Ramund was a jolly fellow. His concerned look curved up into a smile as the heroes approached. His voice changed quickly, to a low and dark sound. "You heroes have gotten dull in your age..." Ramund reached for his own face, grabbing it by the nose and eye sockets, pulling down. His soft face fell as well as his robes to the ground leaving only a foreign man with a snow-white skin tone standing six feet tall. His black hair fell to his shoulders and he was wrapped in white robes with unfamiliar patterns. The man slowly raised his white hand, commanding the trap. The floor began to shake slightly throwing up a fine white dust. The white dust began swirling madly around the heroes and consuming them, latching onto the surface area of their bodies, entering into them from their mouths and eyes, covering every surface with stone... Sevrina didn't have the chance to reply to Gale, and she watched in confusion to what was occurring and by time she came close to figuring it out, the white dust had settled on her black skirt and dark skin. It consumed her, and she could see Gale beside her being covered in it too. It penetrated her and she could no longer feel her muscles. Her heart pumped fast, but as the magic delved deeper into her, it slowed. She felt overwhelming lethargy take her. She watched as Gale and other guests disappeared behind what appeared to be white marble until her eyes clouded. For a moment, she remained conscious in total darkness, and then, she drifted to sleep, dreaming. Gale looked at the dust covering him. He looked a bit confused. His body felt like it was growing tired, heavy. He groaned, stumbling a bit and toppled over. He was swaying tiredly. "D-dammit...Alni...I hope she gets out of here..." He knew Sevrina was out and asleep. His eyes were slowly shutting, he looked around at the others in the thrown room, hoping they were yet affected. "G-Get out of here!" He fell back, asleep. Blaze knew what was happening. He cast a spell that protected him and the remaining others. He didn't want to believe that he was capable of doing this. "No choice..." He'd have to tell all of them now...no choice. "Everyone, listen carefully...Ariakan betrayed us. He's been working with Alecrast. He and his daughter have turned against us. I've never truly taken a defined side, being neutral, but this war will effect ALL of Lodoss. I can no longer remain neutral. I wanted you all to know the truth I had seen in visions...multiple times. I didn't want to believe it, but it seems it is so. I think...this is out of our hands and into...younger...hands now." Blaze felt pain the likes nothing that nothing could have brought. The pain of knowing that this war, this time, was the children’s' and they could do nothing to really help them. Blaze’s spell broke and the dust quickly finished it’s work and turned him into a winged statue. Zira openly wondered at the dust settling on her pink and red skirts. It started from her feet on up. As the dust began settling, the skin of her legs beneath the skirt started feeling numb, the sensation traveling up her body and sending its fingers deeper into her flesh. She looked up at Blaze ever so slowly, time was slowing to her eyes, everything was going in slow motion. Her long elven ears fell downward, feeling heavy, then cemented themselves, she could no longer feel them. Distantly, slowly she heard and watched Blaze shouting about Ariakan's betrayal, desperately casting a useless spell, then succumb as Zira's eyes clouded over and sensation faded until darkness fell and she dreamed. Seri and Azala returned inside, after Aluina convinced them she was fine, and listened to the conversations and offers to help. She felt hurt by Azala, however illogical that was, and it reminded her of when they were in Honto. He pulled a prank on the girls in the bath and it had very nearly been the end of them. She watched the nobleman, Ramund enter again, then was suddenly shocked by what happened. She felt the stirring of earth spirits from him suddenly, the way she felt around earth elementalists. This wasn't Ramund. She didn't have the time to react to his spell, she was too confused, then shocked. The dust consumed her and sank into her skin. People cried desperately and weakly. Her strength was being drained, her mind was hazing, she couldn't sense the spirits, they were too far. Seri thought desperately for her daughter's safety as she drifted into darkness. Naclia gasped as dusk permeated her clothes and her skin. It weighed her down, cemented her feet to the ground in white marble. Naclia screamed and looked desperately at Talen, Kitsa, then Seri. The same thing was happening to them. Her scream was cut off as the dust filled her throat and turned her lower jaw to stone. Then the darkness took her over. Terin...my son... Talen heard the scream of his wife that was quickly shut off by the spell. Talen reached his hand up to her, but it never went very far from his side. His green eyes brimming with fear and love, he froze as a statue of marble beside his terrified elven wife. The last words he heard in his mind was his worried voice saying his son's name. TERIN! Azala didn't have much time to react. But he did. Whispering. Summoning the king spirit of water. But then he began to get heavy. Losing his strength. Everything becoming numb. Finally his mouth, which prompted his spell to fail. Then his eyes began to droop, and soon enough, he was asleep. Sera hadn't faired much better. She drew her sword and had rushed into it. She had gotten the closest to striking the assailant, but only was stoned more quickly as she got the brunt of the attack. Deedlit lifted her head to look at Ramund, Ramund the traitor! Wait, no, that wasn't him. She recalled the djinnis that were imposters of Spark and Kashue. This wasn't Ramund. Dust settled on her porcelain skin and cream colored gown. It sank into her skin and made her limbs lethargic. Her skin became numb. She looked in surprise as her legs curled beneath her turned to stone. She wanted to cast a spell, but her mind couldn't really recall how. As close to the ground as she was, Deedlit was one of the first to turn. Parn's hands clenched the armrests of the throne, but that was all he could do. Up to his neck, his body was stiffening and turning to stone. It quickly climbed to encompass his head and finally, his face with his clenched teeth and lips pulled back in almost a growl. It clouded over his eyes and the world went dark for a moment before he slipped into a dream. Kiran stepped back from the rising dust and pushed Moryssa behind him. It still settled on his clothes and he instinctively brushed it away to discover that it made his hands numb. His clothing suddenly felt heavier, then his skin went numb like his hands. "What in the name of..." he started, then glanced down as he lost all sensation in his feet. His eyes widened, his feet were stone! Oh Falis! We should have never come. I should have crumpled that invitation and threw it in the hearth! But no, I had to convince Moryssa to come so we could rub the fact that we have a successful marriage and two beautiful children. I should have never come! Kiran glanced back at Moryssa, who was just as shocked as he was. "Spirits of the earth...!" she started, but then, he could only assume that her mind was as hazy as his. The stone was creeping up his legs, his hands were dead weights at his side. It was a wonder it wasn't already pulling him apart, but that could only be due to the fact that stone was building inside him as well. "I'm...sorry," he said softly to Moryssa. Maybe this is what I deserve for being such an arrogant ass... He watched the stone overtake Moryssa's face and knew it was doing the same to him. It covered their eyes and broke their gaze, and then, they were far away in their dreams. Joline was clinging to Arturo, and he held her close. They were half gone already and Joline was terrified, weeping and worrying about her daughter. If she had the strength to look up, she would have seen Arturo was crying as well for her and Lorelei. She felt a kiss on her forehead before the world went dark and she drifted to sleep. Ryna moved away from the crack in the floor and flung her arms up to shield her eyes. What in the name of the gods was this! Her limbs started feeling numb and heavy and her mind clouded. Ryna whimpered, unable to make any more sound. Her feet cemented to the floor and the stone rapidly climbed up her body. Finally, it covered her face and eyes as she saw the other's turning. Ryna's consciousness floated away and she dreamt. * * * He had come secretly unknown to Sevrina, no, she would know, at least unknown to his daughter. Cray, again wrapped in his traditional black garb, this time lacking the flowing sleeves or robe. Black pants tucked into a pair of black leather boots and a black short sleeved shirt. Three golden hoops danced around his right wrist. Cray had spent the better part of a hour walking out in the open in view in the dark streets. Finally they came. A blade of super-sonic wind flew by his head. A line of blood appeared across Cray's white cheek and several hairs floated to the ground. "It has taken you long enough...." Cray spoke softly, reaching to his side. "I can't believe he dodged that!" A young female voice chirped. "Cray.... former Hokage of the Flameweavers.... he's more skilled than you think." A second female voice, older and more elegant. "Cray... the traitor..." A third voice, a man. Cray turned slowly, his black eye locking onto the direction of the voices through his old white mask. A twisted black sword in his right hand, absorbing the darkness around it. "Another Flameweaver..." Three figures stood atop a roof. The one to the left, the shortest wrapped in a silhouetted robe. The one to the right the older female from her figure. And the one in the middle a young man with his arms folded across his chest, the Flameweaver. "I am Shyura." The Flameweaver raised his right arm palm up and fingers spread. Flame burst from it and danced around his fingers. The man looked reminiscent of Cray, long "Hokage of the Flameweavers." * * * Thorn approached the gates with Leaf with some apprehension. He just couldn't get away that feeling that something worse was going to happen then the kidnapping of Ailil. Well, nothing he could do until whatever it was, if there was anything, showed itself. In the meantime... "Do you have a ride, Leaf? If not, I’m sure we could share a saddle. After all, the stables should be almost abandoned at this time." A wry, toothy grin gave him almost the likeness of a snake trying to seduce its prey. That was, until he saw several of the children still arguing over whether they were going to go or not. Poor guards would have his work cut out for them if the children did decide to leave. While immature, the children had the blood of some of the most powerful beings in Lodoss, if not the planet. "Bah, I just bloody hope that we don't have to keep them in this courtyard. I must say I do not like the prospect of having to restrain them." Thorn had become straighter then a saddle at what he felt. Almost to the saddle, linked arm and arm with Leaf, this was the last thing he expected. He looked back at the castle. There was no mistaking that feeling. Elementalist. An earth elementalist like himself. Memories flooded in. He had met few elementalists, more sorcerers and rangers in truth. But those he had met, most of them had been the chaos generals, and Cray, the former chaos general. He had about as much trust for Cray as he had for those generals even after the battles. "They're... back." His eyes squinted at that. "And it looks like they just made up for lost time. Leaf, we stick together now. I think their targets are us 'heroes'." Leaf hugged Thorn from behind. "I'm not letting you go again Thorn," she said. "We're going to fight this thing like we fought all the other wars. We beat the Chaos Generals once, we can do it again. Hopefully for good." Thorn blinked a few times, a bit surprised. She was willing to fight. He had tried to keep her from fighting once, acting so snotty to her and so beneath him. That hadn't worked at all, and seemed to only inspire her to fight even more. He turned around and briefly brushed his lips passed her before continuing to the stables. The armor he shed as quickly as he could. His armor he had no time to put on, which probably wouldn't matter to much either way. If it was the return of the chaos general, his armor would be cut away like paper. His sword would be only be good if he got close. But he still took it anyway. "Indeed. We did slay those demons once. We have only become more experienced and powerful." * * * Ariakan and Liriel walked through the streets, their cloaks wrapped around them they headed to the gates. Seeing Cray ahead and sensing some other entities nearby they walked past Cray after he had made it past them and looked at him. "Don't get in the our way Cray, we may have been allies in the past but now things have changed for the worse. Now if you'll excuse us... You can call us traitors for walking away from the others like this, but we have other plans..." His tone was darker and more bitter, Liriel looked at Cray like he had just offended her. As they neared the gates they opened and the pair headed out, making their way to a small clearing outside of Alania where they made camp for the rest of the day. * * * "Do as you will. It is not place to name you." Cray swung his arm out and paid them no further attention. Ariakan always did as he wished, as Cray did. There was nothing more than needed to be said. Now, there was more to worry about. Fire-Shadow, Wind-Shadow and Water-Shadow. The leaders in each elementalist clan was here after they had thought to have disappeared. But what was odd was that there were only three of them here. There could be only a single reason that one would be missing. "Clever." Black metal began flowing down from Cray's hand twisting into a long sword. "But no matter. Your plotting and history will end here." Slowly he raised Atra into a stance. "I will end our history." "Until we meet again, choose your battles wisely. For next we meet it will be more at stake, the flames of war once again fall upon this beleaguered land..." Was all Cray heard Ariakan walked away, his Mythril mask still hiding the old sorcerer’s face. Cray charged at the leader of the three, the one who summoned the flame. The one who announced himself as Shyura. With a smirk the Fire-Shadow drew his own weapon from his arm, a long sword made from midnight blue steel, sparkling like the night, small shimmering stars along its surface. Shyura smirked and struck forward, Atra and the strange sword striking each other then disappearing in a shimmer of light. Cray had already taken a step forward and his hand closed tightly into a fist with the sword gone. His single eye went wide as he quickly drew his hand back. "What?" The younger Flameweaver closed his hands into fists and raised them in a fighting stance. "Void-bringer..." "Tch." Cray raised his fists and gritted his teeth, his fists erupting with crimson flame. Shyura smirked as white flame erupted from his own. The two quickly exchanged blows, Shyura's fist striking his mask and Cray's striking Shyura's stomach. The two broke apart and took up their stances again. "Child..." Cray growled. "Traitor..." Cray growled deeply and spun around, bringing his right heel up towards Shyura's head. The younger Flameweaver blocked easily enough then struck Cray's raised thigh with his blazing fist. Cray jerked away quickly his black cloth singed and took a short charge to put his weight behind his fists. The two Flameweavers danced, flame swirling around with their motions into the night. Two flames striking and sparking in the center of the street with no other care besides the smoldering of the other. The first solid blow was landed on Cray's right ribs, Shyura sharpened his white flame around his hand, forming a blade and sliced through his cloths. Shyura broke away from their fight, taking two hops away, lowering his fists but still keeping them blazing. "Enough..." He breathed, it had been a long time since he had been truly challenged. "Enough... for now. There will be a time for us to finish this but tonight is only the first act of war. Go to your 'friends'" Shyura twisted the last word, "go to them and see..." * * * Mia stripped off her green satin gown with a smile. Despite the princess being captured and reports of a looming war, getting out of that damn thing was a relief! Mia kicked off her high heels at her guest room bed. Her traveling clothes were tossed over a chair beside the full length mirrors she stood in front of. Quickly, she pulled on her leather breaches and tightened the laces on the sides. Then, on went a travel-stained white blouse that was trimmed in a little silver, leather vest, gloves and fur trimmed white boots. She pulled her hair down out of it's elaborate 'do, then quickly braided it. "MUCH better," Mia said with a smile, buckling her belt. The dagger sheaths were empty, she turned those and a spear in when she arrived. Mia hurried out the door, grabbing her gray-green cloak as she did. Alni, unlike Mia, was actually quite fond of her gown, but it wasn't at all practical. She carefully climbed out of it, then slipped it in a cotton sheath to keep it safe. Her blue heels were slipped into the bottom of the sheath. Her traveling clothes were neatly folded in the drawer of the dresser. Leather breeches, a blue-slit skirt like she used to wear when she was younger, a matching blue top, and various other things. Her armor, one worn leather vest that was hanging in the closet. Her Mythril bracers sat on the dresser and her boots sat beside it. Her cloak was hung on a coat rack by the door. Alni dressed quickly and hurried out the door, meeting Mia in the corridor. Alni clasped her cloak and gave Mia a small smile before falling in along side the mercenary. They didn't speak a word to each other, just exchanged anxious smiles. Somewhere along their walk, they had stopped by the armory and retrieved their weapons, Alni had a long double-ended spear and the sword Altaris had given her years ago. By this time, they had sensed a sort of vibration through the castle, not just from the walls themselves, but from the earth elementals as well. They hurried, at near a run to the main hall where they threw open the doors and stood in shocked silence. The room was filled with what appeared to be...statues of people in finery, elves, dwarves, humans, all looking as if they had been sculpted by an talented artist with a taste for the arabesque. The people had looks of shock and horror on their faces. Many were stuck staring at the ground. Some looked as if they were in the middle of brushing off their clothes. Men had women pushed behind them as if they were protecting them. Near the end of the dinner tables, one feminine figure wielding a sword and actually not in a gown looked as if she had frozen in mid-attack, but no one was there for her to attack. Mia and Alni slipped into the hall, studying these "statues" and their familiar faces. Mia glanced to the left and saw two figures standing beside each other. A petite elf wearing a flowing and elegant-yet-simple elven gown. Beside her, a taller elven man with Azala's handsome, strong features. Azala and Seri. To the right, at the end of the dinner table, sat another elven woman, her face upturned. Her hair was in a large bun at the back of her head, with bangs styled to fall over her left eye. Even from here, Mia could see that her dress had a large diamond cut out which exposed the tops of her up-thrust breasts. Sevrina. A tall man standing beside her with his back to Mia could have only been Gale. "Here's Slayn and Leylia, and Neese and Spark," Alni called out from the forest of stone figures. "Naclia and Talen," Alni appeared and hurried on through a another group. "Moryssa and Kiran!" Then Mia heard a strangled cry and came running. Alni stood in front of a pair who stood beside the stone dais where statue-Parn sat upon his throne with Deedlit sitting at his knee. The king and queen were not the ones Alni was crying over. In front of her, a man stood with two large wings folded behind him. Blaze. And beside him, of course, was Zira. The only thing Mia could think of doing was to hug Alni. * * * Arianna stormed toward the door, hastened by the feeling of the earth spirits stirring. She was drawn to the main hall, and had almost forgotten her real intention. Arianna threw the doors open, to hell with Parn's orders, and looked up into the room. Her jaw dropped and she stared. The room was filled with what appeared to be stone statues, but she knew they were more than that. "What in the name of Falis...?" she murmured. A spot of movement caught her eyes and she looked toward the dais. There, stood Mia and Alni holding each other and crying softly. Aiyanna decided to go after them and bring all of them back. First she will go and tell others that she is going after them and stop the children going headlong first into a suicidal mission. Quickly turned towards the main hall and felt there has been a trace of magic that had been worked. She gulped a little and on entering the open door blinked fast twice. "Oh my ...what in the heavens...?" Aiyanna rushed in and looked at what looked like sculpture garden of the people she knew. "No!!!!!" Aiyanna said loudly. She quickly looked around, and found not even a trace of who might have cast this spell. But it was definitely an elemental spell, since everyone was stone, an earth elemental spell. She saw a very pretty young dark elf, had almost the likeness of Sevrina, Alni and Mia who were crying softly near Zira and Blaze. "Mia! Alni! what in the heavens happened! This is terrible! How are we going to fend off the coming war and fetch back the children from a suicidal mission?" Aiyanna rushed over to them, so many things whirled in mind though she tried reach for Luce as she rushed over, but it seemed he was in deep, deep sleep. Sirius raced into the room as soon as he could. The instant he saw the 'statues' he drew his jagged black sword. "AMON!!!" Without warning Sirius launched off the ground and swung his blade down onto a statue standing near the back, a statue of a tall man. Before the weapon made contact one of the statue's arms shattered and stopped the weapon, Sirius behind it. The rest of the statue crumbled revealing the robed man who had summoned the stone dust. A stern frown crossed his face. "The ritual was almost complete... Annoying boy." His free left hand formed a fist and attempted to strike at Sirius's stomach, stone shards forming around his knuckles. Sirius's armored fist let go of his weapon and acted as a shield against the blow. Jerking his sword Black Fang out of Amon's grip Sirius flipped into a crouch several meters away from the elementalist. "Amon!" Sirius raised himself into a stand, raising Black Fang again. "In the name of Sky Wolf I will end your life here!" Aiyanna stopped in mid track to Alni and Mia. She watched the scene between a tall man and Sirius. There nothing she could do. Without magic she was weak in physical combat ...even after twenty years. Thinking about her daughter, she hoped she could control her power, because she forgotten to seal the controlling rune. She hoped this was a nightmare she could wake up from. Her daughter could be in danger right now, though she doubted that they have left even the neighborhood of the castle. Azura's skills with a sword to her dismay, mirrored Mellenroe's. Then she fell back flat to the reality again, watching intensely, her magic ready in case anything else happened this time. Adriel was behind Arianna and Aiyanna and saw them stop dead as they entered the hall. His white brows furrowed in confusion, he followed in after them...and his jaw dropped. The hall was full of...statues. At first he thought it could have been some prank, but that thought flitted from his mind almost instantly. There was some cruel magic happening here. These stone faces frozen in shock and terror he knew. Across the room, the sounds of a fight drew his attention. A dark haired boy he had seen earlier was fighting a stranger amid the statues. The first concern in Adriel's mind was Zo. Alni's head swung around with red-rimmed eyes and damp cheeks. Her glare was murder incarnate toward Amon. Hefting her spear and pulling away from Mia, she charged toward Amon and Sirius, launching herself over the table. Elven speed and agility gave her extra lift, bringing her over Amon's head. Her spear pointed toward the elementalist, she put her spiritual energy into it, backing the incoming stab with more force that her own weight could provide. Amon smirked and raised his hand catching the spear with the back of his hand just under the blade. "Nothing but children." He whispered, directed at Sirius. "Although you have interrupted the ritual you're left without allies..." "Tch." Sirius charged again while Amon's hand was still up. "Amon!" Black Fang struck true, sinking into the man's right side. However instead of blood sand began flowing out, soon Amon's entire form melted into sand... Alni's rump skidded on the floor as she was thrown aside. She finally came to a halt and glared toward the pile of sand that had been Amon. Sorely, she got to her feet and rubbed her sore rear. "FALARIS CURSE YOU!" she yelled uselessly to the pile of sand, then her eyes started to tear up again. Aiyanna then reacted, she saw what the man could do and unless you were very good with swords and combat, it would be hard to win. Aiyanna immediately summoned a spell to trying to trap the sand form this man named Amon had become. "Stars I call to you, lend me the power to contain this evil within!" Immediately the brilliant silvery blue magic lashed from her staff, casting a shimmering moon pale light raced towards the shifting form of the sand and finally like a net clung itself to the sand like pouch to contain the sand. Aiyanna's daggers immediately flung into her hand ready to leap and fight if necessary, one of them. The blade shone with purple magic but the core of the blade was brilliant white. Arianna watched with furrowed brows as Aiyanna cast a futile spell on the sand. "Don't waste your energy," she muttered and crossed the room. Aiyanna stomped her feet in frustration. That evil couldn't be caught and at least dispel this horrific spell. She looked around then walked over to Mia, "Well...I know you have the most collected head out of all of us present, who will go after the children and who stays to ready the countries for war?" Mia cocked her eyebrow as she looked at Aiyanna, then barked a laugh. "Girl, I'm a mercenary, not a Lord. I'm going after the princess," she replied to Aiyanna. Collected head? Hardly. "Alania isn't the only nation in Lodoss. Let the others handle the war and I'll help where I can. YOU can decide what you want to do. You're a big girl now, you can do that." Shaking her head, Mia walked across the floor to Alni, weaving in-between statues. She placed her hand on Alni's shoulder. "Gale wanted the lancers to go to war," she informed her. "With him gone, that puts you in his stead, does it not?" Terin felt an odd stir of elementals as he had been roaming the paths of the courtyard. He considered that it had been the adults casting a spell for some reason, possibly to help find the princess. Terin wanted to be a part of the search party, but it wasn't just a matter of his parents, or the King's permission. He was a knight of Moss, and a low-ranking one at that. It was at his king's discretion as well. His father would be dispatched most likely, but Terin wouldn't. However, with that shift of earth elementals had come a strange foreboding that Terin couldn't shake. To satisfy his growing curiosity, Terin returned to the hall, his steps quickening as he came closer. He heard a few strangled screams, then ran. The hall had fallen silent. Then, just a moment later, the sounds of a fight. Terin skidded to a halt in his slick dress shoes outside the door. He stepped into the hall then stopped dead in his tracks. The hall was filled with gray figures, statues of the guests. The guests turned to stone. Lady Aiyanna Starwind, Arianna, Mia, Adriel and Priestess Jamila stood near the entrance and across the hall, there was a pile of sand and Alni and Sirius. Terin felt his knees go weak from the shock. His eyes danced from the stone faces until he found the handsome, sharp-features of his father's face. Beside Talen's statue was Naclia, her mouth frozen in a scream. Terin's knees gave out all together and he collapsed to the ground, his face pale. * * * Aluina sat beside another pond of the courtyard that she discovered in her exploration. It was filled with fat fish of silver and gold that shimmered in the firelight of nearby torches. Alunia ran her fingertips along the top of the water, pondering everything she had learned tonight. She longed for the comfort of her forest, where she didn't have an evil brother, where she still hated her stuck up cousin and hardly had to see her. Aluina sniffed and realized she had been crying. She drew a silk sleeve across her nose, and of course, cared less about caking the expensive fabric with snot. Suddenly, after all these years--which seemed like ages to her, but were very short in her parent's long-lived eyes--she learned she had a brother, well, her parents certainly learned of it for the first time too. They were not at fault, maybe her dad, but he never knew, so he could have never told her. What hurt her was that this brother that she never knew was so cruel and wanted to kill her--their--father. He tried to hurt her too, and her cousin, who, through marriage was his family too. He still had Ailil. One part of her wanted Ailil to get a taste of the real world and hoped the arrogant brat would come out the better for it. The other part feared for her life, blood was thicker than water, she had heard said. They were divided by a few generations, making Ailil something along the lines of her third cousin, but elves had small families, and what was there was of families were closely knit. So while a human many not care either way about her third cousin, or not even know them, an elf would think of that cousin as first-blood, or even as close as a sibling. Something drew Aluina from where she sat to the hall. Too young to really sense the stir of elementals, she still felt as if she should go to the hall. The thought of her parents had made her come without hardly thinking. Kicking a rock as she went, Aluina made her sullen way to the dance hall. Suddenly, distant screams that were suddenly cut short made her run. She ran through the flower beds and bushes, making a straight line to the hall. She made it within view just as Terin skidded to a halt outside the door. She hurried after him as he entered. The next she saw of the half-elf knight was him on his knees in the main hall. Aluina ran into the hall and found out why. Their parents were turned to stone. That was the first thing that came to her young mind, not thoughts of some cruel, yet utterly pointless prank on the children, not thoughts of a hallucination. Her young mind was open to all possibilities, and being of magical origin, it made perfect sense that someone would turn the former heroes of to stone for one reason or another. Aluina clenched her jaw and her fists at her side. "Who did this!" she wailed to anyone who could hear. No tears, not here, not yet. Lorelei jumped as a scream carried out into the courtyard. A couple more replied, then were cut off suddenly. "What was that?" she asked in surprise, her head jerking around to look toward the doors of the main hall. She glanced toward Rei, then lifted her skirts and ran to the main hall. By time she and Rei got there, the doors were open, other children were inside and Lorelei's jaw dropped at the sight she was presented with. Aiyanna smiled as Mia walked away, perhaps if Mia was ever reborn, Aiyanna hoped she would be born as a human. Knowing that almost half of your life is gone, is not an easy feeling. Especially if you have chance that you maybe gone before you hit 50...just looking at Iriana who died before even chance of reaching 40 wasn't a surprise for a Starwind. Aiyanna turned her steps, she would have to go to the Mage's guild headquarters and talk about the pending problem, after all she was best at magic then fighting. Through Luce, she realized how much influence the name Starwind had on the guild. Only if Alera was here too, though she had to be an old lady. Aiyanna finally looked around started to walk towards the nearest gate. This was going to be a very long war. Aiyanna had written into the letter, perhaps something she hoped accomplish before anything can happen...after all she may not survive this war. She murmured a spell as she came outside the castle ground, breathing in the fresh air of the night. Even outside she felt ever more violent discord of the voices even clearer though it was fading with the spell being cast. Sirius spun his black sword around once then re-sheathed it along his belt. "At least the ritual was interrupted." Sirius shook the hilt briefly to make sure it was secure before heading towards the gate again. * * * Akaria and Danthiir were a several miles away from Alania heading to Roid when Akaria grabbed her head and almost collapsed, it hurt a lot and she was soon overwhelmed with the pain for a few minutes before she recovered. "It has begun... Danthiir you must find your father and sister, and stop them from their plans. Once we reach Roid arm yourself with the finest you can buy and prepare to find the others, you will need their help..." Danthiir nodded in silence as they continued east, this incident had wounded him a little and it was for his personal honor that he would hunt them down and stop them. * * * Ariakan and Liriel looked at the scene from the castle, they both seemed unfazed by this attack and rather enjoyed it. After they returned to sitting by the small fire Liriel spoke up. "By now they know we are traitors, what happens now? We can't go home they'll find us and we'll be killed..." Looking at his daughter Ariakan sighed. "Whomever did this will find us, do you remember when I told you about the blank spot in family history. We will find it, perhaps it is these strangers who will hold the key as the knowledge was turned over to a neutral faction for safety." Watching the fire Ariakan looked to his daughter and handed Shatterstar to her. "This war will not be mine to fight in, use him wisely for he can be a powerful ally. I will observe what goes on from behind the lines and help when needed. For now we must sleep, I fear a long journey lies ahead of us." After that he held the simple wooden staff that he had carved and finished enchanting only the week before they left for Alania and fell asleep on the bedroll as Liriel studied Shatterstar and smiled to herself before resting herself. * * * Albedo knew perfectly well that it was likely they wouldn't make it to a small town before sunrise. But they would have to switch to day riding to night. It would appear far to suspicious if they did vice versa. Midway through the night, slowing down and looking around. A hill wasn't to far off. A low hill, but he would at least be able to see if anyone was coming. His horse trotted slowly there, looking around warily. To many knives could be hid in the dark, though fortunately his eyes could see better then a humans. When he arrived, he pried Ailil's hands from his waist and dismounted, still looking around, he didn't offer a hand for Ailil to get down. "We sleep until daybreak. There’s a town a little off. A small town, but it has a tailor and a black smith. We need to give you a weapon. That is, unless you want to be shoved in a back alley and raped when I’m not around." Ailil's face went white at Albedo's last comment. She knew a little about defending herself with weapons, her parents insisted on fencing lessons. The thought of rape, however, was terrifying. She slipped out of the saddle, managing courtly grace as she did. She didn't have the nerve to make a fuss at HIM for disrespecting her. Ailil almost went into the motions of smoothing her skirts, then realized she wasn't wearing any. With her arms wrapped around her, she stood quietly, waiting for him to tell her to do something, or give her something to sit on. Sitting on the ground without a pad, or blanket, or anything had never occurred to her. Not like she would have worried about getting these clothes dirty though. Albedo looked at Ailil with a raised brow. She seemed to be waiting for something. Not that he cared. Unless that something was her intended rescuers, anyway. He looked at the ground, there were stones and twigs to start a fire, but he wasn't about to risk it. Not now. "Are you going to sit, or are you going to stand there the rest of the night?" He didn't wait for a response as he took off his cloak and laid it down on the ground, then he himself went to looking over the landscape. "If you want to sleep, go ahead."He didn't say it, but he had a bad feeling about this. He would ask if anyone heard about the events at the ball in a few days. News tended to travel faster then a horse some cases, and slower then others. But whatever the case, he felt it would be bad news for Ailil. Not that he cared about her more then to escape with. Ailil looked at his cloak on the ground, somewhat surprised. Maybe she should start getting used to these little gestures of kindness. Ailil sat down on the cloak and watched after Albedo. She was still full from dinner at home, so food wasn't an issue, except for Albedo maybe. Ailil laid back on his cloak, still warm from his body, then stared up at the sky. It seemed so vast, and the stars were even brighter out of the city. Ailil was transfixed by it. Maybe it wasn't so bad to be sleeping out under the stars, maybe this journey wouldn't be so bad at all. It was just...the poisoning thing. Was he even being honest about that? She believed him, for now, but it wouldn't hold up much longer. Ailil was starting to get her wits about her now. She closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the night. The grass rasping in the slight breeze, she heard the call of a nighthawk. She could even hear the buzzing of insects, very low, and probably indetectable to human ears. Above her, she heard the chirping of bats as they swooped about, catching the insects she heard. Ailil breathed deeply of the cool night air and something shifted in her mind. Everything feel into place, she could feel how everything on this little hill fit together perfectly. She felt a part of it. Ailil was starting to feel giddy from the atmosphere. Was this how it felt to be an elf? Albedo looked out into the valley. Nothing he could see, or hear. But his ears perked somewhat, he thought he heard a giggling from the girl. Probably not. That would be very unlikely in this situation. Though then again, this might be the first time she even left the castle. Well, he didn't care. She couldn't use shamanism anywhere near the extent as he could, even if she was a high elf. "Stay here." He took off at a mad dash toward the forest. He wasn't in the mood for any surprises, and nothing could outmatch an elf in the forest, especially one trained to make no noise. Traps needed to be placed, though with his limited time, only pits could be placed effectively. Though he put daggers at the bottom for anyone who was tracking him. He didn't need to be followed. Ailil did stay, but she actually wanted to. She didn't want to go home, not yet anyway. The world was so wide, and she had never traveled very far. She went to the Forest of No Return once, that she could remember. She traveled to Shinning Hill and Shuva as well. But she had only observed from the window of a carriage. She only slept in the rooms of palaces, not under the stars. Her life seemed so...empty as if now she were missing a big part of herself. Maybe in the morning she would talk to Albedo. Ailil laid down in the grass and let the night lull her to sleep. Albedo finished the last of the traps, a trip wire that would pull up anyone who stepped in it. He had made sure that these traps were off the road, and in the area he had taken Ailil. Anyone passing through there was tracking him, and he these traps were a message to back off. Not that anyone following him would. Apparently the princess was sheltered though, she seemed to be getting in tuned with the elemental spirits when he left. That could be bad. Moving back toward the camp, he made sure he didn't step into any of the traps. Ailil was asleep when he got back. Not surprising. At least she decided not to mess around with the spirits. He had no idea how powerful high elves were, and he didn't doubt even a half one would be dangerous. He would have to let her continue to believe he was so much superior then her, even if he didn't know himself. He pushed his cloak over her and climbed the tree. He would have to half sleep like training. Which meant he wouldn't get very restful sleep. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and began to wait for morning. Another side effect, you were aware of time passing, and no dreams would come. * * * Four shadows came down the path the two traitors took, moving as quickly as the wind and quieter than the woods. The four shadows, one for each element stood around the two sleeping spell-weavers, simply waiting for them to wake... As they approached the ruby top of Shatterstar with a soft red light that woke Liriel up, as she stirred silently and hauled her tired body up she saw four shadows. "Father, you should see this. We are not alone." Ariakan himself stirred and woke up within a few minutes, replacing his mask to keep his scarred face from being seen he looked up. The Mithril of the mask gleamed in the firelight as the shining silver and ruby gauntlet that sat on his right forearm caused the dying light of the campfire to refract from it's surface, he then spoke. "Who are you and why are you here? Identify yourselves and your alliances..." Liriel stood ready remembering what she was taught she was ready to defend herself, then Shatterstar spoke. "Mistress Liriel, they do not seem a threat and they each seem of a different element. Last I encountered a sight like this was the chaos generals, but your father I am sure told you all about it." Liriel looked at the staff with a glare as it went silent, Shatterstar inwardly sighing as he knew that she would be like her father. "We are the four shadows." The tall woman spoke up. "I am Arashi, the Wind-Shadow, Kazekage in our language." The taller male figure stepped up next. He gently shook a layer of sand off his robes. "I am Amon, Tsuchikage, Earth-Shadow." The second female, shorter and wrapped in similar robes as the first two, only hers were dramatically shorter than the former. "My name is Suiren, Mizukage, Water-Shadow." Finally, the last figure stepped forward, he did not dress similarly with the others who had white robes trimmed with the color of their element. The last man dressed fully in black and studied the two of them carefully before speaking. "I am Shyura, Hokage, Fire-Shadow." Shyura offered his right hand towards Ariakan. "As one of the powerful sorcerer families we offer you a chance to take our side in the coming war. As one to stand above the 'normal' mortals. What is your choice?" Ariakan and Liriel nodded as they listened, this war confirmed what the winds had been carrying. "Where do we meet? We willing to help you, once my actions are discovered it would not be safe here anyway. I am Ariakan Nightwing, and this is my daughter Liriel." He then relaxed and then waited for a response as he prepared for the trance before his transformation. Liriel stepped aside and watched her father as she looked to the shadows. "We can be ready to travel very soon, the other families will hunt us down in time. My father and I seek something more in our travels too, knowledge hidden from us which could unlock secrets of the families past." As she spoke Ariakan already was in a deathlike trance as a black sphere of energy engulfed him and started growing, this time it grew faster than before as the darkness of chaos smothered the remnants of the fire. The four waited until the two were ready in silence. Once the daughter had made it known that they were prepared the wind-shadow turned towards the forest and raised her arms. The wind began to pick up, churning and turning through the thick woods. The wind soon became a storm, tearing down several of the smaller trees and spreading the ash through the forest. A shadow began to approach them, fire burning above it. The mass of wood and metal came to a slow halt, the flames above it finally giving a clear view of its shape. A large black ship that hovered over the ground, thick mast towered into the sky, also black sails waving in the wind. The figurehead of the ship in the shape of a open-jawed dragon. "Our ship is ready." Arashi commented softly, lowering her arms. "Are we ready to go home?" As the ship appeared the sphere of black was at it's peak, out of the orb of chaos energy a black for shot into the air with an eerie, evil sounding screech of warning. Liriel looked up at the ship then to her father who hovered in the air and watched Alania, once again releasing a distinct reptilian screech of hate towards the city he landed. An aura of death hovered around the huge dragon, one hundred and fifty feet long and an eighty foot wingspan. The ground as he landed shook a little and his feet left a section of forest crushed into the ground... "We're ready, I will travel alongside until I can no longer hold my form. Liriel you go on the ship for now, I need to stretch my wings once every while." Liriel held their packs as she nodded and drew the hood of her cloak, ready for the long sojourn to this new land where they could live without fear. As soon as the clan leaders and Liriel had boarded the ship rocked briefly before turning slowly. Several more trees had been crushed under its hull as it turned. With a loud creak it began its voyage towards the ocean, turbulent wind created behind its sails... Ariakan flew near the ship, the steady rhythm of his wings and cool night air reminding him of the freedom this form brought. As he crossed over villages along the way he went low and let his shadow engulf them, that night villages in his path knew a fear which was unnatural. By the time they had just gotten off of the coast Ariakan landed on the deck and leaned heavily against his staff, looking at Liriel. "Perhaps the tales were right, now I must rest from the flight. Once we have arrived I will continue your lessons, you must be strong to survive the upcoming war. Strong to carry on my name..." He had left out the fact he knew when he would die, and as always from under that mysterious Mithril mask he didn't look into others eyes. He had good reason to. * * * At that same time as they prepared to leave Akaria and Danthiir's carriage shuddered as the horses acted like something was wrong at the sound of the faint cry in the air. "Find them, this is not my war I just want to find peace now. I am sorry Danthiir, but I know I will not survive this season..." Looking at his mother Danthiir sat there silently keeping his pain hidden, he knew she was dying from his fathers actions. She now seemed so sad, and like she had lost all hope. * * * He then leaned on his staff, Liriel was always feisty, but then the past few years Ariakan had changed. There was that minor incident which he seemed more sinister, perhaps he had been too trusting then. "If you wish I will gather what I know of the skull dragons so that at least there can be some defenses in place for when this war starts, I should have enough information."