council

[Lasius]

Lasius flinched at the mentioned destruction of Tre Betal. He had figured the scattering of the Arcs would wreak some havoc on the world, but nothing to the level at which they were seeing. He nodded to Ish as he left for the tower, and then turned towards Malkate.

“I am going to have to call a war meeting here in Cyrida with Daegan, and this captain. I would greatly appreciate it if you could attend, it would make things much easier. I am going to get changed and cleaned up, please seek me out at the Tower of Shadows shortly, any servant or guard should be capable of showing you to my rooms.”

He sighed and walked down the Alley way, coming out into the main part of the city, his eyes glancing over the shops until he found one that he was looking for. The shop was a small tailor shop run by a Magik Sedi of limited skill. It wasn't what he was used too but it was a sight better than the rags he was wearing around now.

Upon entering the shop he had to actually pick up the small frail old woman who took one look at him and fell on the floor to her knees and began to whisper prayers. This was not something he wanted to deal with, former godhood was just not all it was cracked up to be.

“Listen lady, I need clothes tailored, black silk, silver threaded if you have it, and I'll need boots if you can manage, preferably steel soled and hard leather.”

She stared at him blankly, her mouth hanging open as though trying to catch some flies

Lasius closed his eyes and slapped his forehead with his palm “Ok listen, first you take the tape measure, and measure me. Then you sew the clothes, then you deliver them to the tower of Shadows. Do you think you can handle that?”

She nodded stupidly and rushed over in a flurry of movement, taking measurements of Lasius faster than he would have thought possible. It wasn't long before she had everything she needed and ushered him out of the store, closing the door and locking it to prevent any other customers from disturbing her.

“simply amazing...” He made his way back to the Tower of Shadows and spoke briefly with a guard who saluted smartly at his approach. Within minutes he was resting comfortably in a steaming hot bath in quarters personally prepared for him. He scrubbed the dirt and blood off his body with a sense of intense satisfaction and got dried off slowly. Within a half an hour there was a knock at the door. Lasius answered the door nude, as his only clothes were rags and filthy at this point, and the blushing young Sedian maid pushed his newly tailored garments into his hands and fled.

He chuckled softly as he dressed. The clothes and boots fit exquisitely, of course it wasn't battle armor, but it was certainly better than walking around in torn up bloodstained rags. Lastly he buckled on his belt with the two Arcs and stepped out of his chambers stopping a servant in the halls.

“I need you to go notify Daegan that there is a visitor here to see him, and that I have called a meeting in his war room in 20 minutes. Tell him there is more bad news, also find another servant and send him to the visitors quarters that arrived here within the last hour, tell the servant to escort the captain to the war room where i will meet him.”

Lasius then turned and made his way to the war room the soft chime of steel soled boots echoing through the halls of the Tower for the first time in probably centuries.

[The Captain]

A bolt of fire suddenly shot from one side of the room across the other as there was a light knock on the door, the Fire Sedi supposed to be on guard having fallen asleep was jarred awake by the noise. The Captain’s eyes flashed open as soon as he heard the first knock, and by the time the fire bolt had reached the other side of the room the water from the basin had leapt up to intercept it, rendering the potentially harmful flame into nothing but steam. The Captain sighed and sat up, turning to transfix is obviously irritated eyes to the Fire Sedi.

“Seriously? A jitatin fire ball? How do you sail? I mean really, how is it possible you haven’t burnt down the entire ship you’re in command of yet?”

Shaking his head the Captain stood, gripping the Arc of Water and replacing the belt that held his rapier and daggers around his waist. He cracked his neck slightly and motioned for the other men – now awake – to get up and get prepared.

“That would be one of the servants, you idiot. To take us to the War Room. Just like Lasius said. Now get your things and let’s be on our way before you burn this whole Tower down.”

The Fire Sedi quickly grabbed his few items and joined the other Sedi behind the Captain as he opened the door, smiling slightly at the servant.

“You’re the one to take us to this meeting of sorts, yeah?”

The Captain frowned and turned around, giving one of the ugliest looks to the Death Sedi as he felt the surge of nether energy. If looks could kill, the Sedi would have fallen over stone-cold dead right then and there. Gulping, the Sedi blinked and the slight stir of energy that the Captain felt faded away. Under his breath the Captain cursed his merry band of morons and followed the servant – who hadn’t said a word the entire time.

The group twisted and turned throughout the labyrinth like Tower, finally coming upon a large, dark room. Shoving the door open, the servant motioned the Captain and his men to enter. As the doors were shoved open, the torches along the darkly colored walls ignited, a deep aqua colored fire raging in the braziers. The illuminated the room eerily, the shadows seemingly more bountiful from the strange fire. In the center of the large room was a huge onyx table, littered with maps and documents, markers that represented armies and cities and other rolled up pieces of parchment. The walls between the large braziers were filled with books held in large shelves carved into the walls. Books on all subjects regarding warfare, combat and virtually any other physical exertion of energy. It was a library of war.

“Noy jitat…”

Blinking, the Captain slowly moved in, glancing around at the bizarre surroundings. He took tiny steps around the entire room, eyeing the books on the shelf, the maps on the table and various other documents scattered here and there. Finally he stopped at the far end of the table, looking over a map of the western seas, a smile spread over his face. He knew of at least five decent sized islands that weren’t charted.

Within a few more minutes the rest of the Captain’s crew fell in behind him, two Sedi on either side as they continued to glance around the War Room. The observation was halted though as the Captain raised his head from the map, eye brow raised in question as he gazed at the large doorway. There was a strange chime sound echoing down the corridor. He could feel another tingle of energy in the air and sighed, glancing backwards.

“Easy lads…”

All five of the Sedi gazed at the door, wondering what the strange sound approaching them was.

[Daegan]

(This'll be slightly out of order, but it's up, lol)

It was some hours later that Daegan’s eyes flashed open. The shadows surged over his body to cover the still sleeping body of Wynne as he heard the door open. In a second the Sage was out of his bed, Arc of Shadows swinging through the air. His eyes flared as his free hand shot forward, a tendril of shadow exploding forth from a wall and grabbed the intruder by the throat.

He blinked a few times and then shook his head, the servant gasping for air as Daegan uttered apologies. His vision was still blurry from all the tears, his mind a fragile mass of images from his dreams. His daughters falling one by one. Being claimed by this or destroyed by that. He was teetering on the edge.

Daegan listened to the servant’s words and nodded, motioning for the servant to leave. He then sighed and rubbed his eyes, running a hand through his hair before turning to a large armoire. Throwing it open, Daegan pulled out a pair of black pants, lined with the same color of aqua that burned in his eyes. The Soul Fire the provided the light to all of the braziers in the Tower of Shadow.

He then pulled over his pale torso a silk shirt the same color of the aqua that lined the pants, the shirt outlined in black. Sighing, he ran another hand through his hair, looking down at his bare feet. Reaching into the armoire he pulled a pair of simple thick leather boots and pulled those onto his feet, grabbing a leather jacket from the armoire before closing it again. He pulled on the armless light weight black material and adjusted it, turning around to see the sleeping body of Wynne; the shadows still snaking around her.

Daegan first picked up the Arc of Shadows and fastened the weapon to his side in an awkward looking scabbard the Sage had made. It secured the Arc along side Daegan’s leg so he could still move both his upper and lower torso freely. Content with his appearance, Daegan then moved to gingerly to pick up his daughter.

His erratic expression faded to a soft smile as he kissed his daughter’s head gently, moving out of his bedchambers. Once more he motioned for the Shadow Guard that stood outside his door to stand in front of the large entrance, allowing no one entrance. Lomes was still unconscious inside and as long as she was deep within the shadows she was safe. For now.

The Sage carried – essentially – his only daughter to her room, delicately placing her down on her bed before he tucked her into the covers. Once more he kissed her forehead, waving his hands over her little body as tendrils of shadow snaked over her, watching over the sleeping child.

As Daegan left Wynne’s room, the smile faded from his face. He was still deathly pale and his eyes seemed blank. It was as if he was like three quarters of the rest of the population and one of the undead. Slowly he made his way to the War Room eventually he rounded the correct corner, moving down the right corridor to stumble into the large chamber.

He didn’t look at those that were gathered – not Lasius or the Captain and then men that were with him, nor the red mage – he just shuffled into the room staring straight ahead of him with that expressionless gaze. He moved slowly around the table and stopped at the chair that was designated for him, his seal carved on top of the backrest of the intricate chair.

He slumped into the chair, and continued to stare, this time down at the table at a random map of the Dryad Forrest. He didn’t speak and the shadows barely moved by him. They would tug and pull slightly near his form, but nothing compared to the usual reaction the Sage commanded from the murky Element. As if it were nothing, Daegan shifted slightly, removing the Arc from his side and placing it delicately on the war table before him; the dark metal of the Arc capturing his attention as he continued to stare blankly.

[Malkate Rose Sedi]

Malkate blinked as Lasius’ hand rested on her shoulder, her body stiffening but relaxing almost visibly before he spoke to the Pirates. Her brow’s furrowed as the men spoke, her annoyance at being almost excluded like a second thought showing almost nakedly upon her face, but she schooled it back into a calm expression as her hands relaxed, and the shield died like a small fizzle of electric energy. She listened to the exchange of words then turned her attention to Lasius as he spoke. She nodded, silently as he walked off and smirked, the temptation of trying to drop him in the lake near her house tempting – but she also was sure the peace between them was a truce until time permitted a lengthy discussion of events; and she personally was enjoying the benevolence of it. Running a hand through her damp hair, she suppressed a growl and moved off into the tower, hoping that she might find a servant or someone who could give her something suitable for attending an official meeting… and to try and find something red.

Of course after finding a bit of servants who had “accidentally” seen the scene between her and Lasius, some were skeptical but more than willing to help – after they realized that she’d not had any kind of ‘womanly attention’ in quite awhile – and in fact, the last time she’d ever done really “girly” things had been the day of her only marriage – gods only knew how long ago. One of the servants offered Malkate to borrow one of her gowns, and the woman agreed, in exchange offered her a stay at her inn – to which the woman gave her a sort of almost confused look but agreed. Of course, not many of them, being in a shadow city – had red. Malkate didn’t mind too much; as long as no one tried to dress her in green. One gown she actually enjoyed was a black thing, of a different style she was used to but something she saw the other ladies wearing.

It was a thing that was almost sewn into a ruffle at the shoulder blades; it was sleeveless and dropped in front of the chest like a ‘v’, a rope bound beneath the breasts above the belly and the gown split about knee length on the sides to open up the legs for the wearer. It was black with an almost silver-colored edging to it, she loved it instantly. The material was soft but not silky at all, in fact it was an almost breathable cotton like thing, brushed into softness so it was almost like a cloud against her skin. Sandals left her feat bare, the black leathery material died around her ankles and wrapped about her foot in a roman-style way. The girl who admired the color red of her hair insisted upon styling it much in the Cyrida fashion. It pulled most of it up, binding it with an almost silver cord in all the red, leaving only a few wild locks to fall down around her face, giving it an almost innocent feel to it. Malkate didn’t believe the reflection, and almost laughed when she realized she’d worn red for so long she forgot what other colors looked like on her.

Thanking the girl with the few gold Malkate had on her possession, she started back up towards the quarters the servants said would lead her to Lasius’ room. Now almost like a kind of blushing school-girl her footfalls were unsure, slowing as she approached the room and saw the servants bustling about, emptying old bathwater and cleaning up the room, she blinked. A bit of agitation was shown upon her face after they told her Lasius was not in, and had actually already left for the war room. She shook her head silently, cursing her stupid female, human, brain for making her nervous over nothing. Besides, what did it matter what she looked like? It’s not like the only color she could EVER wear was red… it’s just… the last time she wore color it was a green dress and Lasius made the comment at the time she looked like a Christmas tree.

She’d worn all red since.

Now her feet carried her with an almost angry furry down the hall, and she stopped short as the servants once more pointed out to her that she needed to turn around, and take a left where she’d gone right. More fury pulled at her, and instead of walking, she clenched her fists by her side, felt the pull of the element that she knew too well, and simply vanished from where she stood and easily reappeared within the War room, appearing in a brilliant flash of red light before she moved to take a seat at the chair, not giving a damn if some kind of smart ass remark was made on behalf of her sudden appearance, or the fact that a kind of amused chuckle echoed in her head from the servants.

[Lasius]

Lasius pushed the door open to the War room only to find the Captain and his companions already there, he nodded to them silently and moved to take his place at the table, but blinked as Malkate appeared unexpectedly and wearing quite the stunning gown at that. It amused him greatly that she had unknowingly chosen the same color outfit he himself was wearing, black with silver, but he didn't let it show on his face, now was not exactly the time to let himself be distracted by personal matters, not when there was so much needing to be done.

His thought line was interrupted by Daegan's entry to the meeting. The man looked like hell, his clothes were finely made, he was well dressed but he looked on deaths door, and his eyes bore the haunted look of a man hanging on by a thread. Las knew that look well, as he had seen it in the mirror a few times in his life. Keeping an eye on the Lord General as he took his seat at the head of the table, las gestured for Mal and the Capitan to have a seat before taking one himself.

“As we all know things in the world have been horribly shook up as of late, the extent of the damage has been widely unknown due to a lack of scouting reports, but some news of Tre Betal has reached us by way of the Captain here.”

He gestured to the man holding the Arc of Water and nodded politely.

“Captain if you would be so good as to fill the Lord General in on what you know?”

[The Captain]

The Captain smirked as Malkate flashed into existence, his all white eyes scanning her body briefly before turning back to look at the chiming sound that stopped as Lasius entered. He glanced back at his crew, giving them the typical I told you idiots so look before saluting Lasius. Sliding into a chair, the Captain glanced at a few of the maps once more before his attention shot back up, the clamoring of the Arc of Shadows on the table grabbing his attention. He sighed to himself, shaking his head slightly. The Lord General looked terrible. Slowly, the Captain stood, saluting the Lord General as he began.

“Lord General, I apologize that my news could not be more pleasant in nature. I am Captain Ishmael, and from what I’ve gathered probably the last of anything resembling a Sedian naval force. I command The Krakkan and have several other ships under my control. These are me mates, commanders of my other ships.”

He paused slightly and moved to the end of the massive table so that he could address everyone, including the mage. His men followed behind him, standing once more with two Sedi on either side. He continued.

“Not too long ago, this bad boy smashed into my ship.”

He held out the Arc of Water for all to see.

“Being a Water Sedi, I thought it was my lucky goddamn day, and it was through the Arc that we were able to make it to Tre Betal. I could see something amiss on the horizon and as we approached I could see that all of the port was destroyed. In it’s place, a massive black volcano. It erupted as we entered the port’s waters and we barely escape with our lives. If it weren’t for the strange collection of men I had aboard my ship we’d have been lost and the Arc banished to the Abyss.”

He paused and glanced around at the faces of those assembled.

“I have absolutely no idea what happened, all I know is I’ve been out to sea for at least a month, went to make port and everything’s gone pear shaped. I’ve instructed my… scouts to survey the lands and report back with there findings at my stronghold to the south, a heavily fortified island that my men and I call home.”

The Captain then stopped and tilted his head slightly, arching a brow as Daegan stood up.

[Daegan]

The words that were being uttered only sort of sunk in, Daegan was only half paying attention. His mind was stuck in his dreams, the images plagued him. He saw over and over again as his daughters fell, or were claimed by the one he hated the most. The one who had caused him to fill his cold, dead heart with nothing but hatred. The Captain’s words seemed to sting Daegan’s ears, the words Tre Betal being repeated over and over in his mind. Then Daegan shook his head and stood, glancing over at the Captain. It was as if he had tunnel vision, the other people fading from view so that only the Captain and his men were visible to the Sage.

“Albino…”

Daegan muttered to himself as the aqua ring around his eyes quivered and then exploded, the Soul Fire raging in his eyes. Tiny bolts of the nether energy jumped over his chest and down his arms, crackling along his shoulders as he glared at the pirate.

“Tre Betal has been claimed by Raeghan.”

The room went deathly silent for a split second as Daegan’s hand moved, reaching down to touch the Arc of Shadows.

“And all you care about is a floating piece of driftwood.”

The shadows in the room shuddered and then exploded forward as Daegan’s left arm snapped upwards from his side. Tendrils of the inky substance wrapped around the Captain and his men, grabbing them by the wrists and ankles, by the throat and torso. He could feel the energy as the Sedian crew began to harness their Elements, making his eyes narrow even more.

Soul Fire erupted across his shoulders and arms, burning brightly as the shadows seethed about his feet, wrapping more and more around the pirates that stood opposite him. It was almost a crushing feeling; the shadows closing in around the pinned men, causing them to drop the Elements they were channeling in order to just breathe.

“The entire world has been decimated and all you care about is your wretched ship!”

The room seemed to explode with Daegan’s words, the shadows serving as an amplifier. The stone walls shook, the strange aqua fire that matched the Soul Fire raging around Daegan in the braziers of the room flickered. Daegan blinked, as if the sudden outburst brought him back to his senses. He stammered backwards and lowered his outstretched left arm, the shadows falling away from the choking Captain and his men.

The Sage blinked again and then slumped back down in his chair, sighing heavily.

“I saw it all, Lasius. In my dreams. That infernal Arc showed me everything. How they all died… and how it all started.”

Tears fell from Daegan’s eyes as the Soul Fire continued to burn across his body. He pounded his fist hard into the onyx table as he cocked his head to look at Lasius square in the face.

“Sitherack! It was your brother. He is the cause of all of this and he has claimed my daughters. Zinerva is at his side, and so is Deirdre, lost to Death Eternal. I saw it all Lasius. I saw it all…”

He trailed off, choking back a sob as he turned his attention back to the Arc of Shadows that rested on the table before him. He ran a finger along the Arc, the shadows snaking up and around his body as the Soul Fire continued to burn over his shoulders and in his eyes.

“I saw it all…”[/i]

[Lasius]

Lasius stepped back as Daegan lashed out at the Captain and his commanders, he was about to pull the Arc of Light and banish the shadows from the room when Daegan's rage subsided and the man slumped back into his chair. Lasius watched him with great concern as Daegan explained what the Arc had shown him, then nodded thoughtfully, shooting an apologetic look in the direction of the Captain, he turned his attention back to Daegan, watching the man's demeanor very carefully as he spoke.

“I understand how hard this is for you Daegan, my wife and daughter were murdered when I was younger than you, It's not an easy thing to live through.” He sighed and leaned forward, bracing his weight on the table and shook his head slowly.

“I was aware that Darken took part in bringing the Sedi over to the other dimension, but if the Arc showed you this much it showed you his actions were not independent, As for Zinerva and Deirdre, well we'll just have to take care of that, just another thing to add to our list of things to do.” He tightened his hands on the table in a white knuckled grip. Nothing was ever simple, nothing ever easy.

“We have a distinct advantage, with 6 of the Arcs in this room between us...” He cut off as a thunderous detonation shook the Tower of Shadow, the concussion threw him from his footing and he smacked his head on the table on the way to the floor, slicing open his left temple, blood streaking down the side of his face as he struggled back to his feet.

“What in the name of the Light...”

[Lomes Artelias]

(Several minutes Earlier in Daegan's personal Quarters.)

Cold... she felt so cold, deep in her subconscious she knew something was horribly wrong, something, she had little or no control over, but yet her very existence demanded that control. She wondered if this was what dying felt like, cold, dark and lonely. It was entirely possible, however the thought of dying had never crossed her mind, the power that inhabited her being was so intense it never seemed that there was anything that could hurt her enough to consider the possibility.

That was changing however, something was wrong with her, something that she couldn't fix or stop, a kind of grim resignation settled in on her unconscious mind, she wished that she could have said goodbye to those she had known so briefly in this world. Lasius, her creator most of all, years spent learning of everything imaginable in his Keep flashed by in her mind within the blink of an eye, and a single crystalline tear formed at the corner of her closed eyes.

Her once pristine beauty was scarred, her skin cracked and the ether that was her life's essence drifted between the cracks like a grayish blueish smoke. The Shadowy wings that once adorned her back had been sheared away in the passage through the infernal barrier, the same thing that injured her so gravely.

Abruptly her eyes shot open and her lips parted slightly a soft whisper escaping from them. “It cannot be so...”

An explosion of elements detonated outward from her form, vaporizing the bed, and most of the room before expanding outward, it shattered the walls of the room and the outer wall of the Tower. Huge pieces of debris flying outward over the city of Cyrida.

People screamed and scattered for cover as the explosion shook the city, several pointed skyward, as the debris began to fall, and the tower started to tilt towards the weakened portion of the structure, inevitably to fall. They were fleeing and scrambling for cover, for almost a minute before they realized that nothing had fallen.

The most bizarre sight imaginable, pieces of debris hung in the air, frozen in place, halfway to the ground. The Tower itself listed dangerously to one side, as though about to fall, but it too seemed frozen, in fact not even dust was drifting down from the devastation. People stopped all over to city in what they were doing to observe the bizarre sight.

In what used to be Daegan's chambers, but was now an odd collection of stone and wreckage floating lazily in midair over a massive drop to the city of Cyrida was Lomes, Her clothing had been ripped away in the force of the explosion, her pristine nude form floated in midair, surrounded by a sphere of what appeared to be transparent crystal. The energies of all the elements encircled the sphere, moving around it in extremely complex patterns. Inside she floated, half curled into the fetal position, half of her body covered in the spiderweb like cracks, and leaking ether that drifted around her but did nothing to obscure the nudity. The other half was perfect, completely untouched flawless skin, a sharp contrast to the devastation of the other half of her body. Her eyes were open, but seemed to be completely out of focus as though she were in someway catatonic, and her hair drifted lazily around her head, as though weightless.

Some small items survived the detonation, clothing, a chair, several old books, they all floated in mid air as though unaffected by the laws of psychics, just as the debris and apparently the supports holding the tower upright.

She still breathed, slow and steady, alive it seemed for the moment.

[Lasius]

Lasius staggered to his feet and wiped the blood out of his left eye where it was beginning to obscure his vision. He looked around the room at the others, making sure they were alright, he was certain they could all take care of themselves but he made a quick check to be sure. His mind raced, thoughts running wild as to what could have caused such damage to the Tower. Darken wouldn't strike at them unless he was certain he had the advantage, he was sure of it. Unless Raeghan had thought to strike at them, unlikely to say the least... The detonation had come from inside the tower, in the direction of... All of a sudden it clicked.

“Lomes!” He shouted, his voice and demeanor as close to panicked as he had likely ever been seen. He was already running, darting from the War room and running down the hall in the direction the Detonation had come from. It didn't take him long to reach the door to Daegan's Chambers, or rather what was left of it. It had been blown off the hinges, and half the entryway was simply gone. He stopped short catching his balance a split second before falling through where the floor had once been.

“You can't! No... damn it!” he leaped forward over the empty air that had replaced the floor, arms out stretched toward the crystalline sphere, and made contact with it barely. There was a brilliant flash of light, an amazingly powerful surge of force, and Lasius was flying backward. He smashed clean through the remnants of the wall to Daegan's chambers with astonishing force and skidded at least 15 feet back up the hall crashing to a halt against an interior wall. The back of his head smacked against the wall and rebounded forward. He toppled forward onto his hands and knees and gasped for breath, the cut on his left temple pouring blood across his face.

“This, simply cannot be...”

[The Captain]

The Captain’s eyes narrowed as Daegan’s words struck him. The reminder of him being an Albino was all too painful, experiencing enough torment and torture in his younger days. Part of the reason he left the lands and become one with the sea. He suppressed a growl.

“Driftwood? Driftwood! The Krakkan could level the Tarthian Gates by itself!”

The Arc of Water shimmered in the dim light as the Captain felt the familiar feeling of his crew beginning to harness there Elements. Then, suddenly, the Captain gasped as if being punched in the chest. The wind was knocked from him as he and his crew stumbled backwards, the shadows seething around them threatening to cut off the ability to breathe. The Captain had not called forth his Element, but he felt the energies drop from his crew as they struggled to maintain consciousness.

The Captain gasped again, and stumbled forward as the shadows fell away from his body. He breathed deep several times, grabbing onto the large onyx table with one hand as he steadied himself. His voice was cold and serious, all friendly tones being removed.

“You have under gone a great deal of loss in a short period of time, Lord General, but I am not bound to you. I am bound to the sea Herself. Only once can I and will I allow such rudeness. I come here out of mutual concern for YOUR people. Not mine.”

He grumbled, shaking his head as he slowly stood. His legs then wobbled and he was knocked over by the sudden explosion, falling on his backside as the rest of his crew fell into the wall they were standing against in the War Room. Grunting, the Captain once more stood, shaking his head and brushing debris from his body and hair.

“Chongo longo, now what?!”

[Daegan]

Daegan then cocked his head sideways, moving his attention from Lasius to the Captain. His eyes narrowed as the Soul Fire began to rage along his shoulders and arms, burning as bright as the braziers on the wall. Once more, the Sage’s hand went out to touch the Arc of Shadows, grabbing the hilt of the strange blade tightly in his right hand.

“Allow?”

The shadows seethed around Daegan’s feet, pooling around him as if a dog to its master. He growled loudly, bolts of Soul Fire arching from his eyes as his rage once more began to build. But just as he was going to show the Captain just what the Lord General would and would not allow, he was knocked backwards, his chair flying into the wall as he fell face first onto the floor of the War Room.

His vision blurred for a second, and he shook his head. Slowly he stood up, bringing his left hand up to touch the side of his head. His ears were ringing and he was slightly dazed, confused as to what just happened. Daegan’s eyes then went wide as the events suddenly registered.

“WYNNE!”

Daegan roared as the shadows collected around him. He shot one last glare at the Captain before his body completely faded from view, appearing a mere second later outside of Wynne’s bedroom door.

[Malkate Rose Sedi]

Malkate watched the events unfold like she was in some kind of horror film. She felt the powers rising up between the two, felt the tension in the room tingle along her nerves in an almost diverse pleasure as her natures warred with each other. She did nothing, said nothing, for her way of stopping the men would not be as peaceful as she had once been, instead her red eye’s focused hard on the table, waiting Lasius to speak or do something as her hands that were clenched hardened enough to show white on her knuckles, her eyes flashing with the suppressed urge to act or do, or even simply disappear. She had little need here except to show that they had a common enemy, and to speak with Lasius hopefully when the world decided to stop trying to tear itself apart and let him have five minutes to think – and then she’d be guilty in trying to speak instead of trying to let him simply enjoy the silence to himself.

The Shadows choked the men and Malkate stood the arc of Magic not shown actually, but strapped to her outer thigh she almost reached for it, but stopped herself. Lasius already knew of it’s presence without being told, and the confirmation that it was what she thought it was welcomed enough. So instead she kept her seat at the table, her lithe legs crossing over another as she wound her fingers together across her knee, pulling in patient breaths as if they were seemingly disagreeing over tea instead of trying to kill each other. Lasius’ words about his past made her openly flinch – she remembered the shared memory he gave her once when he inhabited her body as a spiritual being – but she wasn’t sure if he remembered. The loss this man suffered… the old Malkate would understand. She simply thought he was too distracted to be of use to his people.

Of course, the world then decided to tilt on its axis, and she felt her chair topple over hard enough that the impact of her head on the floor sent her eyes seeing nothing but a white light before it faded out, and her mind welcomed the Darkness. Of course, she could easily hear the going on around her, the Pirates movements, Lasius startled cry of a woman’s name, Daegan’s call out before he disappeared, even as her sight began to return to her in slow painful seconds that seemingly tried to stretch into eternity. She placed her hands, palm down, as she carefully tried to stand, her eyes closing as her throbbing head reminded her of how long it had been since her body registered such a feat, as she took note of the men in the room.

“Anyone severely injured? No, okay. I’m going after those two numbskull's to see if the blow to their heads made them dafter than they already are.”

A half-growled out curse before she stood, disappearing once more, and reappearing where Lasius was, as Daegan hadn’t cut himself hard enough to bleed that she’d seen. Of course, there was dampness at the back of her skull but she didn’t fear for herself, the throbbing would subside as her unnatural healing too course, and her magic could be used to aid others. Even as she moved towards Lasius, half ignoring the fact the wall was gone and there was some naked woman floating in a bizarre crystal outside said hole, she needed to stop him from trying to kill himself first. Standing over the man, her hands reached out once more to cradle his head between her palms and send the healing in – her stomach growling its hunger at the usage of so much magic in a short span of time.

”Are you trying to make putty out of your brain before nightfall? If so, you’re sure as hell on your way there. Now, what in the name of the nine planes of hell, is that?”

Her eyes shifted to Lomes after she tried to heal Lasius over enough, awe filling her face for split seconds at the power of the shield around her body before she balanced herself again on seemingly nothing, the winds moving to call.

One thing was for sure, she was going to sleep like a rock at nightfall.

[Wynne Siusan Sedi]

Sleep claimed her in its grasp, her body physically beyond the limits of what it could hold at her age having expended most of her physical and emotional energy she was almost close to comatose. She barely felt her body as her father curled around protectively, barely felt him lift her when he rose and lay her in her own bed. Her mind was restless as her eyes flicked back and forth in her sleep, the tides of emotions and everything sending her through restless, heart wrenching dreams.

Severed limbs, she was swimming in a sea of them. Gagging, trying to break free of anything she could see the light of free air above – if she could just reach it. Just, had to go… a little… there! She was free, even as she felt the sobs wracking her body from the increasing need to throw up her entire stomach. Of course, something was wrong with the sky – Darkness bloomed overhead and she saw that this ‘river’ of body parts were familiar in ways, and she realized why as a voice boomed just beyond the curve of her right elbow.

“Wynne… how could you? You left us..”

She turned, and mortified, stared down at the face of Evelina, accusing, staring at her with the sightless eyes of the dead. Wynne’s bile rose more, and a panicked sound was trying to break free from her. She stumbled out of the bodies, trying to clamber anywhere she could, but she heard them all. Heard their voices, accusing, pounding her, calling her to join them as was her rightful place. Tears streamed down through the red that stained her face as she pulled herself on land, just enough to wretch out what was inside of her.

Even as her hands reached land, she felt the world start to shake, and she screamed as she fell, and fell, and fell…

Her body twitched, her fingers as if it might wake, and her body tumbled off of the bed and slammed, hard into the very door that was to her room, half tangled in sheets and blankets, her yellow hair sprawled across her face that was soaked now in shed tears. Her body started shivering as her eyes fluttered open, slightly, and she felt blood starting to pool from the side of her head where she smacked against the wall. She tried to reach up, to pull herself up but she felt as if she were trying to lift a full grown man – and sleep just wanted to cloud her mind so hard.

There were footfalls of people running even as the sound of someone being deposited against the outside registered. Trying to breathe around the pain that took her entire body she started to cry again, barely able to even whisper...

“Daddy…”

[Lasius]

Pain and dizziness faded with Malkate's healing, the wound on his temple closing up rapidly and stopping the flow of blood down his face. The blood that was there remained but there was nothing really to be done about that at the moment. His clothes were torn dirty bloody and ruined again, it was almost as though some higher power was working to keep him looking like hell. He raised his head to look at Lomes, the multi-elemental sphere of crystalline reality was fluctuating. He couldn't see things the way he used to be able to when he was immortal, but the memories of things he knew then remained. He had known the moment he saw Lomes floating there in a suspended state of time and reality just what had occurred, There was only one reason she would harness all her elements and form a protective cocoon as she had done. She was dying.

It wasn't possible, but yet here he was faced with the reality of it in front of him. She would fight the death creeping up on her with everything she had, but he could see it was only a matter of time, unless something was done. He didn't know what could be done, not at this point, She had formed his probably in the hope that he would restore her to wholeness, but he was not a God any longer, and simply did not command that level of power. There were no Gods anymore, only Arcs, and the only Arc that could heal her could be anywhere in the world by now. He had no idea where to even begin to search, however there was simply no other way to save her.

The mere thought brought forth a tightening of fear in his gut. He had faced death readily, transcended and fought Gods with courage, shattered the multi elemental barrier that had locked his race away from their world saving what of them remained, but all paled in comparison to the magnitude of the possibility of Lomes Death. He had created her while a god, endowed her with the power of all elements, placed her in a nearly indestructible form, he had done all this for a very very specific reason. She had a greater purpose than protecting and watching over the Sedi, she was...

His eyes closed briefly, and his body shook for a second. The horror of what was to come was more than he could bear to dwell on right now, instead he focused on something else, something that had filled his thoughts since she had entered his life once more. The inescapable possibility that she didn't care for him as he cared for her was there in his mind but he pushed it to the side.

He turned to look at Mal as she stared in awe of the shear power surrounding the naked form of Lomes. Malkate the Mage. Of all the people to come back into his life, of all the bizarre unfathomable turns of events this was one he couldn't wrap his head around at all. His eyes drank in the soft curves of her face, the glimmering reflection of elemental light as it danced in her eyes, the soft blood matted curls of her hair, the pale softness of her skin. It was all too much for him finally he broke.

As she turned to ask him what Lomes was, probably the most important question anyone had ever asked in the history of the world, he cut her off with a kiss. His arms wrapped around her body and pulled her to him as he kissed her passionately and almost desperately. He wasn't entirely sure how much time passed kissing her but when he pulled back he had to take a sharp breath of air. His heart was racing, he wasn't sure of her feelings for him, but he was afraid she would reject him. Truly she had every right to do so, but he hoped fervently that she would not.

"I'm sorry just wanted to do that before it was too late..."