They left just before dawn, Izen keen to get the next leg of their journey underway. While she didn’t know how she was going to find Myne, she knew that she was a lot closer to Myne now, and her resolve burned bright.
‘Don’t do anything silly yet,’ cautioned Light.
‘Don’t worry I’m not going to,’ Izen thought back. ‘At least not here.’
They walked for a number of hours, till Izen was happy that they had travelled far enough from the town, then took flight on Light. Kyla seemed a bit more comfortable riding on the dragon now, and Izen had worked out a way to extend her magic out to help Kyla stay stable on Light was as well.
“Riders dragons aren’t usually this big are they?” asked Kyla, as the landscape flew by beneath them.
“No,” Izen replied, recalling what Myne had told her about them. “They usually fall between the height of a person to triple that. Primes are an exception, but Light seems to be bigger than even a Prime. The only Prime in this kingdom belonged to the founder of the Sisters of the Radiant Dawn, and of course she is long gone. Of the other Clans in the other kingdoms I have no idea.”
Kyla seemed to be relaxing a little bit now. While her physical wounds would heal with time, Izen had no idea how much emotional scarring the girl had, nor what it would take for that to heal. She was still unsure exactly what to do with her, and the path ahead for the both of them wouldn’t be easy, but she had given her fair warning. She wasn’t even sure what she would do once she was back with Myne either, but those were concerns for another time.
Bluemoon was not at all like what Izen had expected it to be. Given that Alice had said that that was where people went to try and retire, she had expected an old, cosy and quiet settlement. Instead it looked like someone had taken four very different and busy towns, and shoved them together. The elaborate Guild house sat in the centre, and the western hillside was covered by rows and rows of gravestones, likely climbing higher each year. The eastern block of the town resembled the markets of the larger towns, tent and stalls lining the streets, while smelly and noisy industrial workshops formed the southern block. The northern block was obviously for the wealthy, the residences sprawling and extravagant. The final section to the west was more what Izen was used to, a collection of tightly packed modest dwellings flowing into the farmhouses and farmland of the town. Nether the less, she felt well and truly out of place here.
As it was nestled in a valley they had been able to circle off to the side as they had approached, flying in low and landing a lot closer than they had done so thus far. It had saved them a lot of walking time, for which Izen was grateful, as she wanted to find Alice’s group as quickly as possible and continue with their journey. They made a few preliminary inquiries as they made their way to the guild hall, but the response was always the same – If you wanted to know about Guild matters, you needed to talk to the Guild. At one point it had almost seemed that one of the older men had been about to say something else, but a look from his companion had made him think the better of it and they had ended up with the standard response. It also seemed that even here no one was any the wiser about the presence of demons, though she did receive a few nervous looks when she made mention of them.
‘What’s up with these people?’ Light commented, echoing her own thoughts.
The Guild Hall was the largest building in the town, but not the most impressive, pale and drab in comparison to the residences in the northern quarter. They made their way up to the entrance, Izen checking her cloak to make sure it was still covering her fully, so that she didn’t give away that she was a Rider, and opened the door. She had told Kyla to stick close to her at all times as well, as if they had to leave in a hurry it would indeed be in a hurry.
The interior of the hall was surprisingly quiet, the tables in the common room that she had expected to be occupied by guild members mostly empty with the exception of those closest to the door. At the far end of the room a young lady sat behind the reception counter, trying her best to ignore the conversation of the sleazy and slimy looking man who was talking at her. He made Izen’s skin crawl. She was very tempted just to turn and walk away so that she wouldn’t have to try and deal with him, but she knew she didn’t really have a choice. Finally deciding to notice their presence as they walked towards him, the man straightened.
“Welcome, welcome to our humble Guild Hall,” he said, the sickly sweetness of his voice pooling to the floor around him. “What can we do for you today?”
“I am seeking some members of this branch of the guild,” Izen replied, very weary of him.
“And who would that be?” he asked in return.
“Alice, Laphir, and Shino,” Izen answered.
The man's eyes narrowed. “They’re not available,” he said bluntly, the sugar coating of his words still present but ill placed.
“Please, can you tell me where to find them. I just need to talk to them,” Izen said. She was sure that even if they were otherwise engaged they would still be able to help her out, her instinct still telling her that they were her best chance at finding Myne. Especially given all the obliviousness of the people of the settlements that they had been through.
“That I cannot,” the man replied. “Private guild matters.”
“However,” he continued, “if you were to pay for theirs and my time, I might be persuaded to let you know.” A greedy and lecherous smile crept along his face.
Izen sighed internally. Why was he making this so hard? “I have no money for you.”
The man shrugged. “I’ll take your slave girl then.”
Izen glared at him, as Kyla moved to hide behind her. “She is not a commodity to be brought and sold,” she declared. “Sorry for wasting your time. We shall take our leave.”
Izen turned, to find that those who had been seated near the door and now moved to block it.
“Oh don’t worry,” the man said, as Izen turned to face him again. “You haven’t. I think we’ll just take both of you as payment instead. You’ll both fetch a high price.” He grinned, as those by the door drew their weapons.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ Izen thought to Light. ‘This doesn’t seem like the guild that Alice told me about at all. Since when have they been slavers?’
‘I would say that the evil is spreading. He’s too young to be the real branch leader anyways.’ Light replied.
‘And they’re seriously going to try and take us on. Can’t they see you?’
‘Well, I am partially hidden by your hair, but I would guess that his greed is blinding him.’ Light then motioned in the direction of the lady at the desk. ‘She can tho.’
Seeing that she had Izen’s attention, the young lady discretely made some walking images with her fingers, pointing to the north, and then signalling 3 days. Izen nodded and smiled.
“No, I think we will be taking our leave. You’ll either let us leave peacefully, or we’ll take the hall down with us,” Izen declared, her voice cold. Reading the intent of her words, the young girl at the desk discretely took her leave.
“You’re welcome to try,” the man said, signalling to his men.
‘We’ll he’s given us permission. I’ve had enough of this place.’
‘As you wish.’ replied Light.
Izen grabbed a hold of Kyla and dashed to the side of the room as Light hopped of her shoulder and took her full form. The change was almost instantaneous now, and given their bond, Izen knew exactly where to position herself to stay out of harms way, the guild hall exploding around them, showering timber all over the surrounding buildings.
“I hope they don’t need to come back here,” Izen said mostly to herself as Light picked them both up in her claw, and took flight, leaving the village to head north. “But they’ll definitely know about us now.” She sighed. Perhaps that had been too impulsive.
“This works tho in a pinch,” she commented on the new riding method, though they did change to normal flight seating once they had left Bluemoon well behind.
They were navigating by the stars by the time they located the trio’s wagon, and while they were camped off the main road, they were able to spot the light of the campfire. Izen was tempted to jump off mid flight and cushion her landing with magic, but not knowing how rough it would end up being for Kyla, who she would have to cradle as she landed, she decided to leave that for another time. Instead they landed just far enough away that they wouldn’t blow out the fire (or blow away anything else), but still be seen, and walked over. Understandably they were in full defensive position as they arrived, lowering their weapons when they saw who it was. Relieved to have finally found them, Izen was suddenly nervous about reuniting with them. She had a lot of explaining to do, and was hoping that they’d be able to help.
“Sorry about the mess,” Izen apologized as she walked into the fires light, Kyla by her side and Light back on her shoulder.
“I had my suspicions it’d be you Velvet,” smiled Alice, giving her shield to Laphir and walking up Izen to give her a welcoming hug.
“Not just about this,” Izen indicated to the campsite as Alice stood back to look at them both. “I may have also destroyed the guild house at Bluemoon.”
“We won’t be going back,” commented Laphir, shrugging. “I do think you owe us a few stories tho.”
Alice nodded. “Whose this young lady, and where is the other Rider? Myne I believe her name was.” she asked.
“This is Kyla,” Izen introduced, the cat girl looking embarrassed. “She came along with me after an incident at a village.” Izen then looked sad. “Myne has been taken from me, captured, though I’m not sure by whom. Someone who uses the demons that now wander.”
Izen looked directly at Alice. “I’m hoping that you’ll be able to help me find her. I have no idea where or how else I am going to find her, nor do I have anyone else to turn to.” She sighed. “I do know that you are on another job at the moment though.”
“Fortune smiles on you Velvet. Or rather, someone does.” Alice smiled reassuringly. “I’m pretty sure that we’ll be able to help you out. It looks as though we have been pulled into this whether we like it or not. Let us makes ourselves more comfortable first tho.”
They all sat down around the fire, Kyla keeping close to Izen. That she was able to make out that the two men were Ferals did seem to help settle her a bit.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“So Light can change size then?” queried Alice. They had just been able to make out a form when they had landed nearby, but they weren’t exactly sure on her size, other than that it was massive.
Izen nodded. “Yes, but it’s one of two extremes. Tiny,” she said, indicating to Light currently perched on her shoulder, “or massive. Better seen in daylight tho.”
“Do you have any other secrets?” teased Shino, genuinely curious.
“Plenty I’m sure,” answered Izen, “though most will have to wait till after we’ve rescued Myne.”
“Why the change of tune? You were reluctant to go with her when she first found you.” Shino was definitely a perceptive one, underneath his carefree persona.
“We’ve grown… close,” Izen replied, absently pushing her hair aside to touch the star seed earring. “Though there may well be more to it than that,” she added.
Alice smiled. “It’s kinda cute.” She then took on a more serious look. “Tell us what happen when she disappeared.”
Izen started with what had happened that day, glossing over where they had been initially, but providing full details of the search, and then ended up telling them everything that had happened since, including all of the events surround Kyla joining her and the mess at the guild hall. They listened intently, Kyla included, nodding occasionally and asking for clarifications when something wasn’t as clear to them. The trio expressed their support for Izen taking Kyla with her when she had left the tavern, all of the trio obviously angry at the treatment that she had had to endure. Alice also stated that she should have some clothes that would fit Kyla, and she’d get them for her come the morning. Laphir bluntly stated that he did not like Tourin, Izen's encounter cementing his opinion even more, repeating his view of the rot that was spreading through the guild. The cooperation of demons was a significant concern, as was the fact that the warnings were being largely ignore or quashed.
In return Alice told Izen about the circumstances of their current job, stating the first part of it had now been completed. While she had no idea how this Charles Burdesdance was involved, she was dead certain that it was Izen and Myne that he had been referring to (even if the description didn’t 100% fit), with Izen confirming that she did indeed know of the location of a hidden library. It was too much of a coincidence not to be, but they would worry about who was behind it all after they had reclaimed Myne. Now that Izen was here the next step of the plan was fairly straight forward. They would travel to the closest location on Charle’s list, and from there either travel up or down the crescent moon path depending on what they found. Time was of the essence, so they would all travel on Light, taking just what they needed and could carry, leaving the wagon behind, hidden, and the horses released. While Light could probably carry the wagon, it would likely be too rough for it, though having her carry some extras anyways was considered.
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Izen woke last the following morning to find the camp a hive of activity. Laphir and Shino had sorted all of their belongings, taking only what they could carry and the rest stashed away, and it would mean that they would be travelling fully armed. Alice had been true to her word and had found some clothes that fit Kyla, and she was now dressed in a full suit of spider silk chain, with a simple blue tank top and blue skirt over it, as well as a comfortable pair of leather boots. It turned out that Alice also wore spider silk chain, but as she wasn’t a quick combatant she also wore the leather over the top. As Kyla was naturally a lot more agile the additional protection would end up being detrimental to her.
Following the morning meal and concealment of the wagon, they mounted Light and took flight, the guild trio taken back by her sheer size, even though they had had some initial impression. Chibi Light was definitely a lot more discrete. Travelling with five people clustered together on Light was also quite a different experience, and Izen could understand why Light wouldn’t want it to be a permanent thing, even if she was big enough to carry a lot more than that.
Their first stop was Silverglade, a satellite farming village of SilverFalls, and it was anything but, the decimation obvious as soon as it came into view. Ash billowed around them as they landed at its perimeter, the buildings having burnt to the ground, scavengers having picked away what they could of the charred remains. They didn’t stay long, the sight sickening and the question of what exactly was going on rebounding in all of their minds. And what exactly was Myne’s part in all of this.
With Light’s existence now out of the bag with the events at Bluemoon, they decided that SilverFalls itself would be their next stop to see what the residents there knew of the village’s fate, her landing just outside of it sending the residents fleeing in fear. The mayor of the village informed Laphir and Izen that there had only been one survivor, a young child, and that the Guild had already taken them away. All that the child had been able to tell them was that a black demon queen had fed on the blood of the villagers and then burned it all to the ground, their mind too scarred from the experience to recall anything else.
Their next two stops, both satellite farming villages, had suffered the same fate, so they didn’t even bother landing at them, and continued on, stopping part way between the two to stretch and rest. Based on the information that Charles had given them, Alice had already mocked up the full path of villages that fell under the crescent moon, and at their current pace they would reach the first town that hadn’t been on the list early the following day, assuming that his list was accurate, which it turned out it was. They landed on the on the outskirts, the morning fog helping to mask their arrival, walking in and poking around the village to see if there was any indication of the potential threat. Izen was pleased to see that Kyla and Alice were getting on well, and while Kyla was understandably terrified of men, which might makes things complicated if she ever discovered Izen’s other form (though in all fairness she had warned her), she had started to open up a little with Laphir and Shino. The residents of the village were blissfully unaware of any threat to their lives, and the regular culling of Night Beasts by the Riders and lack of awareness of anything worse meant that they were also completely unprepared.
Having hopefully arrived before Myne’s captors and whatever they had with them, all they could do at this point was wait, and hope that when they did they would also be quick enough to prevent any unnecessary deaths.
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Izen woke with a start in the last hour before dawn, her sensing that Myne was near confirmed by the resounding smash that then echoed around the village as something impacted with one of the now empty farm houses, sending burning debris everywhere. The villagers at first had ridiculed their warnings of the imminent danger to their lives, only conceding when Izen had threatened to do the deed herself and flatten the village should they not listen, Light’s full size adding weight to her argument. They had gathered them all in the easiest to defend building near the centre of the town, taking turns to keep watch. The exact plan on who was going to do what depending on who the assailants were. Demons would be an issue, as Izen and Light were probably the only ones who had a chance at damaging them, but Izen hadn’t had enough time to modify her weapons yet to be able to pierce a magical hide. Given they were all unique, it was possible that some of them didn’t, and she’d just have to hope on that. Running outside, they could see a flying dragon keeping its distance, and a figure emerging from the rubble, black flame dancing all around her, dragon horns on her head, and wings of black flame on her back. She looked different, but Izen knew straight away who it was. Myne.
“Light, scout for any additional threats, Everyone else, defend the hall. Leave Myne to me,” she commanded, as she ran off to confront her.
Myne advanced through the village, fangs bared, her flames setting alight all that she touched, and her eyes blazing with a demonic light.
“Myne!” Izen cried out as she closed in on her, stopping as she got close.
Myne stopped, the demonic light fading from her eyes. She grinned, a soft look in her eyes. “Took you long enough. I’ve been waiting,” she managed to say, before the demonic light started to flicker in her eyes again. “No you don’t, stay out of my head!” she screamed in rage, the demonic light returning to full strength, black chains of magic around her glistening in the light.
She’s being controlled, Izen realized, distracted, not reacting fast enough as Myne's fist slammed into her shoulder, shattering her bone armour there and sending her flying across the street and into a nearby wall.
“That hurt,” she muttered to herself as she picked herself up, paying full attention to Myne.
Myne didn’t hesitate, flying straight into the wall where Izen was, splinters of wood and flame ricocheting everywhere, Izen having managed to dodge at the last second, summoning her shield to her.
“Myne. It’s me. Please, wake up,” she yelled, deflecting Myne’s blows with her shield as she did her best to dodge her attacks entirely, the surrounding buildings going up in flames as Myne brushed by them.
‘Demons to the South. Three of them.’ Light let her know. She had discovered that they could still communicate over long distances, which came in handy for scouting and circumstances like this.
‘Do your best to keep them away from the citizens without being spotted. We have additional company.’ Izen replied, gaining a brief reprieve as Myne stopped, the demonic light flickering in her eyes. “Leave me alone Zorthac,” she screamed, before the light intensified again and she resumed her assault.
Izen continued dodging or deflecting Myne’s attacks, her shield able to withstand the flames, but the impact rebounding through her body, causing massive cracks in her armour. She was only going to be able to do this for so long before a decisive blow was landed. Even now she couldn’t help but admire Myne’s talent in combat. She was unwilling to attack her back, but in order to get rid of those chains she would probably have to do so.
Myne was attacking as she usually did when they had sparred, fists and feet reinforced, though in this case with the flames as well, close combat brawling her strength. She had always been fast, and with the wings she was even more agile, and Izen was having trouble finding an opening as she charged at her, her punches and kicks shattering the buildings and ground when Izen managed to get out of the way. She feinted a trip, quickly switching her magic to a claw and swiping, Myne dodging out of the way, an arrow lodging itself in her bare shoulder.
Izen swore, pain searing down her arm. She grabbed the arrow and yanked it out, tossing it aside, the demonic light again flickering in Myne’s eye as she fell to one knee, swearing at the demonic influence controlling her. That she was still managing to fight it gave Izen hope, and idea forming. The Rider in the sky on the other hand, had obviously also been waiting for an opening.
‘Can you do anything about the Rider?’ Izen asked of Light.
‘Busy keeping the demons at bay,’ Light replied. ‘They’re an agile lot, and the village layout is slowing me down. That Rider has also set the kin on the villagers. Alice and the others have their hands full.’
Izen swore again, barely dodging another arrow as the demonic light yet again returned to Myne’s eyes.
‘Use Ashling. He’s been asleep for long enough.’
‘Ashling?’ Izen queried, confused.
‘Just call him. He’s lazy, but he’ll do as asked,’ Light replied.
‘Ashling! Take her out will you. Please.’ Izen thought to the world in general. It couldn’t hurt to try.
‘Sigh. And I was quite happy sleeping too,’ a new voice echoed in her head.
Myne resumed her assault again, swiping an arrow out of the way as Izen vaulted over her, Izen then using her shield to then rebound off Myne’s fist as she followed her attack through.
There was a thunderous crash as dragon and Rider smashed into the ground, a silver dragon the same size as Light having slammed into the unaware pair from above, the silver dragon then proceeding to land and pin its target down.
‘You can stay there for a bit I think.’ Ashling declared, not that his target could hear his thoughts.
Myne stopped again, Izen charging straight in, not wanting to waste the opening, reinforcing herself as best she could against Myne’s flames as she embraced her, the pain from them still searing.
‘Give her back to me!’ Izen screamed, tears rolling down her face and her emotions wild. Her arms lit up with searing hot runes as tendrils of light shot out, wrapped themselves around the black chains binding Myne, and tore them free, the black magic dissipating into the night.
The demonic light faded completely from Myne's eyes, and she relaxed into Izen, the flames also fading away. Izen held on to her tightly, not wanting to let her go.
“Welcome back Myne,” she started, before she felt a stab of pain in her exposed neck as Myne sank her fangs in, drinking some of her blood, causing Izen to relax her grip.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for ages,” Myne said, smiling, before fainting from exhaustion.
‘The familiars going crazy,’ Ashling informed Izen. ‘I know the Rider fell elsewhere, but she’s disappeared.’
‘Let it go then,’ Izen replied. ‘We don’t have to sink to their depths, and we have other concerns than trying to hunt for her right now.’ She hoped that she wouldn’t regret that decision, but her focus was elsewhere.
‘Done.’ Ashling confirmed. Izen watched as the wounded dragon scampered free, managing to fly badly in a northerly direction, seeking its Rider. Either the Rider had been quick, or someone else had removed them from the battlefield in all the confusion.
‘It’ll heal quickly,’ Light stated. ‘Dragons do, being part of their Riders magic. The demons have retreated too, which is unusual, and the dracokin have scattered.’
‘We’ll take what we can get. Lets regroup. Ashling, I assume you can do the same as Light?’ Two dragons huh. This was going to get confusing.
‘Of course,’ Ashling confirmed.
Izen looked at Myne in the dawn light as she carried her to where the rest of their companions were. Something drastic had happened to her. She had fangs, and drank blood, her neck still feeling tingly from her bite. Vel’nas was nowhere to be seen. She had a pair of dragon horns on her head, which Izen found quite cute and thought suited her, and scales down the outside of her arms and back of her hands. Much like Izen’s, her bone armour was shattered and missing in a number of places, and her Skeon torn. While her skin had been bronze it was now a pale white, and her lips a seductive deep rose. She really did look like a Dragon Feral, but whatever had happened, whatever had changed, she was still Myne, and she loved her.