amongst others. Their gaze was stern upon the newcomers.
The heat of the sun had likewise browned the women, who wore loose-fitting dresses of animal fur, and also ornamented their hair. On their feet they wore close-fitting footwear of leather called moccasins, and they too were of narrow face though softer in expression. They were slender, and with long flowing hair so brown it was almost black.
The Fivefold walked slowly through the town, marvelling at the surrounding mountain walls, which inclined steeply to the ground at the feet of Shaman. Zelexseon followed behind, scowling.
"Shamans haven't welcome outsiders," Orior was saying, "since Gazimonus discovered Hoabna had reconciled with Yegelos. He had been furious, and entirely destroyed Shaman. Ever since then, Shamans distrust all outsiders, excepting those of Anemos. And that means no destroying stuff, Zelexseon!" He added, for the warrior was beginning to look bored.
"Okay, we've seen it. Can we leave?" Zelexseon started towards the exit, but Cinaed checked him.
"Not yet. My spear," he said, drawing the azure weapon, "needs a sponge. A spear without a sponge in a long battle is about as useful as a stick. Also, we can buy a bow and some arrows for hunting. Of course, we will need some gold… how much do we have?" He inquired, looking around.
Aleos retrieved his pouch and began looking through. "Well… not much. Fifty pieces."
Cinaed nodded. "Good." He swiped the pouch from Aleos, and disappeared beneath the curtain of one of the tents. A sign of crossed swords on the wall swayed from the breeze of his passage. The other Adepts sighed, and followed.
Cinaed was talking with the owner, a burly man with a stern eye and massive muscles. The Proxian unsheathed his weapon. "Could you add a sponge, one of red the colour of blood? Also, I need thirty arrows and three sturdy bows of maple."
The shopkeeper nodded and hauled the spear over his counter. He inspected the weapon, and tapped it with a knife. It made a soft chime as the sound resonated through the light blue crystal and he nodded. "It shall be done." He brought it to the rear of his shop and sat down, opening a nearby bucket as he did so, revealing it to be full of feathers. The weapon smith brought out a string of reinforced steel, wire-thin, and began attaching crimson feathers to it so they overlapped one another six deep. He worked in silence for several minutes, while the Fivefold watched patiently. At last, he deemed the feather frill to be complete, and wound the wire around Cinaed's spear, just below where the blade at the end finished. The crystal blade seemed to emerge from a nest of red feathers like a dragon, and the shopkeeper handed it back to Cinaed, who slashed through the air experimentally. It made a quiet whoosh sound, and he nodded, satisfied. He showed it to the other Adepts.
"Having a sponge on a spear is very important. When fighting a long battle and your spear is soaked with blood, normally it will drip down the handle, slicking your grip and making it slippery and very hard to fight with. The sponge here," he flicked the feathers, "absorbs the blood and prevents it from doing this, so that you can fight unhindered the whole battle. Of course, the feathers must be cleaned afterward, lest they become matted and clumped."
He sheathed the spear, and turned back to the shopkeeper, who had spread the thirty arrows across the table, showing them to be beautifully fletched. Beside it were three longbows, long and powerful. Cinaed nodded. "I don't suppose you have three quivers, too…? Ah, thank you," he said, after the Shaman had come up with three leather quivers from under the table. "Here's for your troubles," Cinaed said, and tossed him the bag of gold. The Shaman thanked him, and the six Adepts left. As they walked out of the town, Cinaed was filling the quivers with the arrows slowly, one by one. That done, he looked up at the other Adepts. "Who wants to hunt today?" Orior and Shamira volunteered, so he tossed them each a bow and quiver. "The fields of Shaman are good hunting. Let's go."
Maris, Aleos, and Zelexseon waited, reclining in a field of flowers as the others set out to hunt. The Jupiter Adept promptly closed his eyes and went to sleep, leaving Maris and Aleos smiling with amusement.
Meanwhile, Orior, Shamira, and Cinaed had cast Volatilis, and were flying over the vast prairie in search of prey, bows clutched loosely in hand. Shamira spotted a herd of buffalo, meandering slowly across the plain while cropping grass. "Buffalo!" She shouted over the roar of the wind, and the others nodded.
Shamira and Orior branched off in other direction to approach the buffalo from the sides as Cinaed tackled them head on. Cinaed blasted the ground before the beasts with Heat Wave, scorching the ground and startling them. With a great outcry, the buffalo turned and began to stampede in all directions, except for the one where Cinaed was, seeming a dragon with his long red hair, scaled skin and crimson wings.
Suddenly, bolts of lightning and barrages of stone struck the ground on either side of the herd as Shamira and Orior cast Storm Ray and Clay Spire, respectively. The terrified beasts shied away from the blasts, and that coupled with the shadow of Cinaed behind them drove them forward in a single direction, giving the airborne Adepts a clear shot.
As one, they drew their bows and nocked an arrow as they chose targets. Their arms drew back the arrows, and the bows strained under their strength. Then, with deadly accuracy the arrows flew, each one finding its target and felling one of the large beasts as it pierced its skull. The Adepts nodded to each other and placed another arrow in the bow.
Soon, arrows were all but raining from the sky as the warriors-turned-hunters barraged the stampeding herd with arrows, each one finding its target with deadly aim. The fallen buffalo were slightly trampled by their one-time comrades, and once the herd fled far away the aerial Adepts flew downward slowly, landing quietly beside the corpses.
"Hmmm… seems to be fine. Luckily, they weren't trampled much," Shamira said, prodding the corpse gently. She saw a fletched arrow sticking out of its neck, and extracted it. It was bent and the tip had broken off inside the beast, so she threw it away. "I suppose our arrows are all broken… CINAED, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" She shrieked in disbelief.
The Proxian smiled sheepishly, his mouth streaked with blood, and let a half-eaten piece of raw buffalo fall to the ground with a wet splat. "Sorry, it's the dragon in me. Couldn't resist." He licked the blood off his lips and smiled toothily, showing pointed teeth. He sat down, leaned back and began to pick the muscle caught between them with one clawed finger.
The other two just stared. "Okaaayy… don't ever do that again, Cinaed. Ever." Shamira shuddered. "But, now what? We have no gold; our arrows are broken so our bows are useless. What do we do?"
Cinaed winked. "Don't worry, got it covered." He stood up and walked over to the buffalo he had been picking at. "This one looks good. And that one, and that one," he continued, pointing to two others. "Shamira, go get the others. Orior and I will ready these buffalo for consumption. Right?" He added. Orior nodded hesitantly. "Alright, go!" Shamira took off instantly, leaving the two Adepts alone.
Cinaed drew a long, wicked-looking knife from each armoured boot. He tossed one to Orior, who caught it deftly by the handle. "Alright. Start carving: I want all the good meat kept, so remove the entrails first. Keep the head intact." So saying, he demonstrated by decapitating the head of the beast with one long and drawn-out slash, circling the whole head. Blood oozed from the stump. He set the knife to the edge of the neck, and cut the buffalo from one side to the other. Guts poured out through the new opening, and Orior blanched. Cinaed caught the expression, and grinned. "Tasty." He hauled all the insides into one pile and incinerated them. Then, he brought his knife around and began to skin the beast. "I figured Shamira wouldn't want to see this, being a woman and all. As tough as she might be in a fight, I wouldn't appreciate this were I her."
"So I get stuck with it…" Orior said, staring at the corpse in front of him.
Cinaed looked up from his buffalo and grinned. "Exactly."

Sweat streamed down the Adept's faces as they worked under the blazing heat of the midday Sol. Slowly but surely, the stack of carved meat grew, two finished buffalo pelts beside it. They were bloodied, irritated, and tired, but they knew they had to do it. Cinaed finished his buffalo first, and set upon the one remaining. Shortly thereafter, Orior finished and joined him, so that the last buffalo was completed fairly quickly. Then Cinaed looked around quickly, and leaned toward Orior. "Don't tell the others." Then, before the Lilyveran could react, Cinaed plunged his hand into the corpse and drew out the heart of the buffalo. "Still warm," he said, and took a great bite, ignoring the blood that gushed out.
Orior simply stared and then grimaced. "You're sick Cinaed, you know that?"
Cinaed grinned. "T'ank yoo," he said, his mouth full.
"Proxians…" Orior said, shaking his head in disgust.
Cinaed swallowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded.
Orior grinned. "Nothing."
Cinaed held up the heart threateningly. "I'll force feed this to you."
"Eep."
"That's what I thought," Cinaed said, and leaned back to finish his meal.
As the Mars Adept was licking his fingers, a stunned Orior sitting beside him, the others arrived. Cinaed rose, and gestured to the corpses surrounding them. There were eleven in all, most pierced by the multiple arrows it took to bring them down. "Remove the arrows, and bring the carcasses to Shaman. Give them to the innkeeper, who will gladly pay you a sum of gold in exchange for them. The Shamans make good use of every part of the buffalo, so that's why we're giving it to them whole. I will stay behind and roast the meat for us; we have well over a month's supply of food here that cannot be left to rot. Go!"
Each of the Adepts set to doing their assigned task, though Zelexseon looked less than happy about it. Each used their Psynergy to their advantage, and soon the five Adepts flew off, straining under the weight of the load. Cinaed, nodding, turned back and began to roast the piles of carved buffalo meat, cooking them quickly from raw to jerky.
Meanwhile, the other Adepts collapsed in front of the inn with their load. Aleos went inside to bargain with the innkeeper, while the others stayed outside to guard the fruits of their hunt.
Aleos entered. "Good day, innkeeper. My companions and I have hunted, and we have some leftover buffalo to sell you. I think you will find them to your liking."
The innkeeper, a jolly looking man with a grand beard, smiled. "Is that so? Allow me to see." So Aleos led the innkeeper outside, who blinked in astonishment at the wealth of buffalo that lay on his doorstep, and sputtered. "Fa-fantastic! I'll give you one hundred coins at twenty apiece!"
"Why, you…" Zelexseon said menacingly. "You would give us such a dismal trade? I should blast your town to ruin!" Shamira cut him off.
"Peace, Zelexseon. We don't have need for much money."
He growled in response, and flew out of town on the wings of Volatilis. Shamira sighed, and turned to the innkeeper. "We have six more, Shaman. So if you would hold, we shall fetch them. So, we'll take the coins for these, and get the others. Hand the coins to my silver-haired friend here." The innkeeper, a bit intimidated, obligingly handed the pouch of coins to Aleos, who stowed them in his pack. "We shall return," Shamira promised, and they all cast Volatilis and flew away from the town to where Cinaed was waiting.

Cinaed was humming to himself when they returned, strips of buffalo jerky swaying merrily on a makeshift line of bone and grass. He noticed them flying in and smiled. "Welcome back! How much did you sell them for?" Shamira told him the story of their little adventure. "So, Zelexseon wasn't happy with the sum? Well, truth be told, I'm not either, but hey, what can you do? Taking on a town of Luna Adepts is not the wisest choice of revenge. Let's pack this jerky and take the other buffalo back to town." He divided the meat between them, giving each of them fifty long strips apiece, straining their packs to limit. Then, he hefted two carcasses with his dragon-like strength and nodded. "Let's go." All cast Volatilis, and they flew off back to Shaman.

Zelexseon floated serenely above the unsuspecting town, trying to decide if he should blow it up or not. Then, a bass voice reached him faintly, as if from very far away. "Hey Zelexseon, catch!"
"What?" He thought, and then looked up just in time to have a buffalo carcass plough into him. He grabbed it on reflex, and turned around, scowling at the Fivefold as they flew up. Cinaed was grinning.
"It wouldn't kill you to help, Zelexseon."
He scowled again. "If I didn't owe my life to you five, I'd be severely tempted to kill you…"
Cinaed just smiled. "So, you'll help then?"
Zelexseon seemed surprised at the question. "Yes, I suppose."
That settled, the Adepts flew down to the town, each clutching a buffalo corpse. They dropped them in front of the inn, noticing that the others had been taken away. Aleos entered the inn, and shortly emerged with a bag of one hundred and twenty coins. "That was easy," he said. He divided the coins amongst them all, giving everyone thirty coins, and keeping forty in a pouch for emergencies.
Thus considerably richer than they were when they had first started, the Fivefold took to the skies and left Shaman, passing across the Prairie with great speed.
The grass fields blurred by as the Adepts soared over the country, speeding towards the far-off wall of mountains, a grey looming mass of brooding stone. Storm clouds were descending from the upper reaches, and lightning flashed within.
Shamira read the wind currents, and then looked back. "Storm coming. Hang on." The Fivefold flew the skies, heading ever towards the ominous wall of black clouds. After several minutes, they hit the forefront of the storm, and staggered under the gale-force winds.
Boomph. Mass confusion as the Adepts struggled with the wind, its incredible force trying to drive them the ground. They were tossed and turned like dolls in its fierce wrath, and then the main storm caught up with them, the dark clouds immersing them in total blackness, unable to even see a hand in front of their face.
"Shamira!" Orior shouted over the howl of the storm. "Do something already!"
Shamira's voice filtered through the blackness, sounding sheepish. "Oh. Right. Zelexseon, a little help?"
"If you insist."
The two Wind Adepts swooped closer to each other, and began weaving a Psynergy in concert, summoning their own wind. The songs of their breezes repelled the storm: Shamira's sharp and cutting wind with Zelexseon's, cold, harsh, and ruthless. They weaved a song of protection and formed a great bubble of wind about them, keeping out the uncouth storm. The other Adepts steadied themselves, protected by the Jupiter Adepts' wind. The blazing bubble of air travelled quickly through the storm, unhindered by the raucous winds outside.
At last, they broke through the cloud of storms and into the crisp spring air. Zelexseon and Shamira suspended their spells and glanced at each other, pleased with their work.
The Adepts broke through the ring of mountains that encircle the Prairie, and emerged over the Hadsan Bay, a wide body of water many miles across that flowed from both the Anemos River and the Karagol. Its waters were of fluctuating temperature, but nonetheless it was a trading route, its waters reaching to Shaman, Anemos, Mantium; while Prox and Vale were easily accessible from nearby.
"Hmmm… we're not far away from Vale… Fivefold!" Aleos said, calling back to the others. "Would you like to visit Vale?"
Cinaed shook his head. "Sorry Aleos, but our quest brings us to Prox. But after that, I promise we shall go to Vale, even if it means skipping the city of Sol."
Aleos laughed softly. "We'll see if you can do that."
Cinaed flew over and nudged him. "Hey, I practically LIVE beside Atavia. It's not that impressive. Just built entirely of diamond, on the peak of the tallest mountain in the world, surround by a bottomless abyss..."
Aleos' eyebrow twitched. "I am well aware of Atavia's virtues, Cinaed."
Cinaed sighed. "Then it's a pity we won't be able to see it." He turned his head, seeming in sadness, and winked at the others.
Aleos threw up his hands in exasperation. "We'll see when we get there, Cinaed."
Cinaed nodded in understanding, trying not to snicker. "Ah."
And so, the Fivefold, with Zelexseon, flew over the lowlands of northwestern Angara, a pristine place of waving grasslands and meandering marshes. The air was crisp and clean with the climate of spring, and the Adepts were soaring high through the sky, feeling as if their quest was finally drawing to an end. Rose petals blew on the breeze as wings of violet, blue, red, green-yellow and grey beat the air in unison, supporting the Adepts while placing a light drain on their Psynergy, but an easily sustainable one in the Golden Age. In time, the vast plains narrowed and rose, forming a ridge of tall mountains that wound through the ocean, reaching ever northward. This was the same range that reached southward to envelope Mount Aleph, and marked the western boundary of Imil. It was the Alpha Range, the oldest range in the world.
The Adepts flew alongside the range, humbled by the cold and solemn wall of grey stone that made a seeming impenetrable wall beside them. As they continued their fleet, the air grew frigid and cold, a north wind blowing from the High Reaches. The mountains dropped lower beside them, spreading glaciers across the land and even out into the sea, leaving only a narrow water passage to Prox. Snow swirled on the wind in a blizzard, the cold biting into their skin. At last, the glaciers ended, melding into vast expanses of snow, and the mountains branched off to the east, and soon the ones beside them were no more. Ahead, though, two chains of mountains drew together, forming the Dragon's Gate, the pass that heralded Prox.
Orior looked back at them solemnly. "We've come so far."
Shamira flew up beside him and smiled. "And we won't be stopped now!"
Cinaed looked up, a fire in his eyes. "Now, onward! To Prox!"

Part II: City of Dragons and Fire, Prox

The Adepts came to the Dragon's Gate, an imposing wall that completely blocked the entrance into Proxian territory. It was several hundred feet high, and carved of gold inlaid with red rubies. Carved on the great double doors was the roaring head of a dragon, with glittering rubies for eyes. Built on the sides were great golden claws, upturned to face the sky and encircled with clawed talons. From within these two hands peered the guards on duty, Dragoons.
On the right talon stood a tall man with light green scales. He held a glimmering spear in hand of red steel, carved with a pattern of burning fire. The sharp tip, too, was multi-pronged so as to resemble a ball of flame. The armour the guard wore was as red as Mars, and spiked on the elbows and shoulders. Interlocking plates formed its design, with a darker red chain mail beneath. He wore an ornate helmet of red steel, and white feathers flowed from the back like a mane.
On the left was a woman with light red scales, peering intently with sharp red eyes down on the travellers. She was laying down on the talon, and wore a long cape of lizard hide over a close-fitting suit of leather, and a red circlet set with a single pearl in her red-orange hair. She clutched a scythe loosely in one hand, ready to attack at any moment. Then she spoke in a sharp voice, "What brings you to Prox, travellers?"
Cinaed looked up and shouted, "Cinaed Dracoia desires to see his hometown, and wishes for his friends to accompany him!"
"Cinaed?" The incredulous guard asked. She leapt to her feet. "They said you were dead!"
Cinaed smiled grimly. "It's a common mistake. So, Sanya. Will you let us in?"
"One moment." She looked across the gate at the other guard on duty. "Lectar, you are unopposed?"
Lectar just smiled grimly. "They flew here. Nothing's stopping them from simply flying over the gate. The courtesy they just showed us means they mean us no harm. At least, I hope so…" He added quietly, speaking to himself.
Sanya smiled. "Good, then let's open the gate." She nodded.
"Right." Lectar nodded back.
Both of them began to glow a soft red, flickering as if in the heart of a fire. The light awashed over the cupped hands of the dragon, as if painting the gold with blood. The fiery light began to crawl up the gate between them, and then the two auras both flowed into the eyes. The light poured into the rubies and they seemed to flash. With a grinding like a dragon's roar, the door swung upon.
Cinaed looked back and bowed, smiling good-naturedly. "Welcome to my humble city, Fivefold and Zelexseon. Keep your cloaks open at all times, it may be a bit warm."

"Understatement of the year," Maris groaned, wiping sweat off her brow. She wasn't built for this kind of heat.
Cinaed, however, revelled in it. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
They had been walking through the streets of Prox for a while now after descending a steep cliff after the Dragon's Gate, and if it wasn't so damned hot they could have enjoyed the architecture. The city of Prox was built one thousand feet below sea level, and the air was like a furnace. The streets were of glass, so hot it was almost molten. Occasionally, the heat rose enough so that a section of the street would bubble as it turned into a liquid, then burst and send drops of flaming liquid everywhere. Cinaed always warned them when this was going to happen, though, but that didn't make the heat any more bearable. On either side of the street and between the structures ran little streams, like any nice town would have: a bubbling, tranquil brook of water.
These, however, were much harsher. Molten lava flowed through channels dug in ruby, flowing past every home and generating the abominable heat. If a Proxian had need of any material, they would dip a scaled finger into the lava and ask their element for, say, five pounds of iron. Then, liquid iron would gather around them and cool enough to be solid so they could pick it up.
The walls of the houses were continually painted by the flickering red-white glow of these rivulets, and so the whole city seemed vivid and alive. The structures themselves came in all shapes and sizes of pale red stone, as if random gouts of lava had erupted and then cooled mid-spray. If a river of lava had poured through a country and disintegrated all the lesser rock, leaving only a chaotic design of standing stone, the effect would be much the same.
Cinaed smiled happily, glad to be back in his hometown. "Ah, Prox! No offence to you all, but I'm as happy as a clam here… which is an odd analogy, considering clams are creatures of Mercury… but, anyway, I want you all to meet someone. Vladka!" Cinaed called, and whistled piercingly. Far off, borne on the alternatively boiling and freezing winds of Prox, a shrill screech reached them. A red-blue speck appeared in the sky above, circling. Then, with amazing speed it grew as it hurtled towards them, landing with a explosive splash in a lava river. The Adepts might have been boiled alive by the resulting spray, but a midnight blue scaled surface extended, catching the liquid. When it retracted, the Adepts saw what it was: a wing.
The dragon, presumably Vladka, gave a soft purr as he regarded them with fiery blue eyes. Spiked ridges rose from his eyebrows and curved along his large skull to the rear of his head, melding with the large spikes that rose from there. This formed a brilliant frill of spikes, alternating red and blue as they made a semicircle around his skull.
His giant mouth was fierce. The upper jaw overlapped the lower one, both jaws filled with long, sharp teeth, jagged on the back to make it easier to tear chunks of meat. Nostrils flared on the top of his mouth, and long thin antennas extended from the sides of his head. Said head was based on a serpent-like neck, which protruded from a body that rippled with muscles and was covered in scales like steel.
His chest was covered in miniature scales that shimmered as he moved, and from his burly shoulders emerged two equally massive arms, reddish on the inside and fading to a midnight blue on the outside. Long and cruel talons extended menacingly from armoured claws, and his powerful tail swayed lackadaisically in the lava, making small ripples. Spikes running along the length of his back descended down his tail as well, which ended in a two-pronged sword-like blade.
Great wings spread from a back plated with indestructible scales. The wings were tipped with cruel looking spikes, and the dark burgundy underside of these wings, much the same colour as Cinaed's hair, melted to midnight blue on the outside. He reached twenty-five feet in length from snout to tail and stood six feet tall at the shoulder. The dragon shook the last drops of lava off its wings and merely looked at the Adepts evenly.
"Cinaed…" Was the confused response from the other Adepts.
Cinaed laughed and strode over to the dragon and began rubbing his eye ridge. The dragon closed his eyes with contentment. "Fivefold and Zelexseon, this is my partner Dragon, Vladka. After I completed the Trials and became a Dragoon, I was obliged to seek out the dragon nests and partner a newborn dragonet. Only then could I become a full-fledged Dragoon.
"I chose one of the mountains beside Mars Lighthouse because having that great power beside me, though the Lighthouse was not completed then, reassured me. Armed only with my blade and my Psynergy, I climbed to the nest of the dragon. Day by day, night after night I climbed, as the air thinned and the snow blew. At last, after half a week of climbing, I ascended into the dragon's nest.
"There was only one egg left, and it was cracking. I stepped into the great nest of stone, determined to partner this dragon. But with a piercing shriek, I was thwarted: a Phoenix had come.
"I shall not go into detail of the battle between that foul roc and I, but only shall I say that is was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was no ordinary Phoenix.
"Our Mars Psynergies roiled across the mountain, and despite my fear for the egg's safety I fought on. At last, both of us exhausted, we began to flag in our attacks. Then, it apparently decided to finish the egg and me at once.
"It reared back, preparing to cast Dragon Fume and roast me into oblivion. I was desperate, but spied a bit of hope. Aiming for its exposed breast, I threw my sword with all my might. It smote it deep in its heart and stuck there, and with a piercing cry the majestic bird fell back, plunging off the mountainside to explode in a ball of fiery glory on the ground. Spent, I lost consciousness.
"I awoke surround by an unfamiliar scent and body. I opened my eyes and saw the face of Vladka here," he rubbed the dragon's forehead affectionately, "hanging over me, crooning anxiously.
"You see, from before birth dragons are gifted with a masterful intelligence, and I was soon told he witnessed the entire battle with the Phoenix inside the egg, by sensing the heat patterns around him. He was impressed with my valour, and from that day forward we were inseparable. Well, in mind at least.
"Though sometimes I may be away, like I have been these past few weeks, we are never far apart mentally. For our souls are linked."
The dragon turned from Cinaed and regarded the others solemnly, and they heard a voice in their minds: deep, powerful, and full of wisdom and courage. "Well met, resistors of Regnoare. Thank you for looking after my Dragoon. I shall see if I can repay you in some way."
Zelexseon, who had been looking bored, started. "This mongrel can talk!" Flames immediately began to broil in the dragon's eyes as he turned his regard on Zelexseon.
"Erm, he doesn't mean it, Vladka." Cinaed said hastily, for energy was beginning to crackle between the two beings.
The dragon turned his gaze to Cinaed. "You know full well he does. But if it pleases you, Cinaed, I shall spare him."
"It would please me greatly."
"Then I shall spare him." With that, the dragon closed his eyes and sank regally into the lava, which was apparently a lot deeper than it looked as the reptile was soon submerged completely.
Cinaed breathed a mock sigh of relief, and turned to the others. "Well, he'll rejoin us later. In the meantime, we must see the leaders of Prox to seek permission to climb Mars."
"Hmph," Zelexseon said, and folded his arms.
The Adepts continued their journey through Prox, descending deeper into the valley, Cinaed explaining Prox as they went. "As you may well know, Proxians are descended from dragon's blood, some say from Great Mars himself. For we are of Mars and of no other can we be, for its might flows in our veins as surely as the blood beside it. We don't know exactly how we are of dragon, but we are. No dragon has ever bonded with another.
"As for our city, unlike most others we have not a King, or an Emperor, or a Mayor. Instead, we have a Council of Dragoons, represented by every Dragoon that is still alive and headed by the most valiant of them all. Should one seek to become the head, he or she must overcome the current head in tournament. The title of the head is draconigena, though this can be applied to any Proxian in its modern tongue: dragon-born. That's where we're going now: the Council Chambers."
The Adepts nodded their understanding, and walked on. To Maris, the vast and complicated web of structures resembled sea coral, gone twisted and branching each way, though she daren't point this out to Cinaed, as Mars and Mercury tended to take pride in their differences. Ahead, all the structures abruptly rose and plunged, merging with a single red dome, unbroken and unmarred by flaw. It was made of solid ruby, and yet seemed to be a part of the ground itself. It was surrounded on all sides by a lake of pure molten lava that bubbled and spit, hating the cold air that stirred from the northern reaches.
The lava began to ripple, and a depression formed in front of them as they stood on a bank of pure ruby. A shadow darkened the molten rock, and then, with minimal spray this time, Vladka rose majestically from the roiled lava, and shook off the residue lava.
Cinaed swept his arm grandly. "Our transport has arrived."
Vladka snorted, sending flames out of his nostrils. "Transport…"
Cinaed clambered on his dragon's back and scratched a ridge. "Don't worry about it."
The other Adepts climbed on, staying as far away from the edge as possible to avoid an inadvertent slip into the lava. Then, slowly, Vladka beat his wings, swung his tail and furrowed with his claws, swimming across the lava. After a few moments, the dragon reached the dome and outreached with one graceful claw and stroked the ruby. It shimmered as if by some internal light, and a door opened in the dome, just above the lava line.
Vladka shuffled over and lowered one wing, opening an easy way for the Adepts to enter. Each of them hopped off after thanking the dragon, even Zelexseon, who looked back and locked eyes with the dragon. "Hm. You might be useful after all." The dragon bristled, and Zelexseon entered.
Cinaed, frowning, stepped up to talk with his dragon. "Don't worry about him. It's great to see you again, Vladka. Take a break, hunt some caribou. Enjoy yourself."
The dragon cocked his head as he considered the idea. "I think I will. Should I save you some meat?" The dragon offered.
Cinaed laughed and clapped a hand on his mount's shoulder. "Nah, I already ate. You can have it all."
The dragon seemed to smile and sprang to the skies, drenching Cinaed with lava, who only smiled and brushed it off. After watching the speck of his dragon diminish, Cinaed turned back and entered the Dome of the Council.

The walls were smooth and featureless, like glass, or perhaps solidified magma, and it gave off a soft rose light. The passage sloped downwards at a slight angle, and the air grew hotter with every step they took. Maris sighed with resignation, having long removed her cloak, and loosened her collar, and the others finally succumbed as well and removed their cloaks. Cinaed only smiled and continued onwards. After a few more minutes of this, they came to a door of solid ruby dusted with gold. Cinaed nodded. "We're here." He glowed red and drew his spear, and knocked thrice on the door with the tip, each time giving a sharp ting sound. With a low grinding, the door opened, shaking what looked to be gold dust from the ceiling. The chamber beyond was lit with a flickering red light, and the Adepts respectfully entered, not too slow, not too fast. The chamber they now entered was large, and circular in shape. A table of red sandstone lay in the centre, circular in shape and armed with chairs of the same material, twenty-five in all. A regal knight in ornate armour, each suit customized to fit his or her own style, occupied each. They were full-fledged Dragoons.
In the chair furthest away from them, a Dragoon rose. Spikes seemed to grow from the edges, and he wore a white cloak lined with red satin clasped on one shoulder, and a helm in the shape of a dragonhead. The base colour of the armour was a pure white, almost pearl in colour, tipped with red on the edges. A long vambrace flowed back form his wrist to his elbow, ending in a long spike. His armour was plated, overlapping from his extremities to the centre, descending in thickness ever so slightly. Two long horns of white rose from the predominately red helm. His visor was down, so simply a pair of red eyes gleamed from beyond the slits in the mask. "Travellers, what brings you to Prox?" A question of courtesy only, because the fact that they were there at all showed one of their number to be a dragoon: only dragoons could enter the Dome.
"Draconigena. We've come to seal Mars, and finally defeat Regnoare."
The dragoon head nodded. "I thought so. Is there anything you or your companions require?"
Cinaed thought for a moment. "I do not believe so…"
"Nonetheless, I believe there's something we can give you, Cinaed. Selena!" The leader said, looking at a dragoon in blue-green armour. "Could you retrieve the Armour of Midnight Fire?"
The female dragoon nodded and rose, then left the chamber out a side door. The draconigena returned his gaze to Cinaed. "Warrior, we have heard the tales of the valour of you and your companions, and we have decided the time has come to award you the rank of Templar. And with it, your armour." Cinaed felt his power and senses heightened, and the bond he shared with his dragon was strengthened, so that he could feel his dragon's mind at all times. He knew that at the moment, Vladka was finishing a caribou that he had hunted, smiling in the way that only dragons can.
The other Templar knight returned with a marvellous suit of armour, midnight blue in colour tinged with red on the edges, a reverse colour scheme of his dragon. Cinaed nodded his thanks and put it on slowly. When he had finished, the others only saw something like a humanoid dragon looking at them: which was, of course, the point. "You have my thanks. Now, Council," Cinaed said, his voice a bit muffled by the visor. "I bid you farewell."
"May your quest come to fruition," said the Paladin draconigena.

They emerged into the chill evening air shortly after on top of the dome. Vladka appeared to be sleeping on the side, half-submerged in the molten stone. "Vladka. It's time." Cinaed said.
The dragon opened one eye and surveyed Cinaed, nodding approvingly at the armour. "So, finally a Templar?" Cinaed nodded. "Then it would be my pleasure to fly you and your companions to Mars Lighthouse, Cinaed."
Without a word, the Adepts all climbed on the back of the powerful dragon, and Cinaed's armour was indiscernible from his dragon's scales. "Let's go." He said, and the dragon sprung into the sky.

Part III: Mars Lighthouse

The flight of the dragon was nothing like Volatilis. It was a more physical flight, buffeted by the currents of wind and rising and falling with the wing beats. The dragon felt strong and immovable beneath their legs, and they could feel the steady pulse of his life as he flew through the air. Across his scales were rough patches of stone where lava had not been removed and had hardened. The city of Prox, in its deep valley, fell away from them as they rose into the sky, fighting the conflicting winds. At last, they broke to ground level, and the red glow of Prox gave way to the emotionless grey of the snowy wastes. There, facing the Dragon's Gate across the breadth of Prox and glowing fierily as it spread warmth throughout Weyard, was Mars Lighthouse. It was tall and majestic, carved entirely of red stone ornamented with gold. From its crown emerged four smaller towers, one for each of the elements. For though Mars was also the destroyer, he was also the pacifier, for there is a certain unity in the flames: each of its own mind, yet united at the same source. Much like the Elements themselves.
Beyond the Lighthouse stretched the endless tundra, though they knew there was an end. Because somewhere out there lied the sacred city of Sol, Atavia.
A solitary path lay below them, winding with a sheer cliff on each side towards Mars Lighthouse. Two staircases climbed into the Lighthouse proper, and a ladder on the side made passage to the elevators possible.
Vladka landed gracefully in front of the entrance, standing still as he allowed the Adepts to dismount. They walked up the staircase and into a circular court, open to the air and surrounded on three sides by Mars Lighthouse. Twin dragon statues stood before them, guarding a door that yawned into blackness. Shamira shaded her eyes against the blowing snow and looked up at the aerie. "Volatilis?"
Cinaed stepped up beside her and shook his head. "No. I want to see Mars Lighthouse, just as all of you beheld your own Lighthouse. And besides that…" he turned and looked passively through the door. "Somewhere in there lies the weapon of Mars."
Shamira nodded, remembering just the other day when she first held Skyshard. "Understandable. Fine, we'll take the Lighthouse."
Cinaed caught the hint of resignation and grinned, opening his visor to see better. "Don't worry. This Lighthouse is like Mars itself: quick and direct. It won't take more than five minutes to reach the Aerie." Then it seemed he thought of something, and he blanched. "Shamira… do you know Teleport?"
She shook her head. "Not yet…"
Cinaed was alarmed. "We need Teleport to reach the aerie from the inside."
"If this weapon is anything like the others, it'll be worth it to get. I know first-hand their power." It was Zelexseon. "Fortunately for you, I know Teleport."
Cinaed's eyes lit up, like those of a child told he could have those much-desired sweets. "Do you? I would be indebted to you, Zelexseon, if you would be so kind."
Zelexseon rolled his eyes. "Don't make me regret my decision."
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get going, shall we?" Aleos asked, already standing beside the entrance.
"Right." Cinaed said, and they all passed inside.

The wind ceased as they strode into the first room, which was beautiful in its vague symmetry. A staircase rose on the left and right, and carven stone dragonheads protruded from the walls at the east and west, connected to a torch. Cinaed, smiling, climbed up the left staircase and gestured for the others to follow. At the top, there was a lit torch built beside an unlit one that was positioned exactly above the dragonhead. "For clearing out ice," Cinaed explained, and cast Blaze on the lit torch. A stream of fire emerged and lit the other one, and then the flame passed down a short fuse into the dragonhead. There was a short pause, and then an immense fireball launched from its mouth and travelled across the room before hitting the other side with a large explosion. Five Adepts jumped with surprise. Cinaed smiled. "Very useful."
They trooped back down the stairs and into the open area of the room, uncomfortably situated between the two dragonheads, which yawned open mouths at them as if to fire at any moment. Five doors opened in the northern wall, three set first and foremost, arrayed horizontally, and then one on each side set a bit back.
"No problem here. Straight and simple: the door in the middle." A staircase of red stone curled upwards directly in front of them.
A loud hissing came to them, and they turned to the side, confused expressions on their faces. Confusion turned to horror as they observed that the fuses were light: hellfire was imminent.
"Go up!" Cinaed shouted wildly. "I'll hold them off as long as I can." The Adepts ran up the stair, but Cinaed caught a hint of blue move up beside him. He turned and saw Maris, smiling grimly. "Maris, what are you doing? Get out of here!"
Maris shook her head. "I can't let you play the hero and face this all alone, Cinaed."
"Maris, Mars is your weakness. You, of all people, should escape danger."
"I only want to be by your side."
"Maris…" Then Cinaed made up his mind. "Okay! We'll stand back to back: you take the east, I'll take the west." A blast heralded the approaching fireballs. "Let's hope this works. Liquifier!"
"Deluge!" Maris echoed a second later.
The two attacks clashed simultaneously. Maris' Deluge strove with the fireball, the constant stream of water wearing it down and releasing steam throughout the room. The Lighthouse of Mars weakened Maris' Psynergy, and so the fireball ploughed on, and yet shrank as it went. Maris, deep in concentration, fed more power into her spell, and finally the fireball fizzled out, mere inches from Maris' hands. She sighed with relief.
Cinaed's Liquefier impacted the fireball, but Cinaed's Psynergy was of greater strength. With an immense shower of sparks the two fire waves fought with each other, and Psynergy proved the stronger. The Liquefier overcame the other and absorbed it, and carried it on to crash into the wall with a resounding explosion.
The two Adepts sighed, and turned to each other. "We did it!" Maris said happily.
Cinaed looked down on her and smiled. "Indeed we did, my courageous Imilian." With that, he clasped her hand, and Maris blushed. With a slight smile, Cinaed relinquished his grip and climbed up the staircase.
Maris smiled. "Proxians," and followed him up the stair.
Then, she shied back from the next room, retreating a step. The room flickered with a red glow as the floor was overflowed with lava, which flowed out from the room by means of a small passage in one of the corners. Small pillars rose from the molten substance, and Maris looked unhappy surrounded by so much Mars. Cinaed was still hopping across the pillars, quite a feat in his heavy armour. He looked back and gestured for Maris to follow. She sighed, and lifted up the hem of her skirt to hop across nimbly, where she joined the rest of the Adepts at the other side. They nodded collectively, and climbed the staircase that led to the base of the towers.

They climbed a broad staircase, and found themselves standing on an ornate floor design etched with the likeness of Sol and having a small depression in the centre. It was semicircled by four statues of women, holding up bowls that were lit with four colours of fire: one of each of the elements. Beyond them, a fearsome-looking dragonhead with four eyes protruded from the wall, glaring at them. Arrayed around it on the wall were various murals of Psynergy, one representing each element: Mercury, the fish; Jupiter, the bird; Venus, man; Mars, the dragon.
The Adepts marvelled at this, for the Elements rarely gave recognition to each other, much less in their own domain.
Then Cinaed remembered one of his objectives. "Now, were I a sacred weapon of Mars, I would probably be in the Mars tower." He stepped up beside the dragon mural and read aloud the plaque placed beside it. "Dragons… Burning with might, they ruled the fires." He looked back and nodded. "Let's see if we can find the might of Mars here." He stepped in front of the mural, which phased out of existence to reveal a tall door. Catching his meaning, the others followed.
The hall was well lit with torches, and lined with pillars. The walls were built of a red tile, overlaid with a black stone. The pillars were of a cream coloured stone banded with gold rings, and over the torches was carved a single eye. The hall emerged at the stormy upper reaches of Mars Lighthouse, outside. They climbed a staircase, the sheer wall of Mars Lighthouse to their left. They continued along the path, a bridge from the main Lighthouse to the tower, the sides guarded by red stones connected by iron chains to guard against unfortunate falls. The skies were a warped abyss of marauding clouds, wrapped around the tower of Mars like an enwreathing fog. Cinaed strode to the front of it, and entered inside without a word.
A river of lava flowed across the chamber, bridged in the centre by a few blocks of stone. The bridge continued to a pass between two walls, and as they walked through it they saw a chamber of pure fire. Magma lay on the floor, impassable except for countless pillars that rose from the depths. A dragonhead stared directly at them, mouth yawning open, and the Adepts shivered, remembering the horror of the twin fireballs. Nonetheless, they hopped the pillars and came even closer to it, passing off to the right where a ladder was propped up against the wall. They climbed the ladder to the platform above the dragonhead, where a small torch was inlaid on the ground, sitting there innocently though it was the fuse for lighting off the dragon. Giving it a wide berth in case of accidents, the Adepts circled and descended down the other side, and after jumping a few more pillars they passed through a door, and covered their eyes with dismay when they saw what awaited them.
It was a pipe puzzle in the fashion of the ones they had solved long ago at Mercury Lighthouse, but instead of harmless though cold water these sprouted liquid fire. They could see the puzzle was going to be one hell of a headache.
Zelexseon shook his head. "Why are you worried over a mere puzzle?" With that, he cast Volatilis and flew calmly over the pipes, laughing softly as he did so. The gouts of fire that were released had no power of him. Realizing his point, the others all followed suit and glided over. Smirking, Zelexseon walked through the last door and emerged on the top of the Mars Tower.

The wind roared more than ever as they emerged from the door, looking out into the black abyss. On each side of the door rose stairs of red, which led to a wide plateau that was almost like an aerie. Walls of solid red rose on each side of the summit, and on the northern one was carved the same dragon mural they had seen below, outlined with a red fire. In the centre of this peak was a torch, lit with a red flame.
Cinaed looked thoughtfully from the flame to the mural, and back again. "I wonder…" he said softly. He walked up to the torch, and looked down on it. Words unbidden came to his mind, a ritual. "Lit with Blaze…" he cast Blaze on the torch to extend a beam of flame, awashing the mural in fire, which flashed in response. "Honoured by fire…" He cast a Psynergy unique to the Proxian Clan, and was encircled in a red aura. "Ignus." Countless sparks formed around the torch, swirling for a moment before combining into one above it. An ethereal sprite appeared, in the form of a miniature dragon. It opened its jaws, and then disappeared in a shower of flame. The torch began to glow white. "Thus, the seal is broken!" He gathered the abundant might of Mars around him and summoned Meteor. The others ducked and ran for cover at the door, peering out with curiosity and a touch of fear as the mighty summon commenced.
Somewhere, deep in the Void, the Mars Psynergy beckoned and entrapped a giant boulder and small smaller tributaries. The power of Mars gathered and drew the meteor to Weyard, inflaming it as it ploughed through the atmosphere. The very air itself burned as it closed in on Cinaed, who welcomed it like a water-starved fish. The Meteor crashed on the Proxian, who resisted it. Drawing his spear, he plunged it into the heart of the Meteor, which promptly exploded. The seal of the weapon was broken.
Bit by bit, the meteor flaked off into smaller pieces and burned away. Only a core of some mysterious metal, Stardust most likely, remained, and then it too crumbled away, exposing the most magnificent weapon Cinaed had ever seen hovering in the air before him.
It was a halberd from Heavens itself. The shaft was made of purest ruby, dusted with the barest hint of gold. The pommel was a single star stone, five-pointed and glittering with an unearthly light. The weapon at the end was likewise magnificent, a large spear point made also of star stone, the strongest metal in the world. It lanced forth from the end of the weapon a foot in length, and from the base of its blade arose two axes of mythril, one on each side, shaped like a crescent moon. The base of these weapons was hidden in a cloud of Phoenix feathers as a sponge. The spear tip emerged from a dragon's head, carven of gold, mouth wide open so that it seemed the tip was its tongue. All told, the halberd was seven feet long.
Cinaed grabbed the haft and felt the power of Mars surge through his being. "Draconiax." He intoned, pronouncing the x silent. "Weapon of my ancestor, Vladimir. He sealed you in the heavens, but I have released you. Now," he commanded, twirling the blade, "serve both me and Prox!" In a flash of red light that seemingly came from nowhere, he strapped the weapon on his back. Of his old spear, no sign remained: it had been incinerated by the meteor.
Cinaed turned back to them, a fire in his eyes. "Now," he said, looking each of them in the eye in turn, "let's go seal Mars, and defeat Regnoare once and for all."
They nodded, and dove back into the tower of Mars. The journey back to Mars Lighthouse was more or less uneventful, and as they passed through the mural, it seemed to close behind them with a magical ring.
"Okay, let's do this," Shamira said, taking a deep breath. They all walked over to the magical pad on the floor. "Ready, Zelexseon?"
"Of course." The Jupiter Adept raised one hand and cast Teleport. The pad below them charged with magical energy, and in a great wave of rainbow sparks the Adepts were transported.
They reassembled from the sparks on Mars Aerie, or more accurately one floor below it. Nonetheless, they were outside again, and only a short path of floating platforms and a stair remained of the path to the beacon.
The Adepts hopped across the platforms, never hesitating, for their last Lighthouse was nearly complete. At last, they stood on the last Aerie, gazing with wonder at the Mars beacon.
It was a soft red, interlaced with veins of a light, rosy colour. Small orbs encircled it and orbited it, and it gave off a constant feeling of warmth and heat. Maris and Cinaed stepped toward it, but Aleos broke in.
"I suggest we should take a short rest before sealing the beacon. We have not seen Regnoare for a while, and so we have no idea what he may be planning. It is best to be at full strength before we seal the beacon and alert Regnoare to our presence."
"Unless he already knows…" Orior muttered, but nonetheless sat down, and the others followed suit.
By some miracle, the constant cloud cover of storm-torn Prox overhead broke, letting through the soft light of the stars and Luna. One star in particular caught Zelexseon's eye, a bright and powerful star almost directly above them. ""Orior, what is yonder star called?" He inquired, and pointed.
Orior looked up from his musings, and scanned the sky. "Sirius, the wolf star."
Zelexseon seemed entranced. "A truly majestic name for a majestic star. I've never seen it before in my world…"
Something about that caught Shamira's ear, and she looked up. "Waitwaitwait… your world?"
Zelexseon smiled sadly. "Yes. I was not born in this world. In fact, I only have vague ideas about when and where I was born. You see, I am not human." The Fivefold stared in shock at him, and he chuckled softly. "No, I am a demon, born in some long-forgotten realm and doomed to roam the worlds, bereft of companions and with only one goal: destruction. Journeying with you all has given me a thirst for companionship, as well as a sadness for the millennia I have wasted. It's funny, really…. I never used to feel emotions, but something in this world makes me feel otherwise.
"You see, your world is but one of many. Some of them are alternate timelines, in which what might have happened, if, say, Gazimonus had triumphed over Argyros." Aleos bristled, but Zelexseon went on, "Or if this Golden Age went on for another six hundred years? That's the last timeline I visited." Then he looked straight at Orior. "You see, in every alternate reality there are alternate persons, twins of this life who may or may not be the same as you know them. Orion, one of the two warriors who defeated me for the first time, was your twin, Orior, in that timeline. Note the similarities?" Zelexseon laughed softly. "Of course, I fancy there is a true universe somewhere, and that all the others are simply branches, or creations, of that universe. If something happens to that realm, we're all screwed." He smashes his fists together. "No more Golden Sun, no more Regnoare, no more anything. Of course, this is all just my theory."
The others stared in shock, but Zelexseon went on. "I didn't care about anything back then. But after Orion and Rosenkreuz defeated me, I warped here, passing through the very fabric of reality to this plane. For the first time in my memory, I was mortally wounded. Perhaps, I even would have died, but the light of Jupiter and the strange energy that fills your realm healed me, and so I recovered, though very slowly."
Zelexseon traced a path on the aerie floor with one finger. "I suppose many of the realms have long since collapsed, having witnessed their Apocalypse. All realms are different, and yet one, of the same source. And maybe, that source is the Gods."
"Anyway… I have at last come to appreciate life. I think… I shall remain in this world a while longer, and see what I can learn."

Then, a dark voice, low and full of malice reached them. "A touching story, but ultimately futile. You see…" The Adepts turned with amazement and beheld Regnoare, eyes aflame and surrounded by a malevolent black aura, walking calmly from behind the beacon. "You have caused me much pain, and you're beginning to become a thorn in my side. And you're so predictable." He sighed. "So, Adepts! Prepare to die!" He clapped his hands once, and a black aura of darkness surrounded the Aerie, allowing no light to escape. Everything was lit solely by the reddish glow of Mars.
Then, with a dark scream, shapes blacker than the surrounding darkness leapt up, and soon the aerie was surrounding by countless glowing eyes. Mantrak innumerable, demon spawn, and hellborne dragon surrounded them. It was a trap.
"Maris!" Cinaed yelled suddenly. "The beacon! Seal it!"
Maris nodded. "Right. Come on, cover me! I also need you to help seal Mars, anyway."
Cinaed looked gravely at the others. "Hold off Regnoare as long as you can."
Regnoare suddenly became enraged. "Enough chat! Time to die!"
With a great cry, the beings of darkness sprung at them, all manner of weapons outstretched. Blackness enclosed the world as Luna Psynergies worked to block all light. Orior, Shamira, Aleos, and Zelexseon worked furiously to fend off the monsters. Cries of "Force", "Magnitude", "Violet Storm", and "White Lightning" rent the air, and amid the multicoloured bursts of light Maris could be seen, weaving the spell to seal Mars. It seemed the Adepts were gaining the upper hand as monsters fell beyond numbering, but even more joined the fray. Then, Regnoare decided to enter.
"Soul Collide!" He cried, and a blackness that seemed like countless grasping hands extended, accompanied by a mournful scream of despair. The hands reached and plunged into the Adepts, and ripped out a bit of their life force. The hands withdrew to Regnoare, who glowed each of the elemental colours as his enemy's power flooded him. The Adepts fell to the ground, exhausted by the immense energy drain.
"Rrrrakkk!" One of the black drakes had spotted an opening, and launched himself at Maris, who was kneeling, head bowed and panting. She never saw the attack coming, and the creature's claws extended to rip her throat out. Regnoare smiled with triumph.
"NO! MARIS!" Cinaed wheeled around and struck with his halberd, embedding the tip inside the drake's side. The creature of Luna gave a cry and melted into nothingness.
Cinaed heard a savage voice behind him speak. "You're a fool! Never let concern distract you in battle!" Regnoare yelled, words that would be echoed by Agatio one thousand years later.
The necromancer raised his arm into the air, and a black fog gathered around it. It grew in density, and slowly a long black spear phased into existence. He grabbed it and threw it at the Proxian, aiming for his heart. Cinaed closed his eyes and waited for the bite of the blade, followed by the inevitable darkness of death.
It didn't come.
With a sound like the rushing flame, a red-blue blur leapt onto the Aerie and tackled Cinaed, saving him from the dark spear. His saviour let out a heart-wrenching cry as the spear plunged deep into his side. The black shaft stuck fast, quivering, between the plated mail of fire red scales. The spear stopped moving for a moment, and then dissolved in black fog and gathered back into Regnoare's hand. Emerald blood began to flow in a fount from the wound.
Cinaed rose slowly from the ground, and looked to see who saved him. He gasped in shock as he saw his dragon, Vladka, staring at him with his normally fiery blue eyes, now placid and calm. He paid no heed to the gaping wound in his side, but Cinaed could see that his dragon's life force was draining away: Regnoare had struck the heart.
It seemed to Cinaed that his dragon smiled softly. "Well, Cinaed. I guess this is farewell. I shall see you in the next world."
Cinaed felt like his heart was being torn in two. "No, Vladka! It doesn't have to end this way…"
His dragon smiled weakly, showing pointed teeth stained with blood. Emerald blood. "No, it does. I give my life for you, Cinaed. I am content with my fate: there are few more honourable than the vassal sacrificing himself to save his master." His blue eyes began to cloud over with the haze of death. "Always remember Cinaed… I shall always be with you. And remember, those around you love you. You must not forget them. Live Cinaed, if only for me." His last farewell spoken, the dragon gave one last death cry, and seemed to melt away, his body fading away in a shower of sparks. The dragon was no more.
Cinaed clenched his fist and struck the ground, shivering. "Vladka… why did this have to happen this way? What went wrong?" He bowed his head, tears rising in his eyes.
A dark voice above him laughed mockingly. "Oh, please. Spare me the drama. Just die." Regnoare gathered darkness into his hand, and summoned a longsword.
"No." Cinaed said, his teeth gritted with hatred. "Never."
"Hah! Too late!" Regnoare brought the rune-etched black blade around and descended it on the prone Proxian.
A shower of sparks rose as Cinaed blocked with Draconiax, his eyes burning with rage. "No," he repeated, and Regnoare stepped back, surprised at the utter hatred in the Proxians eyes. "No one slays my dragon and lives. No one. Now, you die." Cinaed threw off Regnoare's blade, and tapped into the vicious power of Mars that lay within his halberd. "Firestorm."
A sheet of flame kicked up, wind made fire, and threw all the black creatures off the aerie. Half of them burned into non-existence with the initial wave. Regnoare grimaced. Cinaed twirled Draconiax as if it were as light as a baton, and a line of flame drew itself above his head. With each revolution of the weapon, the line of flame drew itself out like a corkscrew, making a flaming web of fire around Regnoare and his remaining allies. Whips of flame emerged from the web and obliterated Regnoare's weakened allies, and would have hit the dark lord himself had he not shrugged them off, scowling.
Then, Cinaed was surrounded in a ball of fire, white-hot in its intensity, though it did not harm him. The flame-web rippled, and drew in closer to Regnoare, who twitched with discomfort. Then, the white ball of fire that held Cinaed burst off and assumed a distinct shape: one that Cinaed knew well. "I said I would always be with you." Said the apparition, and Cinaed nodded, fighting the tears that rose to his eyes.
"Now, end it." The dragon phantom raised his head and gave a ghostly howl. The red fire web also reacted, swirling more angrily and giving off flares. Then, it coalesced into an avatar, that of a majestic Phoenix of red fire, a rain of sparks falling from it graceful tail.
The phantom dragon nodded to the phoenix, and both gave a cry. Fire, white and red, streamed forth and blasted Regnoare, who cast up a barrier to defend himself. Then, as one, the two avatars rushed forth and slammed into him, causing a massive rose-coloured explosion.
"Cinaed! Give me your hand!" Maris shouted wildly. She had been working on breaking Mars, and had formed the Star. Only the power of a Mars Adept was required. Cinaed, after a withering look at the cloud of smoke that remained, ran over and clasped hands with Maris.
Serene in the midst of the battle, the newborn Star floated into the Orb of Mars. It flashed, giving off a searing blast of heat, and then erupted, transforming into a large ball of fire. The fire burned brightly, playing across the surface of the star. The fire was sucked in, and for a moment it sustained its fiery nature in the water-filled star.
"Subzero!" She cast, but the ice only melted away when it neared the Star. She frowned, and lapsed into the ancient tongue, which would give the spell more power. "congelo purus!" Runes of ice were drawn in the air, and encircled the Star. The temperature dropped within their shell, and the Star began to chill. Then, the runes drew in and crashed into the Star, freezing it to the core. Maris sighed with relief, and handed the Star to Aleos.
"I hope you don't think you finished me, did you?" Said a voice, behind them, sounding amused. The Adepts wheeled around in shock, and observed with horrified expressions that Regnoare was floating calmly behind them, unscathed except for some frazzled hair and blackened armour. "Now, my turn." He said calmly. "For the opening act!" He turned around and looked down on Prox. He gathered darkness in his palm, forming a corrosive ball of black energy. "Searing Orb!" He hurled it at the western edge of the Proxian valley, which almost touched right against the North Sea. The ball of black energy hissed as it collided with the cliff, and began to shrink. But for every particle that was lost, a hundred particles of the cliff rotted away, until it was too weak to hold its own.
Slowly, almost regally, the grand canyon wall collapsed, letting thousands of gallons of freezing water fill the canyon. The Adepts could only watch with morbid fascination as the water hissed and broiled as it solidified the lava, and deepened at an alarming rate. Soon, the whole city was submerged at a depth of several hundred meters. Laughing, Regnoare waved his arms like a magician performing a trick. "Act Two!" He cried.
It began slowly at first, the roiling surface of the water glinting like steel. Then, in a great wave, a beam of energy passed over it, freezing all it touched. In mere seconds, the whole city was frozen, all its inhabitants granted an instant tomb.
"Act Three!" Regnoare went on, and the Adepts were powerless to stop him. He reached far over his head, and then clenched his outstretched hand. Darkness began to gather around it, black as the pit and laced with flashes of white lightning. It seemed insubstantial, like a fog. "Soul Abyss!"
Aleos recognized it, and shivered at the memory. It was the same attack he had used to destroy Vale. "Stop, you monster!"
Regnoare smiled, the darkness above his head now twenty times his size. "Why should I? For your folly, you shall pay as like." With a powerful throw, he hurled the black attack far out into the horizon, onto the endless plains between Prox and Atavia. The spell spread out upon impact, and hissed as it ate away at the ground. Soon, only a black abyss remained, black as night and laced with lightning. "So long as the world remains dim and dark," he proclaimed, "so shall this darkness grow, eating away at the world itself. This is my horror: that you should be helpless to do anything but watch your death coming, creeping closer year after year, and each time you go to rest, you wonder if you will wake up in the Abyss." Regnoare sneered.
The Fivefold were powerless to do anything. Even without Sol Aurarius, they were no match for him.
Regnoare seemed to read their minds and smirked. "Wondering how I can still be this powerful even after you stole Sol Aurarius? You fools," he began to laugh softly. "You hoped to kill me in my weakened state, didn't you? But you didn't count on one thing… I DRAINED MUCH OF SOL AURARIUS! ITS POWER IS MERGED WITH ME! AND NOTHING, NOTHING CAN TAKE THAT AWAY!" He laughed uproariously, then the Fivefold felt sick. All their struggles were for naught.

Zelexseon was astounded. He had never felt such power and malevolence from another being, certainly not so much that it surpassed his own. But, having witness this power, he knew he was no match for this demon. He saw only one way out.
He cast Volatilis, and rose majestically into the air until he was face to face with Regnoare. Regnoare stopped laughing and studied him.
"Regnoare!" Zelexseon accused. "There is no room for two demons in this realm! flamen aero!" Zelexseon glowed an immense violet, and then drew his hands in front of him, violet smoke trailing from his fingertips. A bright silver light formed between his hands as they met, and he caressed it to feed it power. It crested in brightness, and a glorious beam of silver-violet energy lanced forth, made of air compressed to densities so high no one knows its true measure.
This beam lanced into Regnoare, who grunted with surprise as he tried to hold it back. Then, he cast Hopeless Shadow. The souls of all those who died in vain were summoned to fight the attack, and with the newly obliterated Prox at his feet the demon had no shortage of supply. Zelexseon, through his connection with the beam, felt both his hope and his energy being drained. With no choice but to break off the attack, Zelexseon ceased. He stared at Regnoare, who seemed largely unfazed by the attack, though he was breathing a bit heavily. "Impossible!"
Regnoare smiled maliciously. "Not impossible, fool. Just very, very unlikely."
Zelexseon beat his wings backward with amazement. "That was one of my strongest attacks!"
"Pity. I was hoping you'd be stronger…"
Zelexseon smiled bitterly. "I'm not done yet." Holding out his hand, he cast vesica aero, and smiled to have the feel of the weapon in his hand again.
"Pft, what are you going to do with- ACK!" Regnoare gasped, and looked down. Zelexseon had cast Quick Strike, and was now smiling grimly, his vesica impaled through Regnoare's chest and out his back. "How could you do that? Impossible!"
Zelexseon smiled grimly. "Not impossible. Just very, very unlikely." Regnoare tried to escape, but found the blade held him fast. "Actually, it's a wonder you're still alive at all…" Zelexseon went on, and wriggled the blade. Regnoare winced, but wasn't even bleeding.
"Fivefold." Zelexseon said, and looked sadly over his shoulder at them. Then, he talked to them each, privately in turn.
"Aleos. Vengeance is not always the way to the light, I know that now. Live a little, and forget the pains of the past. Treasure what you have today, as it may not be with you always."
"Cinaed. Though your dragon is deceased, there are others in this world that care for you. Don't slip into grief over your loss, but embrace those who love you. You know who I mean!"
"Maris, brave Star Magician. Keep your kind heart, and love without restraint. Don't be afraid to express your feelings to those you love. Keep Mercury strong!"
"Orior, you Venusian swine. Hell, though by elements you are my ene
my, others seem to think otherwise. Don't stray from the path of the warrior, but beware Luna! Her embrace is cold, yet beckons those who have no hope." "And last, but not least, Shamira, my rival. I apologize formally for attacking Anemos, and I hope you don't hold it against me. I sincerely hoped for one last duel, but I guess the Gods had other ideas. Take care, Anemosian."
"And all of you," he said, addressing them generally. "Stay strong. Farewell."
Before he did what he had to do, he made a remark to himself. "Zelexseon, old pal, you're going soft. Going to have to blow up a few cities sometime. Still," he thought, sweeping his gaze over the Fivefold. "I'll miss these fools. All things must come to an end. The least I can do is try to take out Regnoare."
Then, he opened his eyes and locked glares with Regnoare, who was a mere two feet away. "It's over," he cursed. "Immoloare!"
The words of power echoed through the air like the herald of Doomsday. Zelexseon began to glow a brilliant white. Then, with golden eyes still glaring at Regnoare, he dissolved into pure energy. The energy hovered for a moment, and then turned into lightning bolts, as if from Jupiter himself. The bolts dashed circles around Regnoare, seeming to have a mind of their own as they scorched and burned his body, tearing furrows in his flesh. Occasionally, one would rip through his arm or side, and he would scream in pain. Then, the bolts all backed off for a moment, and then with an ethereal scream plunged into the necromancer, who cried with despair. The bolts caused a colossal explosion of pure energy, and Regnoare writhed and trembled under the massive force. It burst in a gargantuan shower of energy, and the Fivefold shielded their eyes against the glare.
Of Zelexseon, nothing could be sensed or seen. He was gone from their realm.

"Hragh… hragh… hragh…" Regnoare was still floating there, leaning to one side as one of his wings was torn to shreds. His hair was burnt and patchy, his armour was shattered, and his flesh was sloughed off in some places, exposing the white bone beneath. He looked like hell, but he had survived that fearsome assault. The Fivefold simply stared in shock.
"I… never… expected… to lose…" Regnoare said, grimacing with pain and panting. "Now… you… have… no hope…" He extended his arms, looking at the pearly bone that showed through his tattered tunic. Then, he clenched his fists, and actually saw the muscles flex. "SPIRITS OF WEYARD!" Regnoare suddenly shouted with ferocious wrath. "I SUMMON YOU BY THE SOL AURARIUS THAT WAS BOUND TO ME! WRECK HAVOC ON THE WORLD, PLUNGE IT INTO CHAOS! ENSHRINE YOURSELVES IN DARKNESS!" Then, he vanished in a teleport that seemed to be a draining of light.
Shadows flitted through the skies, insubstantial at first and then growing clearer. It was the Spirits, the Elemental Guardians. The Fivefold blanched, wondering how they could compete with the immortal forces. Their names flitted through their collective mind:

Zagan, Megaera, Flora, Moloch, Ulysses, Eclipse, Haures, Coatlicue, Daedalus, Azul, Catastrophe, Charon, and Iris.

All hope left them. The wrath of the summons had been unleashed, and they were intent on the destruction of Weyard. The end was arriving, the Apocalypse was now.

It had begun.