Chapter 4 – Companionship.
Byron stood at the edge of the wall, looking down as the shadows began to lengthen. It had been 21 years since he had been here, to the land between the kingdoms where the worlds Core had once been. The parched wasteland stretched out in front of him, dead since the shattering of the Core. Nothing grew here, nothing survived. The great war had seen to that, their weapons so terrible that they've had an everlasting effect.
Their destination was the elaborate temple tomb in its centre, where Zorthac had been sealed at the end of the war. The survivors had built it to mark the spot and secure the seal. The Dragon Riders had been tasked with keeping watch over the location, likely the most boring job that they had to do, and also pointless as he was no longer there. Not that they knew that however, as as far as they were aware they had managed to successfully defend the seal, at a great cost, catching the Witch in the act of trying to steal power from the seal. All lies of course.
Byron was a master assassin. One of the best, but also very picky about who he took contracts for. When the faction had come to him proposing their plan he had quickly agreed. Its scope and daring appealed to him, even if he did have ulterior motives. The assault had been swift and brutal, and Byron had relished every minute of it. A lot of blood had been required to break the seal, coming from those unsuspecting of what their true role was to be, the last of it coming from the leader of the faction herself, her life ended by one of her own with greater ambitions and desires. The one who became the Mask of Air. They had then moved Zorthac to his current location under the capital city, weaving their tale of lies as he slowly reclaimed his power. Drawn to Zorthac he had become the Mask of Metal, his scalpel in the spreading of corruption throughout the kingdom. While most of the other Masks had come to the dark lord seeking power, gifted to them through the corruption of their body and magic, which amplified their power significantly, he had not. Respecting this, Zorthac had instead gifted him the Silence of Night, a deadly tool in the right hands. Which he was.
The Soulrender had been left in the tomb, a visual sign of the seal to fool those guarding it. But it was now time to take it back, and once they realized that it was gone it wouldn’t take them too long to figure out that Zorthac had in fact been gone for a long while. Not that that knowledge would do them much good however. They had people everywhere who would hinder the efforts to organize any form of response, and by the time they’d be able to do so it would be too late. Either that, or Byron would see to their end himself. There were interesting times ahead, and he was getting excited.
Once they were done here they would collect the sceptre, which was the easier of the two to acquire. It was in the possession of a Guild leader, and either they gave it up willingly, or he would make sure that they did. But first to the task at hand. He turned, signalling to the Mask of Water and her dragon that it was time to begin.
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So much had happened in such a short space of time. So much had changed. It was almost a little overwhelming. Izen sat behind Myne on Vel’nas, her arms wrapped around Myne, holding on tight as they flew west. It was kind of nice and comforting. She was caught up in something, but she had no idea what. A week ago she had still been a he, working the fields, trying to survive, and now she had magic and a dragon, was with a Rider flying across the landscape, was being hunted, and was no longer a he but a she. Light had said that this was her true form, as she had always had the magic, but that didn’t make it any less strange. In fact it probably made it more so. She wasn’t displeased with it at all though, but with so many unknowns it was natural to be unsettled about it.
‘Am I going to lose who I am?’ Izen thought to Light. ‘Is the magic going to change me into someone else?’
‘The magic changed your body, not your mind’ Light replied. ‘You are still who you were, and that won’t change.’
‘You might have to adjust your thinking a little to suit your form,’ Light continued, ‘as for example your hair will require a different approach now, but your tastes overall will still be the same, including your attraction to the female form, even though you also have it now.’
‘That’s a little blunt,’ blushed Izen, though that had been on his mind. They’d only just met and she wasn’t sure why, but she felt some form of connection of Myne, not to mention that she was also really pretty. She’d wondered if that would fade with time. She’d hoped not, as it was an ingrained part of her, and if she lost that she worried that her entirety would also change.
‘Mind you, you’ve never been fully male, and nor are you currently fully female. You are you.’
Izen had to agree with that. Being honest with herself she had to admit that she had wished she was a female quite a number of times growing up, especially when she saw Riders. There had always been something about them that appealed to her, and more than just sexually. She had always wanted to be one she realized, and not just for their power. Now she was one. Perhaps that was a side effect of the magic having been within her all this time, but then that was also a part of who she was in the end.
‘You may even discover things about you that you weren’t aware of,’ added Light, ‘but they won’t be things that the magic has changed, rather things that were always there. You will always be You’
Izen smiled, and leaned more into Myne.
Myne had given Izen a run down of everything that she knew to date, starting from the “capture” of the Witch (she did sort of apologize for punching him in the head, but what’s done is done), and to her finding him. While those that she had avoided at the village were hunting for them, it appeared they knew little about Izen, so she was in a better position than Myne was due to her established status, and Izen had to agree with her theory that everything would likely be pinned on her. Izen had reciprocated with her side of events, though there was little to add that Myne didn’t already know. It did confirm that there was definitely more to the Witch than met the eye. For all of her supposed hatred of Riders, she had directly helped them both even though the temple complex was now a mess. What it did imply is that there was a lot more going on than what was apparent, and they definitely needed to find her.
While the agreed plan was to track down the Witch, it would take a while for Myne to have a chance of successfully doing so. While she did recall somewhat the signature that the Witch had displayed to the wards and hence the Riders, they had no idea of its authenticity. Nor did she actually know much about the Witch. Having a physical tie made the initial syncing of the magic much easier, so it was going to be difficult for her to form the initial focal point for the seeking magic. Hence it would take quite a bit of time to do so, and they would also need to find locations where magic naturally pooled, in order to boost her range and chances of success. While Myne worked on that, she would train Izen as best she could. She was impressed with what Izen had managed to achieve in such a short space of time, and while the way in which they used their magic was different, the underlying core principals were the same and she could think of things that would help her improve her techniques.
A couple of hours later they spotted a trading post that sat beside a major road that headed to the capital, and set down nearby. Myne wanted to get some additional supplies, and this would be the last time that they’d have the opportunity to do so, as they would need to avoid being seen as much as possible if they wanted to minimize their chances of the Clan locating them. While Izen waited with Vel’nas Myne headed in, returning with some food as well as blankets and cloaks. Myne wasn’t in the habit of using tents, as they weren’t designed for dragons, so she was hoping that they wouldn’t get too much wet weather, and/or they’d be able to find some ruins to shelter in as there was plenty of them scattered around the kingdom. It was early summer after all, so her expectations weren’t misplaced, and conditions had improved as they headed west, so at the least they’d be dry that night. They continued to travel till early evening, setting down near the tree line where the rolling hills finished and the Sentorine Forest started. The kingdom had a wide variety of environments, amongst them quite a number of massive forests, especially south of the capital, and like the Weeping Forest this was of the larger ones. While Izen foraged, something that Myne had never needed to learn to do, Myne used her magic to check the safety of the surrounding area before they settled down for the night. They ate, and then spent some time going over the basics of magic till the sun had sunk below the horizon. Vel’nas curled himself up, falling asleep, and the two Riders lay beside each other snuggled up against him. While Izen didn’t mind, she did feel a bit embarrassed about it, as she had never slept against another person before. Myne had just shrugged. They were both females, there was only one dragon big enough for them to sleep against and this way they’d both be comfortable and safe. Izen couldn’t argue with that.
“Why did you call your dragon Light?” Myne queried of Izen. She’d just made up Vel’nas’ name, toying with ideas until she had found one that had fit.
“Her full name apparently is the Empress of Light, but that’s too long for normal use, so Light seemed like a good abbreviation,” Izen replied, Light nodding absently.
“Apparently?” Myne was confused. That was either the dragon’s name or it wasn’t.
“That is what she told me her name was,” Izen reiterated.
‘It’s the name I’ve always had.’ Light stated into Izen’s mind. ‘Suits me well,’ she added.
“Wait. What?” Myne stared at Izen and Light. “She can talk to you?”
Izen nodded, looking confused. “I assumed they all could. She just speaks directly into my mind. Has done so ever since my awakening.”
Myne shook her head. “Dragons don’t talk. Yours is the first I’ve ever heard of being able to do so. We share a bond with our dragons, but that’s because they are a part of us, formed of our magic, but that’s the extent of it.”. She paused, thoughtful, “Perhaps it’s because yours is a prime, though I’d never read that primes can change size either.” Myne sighed. Everything about Izen seemed to go against what was known. “You’re both very unique,” she mused.
‘We are indeed very unique,’ Light agreed, grinning. ‘Though I think I’ve said it too many times now.’
They woke the following morning closer than when they had fallen asleep, embracing each other. While they had both fallen asleep wearing their armour, that was now no longer the case.
‘It must have been the natural thing to do,’ was all that Light would say, as they detangled, both embarrassed and blushing, but not complaining. They resummoned their armour and went about the morning routine.
As Myne wanted to continue to change their location till they found a natural pool of magic, so that it would be more difficult for anyone trying to find them to do so, they flew north for a few hours along the forests edge, and once she was happy that they were far enough away from any roads or settlements, they set down to spend the remainder of the day training and working on trying to recreate an useable version of the Witch’s signature. Once Myne had gone over the basics of magic usage with her it didn’t take Izen long to start implementing it. She was a bit rough with her usage, her self taught experimentation both helping and hindering. With enough time and the right training, Myne was certain that Izen would be a very powerful and skilled magic user, and while she had no idea where her alignments lay, as Dawn was quite an ambiguous designation, she could sense that there was massive potential in Izen’s magic. She was just lacking in the knowledge of it, but because of that her imagination would allow her to experiment and try to push the magic into areas that conventional thinking wouldn’t have considered. It reminded her a little of the ones she had seen in her dream.
While Myne worked on the Witch’s signature, Izen worked on her magic usage and by extension armaments. Myne’s training was helping her to eliminate the leakage when she coalesced the magic into form, and satisfied with where she had the claw she started to explore other options as well, toying with both shields and various types of weapons, creating a rudimentary form and then seeing how well they’d suit her fighting style and how she’d have to adjust to use them. She settled on some that she liked, but she couldn’t quite find what she was looking for. Not actually knowing what it was tho wasn’t helping, but she was sure she’d find her signature weapon eventually. Vel’nas just sat and watched the Riders, while Light sat on him, commenting on Izen's efforts and offering her advice. Izen did ask her how far she was from being able to take her full form again, and while Light said that she was now fully recovered, there was no point her doing so at the moment, her smaller form more useful for staying out of sight, and it was just as easy to travel on Vel’nas. Which was fair enough.
It was two weeks later when they came across the ruins near the northern edge of the Sentorine Forest. While they had been travelling every day, they travelled a variable amount each time and in random directions, both to obscure their trail and so that they could scour the area for any natural pools of magic that weren’t already well known, which thus far they hadn’t located. Food wasn’t an issue as Izen was able to forage for enough for them and creeks were a plenty. They were getting along quite well, enjoying each others company quite a bit. No matter how they went to sleep they always woke in each others embrace so they had given up worrying about how and why it was happening, instead accepting that it just was, and not really minding. It turned out that Myne was a brilliant teacher, and while understandably the progress on the Witch’s signature was slow, especially as she wasn’t spending much time on it, Izen was learning a lot, and Myne was even learning some things about magic that she didn’t know off her. Izen’s capacity for manifestation was impressive, and Myne found that she was even able to mimic it a little bit. She had also started teaching Izen about reinforcement techniques, an aspect of magic that was used by both the Ferals and Riders, more heavily for the former, and for Riders it potency did vary quite a bit. For Myne it was invaluable, forming a core part of her fighting style as well as allowing a quick dismount from Vel’nas, even while in the air. They spent some time sparring, Myne evaluating Izen’s fighting style, and offering suggestions for both how she fought, and what she could use with her style. Myne was definitely the better warrior, as not only were all Riders trained in combat, but she also had a lot more experience fighting with her magic, but Izen was adapting and improving her style, relying less on the brute force approach that Myne had seen during their first encounter. She did notice that Izen didn’t seem to like most of the various weapons that she had weaved, moving quickly from one rudimentary design to the next, and only using them briefly in combat. However she was very adept at dodging and avoiding getting hit, and Myne marvelled at how Izen flowed when she did so, even managing to adjust to the presence of her long hair.
It was Izen who spotted the ruins towering out of the forest, Myne unable to see it at all until Izen had directed them pretty much directly into it, the ruins finally coming into view for her just before they collided with the top of one it its partially collapsed spires. Some ritualistic magic had been used on it, hiding it completely from view and likely also diverting explorers around it, but Izen had been able to see right through it for some reason. Narrowly avoiding a collision, they landed on the moss covered path that lead up to it, the ruins illuminated in a soft green light as the suns rays broke through the forests canopy. The ruins were was large as the Clan’s temples, and featured a similar architectural style. Two of its four spires still remained fully intact, and the stone of the outside walls were covered in moss and creepers that had slowly made their way up them over the ages, making it look as if the ruins were one with nature. A small creek flowed out from under one side of the staircase that led up to the entrance, a spring having formed somewhere underneath it, probably long after it had fallen into ruin. Myne could faintly feel the magic of the land flowing into the ruins, and using her sensing magic she confirmed that it was a natural pool of magic, as they had been looking for, and also free of any hostile creatures. With its own magic hiding it from most peoples view it held a lot of potential for them, so they were both quite keen to discover what it held.
Its front doors, while large enough for Vel’nas to pass through, were still only a fraction of the size of that of the Clan’s temple, so that eliminated it as being one of the Clan's temples. Heading in, they found that nature had also started to take its hold on the interior as well, though its progress was well behind the progress outside. It looked like a lot of care and dedication had been put into its construction, every part that they could see intricate and finely detailed. It took their breath away.
“Wow. Just wow,” Myne said, as they walked along a corridor, running her hand along one of the smooth walls as they explored the structure. She had never seen anything quite like it, and even in its current state it was beautiful. The Clan’s elaborate temples paled in comparison to this place. She didn’t even recognize many of the materials that had been used here.
It took them a good portion of the day to do a preliminary exploration of the ruins. It consisted of six floors, though the western wing of the top two floors had partially collapsed, along with the spires there, and nature had reclaimed more of that side than the east. The lowest level looked like it had probably being for utility, with the next few levels being the living quarters, so in its prime it would have been home to enough people to populate a small village. The remaining two levels had been depositories of knowledge, though little of that remained. The bookshelves were bare, apart from the occasional tome that disintegrated when they picked it up. With the damage on the upper levels and nature claiming part of the ruins for itself it was not surprising, but they did wonder if someone had cleared some of its contents at some stage. The central rooms took their attention though, with murals engraved across all of their walls that had weather the ages well.
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The images were simplistic and stylized, and a lot of what it showed they couldn’t make any sense of. For that which they thought that they could work out, not of all of lined up with what they knew of the history of the kingdoms, and the timeline seemed to stop around the formation of the kingdoms. They found images of the worlds core quite a number of times, the first instance near the beginning of the mural, their assumption being that it related to the world’s beginning. The second instance appeared to show a figure drawing power from the core, before it then turned into a skeleton. The skeleton then showed up a few times before being involved in a big battle in which it is defeated. Much further along, getting closer to the end of the mural, the skeleton showed up again, this time with a massive army including demons and some figures that he seems to have either given power to and/or changed, but is then defeated and locked away by three heroes, who also disappeared off the mural at the same time.
“The great war that formed the kingdoms and brought magic to the world.” Myne commented, delicately running her fingers over the imagery of the final war. The stylized versions of the heroes matched what she had seen in her dream, reinforcing that what she had seen was probably true.
“So it wasn’t just the skeleton who took power from the core then?” Izen was looking at a part of the mural that showed the heroes beside the core, at a point before the final battle.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures I’d guess. But I think you’re right. There was magic before the core shattered.” Responding to her quizzical look, Myne proceeded to tell Izen about her dream of the heroes, of what she had seen, omitting though her suspicions of what may have triggered it in the first place, not sure of the why behind them. The magic that the heroes had drawn had given them magic like nothing they had ever seen, but from what they could tell they had only had it for a short time before they perished in the sealing of the evil. The assumption then was that the ruins had been built by the survivors of the war, to record the history that had been, but then the big question was then why it had been abandoned. With so much care being put into it, even going so far as to hide it with magic, why was it now also fading into the past?
It was however a perfect place for them to camp, meeting all the criteria that they had been looking for and then some. There was enough space in the lower levels for Izen to train while Myne worked on the Witch’s signature, and once she was done she’d be able to tap into the naturally pooling magic in order to boost the range and power of the compass to try and find her. The magic of the ruins that kept it concealed meant that they had little risk of being disturbed, as it even seemed to hide the magic that flowed within. Some of the bathing pools were still in decent condition too, and they both were keen to take advantage of that.
The next week was a lot more comfortable than the previous two had been, and progress was a lot faster. Finding the ruins was fortuitous, providing shelter when the weather turned nasty for a the next few days, and not having to travel meant that they had more time on their hands. Not that all of it was spent on training and study, as they also took time to explore the ruins more thoroughly or relax together and learn a little more about each other. Myne was able to locate and repair the simple ritual that heated one of the bath’s water, and its use became a daily activity for them both, soaking in the warmth as they talked. Myne didn’t have a lot of happy memories before she became a Rider. She had come from a poor family, the bad judgment of her drunk father bringing down the wrath of one of the capital’s nobles families onto her family, her mother and sister paying the price before her father left one night never to return. She had spent a year on the streets fending for herself (quite successfully too she added), before her gem had awoken and the Clan had found her and taken her into their fold. She was able to flourish within the Clan, rising quickly and proving herself, but there were those in the Clan who also hated her for that. Her natural talent meant that the Lady Knights had given her special attention, which had kept her largely out of trouble, until now that was. Izen’s past was the typical tale of a farm boy, who to be honest didn’t really fit in. The miners who had raised him had been really kind, and he had proven himself both a capable miner and farmer, but had always yearned for a lot more than that. His surrogate family had all died off from the Pale Fever, a rare ailment that miners were susceptible to if they didn’t correctly handle the Mythril that they mined for. It hadn’t effected Izen at all, but had left him alone. Having been labelled as having no magic by the Guild had been devastating for him, and while he had felt trapped there he had still been determined to do his best. Izen felt comfortable enough with Myne to tell her that she had even wished to be a Rider at times, body and all, also showing her that she was able to change forms briefly, though the male side felt uncomfortable and it was a little too nice returning back to the female side. Myne seemed to take all that quite well, noting that the ability to shift forms could well come in handy at some point, but that she did much prefer Izen’s feminine side.
The more Izen trained, the more complex her magic usage was becoming, and Myne noticed that instead of the scars on her arm glowing when she started to summon the magic for her weapons, it was now starting to take the form of rough characters on her arms, reminiscent of one of the heroes from her dream. If Izen was somehow connected to them, that would also mean that somewhere would be two others who were also connected, but that, she decided, would probably be a better question for the Witch, or at the least, could wait till after they had found her. Myne was really enjoying their time together, even though it had been fate that had placed them both in this situation, and while she had now got a workable version of the Witch’s signature, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to find her just yet. The future was uncertain, and she had no idea what would happen once they found the Witch. But she knew however that she didn’t want to part from Izen. Being together was so natural now that the prospect of being apart had become foreign. The half truth that she had said to the child Lyrissa at Izen’s village had grown into fruition. Izen really was very important to her. She was also sure that it was mutual, especially since they still woke up each morning together (though Izen was still a bit embarrassed about it, which was cute), but she was nervous about confirming the certainty. A natural caution she was sure, but it mattered not either way. She just wanted to be with Izen.
Myne woke the following morning before Izen, enjoying her closeness and having reached a decision. She wanted to give Izen a pair of earrings, as a symbol that she was hers. She had a few spares in her satchel, and her intent was to modify a pair, personalizing them. Star Seeds were her choice, a naturally occurring but rare precious metal, formed from spikes of natural magic under the right conditions. She had seem some before and had a clear image of them in her mind, so before she searched for the Witch she was going to locate a pair as practice for using an image or memory rather than a physical object as the catalyst for her magic. Rising and going to the magical confluence of the ruins, she was happy to discover that the compass gave a positive result, as well as allowing her to memorize the signature of the ruins, which would allow her to find it should she get lost, even through its cloaking magic. Letting Izen know that she was only going to be out briefly and dismissing her request to accompany her, Myne mounted Vel’nas, and headed out. As the earrings were a gift she needed to get the Star Seeds herself.
It turned out that the seeds were further away than Myne had anticipated, the magic of the ruins having boosted her range considerably more than she had thought. Taking her bearings as she left and noting the direction of the compass, she flew as directly as she could, taking detours as necessary to stay out of sight of any settlements that she spotted or was aware of, having to skirt around multiple villages. While her flight wouldn’t take her anywhere near the capital, she knew that the current flight path would take her over the tail edge of some more populated areas that were connected to the capital, so she was being extra cautious. It was nearly 3 hours later when Myne finally arrived at the area where the Star Seeds were. While she had had the initial reading at the ruins, it had taken quite a while for her to pick it up again, her natural range significantly smaller than what the ruins had offered, and use of it at increasingly frequent intervals allowed her to narrow it down. Once in the area, a stony riverbed just downstream from a waterfall, she switched to a more basic dowsing method, and was quickly able to find what she was looking for hidden amongst the rocks. Myne was very happy with their quality, and using a fairly simple ritual (that she was able to prepare and perform in a fraction of the time it took most people), she fused them with the chosen pair of earrings. Pleased with the result she wrapped them in Izen’s bandages, which she still had, and then mounting Vel’nas they started their journey back to the ruins. The trip had taken longer than she had originally planned, and she was keen to get back.
Myne started to feel uneasy as she neared the area of the last of the villages as she travelled back towards the ruins. The growing sense of wrongness had been gnawing at her since she had passed out of the range of the capitals tail, but it was now getting a lot stronger, and was making her wish that the trip was over already. Keeping on full alert she travelled more cautiously, probing with her sensing magic every so often just in case she spotted something but wishing at the same time that she wouldn’t. Her fears were confirmed as she was nearing the range limit for the last village, her magic picking up multiple demonic signatures. Swearing, she set course to visually confirm them. It was rare for Night Beasts to be this close to a village, as the Riders were responsible for keeping them in check, so she instantly panicked at the prospect of not one but multiple demons in the area, not for herself, but for the people of the village. She had only encountered the one in the forest above the temple complex, so for more than one to be out in the open, together, there must be something seriously wrong. It didn’t take her long to find them, five demons shambling their way in the direction of the village, all very different and unique, one even looking close but not the same as the one she had run from previously. Pulling up out of sight of them she turned, heading towards the village. She needed to warn them, or they would all die unawares at the claws of the demons and no one deserved that.
It didn’t take long for the village to come into her sight, and as she got closer she could also make out another Dragon Rider hovering nearby. While not sure if approaching her was the best idea for her personal safety, as she was likely now wanted by the Clan, the safety of the village was the first priority. She flew up to the rider, who she identified as Lady Knight Sorene of the Sisters of the Radiant Dawn, a dark cloak covering the bulk of her pale green bone armour as she sat on her Black Obsidian Dragon Zerifs. Lady Knight Sorene was one of the few Riders whose bone armour covered almost all of her form, and she was renown as a powerful warrior, her gem a very powerful Jade. She looked surprised as Myne flew up to her.
“Lady Knight, there are five demons making straight for the village,” Myne told her, the panic clear in her voice.
Sorene swore. “Go, warn the villagers,” she commanded, as Zerifs started to rise. “I’ll try and hold them off for as long as I can.”
Myne nodded, turned and started to head to the village, but she hadn’t gotten far before she was suddenly struck from behind by a great force, the impact throwing her off Vel’nas. Plummeting down, she impacted heavily with the ground.
“Izen...” was all she managed before she blacked out.
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Izen stopped with a start. Something bad had just happened to Myne. She didn’t know why, but she could feel it, worry quickly rising within her. Myne had left early that morning by herself, stating that she was going to quickly find something and then be back. Izen had wanted to go with her, but Myne had insisted that she stay behind – she wouldn’t be long and it was something that she needed to do by herself. So Izen had occupied herself with training in her absence, but as time had dragged on concern had started to bubble to surface, especially as morning changed to afternoon. And then the feeling had come through sudden and strong.
She spent the next half an hour pacing around nervously, unsure of what to do. Myne was strong, she wouldn’t be easily hurt. Izen also didn’t know where she had gone, nor did she have her seeking magic, so finding her was going to be a mission in itself. But the more she waited the more worried she became, and with still no sign of her return she finally made her decision. Something was seriously wrong, and she was going to find her. Filled with determination she raced out of the ruins, hoping that the access area would be large enough for Light.
‘It’ll suffice,’ Light stated, growing to her original size, a few trees being taken out in the process. She shared Izen’s concern, and was eager to start searching.
There was always the risk of being spotted with Light in her Prime form, but it was a risk Izen was willing to take, Myne her priority. Izen had temporarily forgotten just how large Light really was, with her now standing as tall as the ruins themselves. Light bent down as best as she was able, and with the aid of her magic Izen managed to scramble up the side of her dragon, hanging on to Light as best she could, as Lighte launched into the air.
‘We’re going to need to work on this,’ Izen thought to Light, sliding back down a bit to try and find a suitable place to sit. Hanging on for dear life from Light’s neck wasn’t going to work long term, especially for long flights. Riding on Vel’nas had been a lot more comfortable.
‘Use your magic to stay on me,’ Light replied. ‘Discard conventional thinking and you’ll master the way. There’s plenty of room.’
‘No better time to figure it out than now I guess,’ Izen said, though she doubted she’d have any time to try, her worry for Myne the overriding concern.
With no idea as to where Myne had gone they were left with the prospect of having to search everywhere, the best solution that they could find being a spiral search pattern centred on the ruins. While she had said that she wouldn’t be gone long, it was apparent that she had gone further than she’d anticipated, so the potential search radius around the ruins was was far as she could travel in the time she’d been gone. If she’d been on her way back when she had run into trouble then it would be smaller, but they had no way of knowing. Light was able to travel a lot faster than Vel’nas, but flying at full speed wasn’t an option as they then ran the risk of missing a clue. The whole situation was making Izen frustrated.
It was late afternoon by the time that they flew over the village, or more precisely, what remained of it. It looked like a vicious tornado had ripped through it, sparing nothing. Buildings were torn asunder, and bodies were littered everywhere, the ground soaked with blood. Izen felt sick just looking at it, unsure of who or what had performed the massacre. The residents of the village hadn’t had a chance. A few had tried to escape, their remains lying just outside of the village boundaries. They had just been overwhelmed. And it was very recent too. Landing just to the south of the village, Light reverted to her chibi form and then they entered the village to investigate closer.
‘Why would someone do this?’ The senselessness of it pained Izen.
‘Someone is trying to make a statement I think,’ Light mused. ‘There’ll be more for people to worry about now than the events at the temple.’
‘Unless they try and pin this on us too.’ Izen was having difficulty even looking at some areas of the village. ‘Do you think Myne got caught up in this?’
‘It’s a good guess. I’d doubt she’d be sidetracked by anything lesser.’
Light was likely right, but it was both reassuring and worrying at the same time.
They covered the area of the village quickly, not wanting to stay but still needing to have a look. There was no sign of any life, and whatever had been responsible had been and gone. Taking a bit more time around the northern edge of the village Izen was able to find the signs of passage of four creatures, large and obviously dangerous, the age of their tracks fresher than what Izen had expected. They were connected, but Myne hadn’t fought them. It wasn’t until they had circled back around to the south of the village that Izen found what she was looking for, tripping over the satchel that Myne usually left attached to Vel’nas, its straps torn in a number of places. She recognized it instantly, her heart sinking. Examining the area, whatever had occurred had been rather one sided. There looked to have been a brief scuffle between two dragons, the smaller one, likely to have been Vel’nas given the presence of the satchel, conceding to the larger. Of Myne there was no trace, but Izen was pretty sure that she had been captured by another Rider, and the age of the tracks here did approximately match when the feeling had hit Izen. Something was seriously wrong though. Why would a Rider take Myne but leave the demons to decimate the village. It was the responsibility to the Riders to help protect the people, and hence take on the demons, or at the least given the villagers warning to evacuate. Not let them slaughter them. Izen picked up the satchel, her old bandage tumbling out from it as she did so, the one that Myne had said she had used to track her. Holding onto it, tears welling up inside her, she discovered a cute pair of earrings wrapped inside it, a pair of small Star Seeds their feature. Izen clutched them to her chest. So that’s what she had been up to, before she ran afoul of the village. The feeling was mutual. With Light guiding her and the aid of a little magic she put the earrings on, the pain sharp and brief, but nothing compared to what Myne had likely suffered.
‘They look good on you.’ Light complimented. 'Myne has good taste.'
‘We’ll have to make sure that Myne gets the opportunity to see.’ Izen was filled with determination now. ‘And so that I can tell her how I feel,’ she quietly added.
Izen decided that they would have one last look at the village, to see if they could find any additional clues, now that they had a rough idea of what had transpired, and then they would leave. She wasn’t completely set on where they would go next but an idea was forming. That turned out to be a mistake, a demon bursting out of one of the ruined buildings as they passed it by, slamming into Izen and throwing her to the other side of the street.
‘That’s going to leave a bruise,’ Izen thought to herself as she picked herself up, calling her magic to her. The Skeon had prevented any surface injuries, but she had still felt the force of the blow. So that was what had fallen the village. Four had left, but obviously five had assaulted it. The demon looked like some hideously deformed corpse, the top half completely out of proportion with the lower half, its skin a sickly purple, its razor sharp jaws drenched with blood. And it moved a lot faster than its form portrayed, Izen leaping to the side as it crashed into where she had just been standing. Forming the claw, she swung at it as she dodged its third charge, the claw scraping along its hide and only managing to draw a little surface blood. Izen cursed, not surprised. Their bodies were reinforced with potent magic, and she didn’t have anything sharp enough or powerful enough to do any real damage. With the village already wiped out she couldn’t see any point in trying to take it down at the moment, as she would likely get quite hurt herself in the process. They needed to leave.
‘Light, is there anything you can do?’ Izen asked of her dragon.
‘I can buy us some time,’ Light replied, taking her large form and swiping at the demon, catching it by surprise and throwing it clear across the village.
‘That works.’
Picking up the dropped satchel, she scrambled up onto Lights lowered neck, and they took flight, leaving the demon and the scene of carnage behind.