Maya quietly read through a children’s book called Faery Tails and Ancient Lore in the castle’s library. Rather than a research-focused book like she usually read, this anthology was about tales and legends of Acujutu and Verinth. The first half focused on stories that had come from Dualaraties, such as the stories of a few famous Fae Queens. The latter half focused on stories and legends of Dualaratie-wielders long dead, like Rylius the Blue Demon and other wielders that had left their mark on history so long ago that nobody could be sure they had existed.
She was currently focused on the first half of the book. Most of it was considered unreliable information about Acujutu, but some researchers still valued the stories. After all, there was no other way to get information about the land. She was intrigued by one of the longer stories, called The Adventure of Perithorn and Meridora. It was first told by an old Faery a few years ago, just hours before she and her master passed on.
The story was about two girls, implied to be a part of the royal family, who stumbled upon a scene in the royal court that they shouldn’t have. It started with the pair meeting in “a grand city with buildings similar to cities all across the world.” Houses in the southeast with their thatched roofs, stone floors, and wooden walls. More in the southwest built with clay and sandstone melded into square houses supported by wooden beams. Houses built into the warm stone of the northwest. The houses in the north built sturdily with wood on the precipices of towering, snow-covered mountains.
She continued reading what she’d read a few times before: “Each house looked like it could belong to any one of Keirithu’s kingdoms, yet at the same time, they couldn’t belong to any.” After the scene has been set, the pair talk about how they’d like to leave their stuffy, boring, restrictive lives one day and live in the real world. No manners, no rules, and nobody to tell you what to do. Each time she read the story, that message always resonated with her.
As she read on about Perithorn’s and Meridora’s adventures, the story soon reached its end: “The pair watched with wide eyes as the Faery Queen formed a pact with a shrouded Dualaratie. Little Perithorn and Meridora couldn’t hear the queen very well, but they heard whispers about an ideal world.” It was described to be a world in which everyone was treated kindly, but where hardship still existed. The queen didn’t prefer an easy life for her citizens, but a life full of kindness.
“Excuse me,” a man beside her suddenly said, making Maya jump and close the book. She was too absorbed in the story to have noticed the tall, burly man with silver and black hair. She recognized the man instantly from many past encounters.
“Andrian?!” Maya asked in surprise. She had completely forgotten he was returning to Soleil.
“Shh. But yes. I saw you and came over to say hello. Is your father around, by chance?”
“He should be at home, for once,” Maya responded as she unconsciously moved her hand to cover the book’s title. She trusted the kind man, but it had been years since she’d started covering books around adults, lest they be taken away. A habit more or less forced on her by her father’s restrictive rules on her research.
“I see. I’d been hoping to catch up with him on a few things, but it is nice to see you as well. How’ve you been these past months?”
“Fairly well. Except for last week, but that’s a long story. And I can’t talk about it.”
“Why not? It’s confidential?” Andrian asked curiously.
“Quite.”
“I see,” he responded as he eyed the book. “What’re you reading there?”
Maya moved her hand. “Oh, this? Just... a little children’s book, basically.”
“Ah, I should’ve known the book by the cover. I’ve read a few of those stories myself, though I’d say only a few are truly children’s stories. Some are quite interesting, but others are plain boring.”
“Yeah, I agree. Right now I’m reading about Perithorn and Meridora.”
“I’ve read it too, though I wasn’t much of a fan. The message just didn’t seem right to me, though I suppose everyone in Frikalt would say that.”
“Oh really? It’s actually one of my favorites,” Maya responded thoughtfully, wondering what exactly he disliked.
“Hm... are you currently reading it for fun, or some other reason?”
“Oh, just for fun,” Maya lied casually. “I was reading it to Thomas a couple of days ago but we never got to finish it... and, I guess I like the philosophies.”
“So it is for research?”
“Well... not my usual research on Dualaraties. My father has gotten... quite strict with that. He wants me to focus more on becoming a proper lady and a dancer.”
Andrian thought about that for a moment and then smiled fondly into space. “Well, if you believe your research will help the world, you should chase after that dream. Even if there are some obstacles in the way.”
“Thank you for the encouragement!” Maya smiled before glancing at a clock behind Andrian and seeing that it was already four-thirty. “Oh! Sorry, but I’ve gotta get going. I had no idea it had gotten this late. I’ve gotta get home before the Full Blood starts or my father will freak out.”
Andrian looked over his shoulder at the clock while Maya stood up. “Perfectly understood. You’re the only person I’ve seen in a while. Well, not counting any knights.”
“Wait... how come you’re out and about so late? Shouldn’t you be in your quarters?”
“Thirteen minutes is more than enough time to get to my quarters, but I don’t need to anyway. Other than being here for politics, I’ll be joining your knights in this Full Blood battle.”
“Oh! I never thought of that... good luck then.”
Andrian gave a grim smile of appreciation. “We all need it on a night like this. Now get yourself home before you get caught up in the hellish nightmare that is a Full Blood.”
“I will. Hopefully, I’ll see you later,” Maya said before running off without much of a goodbye—there was never a time for proper goodbyes on a night like this, especially so close to sunset. She dashed through the towering shelves and emerged next to the librarian’s desk. The librarian wasn’t there, of course, so Maya placed the book on the desk and left. She’d rather not be hunted down later for ‘stealing’ it.
The castle, as Andrian had told her, was completely barren. Not a single person would trust their luck enough to be walking around above ground this close to a Full Blood, other than the knights. She glanced southward through the glass, out at the sprawling, silent city. The fading light of the sun streaked across the sky from right to left, creating a beautiful picture that nobody was here to paint. She pulled her eyes away from the scene and kept jogging through the curved hallways until she reached a stairwell.
She descended the stairs as fast as she could in a dress, and once she reached the ground floor she turned to begin jogging home but heard the whispers of a couple of knights down the hallway beside her. Thankful she had convinced her parents to let her wear slippers around in a dress—as long as she kept a satchel with her boots—she was able to soundlessly and curiously peek around the corner.
“You really think they’d kill her? She’s only sixteen,” one of the knights, a male with blonde hair, said.
“Well, sure. Any way you cut it, the Luminaire girl has got a rogue Dualaratie. Its body can be touched! Weird, right?” a female knight responded.
“Yeah, but she was caught. Isn’t that good enough?” the blonde-haired knight asked.
“Yeah, caught by Cassius! In no way is that kid normal. Just cuz he caught her doesn’t mean anyone can,” another male knight, this one with a helmet on, chimed in.
Maya’s eyes widened in surprise. Why hadn’t Cassius told her about that? She quickly assumed her sudden goodbye had thrown him off, but she had been, and still was, spooked by a note she’d received when she went to retrieve Cassius’s gift. She worried she would’ve told Cassius about it, so she had decided to make the goodbye as fast as possible, but clearly, that may have been a mistake.
Now I’m behind on gossip about the most important research topic in ages! Maya thought to herself. She continued to listen with intent.
“I doubt they’d kill her before the Full Blood starts,” the female knight said. “They’ll at least wait until it’s started to see if she goes insane or something.”
“Why would she go insane?” the blonde-haired knight asked.
“Some rumor that’s been around for like... just today. I dunno where it came from, but the warden seems pretty wary about it from what I’ve heard,” the helmeted knight explained.
“So it’s all hearsay?”
“Yes,” the female said. “But I’m sure it’s gotta be believable. I mean, the Dualaratie can be touched, y’know? With your bare hands.”
Maya didn’t need to hear more after that. She knew this had to be the thing she’d been told about. She quietly and quickly stalked away from the group with a plan already formulating in her mind. There was no way she’d let the girl be killed without getting information out of her, but she also knew she’d have to help her escape. Security would be loose, and all she needed to ask before she released her were a few questions that might help with her research. Specifically, her research that she assumed only a few people knew about, including the king.
There were too many pieces she’d come across just yesterday. The king seemed to already know how Cassius’ Dualaratie worked, even though she’d never seen or heard of others like it, though it could also be chalked up to common sense. Then, he’d mentioned something about the Church and how it related to Cassius’ Dualaratie. That in itself was suspicious, as, after lots of meticulous digging done over the course of two years, Maya had found out that the Church’s teachings had been suppressed by the knights, causing its collapse. They wanted to keep something hidden, and now she knew it didn’t just relate to some semi-prophecy, it most likely related to Dualaraties of shadow as well. Dualaraties just like the one Cassius now had.
Then, when she went to her house to get her gift for Cassius, she found a letter as well, from someone she didn’t know. It worried her, as she felt like she’d been stalked and was now being manipulated. After all, it had promised her the spear she had lost, and some valuable points for her research as well. It was obviously manipulation, but now that she knew she’d be helping someone out of a life-or-death situation, she didn’t want to sit back and watch it happen. Just to ensure she wasn’t crazy, she pulled the paper out to read it again while jogging toward the castle’s dungeons.
Dear Maya, I hope you are well. I’m quite sorry about the predicament you found yourself in about a week ago. The spear you didn’t break is safe. However, you can only get it back if you complete a task for me. I’ll set something up before the Full Blood, but when you hear about that thing—you’ll know what I mean—do it, then you and her should make your way to the docks. It’s a lot more important than I can explain, but it relates to Cassius. You’ll also end up getting the information you’ve recently been looking for about the Church. Good luck.
She guessed those knights must have been set up in that hallway on purpose. There hadn’t been anything else she’d heard in the past day that seemed so secretive or urgent. She assumed the exact mission could have been impromptu because of how rushed the setup and the timing were. Just then, the exact timing clicked in Maya’s head. If it was indeed a girl captured by Cassius, then the only time that could’ve happened was when she’d left him to get his present. That raised the question of who had been watching Cassius, and why she wanted to undo his work. But there wasn’t any time left to question as Maya stopped just before the hallway that led to the dungeon.
“Alette,” Maya whispered, causing the poorly dressed Banshee appeared beside her. “Distract those two guards. Use... use one of the knight commanders’ voices.”
“This is a dumbass idea,” Alette grumbled as she dematerialized. Maya ignored her vulgar comment as she felt her materialize again, this time from the other side of the hall the guards were in. “Guards! Plans for the Full Blood are changing slightly. Just head to the south of the city and bring Spencer as well; we’re having someone replace him for tonight.”
“The code, sir?” One of the knights asked in a confused voice. Maya’s breath caught; she didn’t know the code, so how would Alette know?
“Red droplet,” Alette responded without hesitation. “I’ve got a few more knights to round up, but I’ll catch up later.”
Maya slowly glanced around the corner and watched as the knights quickly began leaving. They had already briefed the warden, Spencer, on what was supposedly happening. She had found that many knights were easy to manipulate, especially when they were on edge the night before a Blood Moon, and this was a Full Blood, no less. That anxiety was definitely exemplified by the three knights who ran out of the hall without even checking to see if they were speaking to a real person. It was against the rules to not verify a person's existence thanks to the many abilities of Dualaraties, and countermeasures were placed as best as possible, though sometimes a person could be caught with their guard down.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Maya listened as the trio of knights departed, and then began sneaking down the hall where she could enter the dungeons. She quietly closed the heavy wooden door behind her and walked down the stone steps. It suddenly felt like she was miles away from the castle, now somewhere far underground in a poor city or town. She cringed at the smell in the air and put one of the sleeves of her blue dress over her nose, though it didn’t help much.
She reached the bottom of the stairway and glanced around the dim dungeons. A ring of keys was left hanging in the room where the jailer lived, so she took those and continued on. She’d never actually been down here before, but it was easy to see that criminals with Dualaraties were placed in jails on the left side of the entire area, as those dungeons were made with Moonsteel that kept Dualaraties from passing through it. The other half of the jails had bars large enough for even a Faery with a physical body to slip out of, so it only made sense that she’d be kept in a stronger cell.
“Alette, fly through here and look for that girl. She should have brown hair and red highlights,” Maya ordered as she picked up her pace. “I also don’t want to get caught, and it stinks in here.”
“Sure,” Alette responded as she flew down another hallway while Maya continued forward. As she passed each cell, she glanced inside to look for the girl. She hoped the girl wouldn’t be buried under any blankets, but she remembered she could just call her name.
“Is there a Luminaire anywhere?” she yelled, though not as loudly as possible. No response came, so she ran a few hallways down and tried again, louder this time. “Luminaire?!”
“Here,” a bored-sounding voice replied.
Maya turned left, where the voice had come from, and began running. She passed cell after cell and continued to glance into each one. Even with slippers on, her footsteps still seemed incredibly loud in these corridors, especially when compared to the braziers that lined the walls. She worried that someone would hear her, or that a Dualaratie would sense her presence, and she stumbled as she heard a deafening crash and saw a dent form in the Moonsteel ceiling. No human could've done that, but what kind of Dualaratie could bend Moonsteel?
She stumbled to a stop and put a hand over her mouth in surprise and fear. Her eyes widened as Alette appeared next to her. “Shit. Looks like it’s started... Luminaire!”
“Here!” the girl responded with just slightly more annoyance. They were close.
“Follow me. And pay attention to your enhanced hearing more so you can listen. No reason a damn Dualaratie should be able to crush you through a Moonsteel ceiling.”
Maya nodded, feeling frozen in fear, but Alette’s urging helped her to continue. She followed Alette closely, moving from one side of the hallway to the other whenever one of them heard a noise from above. Neither of them wanted to take chances on a night like this. Now Maya knew for sure that escaping through the city would be hard, or maybe even impossible. But she wanted desperately to give this girl a chance now that Maya knew what it was like to be in a life-or-death situation.
“Get the fourth key from the left,” Alette said as she flew faster than Maya could run before suddenly stopping in front of a cell. Maya listened to the orders and looked into the cell once she arrived. Inside, she saw a girl about her age with brown hair and red streaks, sitting on a bed. She was skinny and wore a simple green sweater and black pants that looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in days. She absently glanced at Maya and scratched at one of her arms, which had a vine-like Ethereon tangling around it.
“You’re Luminaire?” she asked between breaths.
“Uh, yeah. Kiara Luminaire.”
Maya smiled and opened the heavy door. “Got it. I’m Maya... and I’m kinda... breaking you out.”
“What?” Kiara asked.
“I told you we’d get help,” another voice said from the direction of the ceiling.
Does she not want to escape...? Maya wondered before the voice cut her thoughts off. “Who was that?”
“Me. Her Dualaratie.”
Maya stared at the eccentrically dressed Faery as it floated down from the ceiling. Those dead eyes paired with the tattered wings unnerved her, but even with them, she obviously still took great care of her clothing and hair. Her grey hair was braided into a beautiful circle around her head with a couple of wavy strands hanging beside her face, and her red and black clothes were all properly taken care of.
“You’re the—!” Maya gasped and smiled in delight.
“Oh, yes, yes, I’ll sign your hand later, and I’ll tell you my name as well,” the Faery replied sarcastically. “But if you’re here to help, then let’s escape first, shall we?”
“Oh... right,” Maya responded as she deflated. “Also, there should be a—”
She was cut off as a small, blue cylinder was tossed into the cell.
“There’s your spear,” a female voice said. Maya whipped around and saw nothing.
“Who was that...?!”
Alette sighed in annoyance and completely ignored the voice. “Doesn’t matter right now. But if we aren’t going to make this quick, then now might be a good time to mention that those knights we thought we tricked actually tricked us. I saw through the plan, but it didn’t matter at that point. There’s no convincing you.”
“What?!” Maya exclaimed. “Then... they’re already on their way...”
“Uh... I’m fine in here,” Kiara said quietly.
“You’re dense,” Alette told her with a sigh. “If they catch her, you’ll most likely die for... manipulating a noble or something. Unless you’ve got a really good lawyer or a backup plan. Plus, they already have your death planned anyway.”
Kiara sighed as if this were a simple wrench in her daily life, which as of now was sitting around and doing nothing. The Faery also sighed, though it was directed at the girl. She floated down to the cylindrical piece of metal, picked it up, and offered it to Maya, who took it gingerly.
“I assume that person wanted to stay hidden, so I won’t mention what I saw thanks to my Fae Eyes, but if you got this as a reward for helping us, then we’ll go. Kiara. Let’s go.”
“Good!” Maya said as she tried to understand why her spear was now a small cylinder only a few inches long. She’d have to figure it out later, but for now, it was safest in her satchel with her boots.
“Hey, you!” A knight yelled from down the hallway. “Get away from that cell!”
“Kiara,” the Faery ordered as Maya yelped at the sight of the knight.
“Fine... use Rose,” the girl ordered as she stepped out and ran the other way, not waiting for Maya. She ran fast.
Maya hesitantly followed the girl, who seemed as if she knew where she was supposed to be going. She glanced behind her and noticed the knight seemed to be getting rapidly drained of his energy by a red cloud of mist that stretched to Kiara. When she looked ahead, she almost stumbled into the girl, who had suddenly stopped at a three-way intersection. The girl looked expectantly and worriedly at Alette and Maya.
“Directions?” the Faery asked before happily muttering something to herself about an “increase in power.”
“Hold on... the hell?” Alette mumbled as she glanced at one of the walls weirdly. “Cover your ears.”
Maya watched as the girl and her Faery did as asked, though she noticed how Kiara glanced at her Dualaratie as if looking for reassurance. A second later, Alette let out an ear-piercing scream, and the wall shattered, revealing another path. Maya guessed it must’ve been one of Spencer’s illusions. Yet another reason he had been named warden of the dungeons.
“Hey! Our speed!” the Faery complained. “And defense!”
“Told you to cover your ears,” Alette shrugged.
Maya watched Kiara, who, instead of complaining, swiped her hand in front of her to curiously test the effects of Alette’s Mortalis Aria. She huffed at the slower, or normal, speeds but continued on as Alette flew forward. The pair was quickly proving to be a little much. A quiet, grumpy girl, and a loud, mischievous Faery.
“Why’re you helping us?” Kiara asked, now running at the same pace as Maya.
“On the night of a Full Blood too,” the Faery chimed in.
“Oh, it’s a long story. I can explain later though if you’d like,” Maya offered.
“Mm,” Kiara grunted, seeming unsure of the idea.
Maya was curious about her constant indecisiveness and decided she’d have to ask about it later. But for now, the most important thing was to focus on escaping these dungeons. After that, Maya assumed it would be best to let the girl leave the city. As they rounded a corner, Maya slipped and fell, letting out a yelp of pain. Kiara pivoted and offered a hand to her as the knight down the hall approached. He seemed very sluggish at this point.
“Take off your damn slippers,” Alette said in annoyance.
Maya did as asked while standing with the help of Kiara. She noticed the much better grip her bare feet had, though she knew she’d need to put on her boots soon. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” the girl mumbled before continuing, only to face yet another knight.
“Maya?!” Spencer exclaimed. Maya noticed he had two swords on his hips that she didn’t recognize as his. “You did this?”
She grimaced as Alette faced down Spencer and his Gnome standing on his shoulder. She was too flustered to speak but didn’t want to be cornered by Spencer and the other knight so she pivoted, grabbed Kiara’s hand, and ran the other way.
“Get back here!” Spencer yelled as he followed the pair.
“No thanks. Your jails are very musty and smelly!” the Faery yelled as she stuck her tongue out at the man. Maya could already tell she was very playful and determined, unlike Kiara, who, at first glance, seemed to be serious and not sure of herself.
“Warden’s Citadel!” Spencer yelled, causing a wall to appear in front of the group, stopping them all for just a moment before Alette destroyed it with a yell. Now everyone was a notch slower than Maya.
Suddenly, the Faery pivoted in the air and bolted straight toward Spencer. Kiara seemed to know what was going on, but she continued ahead with only a glance backward. When Maya glanced as well, she saw the Faery slam into Spencer’s Dualaratie and knock it off his shoulder. It worked to stop Spencer for a second as well, and Maya grinned in guilty satisfaction. Then, she turned to continue running, but the girl was nowhere to be seen, and there weren’t any turns for at least ten yards.
“Where—”
“Keep going!” the Faery yelled at Maya as she wrestled with the Gnome.
Maya stayed in place, not wanting to leave the Faery. She watched Spencer reach for the Faery, but before she could call it out, one of his legs shot backward in a spasm or something similar. Her eyes widened as she watched Spencer’s swords be ripped off his hips and into the air. She realized it wasn’t some bad luck, it was someone with invisibility.
The girl from just a few minutes ago? Maya wondered,
“Nice! Ready? ...got it!” the Faery said as she flew away from the Gnome, which followed her. She hadn’t ever felt this amount of confusion in her life, and finally, belatedly noticed Alette trying to get her attention.
“C’mon, Maya!”
“Oh! Right!” she said as she turned and began running again. What just happened? She asked herself.
“Nasturtium!” she heard Kiara yell from behind her. “Warden’s Citadel!”
What is going on?! She thought as she turned to see an elated Kiara with Spencer’s swords now in her hands, and a wall behind them.
“We’re all good!” Kiara said, now with a much happier tone as she strapped the swords to her hips. “Just lead the way.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure how long those illusions hold exactly, so stop gaping and get a move on,” the Faery said.
Maya felt a strong urge to follow those directions. She turned her head forward again and began running with Alette. “So what happened with you two?!”
“I attacked this little Gnome for two reasons: first, as a distraction to let Kiara get her swords back. Then, I used one of my skills—Nasturtium—to manipulate the vampire, and that’s really all.”
“Why take the swords?”
“Cuz they’re mine,” Kiara said with a small smile. It seemed like she didn’t want to seem too excited or something similar.
“Oh... really?”
“Heads!” Alette yelled as another dent was made in the ceiling with an accompanying crash. The two extra companions seemed slightly frightened by the sudden crash.
“Hey, you! Banshee! What’s going on up there for that amount of damage?” the Faery asked.
“A lot.”
“Ugh. Pretty girl?!” the Faery was looking at Maya now.
“Uh,” she was surprised by the compliment, even if it was a sarcastic nickname. “I’m not as practiced with my hearing as Alette, so I can’t tell exact info.”
“Ugh... we’re really in the dark, huh? And you two have like, the most basic Banshee powers ever...”
Alette groaned at the rude comment and Maya nodded but then was toppled to her side as something threw her onto the ground. She let out a yelp as Kiara grunted and also fell over. Maya grimaced in pain and opened her eyes to see a knight holding her down, and another knight holding down Kiara as well. Alette and the Faery stopped and protectively looked at the two, unsure of what to do. Sometimes, Dualaraties being unable to interact with Verinth was a huge pain, and the Faery obviously couldn’t do anything to help.
“Stay down and don’t resist!” one of the knights yelled, creating a loud echo through the dungeons.
“Maya?” one of the knights asked in surprise. “You’d dare?!”
She cringed in guilt. Why exactly had she done this? Perhaps she’d still been shaken by the fact that she’d almost lost her life, and couldn’t stand to see someone else lose theirs either. She knew that fear, but it wasn’t the only thing that had pushed her. She hit her breaking point and kneed the man on top of her, her strong legs making sure he was immobilized.
“Don’t just jump on a lady like that! I did this because I’ve never...!” she punched the man once. “Ever!” Twice. “Been allowed any freedoms! No researching!” She pushed the man off of her as he reeled and cradled his now-bleeding nose. “Nothing! You people are all blind to personal wants!”
She crawled away from the man and stood to instantly charge the man on top of Kiara. She spun gracefully, just as she’d been taught. Except, instead of her foot catching air, it caught the other, wide-eyed knight in the stomach before he could catch her leg. He coughed hard and slinked away from Kiara, whom Maya offered a hand to. The girl looked up, incredulous, and took her hand, standing up and positioning herself behind Maya. Clearly, Maya’s sudden outburst had freaked out everyone in the vicinity.
“Kiara, let’s go,” Maya said as she turned and began running again. Kiara trailed behind, and the knights didn’t risk following.
“Teach me that!” the Faery said as she finally found her voice.
“It’s from dancing. I made a few moves into self-defense is all,” Maya explained with a dark blush. A young lady never should’ve acted out like that.
“Happy to see I’m finally rubbing off on you,” Alette said. “You and ‘being proper.’ ”
“Just... let’s get out of here,” Maya said, trying to ignore the comment, though she couldn’t help but silently agree that she may never have acted out if not for spending so much time with someone who had no manners.
The Faery put up another wall as the rest of the group followed Alette and only stopped a few times to let her break through illusions. They passed cell after cell of inmates who were doing anything from sleeping to yelling in anger or cowering in fear from the noises above. As they neared the castle, those crashing noises became less frequent, until there was complete silence. They emerged into the first hall in the dungeon and found nobody guarding the stairs, courtesy of the Full Blood.
“Was this all planned out?” the Faery asked.
“No. It’s just a Full Blood. But the lack of guards actually worries me,” Maya said as she climbed the short flight of stairs into the castle proper. Then, she jogged across the giant hallway and looked out at the city.
Half of the city looked like a wasteland that burned a fiery orange. Dark smoke clouded the blood-red sky, where a crimson moon lay. Dualaraties rampaged across the city, wreaking a sort of havoc that Maya had never even dreamed of. She could hear screams through the windows of the castle and watched in fear as an explosion cleanly wiped away an entire section of the pristine wall that had guarded the city. Banshees, vampires, and Fae flew through the air while golems and a couple of Minotaurs towered over buildings. Those Dualaraties had been in the city long before the wall was broken.
She gasped at the atrocious sight and tears instantly filled her eyes. Kiara, the Faery, and Alette gathered next to her, and an ominous red from the Blood Moon bathed each of them. They all stared with her out at the city in fear, but only Maya felt guilt.
“This is all... because of me, isn’t it? That elevator...”
A bloodcurdling screech pierced the skies, and the group looked up in dread as a massive tangle of bloody tentacles descended onto the city from above the clouds. Its body was shaped like an eagle, but it brought no positive feelings like a real eagle might. Its head was hard to discern in the tangle of liquid tentacles, but the wings spread out to show that the monster was almost three city blocks wide.
“What... is that...” Maya whispered, her voice filled with terror.
“We’ve seen one before...” the Faery said in a mix of awe and fear. “No. Not even. It’s way larger. It’s... an abomination.”