“You have an ouchy?”

Several days had passed since the battle between LuShi and KoGuRai had taken place. Several days since NaDo, who TsuYa had since learned more about, had been gravely wounded. But only half a day since they had all arrived in what was called the Shellab 1.0, home of the Tu Family, where NaDo lived.

Saving the winged man had been so important to LuShi. The young Sygnus had carried NaDo, weeping, down from the top of the stone structure. Back to the waiting ship. Though none of them knew how to fly it, they eventually found a way to get it to float them back to the shore. There, using the ship’s map feature that LuShi knew about, they planned what would come next.

KoGuRai sure knows how to call a diversion when he wants to. Mortally wounding a person… just so he could escape.

But it had worked. Instead of chasing down KoGuRai, all of their thoughts were frantically focused on how to keep NaDo alive. They had chosen to break up – LuShi would carry NaDo back to the Shellab. Zazo and TsuYa would ride back to the village to seek the help of JoKa’s healing power. They knew that the wounds made by KoGuRai’s blade would not easily be healed by normal means.

It had taken a bit of persuasion to rouse JouKa enough to get her to leave the village.  But when she heard TsuYa’s story, and he told her that KoGuRai had struck down yet another, she had agreed to come to heal the victim.

It’s as if she’s personally taking responsibility for cleaning up all of KoGuRai’s messes.

So they had all mounted up and rode — along with Oren, who proclaimed their need for a guide and protection — and made their way to the Shellab. There, they were greeted by the lady of the house, Maru, and were ushered quickly inside.

It had been only an hour ago that JouKa had walked into the other room. The door was shut. No sounds could be heard within. Nothing but tension and concern hanging in the house. Zazo had gotten restless and antsy during the wait and had padded off through the doorway, leaving TsuYa alone to his thoughts.

It’s a shame something like this happened. They seem like pretty nice people.

TsuYa pushed a strange white piece of meat into his mouth, chewing as he rested back against the comfort of the couch. Despite the tragedy that had fallen over the household, Maru had still provided the travelers with food and hospitality.

I guess it’s all wait and see from here. I don’t know who can heal him if JouKa can’t.

The slumped figure of LuShi sat in the far corner of the room. Every now and then, TsuYa glanced over, studying all of the changes that had come over the young Sygnus. The warrior never approached him about it directly, though he really wished that he knew exactly what had happened to LuShi in all the time that he had been gone.

He’s not talking much about anything. So I doubt he’ll volunteer information about that.

Though LuShi wasn’t outwardly unfriendly, but was far more silent than he used to be. Even now, as TsuYa watched, he thought he could see a flicker of something strange… silver… almost ghostly… wavering around the Sygnus’ shoulders. With a blink it was gone, leaving him chilled, wishing he hadn’t seen it.

He’s suffering. That much is obvious. He really does care about these people.

The child of the Tu family was sitting next to LuShi, offering him various toys and distractions. Trying his best to cheer him up. Though LuShi made half hearted attempts to respond to the boy, it didn’t take long before the child realized that his efforts were lost.

So he turned his attention elsewhere.

Before TsuYa knew it, a pair of little green eyes were stalking him from above the far arm of the couch. There was a sneaky quality to the look, as if the boy thought he was playing out some grand ambush that the warrior’s keen hearing could not detect. TsuYa just remained as he was, not responding as the child crept closer.

With the safety of self-assured stealth, the child inched forward. His interest had turned towards TsuYa’s dark bladed scythe that leaned quietly against the wall beside the couch. He stared up in awe and fascination, the face of an innocent that had never seen a weapon, much less really knew what one was used for.

As the curious hand reached closer, TsuYa cracked one of his eyes open a slit. His voice was a little gruff as he intoned, “Hey kid. Whatcha doing?”

The boy gave a gasp and jumped in a startle, his hand springing back where it belonged, away from the scythe. Then he stared over at the warrior, uncertain if he was in trouble or not.

“That’s not a toy, you know,” the warrior warned quietly. “You could get hurt. The blade is sharp.”

The boy clutched the hem of his tunic, backing up. Large green eyes stared at him questioningly. As if he didn’t understand why the warrior was in possession of something that could hurt other people.

“What’s your name, kid?” TsuYa softened his tone a little, remembering what it was like for him when his own father had come up missing. He knew how it felt as a little boy to wait and wait and wait with concerned adult expressions floating everywhere above.

I just hope the kid’s situation turns out better than mine did.

The child looked down in response. His wings flitted slightly at the ends, a sign of his uncertainty.

“Hey… relax. You didn’t do anything wrong,” the warrior told him, sitting up and leaning forward slightly. Then he offered, “My name is TsuYa.”

“KiNa,” the boy answered in return.

“Your name’s KiNa?” he echoed.

The child nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you, KiNa,” he stuck his hand out, attempting his best friendly tone.

The child looked at the extended hand for a moment. Then back up at TsuYa’s face. His eyes paused, tracing the dark line of the Mark along his cheek with a questioning look. “You have an ouchy?”

“Hmm..?” TsuYa paused, then realized what the boy was asking. “Oh, yeah. Ouchy.”

“Does it hurt?” KiNa asked with a concerned face.

“Sometimes it does,” he replied honestly.

“You should get a healer to fix it,” the boy counseled. “Mommy said the healing lady was going to fix Daddy. You should ask her to fix you too.”

TsuYa arched an eyebrow, entertaining the passing idea of telling the child that about the only thing JouKa would probably want to do is rearrange his nose. Permanently. But seeing as the kid was in the middle of family crisis, the warrior kept his mouth shut in that regard and tried to focus on something more positive. Afterall, the child seemed to have a lot of confidence in the healing powers of the world.

“Your Mom’s right. Your Dad’s going to be just fine,” TsuYa said.

But this didn’t divert the child’s newly focused crusade. “What about you? Will you be fine?”

TsuYa opened his mouth, suddenly lost for words. When he finally managed to answer, his voice was squeaky to his ears, “Yeah… It’ll all work out.”

“Okay!” KiNa chirped, seeming content with the answer. Then he reached out and with little conservation, took a hold of the warrior’s coat sleeve with a tug. “Come over and meet Lucci. He’s my friend.”

TsuYa gave a slight smirk, “I’ve met LuShi already.”

“Oh? Is he your friend too?”

The warrior glanced across the room at the young Sygnus. He could feel the silver gaze lift just a little, focusing and waiting for the answer that would come. There seemed to be little hope in the chilled depths of his eyes. Eyes that saw the world in blurred and tormented visions.

“Yeah,” TsuYa replied. “LuShi’s my friend.”

The silver head lifted just a bit, a motion of surprise. LuShi hadn’t been expecting a positive response.

Taking him off guard might be just what I need to break the ice. I’ve got a lot to talk to the kid about… if he’ll even respond to me anymore.

TsuYa rose to his feet and allowed KiNa to pull him across the room. The opportunity unfolding better than he could have hoped for. His dark eyes fluttered back and forth from the hunched figure in the corner to the long, black-draped sword at his side. The warrior did his best to cover the apprehension that gnawed in the back of his mind. All he could hope was that something of the child that had so eagerly trained under his guidance still remained.

“Hey, kid,” TsuYa greeted in the normal way. There was little to gain from estranging himself from the young Sygnus. No matter how nervous he really was about the whole thing.

“Master TsuYa…” LuShi lifted his head with a quiet and respectful voice, responding far more than could have been hoped for… as if what he really needed was for someone to treat him like nothing had changed at all.

The kid’s more scared than we are…

“How are you doing? You hanging in there?”

“Yes, sir…” the head went down again.

TsuYa paused before continuing, his dark eyes focusing on KiNa for a moment. Then he fibbed as smoothly as one could to a pint-sized mind mage, “I think I hear your mom calling you. Don’t you?”

The boy blinked a few times, tilted his head, then frowned.

“You better go check,” the warrior advised quietly. “You know how mom’s are about things like that?”

KiNa must have known exactly what he meant. Because the boy nodded and quickly scampered off down the hall.

With the child out of earshot, TsuYa crouched for a moment. Then sat down on the floor in front of the young Sygnus. He took a long, deep breath, “I mean how are you doing for real, LuShi?”

He glanced up, eyes calculating, studying the warrior that sat in front of him. Attempting to determine if he was ready to share the truth. Or if he would just be rejected like he always was. Then he turned the other way as if ashamed to admit, “I’m scared, Master TsuYa.”

“Scared… of what?”

“Scared of this sword… … what it was made to do. How it makes me feel.”

“What do you mean?” TsuYa furrowed his brow, tilting his head at where the sword lay, draped in the dark cloth. In a motion of curiosity, he reached his hand closer.

“No!” LuShi’s voice grew suddenly strong.

The warrior snatched his hand back without a second thought, surprised at the unusual sharpness in the young Sygnus’ voice. He turned a puzzled stare towards LuShi, accenting it with the hint of a disapproving frown.

Go easy on the kid. Remember… he’s just been through a lot.

“I’m sorry…” LuShi murmured the instant he realized how he had sounded. “You… just… shouldn’t touch the sword.”

“Why not?” TsuYa frowned.

“Trust me… you wouldn’t like what it could do to you.”

The warning was enough to raise the hair on the back of TsuYa’s neck, “Ah… alright.”

Silence hung between them for a while. It was awkward, neither of them knowing exactly how to start conversation again… since neither of them were really the most outgoing of socialites.

“So… is… that the thing you came here looking for?” TsuYa eventually tried to wander his way back into LuShi’s good graces. “The sword, I mean.”

“I didn’t know what I was looking for,” the young Sygnus answered cryptically. “This was just the thing I found.”

The warrior pursed his lips. “What do you plan on doing… now that you have it?”

“I have to go back. I have to destroy Zeromus,” he answered quietly.

Another chill rushed over TsuYa’s body. The way that LuShi spoke was so sure. Lacking even the slightest bit of doubt. He spoke about defeating an Arweinydd without so much as thinking twice.

“Do you really think this sword can do something like that?”

“I think so,” LuShi nodded slowly. “That’s what it was made to do. A long time ago.”

“I guess I don’t blame you then,” TsuYa leaned back, trying hard to remain casual about the whole thing. But it wasn’t easy. Not with the talk of weapons of ultimate destruction.

Before the conversation could fall any further, the curtain to the adjoining room folded back, revealing an exhausted looking JouKa. She was supported on either side between Aur and Oren.

The warrior got to his feet, rushed over to the couch on the far end of the room where he had been sitting before, and cleared it quickly. “Here. Bring her here.”

They walked the winged girl over and carefully placed her on the cushioned couch. Maru had followed the group through the doorway, carrying an extra blanket as she came. Between all of them, they managed to settle the worn out healer comfortably, leaving her to rest. JouKa fell into a deep sleep almost the moment she curled up on the couch.

“Is she going to be alright?” TsuYa asked.

“I’d wager so,” Maru replied. “She just wore herself out.”

“Your husband’s wounds were quite grave,” Aur nodded slowly. “We are lucky that JouKa is as skilled as she is.”

LuShi lifted his head slowly, his voice carrying across the room. He winced as if not meaning to have called so much attention to himself, “Then, is Master NaDo…”

“It’s hard to say within this span of time,” Oren leaned back with a grim look. “But she did a pretty solid job in cleaning up most of the gashes. The life threatening stuff has been taken care of.”

“So… he’s going to live?” LuShi let out a long breath of relief.

“I’d say he has a very good chance,” Aur answered. “However, his wing may be torn beyond repair.”

A tiny gasp came from behind the curtain where KiNa was staring at the group of grownups. His green eyes were wide with shock and dismay. “Does that mean Daddy won’t ever fly again?”

It was obvious that the child was too young to have realized how close his father had come to fatality. And no one had the time to sit down and explain it.

“We have to wait and see, KiNa,” his mother answered, putting her hands out. The little boy scampered over and was caught up in her embrace. “He still has time to heal before we can–”

“I’ll be just fine,” NaDo’s voice announced his presence with enthusiasm. Though he hobbled through the curtain with the aid of a walking stick now, his tone was still sure and cheerful. Hopeful. Enduring.

“Master NaDo!” LuShi was on his feet instantly, rushing across the room to the winged man. “You’re okay! I’m so glad!”

“Yes… yes… I’m fine. Just as I said,” he waved the concern away with a gentle motion. But he couldn’t avoid the tremulous hug that the young Sygnus wrapped him in. He laughed with a warm sound. “Lucci?”

“I was worried!”

“Well… there’s nothing to worry about,” NaDo grinned, patting the young man on the back. “It takes more than that to put a Tu down and out!”

LuShi grinned in return. Everything about his demeanor had changed from the slumpy form in the corner that TsuYa had just attempted conversation with. Everything was now open. As if hope was contagious.

“Did you get what you were looking for?” the winged man asked out of the blue.

“I… think so?” LuShi answered, his tone becoming a bit more grim.

“Good,” NaDo glanced up with a sure glimmer in his green eyes. “Then we need to talk about what we’re going to do to get the Current Skipper back… so we can board up and get you heading back towards the Inner Realms.”

“Mr. NaDo, you are not going anywhere until you’ve had some rest and healing,” Maru said firmly, her lips pursed together. “Besides, it would be rude for you to fly off without thanking the healer.”

“I didn’t mean right this second, dear?” he blanched.

But from the way his wife talked, it seemed as if he was well known for flying off on whims.

“I know you didn’t,” she patted his cheek lightly. Then she smiled up, a grateful light in her eyes. “We must at least give a proper thank-you supper to our guests. And a good night’s sleep.”

“Ma’am,” TsuYa found himself speaking, realizing how long it had been since he had either good supper or good bed, “That sounds wonderful.”

His eyes narrowed, focusing on his target, measuring the wind as he rode.

Zazo and TsuYa slipped through the bronzing late afternoon, nothing more than a shadow through the forest trees. The She Wolf’s head was pointed straight as an arrow as she ran. He was just along for the ride.

This whole chase had been based off of Aur’s logic. He pointed out two major facts: Firstly, Zazo seemed not to be able to locate Lucci for some unknown reason. Secondly, KoGuRai had also been chasing the youth, just as they had, through the Inner Realms.

Aur noted that though KoGuRai had caused what seemed to be random and chaotic damage to the village, he did not linger after being freed – and he didn’t seem to be travelling in a haphazard manner. It was as if he was hunting down something else. Eventually, they had all agreed that following KoGuRai might very well lead them to discovering Lucci’s location.

It’s not as if we have any other leads to try at this point.

Zazo had volunteered herself and TsuYa to be the ones to trace the path of the Marked Champion. He knew better than to try to involve JouKa in any of this. The girl had changed, just that quickly, after seeing the destruction left by the one that she had once loved.

Part of him was glad that she had finally come to her senses about KoGuRai’s false nature. Afterall, trying to hold on to someone like that would only lead to her own destruction in the end. But the other part of him felt pity. He didn’t have to be a mind mage to sense the sorrow and struggle that the girl’s heart was going through at this point.

So, TsuYa had not argued when JouKa had opted to stay behind in the village. Healing the wounded there seemed to give her something constructive to work for. And Aur had chosen to remain behind as well – whether it was because he still held disapproval for TsuYa’s recklessness or if he sought to offer JouKa companionship, it was hard to tell.

-Hold tight, Tsu! We’re getting closer!- Zazo’s mind-voice echoed in his head, pulling him from his thoughts.

TsuYa leaned down closer to the She-Wolf’s back and gripped her scruff, readying himself for the burst of speed.”How close?”

-Close close. Don’t you feel him?-

“Do I look like a feely sort of guy?” TsuYa grumbled with a scowl.

-You’re in a rotten mood today? I would have thought you would be eager to get the chance to face down KoGuRai again. - the She Wolf observed.

“Yeah well… it’s not that easy,” TsuYa said, half under his breath.

And it wasn’t. Because this time, he knew that if he wasn’t careful, if he relied too much on the leaking Marked powers to help him fight, he could very well cause the already fragile medallion around his neck to shatter. Fighting KoGuRai would be more of a test of his patience and control than something he eagerly awaited.

Unfortunately for TsuYa, he wasn’t big on either patience or control.

The sooner we can put KoGuRai down, the better. He’s going rabid… he’s got to be stopped.

-Tsu! Pay attention! Hold on!- Zazo gave a sharp bark as she lunged forward.

Jolted, the warrior noticed that the world around them had changed – instead of deep forests, they were now racing over stark white sands. TsuYa’s dark eyes squinted between the She Wolf’s ears as the crash of ocean waves grew louder. That’s when he realized they were running right out into the bay – towards some kind of building that sat cradled within the ocean waters.

“Waaaaait!”

Before he could protest further, the Arweinydd leapt straight off into the waves. TsuYa cringed, waiting for the enviable feeling of the wash of ocean waters that would come. But they didn’t.

What?

The warrior cracked his eyes open, peering with amazement as the waves passed along underneath them. He didn’t know if they were flying… floating… hovering… or whatever it was that Arweinydd She Wolves did. But so far they hadn’t crashed into the water yet.

Not taking any chances, he gripped tighter to Zazo’s shoulders.

-Do you see it?- she asked him, careful to stay away from the other sensory questions.

TsuYa squinted ahead. At such a distance, it was hard to make out anything beside the stone structure in the bay. But, as much as he didn’t want to admit, he could feel it. There were dark creatures ahead… KoGuRai and something else.

“Esgyll!? Out here? How?” the warrior grit his teeth. “I thought we left them trapped back in the Inner Realms?”

-I did, too.- Zazo answered quietly, her body shifted as she moved to approach the structure from a less obvious direction.

As they came closer, a terrible scene unfolded before them. TsuYa felt something cold in the pit of his stomach churn and sink. He could make out the great winged beast hanging from the side of the structure, three claws latched into the stone. To his horror, he could make out the form of a person… a person with white wings… being held tight in the monster’s front claw.

He could hear the sound of cold steel striking and sparking. A battle was taking place, there on the steps of the structure. On one side, TsuYa could make out the dark winged, black garbed form of  KoGuRai, wielding his vicious naginata. It took him a moment to recognize the other man, KoGuRai’s opponent — the tall silver form, bearing a long, slender sword.

“LuShi!? Is that…. really…?” TsuYa couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice.

-It would seem our little boy-Sygnus has grown up.-

“Yeah, it would seem so…” A lump formed in his throat as he watched as his once-student spun and struck with the long blade in perfect form. Moves that he knew that he had never taught the boy.  Moves that he didn’t even recognize. A trickle of fear shivered through TsuYa’s body. He couldn’t help but think about the danger… that maybe his father was right in fearing the power of the young Sygnus after all.

-For now, it still looks as if the boy is fighting on our side. We may as well take all the advantage we can get right now.- Zazo advised.

“That’s true…” a little bit of hope returned.

-He seems to be handling KoGuRai fine on his own.-

“Well, what about that other guy?” TsuYa motioned to the man who was trapped in the claws of the Esgyll. “He looks like he could use some backup there?”

-I agree. And Esgyll are such a thrill to chase!- Zazo gave a wolfish grin as she bounded up over the top of the cracked structure… then straight down the wall at the back of the winged monster.

TsuYa felt the exhilaration of battle and speed rush through him. His hand reached back, gripping his scythe and pulling it free. His eyes narrowed, focusing on his target, measuring the wind as he rode. With a snarl and a heave, TsuYa drew a long bloody gash through the Esgyll’s wing, fountains of black-red spraying into the late afternoon air.

As the creature reeled, the scythe met its shoulder, the wing crumpling and useless. Zazo’s body arched up and around, ripping with gleaming fangs and shredding claws. The creature’s dark maw opened in turn, lashing back desperately at wolf and rider. Somewhere beyond the pounding of battle adrenaline, TsuYa could hear the hoarse and frightened shouts of the beast’s captive.

Just hang in there, buddy. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

The warrior rose up, knees gripping the spiraling wolf for balance. A second later, he was off, springing from Zazo’s back straight towards the imprisoning claw. He dodged the snapping fangs of the beast, only a second before the She Wolf took hold of the Esgyll’s snout. Viciously, she raked at the oozing black eyes and tender nostrils.

With the monster preoccupied by the Arweinydd, TsuYa drove his blade home, slicing into the wrist. The scythe rang with a jarring blow as it cut straight to the bone. Though he was somewhat disappointed that it didn’t cut all the way through, the warrior was relieved when the shock caused the claw to fall limp, releasing the winged man.

“Alright! There you goooooooooooo–” TsuYa’s voice trailed into a shout. In his haste and excitement, he didn’t foresee the Esgyll’s reflexes. Having dropped its captive, it now swung back with the wounded claw, sending both warrior and scythe flying off with a snap.

Zazo!! Help!!

But the She Wolf was already busy, snapping and lunging between claws and maws. She gave a somewhat frantic look when she realized that her rider had been flung.

A woosh and flutter of wings surrounded TsuYa as he fell. In his surprise, he stared up, straight into the face of the winged man that he had just rescued. His shout rang out above the crash of the waves below, “Hold on, lad! I’ve got you!”

TsuYa’s first reaction was to ask the stranger who he was calling “lad.” But he decided better of it… considering he could still be dropped into the churning froth of ocean if the winged man decided it fit. Instead, he kept a tight hold on the scythe and let the man drop him off where he would. They landed on a ledge that served as the arch to the doorway, overlooking the battle that raged on below.

Both were out of breath. Both observed each other with curious looks before they spoke simultaneously, “Are you a friend of Lu–”

They paused. The winged man blinked. TsuYa just relaxed his grip on the scythe.

“I guess that answers it,” the warrior replied.

“It would seem so,” the winged man nodded.

A shrill cry pierced the air and the structure began to groan under their feet. With the two of them safely out of the reach of the Esgyll, Zazo now attacked the winged beast with a relentless fury. Perhaps it was a trick of the light or the blur of battle-weary eyes, but TsuYa could have sworn she seemed larger somehow, more vicious… chaotic.

“Zazo! Be careful!” he found the shout bursting from his throat before he realized it. Though he wasn’t quite sure what it was he was warning her against.

“Zazo?” the winged man choked, staring over at TsuYa. “Do you mean Zazo of the Trine?”

“Yeah,” the warrior answered, eyes never straying from the fight. “That’s her.”

“Ooohhhh…” he let out a long, awed breath.

With a final scree and a thrashing of wings, the Esgyll peeled off of the stone wall and plummeted into the ocean. The huge white wolf followed it all the way down, jaws snapping and tearing, only to leap back up at the last moment as the foam of the waves rose to claim the dark winged form. A thick oily shadow spread into the water where the beast disappeared. It did not rise again.

A frustrated howl rang from the midst of the battle below. KoGuRai’s face was furious as he saw his mount defeated and driven into the waters. His moment of distraction was a fatal one.

LuShi’s sword stabbed forward, his motions calculated and focused in a way that TsuYa had never remembered seeing before. The sheen of steel seemed to glow with a silver light, leaving a trail behind it — it was a glow that matched the cold, ruthless burning behind the young Sygnus’ eyes. TsuYa felt himself shiver, aghast as he watched LuShi’s blade drive straight into KoGuRai’s shoulder, exploding from his back with a spray of black blood.

The Dark Champion let out an animalistic roar, writhing on the end of the blade. His face was contorted with hate and desperation. As he glared up at the face of the young Sygnus, his dark eyes held the look of someone who saw terrible death looming over him. In a frantic move, he ripped himself off of the point of the silver sword, and a down swoop of wings carried him into the air.

LuShi gave instant chase, his expression cold and vicious. Though he didn’t have wings of his own, he leapt up the side of the crumbled stone wall without abandon.

TsuYa rounded on KoGuRai as he appeared on the door ledge, his hands tightening on the grip of his scythe. Though this seemed to be LuShi’s fight… and he knew that he had to be careful of how far he allowed the Dark Champion to manipulate his anger… he wasn’t going to pass up the chance to finish off the already wounded enemy.

“TsuYa!!” KoGuRai bellowed, rage crackling around him in streaks of red.

“Give it up, KoGuRai!” TsuYa retorted, moving forward quickly. “We’ve got you cornered! You’re not getting out of this one!”

“Augh!” He backed up a frantic step, towards the safety of the sky, only to be met with a snarling She Wolf from behind.

LuShi, too, had appeared up on the ledge, brandishing the length of his blade, dripping black with the Champion’s blood. “I’m going to send you back to your Master… just not the way you’d want to go.”

TsuYa arched an eyebrow.

The kid’s learned some class.

Then it happened, so quickly. Everything that KoGuRai did was born of desperation of his survival. One black-clawed hand lashed out, locking around the other winged man’s throat. The hostage gave a choked squeak as he was lifted straight off the ground, the Champion’s naginata poised and threatening.

“Master NaDo!” LuShi gave a hoarse shout. His voice was different now, but the quality was the same… pleading and boyish. He obviously cared a lot about the stranger.

“Don’t move!” KoGuRai hissed showing his dark fangs. “That goes for your pet wolf, too!”

Zazo paused where she had been creeping up behind. Her expression spoke volumes about not caring about sparing the life of the one, mere winged Earthian. But for some reason, she did not strike… though she didn’t look happy about being commanded.

“KoGuRai! You coward! Hiding behind hostages!” TsuYa snarled.

“All’s fair, as they say,” the Dark Champion gave a slick grin, fist tightening with an iron grip. “Now move.”

“Forget it! You’re not going anywhere!”

“You don’t have a choice,” KoGuRai’s voice was smooth as the point of the blade touched the winged man’s face.

I know he’ll do it. That’s just the sort of person he’s become…

TsuYa spat out a curse as the Dark Champion began to back step away, holding NaDo secure in the crook of his arm. LuShi, too, was still and silent. There was anger in his face. But he dared not to move.

When KoGuRai finally stood, balanced on the edge, TsuYa demanded, “Let him go!”

“So you can do what… follow me?” KoGuRai gave his gleaming smile. It left a chill over TsuYa’s body… a chill that told him something bad was about to happen. “I don’t think so.”

The Dark Champion launched upwards, wings flung wide. At the same moment, he hurled the winged man away from him, face down at the stone. Before anyone could move, the dark blade of the naginata slashed down, ripping through bone, feather and limb. A terrible cry rang out as NaDo plummeted and landed in a pool of blood on the stone. The cry was echoed by LuShi’s furious shout, which turned into a choked half sob as he rushed out towards where the broken man laid.

By the time any of them recovered from the shock, KoGuRai was gone, winging off into the dying day.

A hungry dangerous shadow filled the void of his eyes as he threw up his weapon, point-down, aimed to spear the warrior from above.

-Aur is sure not much of a mountain lion, is he?- Zazo scoffed as she sprung spryly from stone to stone up the face of the mountain.

TsuYa didn’t say a word. It was all he could to just to hang on to the Arweinydd’s back as they made their way further and further from the safety of the ground. If it wasn’t for the mere seconds that her feet touched the rock before the next launch, he would have considered it flying.

I’ll leave the flying to the Awakened, thank you…

Somewhere below them, he could hear the sounds of Aur as he made his best attempt to follow in Zazo’s impossible paw prints. Of course, the She Wolf was having the time of her life during this whole scenario, not a once stopping to remember exactly what they were really climbing the mountain for.

Not like I really know what we’ll find when we get there. I don’t know why LuShi would have come all this way just to get himself cornered in the mountains. There’s gotta be something here he’s after…

A particularly rough jolt sent him sprawling closer down against Zazo’s back. TsuYa gritted his teeth, pinning her sides more tightly between his knees. “Will you watch it!”

-You think too loud, Earthian. Keep quiet. You’re breaking my concentration.-

“I thought mighty Arweinydd didn’t need concentration,” he snuffed.

-Would you like to experience the sensation of free fall?- Zazo growled.

He wound his fingers tighter into her fur, “Don’t you dare!”

-Then you’d be smart not to…-

From somewhere above their heads, a bright pulse of silver light flashed brilliant into the storm-darkened sky. The mountain began to shake under Zazo’s steady strides, though the wolf continued upward, unhindered.

Aur and JouKa were not so lucky. TsuYa could hear the girl’s shout coming from below. Though he couldn’t make out her words, he could tell that the tremors were making their climb far more difficult.

“Zazo! We can’t leave them back there!” TsuYa protested.

-They will be fine. We can’t afford to lose the time,- she replied sharply.

“But…”

-We weren’t the only one that saw that light.-

Before TsuYa had a chance to ask the Arweinydd to clarify her words, a twisted shriek shattered the air over the mountainside. He reeled his head back just in time to catch the blurred dark-winged creature swoop down and vanish into the rocky cliffs above them. There was little doubt that where the monster was flying was exactly where LuShi would be.

“Crap! Esgyll!” he spat from between clenched teeth.

Zazo didn’t need anymore encouragement. She was already making her way towards the cliffs, wide open mouth showing gleaming fangs. All that TsuYa could do was lay as flat as possible to give her speed… and hang on in hopes that a mis-step didn’t send him tumbling off to the depths below.

Finally, one last great bound sent them surging over the edge of the ledge like the breaking of a huge white wave. For a moment, TsuYa felt himself lifted through the air, hovering inches above the She Wolf’s back. The next thing he knew, they were face to face with the looming dark form of the Esgyll.

“Zazo!” TsuYa’s shout was hoarse in his ears. One hand was already pulling his scythe from over his shoulder, dark eyes focused with deadly intensity on the monster before him.

Fearless, the Arweinydd shot forward, carrying him on a streak of white towards the massive shadow. His hand tightened on the haft of his weapon as it burst into a defiant deep blue flame.

With a rush of wicked exhilaration, TsuYa felt his blade carry forward and up. His strike was focused and lethal, slicing into the under-jaw of the creature as it brought its head down. Zazo’s fangs ripped into the throat, the momentum of her leap tearing a huge gash through the decayed flesh.

The Esgyll shrieked a gurgling cry as it thrashed back from their attack. The motion caught on the hook of TsuYa’s scythe, shredding the lower half of it’s maw as the warrior fought to pull it away. For a moment, TsuYa felt himself knocked from his mount. But one deft turn of the She Wolf in mid air caught him before he could fall.

As if the huge winged monster meant nothing to her at all, Zazo leapt past the writhing form, towards what looked to be two huge doors in the side of the mountain. All sorts of runes and writings were lit up along the pillars that made up the threshold. But they were moving so fast that TsuYa didn’t get a chance to see anything else before the shadows of the chamber beyond filled his vision.

Where are we going? That thing’s not dead yet!

-Then we’ll give Aur a little present once he gets up here. There are more dangerous things to deal with.-

The intensity of the She Wolf’s tone told him to sit down, hold on and shut up. So he did. It didn’t take long before TsuYa understood exactly what she was talking about. A deep, choking darkness rose up before them in the heart of the mountain, spreading with dark wings that blocked out the silver glow of the chamber ahead. Wings that were familiar… and slightly transparent.

“KoGuRai!” TsuYa hissed between bared teeth.

Though his voice was low, the Champion still seemed to hear. KoGuRai’s head turned, misshapen face appearing to TsuYa’s vision. The darkness behind his eyes had grown more intense, more unstable… almost neurotic in nature. An animalistic snarl broke over his lips as his focus fell completely upon the young warrior.

A soft cry echoed through the chamber, drawing TsuYa’s attention away from his rival. For the first time, he noticed that LuShi was there, struggling against the powerful grip of the winged creature. Though the boy Sygnus was tall, KoGuRai seemed to possess far more strength. LuShi had nearly been pulled off of his feet in the confrontation, but so far, he seemed unharmed.

We got here in time.

-Naturally.-

Hands tightened around the grip of his scythe, TsuYa sprang at full speed from the back of the She Wolf. For once, he could feel Zazo’s astonishment instead of it being the other way around.

-What are you doing!-

This one is mine… stay out of it, Zazo!

-You are insane, Earthian! He is the Champion of Zeromus… you cannot beat him by yourself!- Zazo wheeled about, snapping at him with her teeth as if to catch him and pull him back.

We’ll just see about that.

Dark eyes glittering as he met KoGuRai’s equally dark gaze, a slow smirk broke over TsuYa’s face. For years, the Apprentice had to sit by and bite back the frustration and disgust he felt at KoGuRai’s near-treasonous tendencies in Nefol. So many times had there been something shady or something a little off… usually aimed at taking out the well being of SoYa. Usually aimed at redistributing the power from those who should rightfully rule the School.  And now, TsuYa was finally getting the opportunity to repay all the treachery.

I’m going to enjoy every second of this.

The Champion threw LuShi roughly against the nearby pillar and drew his weapon with a low growl. His dark wings stretched wide over his head as he stalked towards his rival, blade held low and ready to strike.

“You honestly think you have any chance against me, TsuYa?” KoGuRai snarled, a twisted glower covering his face. “You don’t even have your Daddy’s wings yet, little boy.”

“I don’t need wings to rip yours to shreds,” TsuYa sneered in return, crouching low and watching the motion of his opponent’s blade carefully.

“My… are we arrogant,” the Champion’s voice was smooth and taunting. “Just because you’re growing into your Marked powers… doesn’t mean you can take me on.”

TsuYa choked.

Growing into my what…?!

“Why, TsuYa… didn’t you know?” there was a gleam of victory in KoGuRai’s dark, soulless eyes. “You don’t believe that Master Zeromus’ power will be turned forever by a worthless little enchanted trinket.”

“Shutup! Like I’d believe anything that you’d say!” TsuYa spat, making the first strike.

His scythe whistled through the air far faster than he even believed possible, a burning blue flame trailing behind. As the naginata rose up to catch the blow, sparks of blue and sickly red-black exploded between the two weapons.

“You’d only be fooling yourself,” the Champion intoned in an offhand way. He was far stronger than the warrior could have imagined. “Especially since now, Master Zeromus’ power is growing. How long do you think you have before you will bow to him… and to me…”

“FORGET IT!” a cry of fury broke from TsuYa’s throat as he began to swing, blow after blazing blow. A heated anger rushed through his limbs, carrying his blade forward with a blinding speed. Suddenly, he found himself matching the Champion’s strength, strike for strike, even knocking the startled-faced KoGuRai back with a few of the more focused blows.

KoGuRai didn’t respond in words, though the sounds that issued from between his black teeth were ones of wonder and frustration. No more banter came from his side of the battle as he found all his concentration bent to hold his ground against the wrath of the relentless scythe.

-Well… well… you’ve got more to you than I thought, Earthian.-

The runes that spread over the floor began to flash and respond as TsuYa pressed the winged creature back into the center of the chamber. They dimmed the moment that KoGuRai stepped near them only to be relit with a brilliant blue, angry light as TsuYa claimed the ground. Sparks rained across the room as time and again their weapons clashed. Energy crackled around their two forms, exchanging blows that went unseen by the normal eye.

A powerful sweep of the scythe sent a stream of blue flame straight over KoGuRai’s shoulder, through one wing. Where TsuYa expected to be met with the resistance of feathers and bone, he found nothing but a ripple of darkness that parted… then drew back together again. The warrior’s dark eyes narrowed as he drew in a sharp breath of realization.

“Your wings…” TsuYa hissed. A twisted smile broke over his face, accenting the Mark on his cheek with the glow of blue from below. “They’re not really real.”

“Don’t be foolish!” KoGuRai snapped, reeling back from the words. That’s all that was needed to gage the truth. “My wings were a gift from Master Zeromus himself!”

“Just an illusion,” the warrior snorted. “Boy does he have you strung along with his pretty offers…”

“They’re REAL!” the Champion’s voice rose up in furious intensity. He was nearly frothing at the mouth, flecks of dark spittle dotting his lips as he hissed.

Man… he’s touchy about this. He should have never let me know.

“What a poser,” TsuYa taunted with an off-handed flip of one wrist. “You and all your talk of controlling this or that. I bet you’re not even a real Champion.”

KoGuRai gave a wild shriek, wings spreading vast over TsuYa’s head. A hungry dangerous shadow filled the void of his eyes as he threw up his weapon, point-down, aimed to spear the warrior from above. The motion was so unexpected that TsuYa found himself twisting in a desperate attempt to throw up a defense against the blow. Something told him that it wasn’t going to be fast enough.

“KoGuRai!!!” a high, frightened voice screamed out the Champion’s name.

And just like that, it all ground to a complete stop.

Bathed in the soft light of the pillar runes, JouKa stood in the doorway. Her own wings were spread, a hint of terror in her face as her green eyes drank in the scene within the chamber. One hand grasped at the stone of the pillar as if her legs were threatening to give way on her from the shock of it all. There seemed to be tears in her eyes… something TsuYa had rarely, if ever, seen since he had met her.

“Jou…Ka..?” KoGuRai stammered with a strangled sound. His face was turned towards her, an expression of distress and dismay. The weapon still remained upraised in his hand, but all thoughts to strike had completely flown from his head.

“RRRRRAHHH!!” TsuYa’s battle shout broke the stillness of the room.

It didn’t matter how they knew each other. It didn’t matter what was going on between them. All that mattered was that KoGuRai, his enemy, was standing prone in front of him. And he wasn’t going to pass up this chance to make his strike.

JouKa gave a sharp cry as she saw the flash of the dark scythe slash upwards.

The Champion reeled back with a choking gasp as a spray of black burst from his midsection. He stumbled, slipping on the slick floor, straight back onto one of the pulsing tiles. Unlike the other tiles, this one didn’t go dim upon his touch. Instead, it lit up with a brilliant flash… and when the light faded, KoGuRai was gone.

"There were things... in the Time Before... that were used to subdue the Arweinydd."

“We are losing time. Losing ground – Zemi we need to make a strike against Zeromus soon,” ZenToYa demanded, pressing his palms down hard along the dull surface of the meeting table. “The more time we give him to lick his wounds, the more time he has to redouble the effort next time.”

“I understand that, Zento,” Zemi nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair. “But there’s still a lot of information that we don’t have yet. Scouting Nefol and the groundlands is difficult, even for the Dragons. You know that.”

“Yes… I do know that. And I’m not supporting a foolish rush into the situation,” the winged man gave a long frown at the Dreigiau.

“Then what are you supporting?”

“I… don’t have all the details yet. I just know that the longer we sit here playing games of defense, the less ground we are winning against the enemy,” he spread his hands as if making the most logical statement in the world. “Even Kudako agrees with me on this. We’ve sat idle for too long.”

The golden-eyed Dragon gave a low grunt under his breath. The only indication that he admitted to having anything to do with Zento’s brash outburst.

He’s really been upset about things lately…

AsaHi’s green eyes watched the heated discussion as it lit up the far side of the room. The room and the large table within showed for lack of use, everything dimmer and less magical than it had been before the attack on the Islands. Only minor damage had been done to this area of the Compound, but there were still a few dark cracks that spidered over the once smooth-white stone walls. Official Assemblies were not held there anymore — the Trine was no longer fully present with Zeni in Wyndor to watch over those that had Migrated. But there were still gatherings of tactical meetings and discussions of where things were going to go next.

There must be something more that he wants… than just wanting to strike in battle against Zeromus. It’s not like Zento to urge fighting when it’s not needed.

Everyone seemed to have a different idea on what the best course of action would be. Some felt that it would be a good time to try and change to an offensive stance. Some felt it was too risky and that defense was the best to fall back on. There were even some that whispered that giving up the Islands completely was the most sane course of action.

It’s true we won the last battle. But we lost a lot, too. I don’t know how many more attacks we can withstand before we will lose or have to give way.

AsaHi didn’t like the idea of giving up any more than anyone else. But there were just times when it was obvious that the battle was too big for them all. Though to think of any battle being too big for Zemi Dreigiau was enough to make her shudder.

Even if we did leave the Islands… where would we go that would be safe? Eventually, Zeromus will expand beyond this as well.

Zemi was leaning back in his large chair, one finger tapping idly at his chin. His sharp teal eyes flickered from the face of one person to another as if studying what sort of resources he had to use. When he finally spoke again, his voice was deep and resounding.

“It seems to me such a waste to keep swatting away the little annoyances that Zeromus keeps sending at us. If you know what I mean?” the Dreigiau rose from his chair and began to pace. “His troops keep wearing away at us, layer by layer. And we wear away at his troops layer by layer. But, as you’ve stated, that doesn’t gain us much ground… and he will just keep replenishing his troops from the creatures that he twists to his use.”

“We, on the other hand have limited number of troops,” Aur murmured nodding slowly. “Even though I’m sure we could find some reinforcements within the people of the Spiral, chances are, they would never make it here to the Islands without Dragon transport. The lands below have become too wild to travel safely. Marked and all sorts of Chaos creatures roam and destroy.”

“Yes, I know,” Zemi strode over to one of the large, arched windows and pushed aside the curtain. “That is why it would make most sense to strike at the heart of the disturbance.”

“Take out Zeromus himself?” Zento asked for clarification. The way he was leaning forward in his seat spoke of interest and strong desire.

“I agree. We will not make ground unless we cut things off at the source,” Kudako gave a curt nod, eyes focused sharply on the back of the Dreigiau.

AsaHi remained silent, pondering the impossibility of it all. Afterall, they were discussing killing another Arweinydd – something that none of them knew how to set about doing. Not even Zemi.

Not to mention that Zemi cannot directly attack Zeromus… or he could get caught up in the Chaos, too.

As if Zemi was following her line of thought, he spoke, “The question isn’t if it is the best thing to make a direct strike at Zeromus. The question is how do we plan and accomplish something like that? What can defeat a Chaotic Arweinydd?”

Even Zento fell still as the last echo of the words faded in the chamber. If Zemi didn’t seem to know these answers… then who would?

After a long space of silence, Aur’s unblinking eyes shifted up. He spoke slowly, as if not sure that he wanted to depart such information, “There were things… in the Time Before… that were used to subdue the Arweinydd.”

Something about the statement darkened the room for just a moment. AsaHi could almost see a shiver run over Zemi’s form. And though she couldn’t see his face, she could only imagine his expression at such a thought.

There’s so little that we know about the Arweinydd. About the Time Before. And about how all of these things fit together.

In their world, the Arweinydd had become great Patron Guides to the people. Because they were creatures distant and without true physicality, they had begun to be seen as things that time and even death could not touch.

But that doesn’t mean it’s true. That’s just the way we perceive them.

Zento peered across the table at the brown-haired Guardian with a conflicted grimace. As if part of him wanted to know exactly what force could be used against so great a power. And the other part of him wanted never to know what could be so terrible and vast to overthrow the power he felt was so great.

Aur’s eyes were fixed on Zemi — allowing him the choice of silence or enlightenment.

The Dreigiau turned slowly around, meeting the Guardian’s gaze. Despite the fact that the knowledge could be used against him, too. Despite the fact that it was obviously uncomfortable to discuss something that would be the fate of his own lost brother. Zemi slowly gave a nod.

“There were items of great power that were crafted in the Time Before that were used against the Arweinydd kind. Some of them were items to simply subdue. Some of them were created as weapons that could damage… even kill,” Aur spoke slowly, his voice low. “But these were items held great risk and could only be properly used… by the Sygni.”

AsaHi couldn’t help the little gasp that bubbled up in the back of her throat. The rest of the group were also watching Aur with rapt and troubled expressions.

Strangely enough, it was Kudako who was the first to speak, “Are you suggesting that we obtain one of these weapons, arm the boy-Sygnus, LuShi and set him against Zeromus?”

“I am not suggesting anything,” Aur replied without hesitation. “I am simply giving the information that I know.”

“Mmm…” Kudako looked down at the table top. It was apparent that the information didn’t please him too much. Nor did it seem to please anyone else.

“That’s out of the question,” Zento murmured. “LuShi’s proven to be pretty unstable. He hasn’t even been out of bed in weeks after the battle.”

“Yes, but if we were to find something that he could use against Zeromus…” Zemi murmured from behind folded hands.

“Are you NUTS Zemi? Anything he could use on Zeromus, he could use on you, too!” the winged man’s voice raised an octave.

“ZenToYa,” the Dreigiau frowned sharply. “I know you have very little trust in the boy. But I don’t believe he’d choose to fight against us. Especially since he can see better than he could before how dangerous things are.”

“But…”

“Still…” Zemi interrupted with an upraised finger. “I don’t know that I like the idea of scraping out old artifacts used by Sygni of the past to beat down Arweinydd in the Time Before, either.”

Zento huffed, puffing out his cheeks, “At least you’re talking some sense now.”

“Excuse me?” Aur peered between them with upraised eyebrows.

“At least, not before we’ve had a chance to study them,” the Arweinydd added quickly.

The Champion gave a frustrated sound. “Zemi..!”

“Excuse me…?” the Guardian attempted again.

“Do you, or do you not want to do something about Zeromus?” Zemi gave the winged man a long, piercing look.

“I…” Zento opened his mouth, just shaking his head incredulously.

“I have something to say,” Aur’s voice rumbled, louder than AsaHi had ever heard him speak before. Though it was in no way ear-shattering, it got attention.

Both Zemi and Zento paused in mid-squabble to glance over with puzzled faces.

“You are both arguing over artifacts that you may never even find,” the Guardian spoke shortly, peering at them with a frown. “Though it’s quite possible that the items were left in this world somewhere after the Mistake, no one is really aware of their actual location.”

The winged man gave a long sigh and promptly plopped his head on the table. “Why didn’t you tell us that before we starting arguing?”

“I attempted to,” Aur replied with a very Earthian-type sigh. “You did not allow me to finish. As I said… I was only offering you factual information in response to your question. I did not say that this was information that should be acted on.”

Zemi sighed, too. A long, hoarse sound of displeasure.

Kudako then went on to remark about the conversation in his own, quiet directness. But AsaHi’s attention had been drawn away. For the first time, she realized that one of the doors to the meeting room was cracked open, ever so slightly. But what really made her look was the fact that a strange, silvery mist was seeping into the room from the hallway.

What..?

No one seemed to take a lot of notice of her as she slipped down from her chair, crossing the room towards the door. They were all so caught up in their discussions that not a single eye strayed towards her. Then again, it wasn’t all so odd for them to see AsaHi get up and walk from the meeting room to get drinks or bring in small snack sandwiches and things like that.

The hall was empty as she slipped out of the room to peer around. Though there was a slight trace of lingering mist in the air, it was now so faded that it was nearly imperceptible. AsaHi swallowed and began to walk down the length of the corridor, head weaving back and forth as she looked for any signs of something odd.

I’ve seen that mist before… but…

The thought left her puzzled and somewhat uneasy. With a frown, she passed from the straight hallway into the point where it crossed another. Looking down both ways, she caught sight of a figure to the right who was approaching with quick steps.

The figure also took notice of AsaHi. For the steps increased in pace and one hand raised in greeting. It took a moment for her to recognize the face of JouKa.

“Morh-AsaHi!” the voice called to her.

AsaHi stopped, waiting for the other girl to make her way over. “Hello, Jou? Is everything okay?”

“Actually…” she didn’t try to hide her frown. She simply shook her head. “I was ‘opin’ to catch sight o’ someone. Cuz’ bustin’ in on tha meetin’ isn’t any good ta do.”

“What’s wrong?” AsaHi turned full attention to trying to translate the thick accent. She had heard that JouKa had originated in the eastern mountains. The people in that area had developed some very strange ways to say things.

“TsuYa sent me out to find someone,” JouKa explained. “You know that kid, LuShi?”

“Yes?”

“Well, he’s done up and disappeared!”

Black eyes were fixed on the boy's pale face as if working to bore dark manipulations into LuShi's mind.

KoGuRai..? It can’t really be…

TsuYa felt his throat tighten, struggling to fight down the nausea that was forcing its way upwards, turning his mouth nasty on the inside. His face was damp with sheets of sweat and his eyes stung from the putrid odor that hung heavily over the battlefield. Though he fought back the instinct reactions of his body, his mind was focused on the dark winged figure that stood before him.

KoGuRai had been the youngest member to sit on the Nefolian Council before the fall of the city to Zeromus. Originally, the position had been filled by his father, who had died during a set of battles with outlying tribes. Out of respect and in memory of the strong, good-hearted warrior, the rest of the Council had chosen to allow his son, KoGuRai to step up in his stead.

TsuYa considered it one of the greatest mistakes made in the history of Nefol. KoGuRai proved to be the exact opposite of his father. He was a power hungry, manipulative young man who inspired the division of the Council into restless political factions. The original purpose of the Nefolian Council became tainted as a new driving ambition swayed the minds and hearts of those who once served the people.

And now, KoGuRai stood before him, literally. Though not at all the way that TsuYa had remembered him. His form had been shifted and altered by a familiar darkness that could only speak of the touch of Chaos.

Impossible…

And the words that KoGuRai had just spoken, the twisted hand reaching out to the boy Sygnus, were even more impossible. Something in TsuYa screamed that he should take action. That he should intervene. That should LuShi reach out and embrace the title that he had just been offered, everything would be over.

Don’t do it, kid…

But his limbs were heavy and his mind was clouded. Sound stuck in his throat, catching on the taste of bile.

Don’t let them sweet talk you the way they did me.

LuShi stared at the outstretched hand. His silver eyes flickered up to study the strange, disfigured face. Then with a motion that spoke louder than any words could, the boy shook his head and took a step backwards.

TsuYa felt himself release a breath he didn’t know that he was holding.

A slight pout tugged at the curve of KoGuRai’s lips. The smooth voice came again, seeming to fight to hold on to patience, “Come, now. Lord LuShi. You should know very well… feel it in your essence… that you don’t belong here.”

LuShi’s gaze fell. There was little doubt that the words struck home. The boy had never been welcomed there with Zemi’s people.

“Look. This one doesn’t even have wings yet!” one black nailed finger pointed down towards TsuYa. The smirk on the disfigured face only served to make it all the more gruesome. Cracked lips drew back from blackened teeth, fangs showing quite clearly.

“HEY!” TsuYa spat, suddenly regaining his voice in a fit of irritation.

But KoGuRai was completely ignoring him at this point. Black eyes were fixed on the boy’s pale face as if working to bore dark manipulations into LuShi’s mind. “And neither do you, Lord LuShi. They have stifled you with their fear. Kept you from obtaining your wings.”

The boy’s head jerked up with a quizzical expression.

“That’s right… you should have wings,” the dark voice purred. “Have they ever made fun of you because you didn’t? Have they treated you as if they did not want you here?”

LuShi nodded slowly, peering at KoGuRai in wonderment. As if he was curious how the grisly-faced man could know pain locked in his heart.

“My Master gave me wings. Don’t you think they’re wonderful?” the dark wings unfurled, rising to the sky. “He can give you wings, too.”

The boy gazed up, taking in the gleaming dark feathers with round, interested eyes.

“Don’t fall for it, LuShi. It’s nothing but lies!” TsuYa snarled, pushing himself to his feet. “They’ll tell you anything to get you over there. Trust me… it’s not where you want to be!”

LuShi’s attention snapped away from the wings at the sound of his voice.

“Now, then…” KoGuRai began again, but TsuYa refused to let the sweet talking continue unrivaled.

“It’s just like what they tried to do to me, LuShi. Do you know that story?”

The silver head shook and KoGuRai’s face turned red as TsuYa captured LuShi’s attention and held it raptly.

“Zerom waited until I hit a low in my life and was doubting everything I ever was. Then he came along and made it sound like all my dreams would be answered if I took the gifts that he would give me,” the warrior’s lip curled as the words rushed out between them. “Come to find out, the gift was nothing but turning me Marked! And I’ve been trying to find a cure to it ever since. Is that what you want for yourself, Lucci?”

The boy shook his head again, looking a little alarmed. Out of shame, TsuYa didn’t speak so freely of his situation on normal terms. But this wasn’t normal terms. And to reveal so much to LuShi seemed to have the impact that he hoped it would.

“Ahhhh….” KoGuRai gave a quiet laugh. “Poor TsuYa. So that’s your story… you couldn’t handle it. And now, is that jealousy I hear?”

“What?” the warrior fumed in return. “Jealous? Of you?”

The winged figure took a slow step forward. For the first time, TsuYa realized that KoGuRai was a good head and shoulders taller than he remembered him being. “I have you to thank. You passed up your chance to become the Rhyswyr. So now the position has fallen to me. As has the rule of Nefol — just as it always should have.”

“Is that the sort of mess that Zeromus has been feeding you?” TsuYa sneered back.

“It is simply the truth.”

“Truth? I’ll tell you the truth,” the warrior balled one fist and held it upright. “You think you’re really something. But you’re nothing but one of Zeromus’ playthings… no better than any of the other Marked.”

LuShi’s head snapped around incredulously.

Seeing that he had the boy’s attention again, TsuYa continued, “Pretty fitting – you’ve always been rotten through and through if you ask me.”

TsuYa hadn’t forgotten how upon Father’s disappearance, things only continued to decline in the School – mostly thanks to KoGuRai’s sway in the Council. SoYa had not been viewed to be of the age to succeed his father as the High Guide and the pressure within the Council had become immense. KoGuRai had stood, in TsuYa’s mind, as one of the more dangerous rivals to SoYa’s position. And for threatening his brother, KoGuRai also stood as his own rival.

KoGuRai’s mouth thinned into a pressed line of disapproval. Though it was obvious that he was angry, he did not move to strike. It seemed to have something to do with the fact that LuShi was there. “TsuYa… you are still the same childish, spoiled brat as ever.”

The Apprentice simply smirked in return, letting the insult run off of him. It was always a pleasure to ruffle KoGuRai’s attempts to remain calm and unmoved. It never took much… and TsuYa never tried hard. Even the most base of insults, pointed in the right direction, could set him off.

The winged creature fell back upon ignore tactics, turning his attention once more towards LuShi, “The company you keep leaves a lot to be desired, Lord LuShi. Come with me and I’ll see to it that you will be given the respect and position that you deserve.”

Again, the boy only shook his head. This time, his response was far faster than before.

“You cannot mean that you don’t want to be fighting on the side that’s winning?” KoGuRai frowned sharply.

LuShi’s soft voice came, the first words he had spoken since the winged creature had appeared, “I already am.”

So much determination. So much belief in the three simple words. KoGuRai’s brow wrinkled with a hint of frustration, seeing that his efforts had fallen short and all that he had offered remained undesired.

The kid’s got more guts that I gave him credit for…

Black eyes glittered maliciously from under the swaths of dark hair. One lip curled as KoGuRai’s smooth, coaxing voice grew hissing and spiteful, “I see. I was warned that Zemi Dreigiau may have worked his twisting powers on your mind, Young Lord. I had no idea that it would be this far gone.”

TsuYa felt a chill spread over his skin. The hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, once again signaling danger that he could not pinpoint yet.

One dark-gloved hand reached up. A signal to something just out of sight, over the hill. A low moan carried on the wind as a terrible sight rose before the warrior’s eyes. There was a group of Marked scuffling towards them, black eyes cowering away from both the boy Sygnus and KoGuRai. It was only the single command that kept them moving forward.

Between them they held the slumped and battered body of one of the Awakened soldiers. His wings were now shredded streams of flesh and feathers, his face mauled beyond recognition. Where his sword hand had once been, there was nothing but a gristly stump that frothed a flow of blood that clotted black along the side of his robe. The suffering moan indicated that he was still alive.

Is he taking a hostage or something?

A cold smile touched KoGuRai’s lips as the broken Cyngan was thrown at his feet. “One of yours, yes?”

Is he trying to make some kind of exchange?

TsuYa ground his teeth.

I don’t get this.

LuShi watched the grim procession with unblinking eyes.

A sharp flash of metal shown suddenly in the hazy sunlight. KoGuRai had drawn a long-hafted naginata, the wicked serrated blade pointed down towards the bloodstained grass.

“What are you doing?” the words rushed out of TsuYa’s mouth as he leaned forward. His own hands gripped more tightly around the black bladed scythe.

“I’m giving Lord LuShi his wings,” KoGuRai’s voice was low but triumphant.

It happened so quickly that it was hard to comprehend until it was too late. The rise of the blade, only seconds before it plunged straight through the Cyngan’s back, exploding in a crimson flow down through his chest. The body arched backwards writhing as it hung upon the cruel blade.

A shout broke from TsuYa’s mouth and he felt himself surge forward. His scythe swung up, over his head, gaze locked upon the monstrosity that stood before him. The dark winged creature that smiled silently down at the pool of demise that spread around his feet.

From behind him, he could hear LuShi’s voice crack in a sudden hoarse cry. The sound was chilling, like the wailing of the dead. More ghastly than even the shrieks of the Marked. It was the sound of one fated as the Bane.

TsuYa felt his feet ripped out from under him as a flash of chilling silvery-white filled his vision. Knocked back against the side of the hill, he fought to clear his vision and find his wits. The scene that unfolded before him was haunting and unreal.

LuShi was hovering a foot off of the ground, a thick pulsating mist swirling and condensing around his form. His head was thrown back, eyes clamped shut, mouth wide open in a soundless scream. He looked like he was in great pain. A slender tendril of silvery-white rose from the sprawled body of the slain Cyngan, streaming directly into the mists that surrounded the boy. As if LuShi was feeding and gaining power from death itself.

Hedd-ynad!

Terror froze every inch of TsuYa’s body, eyes wide and locked upon the deadly awakening that was playing out before him. There was nothing that he could do to stop it.

Is… it…  the Sygnus….?

As the Arweinydd extended his hands, a pulsar ripple washed through the room, and everything hummed to life.

There’s a problem here — a very big problem! Zento’s knuckles grew white as he gripped the arms of his chair. All conversation around the big table fell into silence as the two heavy doors opened.

Figures were making their way down the carpeted floor. SoYa and SaRa… the dark winged girl Suzume… and LuShi –  not something unusual to see at an Assembly. Except for the fact that LuShi was not following Suzume to go sit in their usual back corner of the meeting room. Instead, the silver haired boy was following SoYa, right up to the table of the Inner Circle. And sitting down beside him.

Zemi, I can’t believe you! You’ve gotta be crazy!

Zento had known of the Dreigiau’s intentions to include the boy-Sygnus in the upcoming Assembly. But nothing had prepared him for seeing it actually come about. Feelings of heavy dread and burning insult rose up within the winged-man’s chest. Grinding his teeth, he found it all he could do to press his anger down into a simmering pool in his stomach.

You NEVER listen to me! I told you and told you… and told you some more.

Usually, Zento would have abided by Kudako’s suggestions to trust in the choices that Zemi made. But even now, at the sight of the silver haired boy, Kudako’s ears had gone flat and his eyes seemed a darker shade of gold. Though it was not open disapproval, for the Dragon rarely showed his thoughts so plainly, it was close enough to be translated as such.

We discussed this till I was blue in the face! We spent three whole hours going over this last week! I thought we had come to an agreement that LuShi shouldn’t be allowed into the Inner Circle!

In fact, if it were up to Zento, LuShi wouldn’t be allowed to remain there within Ceiswyr at all. It wasn’t a matter of being cruel or kind… it was a matter of the safety and survival of their people. As time had passed, it became more and more apparent that LuShi was far removed from an ordinary child… and that the powers and potential he possessed were quickly developing.

If I had known this was how it was going to end up, I would have never chosen to bring him here in the first place.

But no one could have foreseen how quickly the situation would become dangerous and crucial. No one realized upon finding the small silver-haired child in the depths of Nefol that in a little over a year, they would be facing the threat of a nearly full-grown Sygnus.

Zemi when are you going to start taking this seriously!? Does it take the Islands to fall out of the sky before you realize that this is NOT a game!?

Zento had spent much time speaking with Aur in the months that had passed, a good deal of that seeking out information about the truth behind the Sygni of the Time Before. Though Aur rarely offered as much knowledge as he owned, the message was always the same. Sygni were highly imbalanced and unstable creatures that wielded massive ability, skill that eventually threatened the Arweinydd themselves. Insanity usually inflicted the Sygni as they drew nearer to inheriting their full power simply due to the fact that their Earthian mind and body were not capable of dealing with the full essence of Arweinydd they had inherited.

And so far… nothing has ever been able to work around this. It’s part of what caused the great Mistake from the Time Before! And you want to act like this is all a field day!

The Dreigiau had argued strongly in defense of LuShi ever since the boy had been brought to the Islands. Despite the fact that the boy was a creation of a Chaotic Arweinydd, Zemi seemed to believe that if LuShi was given the proper environment and care, that they could raise him to defeat the destiny of the Sygni that had passed before.

I keep telling you that you’re wrong. Aur keeps trying to tell you to be careful. But you just won’t listen no matter what anyone has to say! You’ve always gotta have it your way or no way, don’t you?

And so, between Zemi and SaRa, the boy-Sygnus had been raised in as normal an environment that such a situation could provide. There were a million and one snags to this theory, of course. One being that LuShi was hardly accepted by the normal people of Ceiswyr – either they were afraid of him or they shunned him. But all of the winged people could feel what the silver haired boy was meant to become. It resounded through their land like the dirge of a death bell.

I just don’t get it! What do you think we have to gain by allowing the son of Zeromus to sit in on our council?!

As if she could sense exactly what was going on in the mind of her brother, SaRa glanced up with a warning ‘don’t-start-anything’ look. Zento simply lowered his brows in response, glancing at where LuShi now sat next to his eldest son. The Sygnus’ eyes were lowered, an air of nervousness clinging to him, in swaths of almost visible silver mist.

Fine. We’ll see how this plays out. But I’m not going to agree. And I’m not going to be responsible for whatever happens because of this.

With a glower, Zento picked his way across the room to his own seat, across the table from where SoYa sat, and just next to TsuYa. His wings folded properly behind him, he cast a disapproving glance up at the head of the table.

Zemi… this is all in your court.

-I’m glad that you’ve come to that conclusion.- The voice of the Dreigiau suddenly filled his mind. Though it held a bit of Zemi’s usual banter, there was a certain amount of caution, as if he knew exactly how displeased his Champion would be about the situation.

And then the Arweinydd was there, standing in front of his chair at the head of the table. His wild mane of hair hung long and free about his shoulders, except for the single wrapped lock that hung from behind one ear – a custom that had once been AsaHi’s teaching that the Dreigiau had eventually taken to be his own. His robes hung fine and rich, deep crimson inlayed with patterns of gold weavings. And on the front of his robe, the image of the gold-sheened dragon reared and fluttered with Zemi’s movement, seeming almost alive.

Perched there upon the Dreigiau’s high-backed chair was the tiny, translucent form of the white sparrow, Zeni. And at his side sat the large form of the sharp-faced she wolf, Zazo.

The Trine…

As the Arweinydd extended his hands, a pulsar ripple washed through the room, and everything hummed to life. A pale, golden-white light illuminated the chamber, spreading a pattern of circles, stars and symbols across the entire floor. Tall pillars of light shot up through the central loops of the table, the largest shaft feeding straight up through the skylight.

Zemi’s eyes were sharp as they absorbed the room, as if reading into the souls of each that sat there within the Inner Circle. His gaze lingered longest on Zento, and the winged man could feel the power working to ease the tension, soothe the irritation. The warrior jerked his face away with a grimace.

But before the Dreigiau had a chance to respond to Zento’s disgruntlement, the doors to the room burst open again. The sound of small, running footfalls pattered and echoed off the tall vaulted walls, the panting of breath causing those of the Inner Circle to turn in wonder.

“Sorry…I’m late…!” AsaHi panted, stopping to catch her breath, both hands planted on her knees. Standing just over one of the mystical glowing symbols, her face was illuminated gently from below as she pushed a number of straying locks of hair from her eyes.

“Nah… you’re just in time,” Zemi replied, motioning her to the nearest empty seat, one that had been set aside just for her.

Despite the fact that AsaHi wasn’t an Arweinydd… or one of the great leaders… or a Champion of any nation… there had never been any question on whether or not the girl was allowed to join the Inner Circle of the Trine. And the choice wasn’t just based on Zemi and SoYa’s affection for her, either.

Over the past year, AsaHi had become quite skilled as a mediator of the Assembly. This was especially true since she was the one who could talk sense into Zemi, at even the most stressed times. Though she may not have the vast knowledge or experience of Zemi or Aur or Zento, she had developed a keen sense of sympathy and understanding for the emotions of others. When things started getting out of hand, her level-headed clarity was exactly what was needed to keep people on track.

If I didn’t know better, I’d call her a mini- Athrylith.

Zento had often joked at the fact. But the truth was, she did it all without magic of any sort. Simply through her connections and affections towards others.

I’ve never seen anything quite like it. She can rough up Zemi with just a few words.

AsaHi straightened up her socks under the soft flow of her silk robes and pulled herself up into the indicated chair. She gave everyone an embarrassed, cheerful grin of hello.

I guess that’s part of what love does to people.

There was no doubt, even to simply see the way that Zemi looked at AsaHi, that the Dreigiau still loved her deeply. And yet, the most surprising thing of all was that ever since the battle between Zemi and Zeromus in the Spire of Nefol, where SoYa had risked his life to keep the Dreigiau from falling into Chaos, an understanding between the Arweinydd and the Athrylith had begun to grow.

The war going on in the lands below had also helped to pull them together. It was hard to maintain personal battles when energies had to be devoted to the all-out war that was being waged against a powerful enemy like Zeromus. Things weren’t by and large perfect – there were certainly times of tension that left the room tingling when the three were together. However, it was obvious to Zento that a friendship was forming between Zemi and SoYa out of the depths of shadowy times.

It’s hardly typical… two guys who love the same girl… becoming friends. But there it is.

And all of this was despite the fact that AsaHi had made her final choice. Though it was easy to see that she cared for both SoYa and Zemi deeply, she had somehow found a way to separate the feelings, divide them… and to place the feelings individually in her own mind. It had taken her a number of months and a ton of soul searching, but AsaHi had chosen to remain true to her Promise to SoYa.

But then, neither Zemi nor SoYa are all that typical when it comes down to it. Mind Magery and Arweinydd-ism comes in handy sometimes, after all.

As the room settled down once more, the Dreigiau gave another penetrating look about the room. Then he sat down himself, placing his hands upon the surface of the table, which began to shimmer with its own inner light. Tiny images of winged dragons seemed to caper over the wood’s polished surface for a fleeting moment before they faded.

Very nice, Zemi. Very amusing… but let’s get to the gritty of this. I want to know why that boy-Sygnus is sitting at this table.

Despite the waves of irritation that washed over him, Zento knew the question would only be answered at the Dreigiau’s leisure… if even then. So he leaned back, pursed his lips, and watched the Assembly start.

His mouth posed in a constant downward turn as if simply breathing the air within the room was an irritation.

Light knows, I hate Assemblies.

TsuYa sat at the far end of the table, a forced position that he was given in accordance to his place in the Ya family line. His mouth posed in a constant downward turn as if simply breathing the air within the room was an irritation.

It’s all a bunch of crazy creations derived straight from the mind of the Dreigiau…

Everything within the big Assembly Room felt alien. The white walls seemed to slope and descend in strange optical illusions, their faces imprinted with long drapes, colorful banners and flowering vines. There was a huge ornate skylight in the center of the room that always kept the chamber illuminated, even after darkness had fallen.

Zemi’s always gotta be a show off.

His eyes fixed on his folded hands that sat upon the table’s burnished surface. All of the furniture was crafted in strange interlocking loops, built of an unusual light-colored wood. The table had been polished to an impossible shine that never seemed to fade nor scuff no matter how many agitated fists should slam on it during heated Assembly times. The chairs sported backs open around the shoulders so that those with wings could comfortably hang them through specially placed supports.

Not that his sisters are much different. The Trine is the Trine. And they’re all a bunch of crazy Arweinydd if you ask me.

It wasn’t just the room that set him on edge, however. It was the concept of so many people gathered all in one place under focused intentions. TsuYa knew that important meetings had always been a regular part of his father’s life. And part of him would have been seriously pissed off if he had been left out of the Inner Circle of the Assemblies. Yet…

I still hate these things. Too many people. Too much noise. Nothing but bickering and bad news. When does anything ever get done?

TsuYa handled it by keeping to himself. He rarely spoke unless he was asked to give input on a situation, which seemed very rare. Zemi and Father held the most talk-time out of anyone in all the Assembly history.

They can talk all they want to, but it doesn’t change the situation much, anyhow.

People were starting to file into the room. TsuYa was early, as he always was. He liked to be able to gauge the state of mind of people as they walked through the doors. He wasn’t always the best judge of those sorts of things.

But it never hurts to see who is grouchy or who is being far too cheerful for their own good. Keeps me out of potential trouble.

A sudden tingle rushed over his body, freezing his breath within his lungs. He knew without looking who had just entered the room.

Aur…

As if the thought only served to intensify the feeling, the tingling spread out over his limbs. Finally, it condensed right around the amulet that was fastened tight around his throat. Though it was hidden from the view of all others, hanging underneath his shirt, it was hands-down the most important thing that TsuYa had ever owned.

He could feel its cooling surface pressed against his skin. And though it tingled in response to Aur’s presence, it was a small price to pay for the protection it gave. The enchantment on the amulet had become his only defense against the groping will of Zeromus that reached for him. And it held the power that could halt the progression of Marked-ness that had begun to threaten him over a year ago.

So far… it’s worked. The grey patch of skin is still there but it hasn’t spread. I haven’t had any more dreams. And even when I’ve left the Islands, I haven’t felt compelled by Zeromus at all.

TsuYa twisted the chain between his fingers at the place where it met the nape of his neck — a newer habit of his, done in idle times. At this moment, it was just done to relieve himself of the tingling that tickled his skin. Afterall, it wouldn’t be very stately to start laughing out loud for reasons totally unknown.

It’s just reacting to its maker.

Or that’s what Zemi told him the first time he had felt it.

The chain was crafted of what had been TsuYa’s long, white hair, woven and bonded through Aur’s own essence into a light-weight white metal. The amulet itself was a deep blue stone, set into a ring of the same white metal.

At the time, it had grieved him to be forced to alter his appearance so much. His hair had been the one thing that made TsuYa resemble his father the most, even after his father had disappeared. But he knew that it was a sacrifice that was too petty to complain about, considering the gravity of the situation.

Even the tingling wasn’t really much of an issue. TsuYa was rarely in the same room as Aur for very long, usually only seeing him face to face in Assemblies such as this.

Especially since he’s been sent to oversee all of the Spiral.

Aur had been the one chosen to go back to reestablish the civilization that had been brought to its knees by the removal of the Armsmaster and the Speaker. In some ways, it made a lot of sense. After all, the people of the Spiral knew of Aur as the Golden Lion and he had some authority over the population. Because of that, he had far more of a chance to succeed the position in the eyes of the people than any of the white-haired northern-clan people would have had.

Aur’s supposed to be pretty good at what he does, too. Level headed. Decisive. Gets the job done. I guess there’s not much else to ask for.

Kudako had also returned to the Spiral as aid to Aur’s rule there. Between the Dragon, the Creature and the Dreigiau, they had all been hard at work at attempting to find a means of removing the effects of the Implants from the Spiral people. And so far, they had been relatively successful.

If it wasn’t for the air-raids on Ceiswyr, they probably would have found a cure by now.

TsuYa cast a stray glance over at Aur. The sandy-haired man was taking a seat on the other end of the table, along with Kudako. Despite his origins and alleged knowledge, Aur rarely owned up to his position there among the people of the Assembly. And though he probably belonged somewhere up at the head of the table with Zemi and father, Aur was always content to put himself wherever space dictated.

The room remained silent between them since none of the three were much for talking amongst themselves. That was, until Father burst into the room. As always, he greeted everyone in the room with a huge muster of cheerful banter and warm welcome. After giving a wave towards where TsuYa sat, he managed to get the usually silent Kudako and the placid Aur both to respond in some semblance of conversation.

Let the chatter begin…

As much at TsuYa respected his father, he just couldn’t see how one so highly revered among everyone could chitchat so much… and about what seemed to be so trivial things.

I mean, we’ve got a war going on. Can we talk about the weather later?

-You’re a real stick in the mud, TsuYa,- a familiar voice rose within his mind.

He responded in a deep, inadvertent groan, “Zazo…”

-Shhh… they don’t know I’m here,- the voice chided, though no form enveloped it. -I’m not supposed to upstage Zemi by coming earlier than he does. You know what an impossible ham he is.-

“So why are you here?” TsuYa murmured under his breath, knowing she could hear the tiniest whisper he made.

-Why… for the Assembly of the Trine, of course.-

The Assembly of the Trine… it was the full name of the meetings, presided over by the three Arweinydd: Zemi and his sisters Zazo and Zeni. Ever since the coming of Zeromus, the three had been working together to suppress the forces of the Marked and to shepherd the people who remained living upon the ground to safety. The three had chosen to give themselves the name of “Trine”, though in TsuYa’s opinion, it was probably a fancy embellishment that Zemi had chosen.

“I mean, why are you coming early?” he restated the question.

-To annoy you, for one?-

TsuYa huffed. “Mission accomplished. Now, what else?”

-To see the fun, of course.-

“Fun?” he frowned. “Since when has anything that’s happened in here been fun?”

-Since the day that Zemi’s decided to allow the Sygnus to sit in on the Inner Circle,- came the bold reply.

TsuYa nearly choked on himself, voice becoming strangled and far louder than he meant for it to be, “Whaaaaaaaat?”

The group of talking men on the other side of the room paused and glanced at him curiously. Father gave him an eyebrow, “Tsu… are you okay?”

“Uh… yeah…” he slumped away from the trio of peering eyes, a pair of gold and one of green. “Sorry.”

After a moment, they went back to their talk, shrugging it off as if it had never happened. TsuYa was known for his strange, sudden outbursts ever since the Marked thing. Not to mention that he was now pestered from time to time by the voice of the Arweinydd Zazo… which was something that TsuYa soon discovered only he could hear.

Though I have no idea what she wants from me…

His dark green eyes flickered to the front of the room, digesting the Arweinydd’s last statement. He could feel a tinge of amusement in the air. Zazo was enjoying his discomfort at the news.

“Are you certain?” TsuYa finally asked.

-Wait and see for yourself,- the cheery reply filled his mind. And then, just like that, Zazo was gone.

He gave a deep sigh, “Crazy Arweinydd…”

At that moment, the doors to the room swung wide, admitting a group of people. TsuYa felt his jaw drop a bit. For as his brother, SoYa, made his way up to the table of the Inner Circle, it was easy to make out the tall, lanky form of the silver-haired boy that walked beside him. A pulse of pure aversion rushed over TsuYa’s body, his hands tightening inadvertently into fists, gripping his knees.

LuShi….

As he stepped up to the structure, a thrill of shock rushed over him.

“It felt more real in my dreams…” TsuYa murmured as the door to the chamber fell open to Zazo’s command.

There, stretching before him was the room of his nightmares, which was, much to his surprised a place that was locked deep within the lower vaults of the School itself. How TsuYa had known where to find it, he did not know. But a presence had drawn him there. It was the same presence that haunted his dreams.

And now, the room spread before him, no longer a dream. And the strange, humming mechanisms stood in the center of it all, just as it had always did. The same tubes and globes… the switchboard of lights and buttons and readings.

The scent of decay and clinging death struck his senses, seeming more surreal now than they had in the haze of sleep. The floor crunched under his boots, sticky with dried dark liquid. The air was stale and almost too heavy to breathe. A familiar dread and tingling burn itched at the dark patch of skin on his chest.

It was only when Father peered into the room from over his shoulder that Tsu remembered that it wasn’t his dream… and he wasn’t alone this time. A visible revulsion was written on the winged warrior’s face. Father had a very difficult time getting through the streets and chambers of Nefol… especially whenever they were forced to take on a group of the Marked. Watching his father’s reaction had left TsuYa puzzling at how little these things seemed to bother himself.

Maybe it’s just because I’ve seen this dream so many times. The first time I dreamt of it, I probably felt the same way.

Zazo nudged him into the chamber from behind. -What’s the holdup? This is what we’ve been looking for.-

Biting his tongue against the protest that formed in his throat, TsuYa stumbled forward, one slow step at a time. His eyes fixed upon the globe, a tightness gripping his chest in apprehension.

There’s no telling what’s inside that thing…

“Inside?” Father echoed, obviously picking up the apprehension in his thoughts.

“Father…” TsuYa shot him a disapproving look. If there was one thing he didn’t like, it was people prying into his thoughts… even if it was his own father.

The winged man gave a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry… Couldn’t help but catch that.”

-So the Sygnus-thing is inside the globe?- Zazo snuffed sharply at the strange mechanism in the center of the room.

“I think so,” TsuYa nodded slowly.

-Then we should break it open!- the she-wolf loped forward with an impending step.

“Wait, no…!” Father reached a hand up. “We don’t know if that might set off something. Or even kill whatever is inside!?”

-The point in finding the Sygnus is to kill it, is it not?- her ears perked forward, gaze deep and penetrating.

“Well…” his words were uncertain.

-This creature will bring the destruction of all that you know, ZenToYa. Don’t forget that.-

Father shook his head slowly. “I know you’re probably right, but Zemi hasn’t told us what we should do once we’ve found it. I don’t want to jump into something I don’t know about.”

-Bah!- Zazo shook her head out in disapproval. -You’re no fun.-

“Forgive me, Lady Zazo…” the winged man grimaced, walking closer to the mechanism.

-Yeah, yeah… Whatever.- she shook out the ruff of fur on the nape of her neck.

For a long moment, Father studied the control board with all of its switches and buttons and lights. A perplexed expression rose on his face, growing more and more uncertain the longer he looked. It was obvious that he had never seen anything quite like it.

Father glanced over at Zazo, “Do you know how to get it to open?”

-We could break it?-

“Aside from breaking it?”

-Nope.-

The winged man gave a long suffering sigh with an appealing look to his son.

Some good she is…

The she-wolf turned with a snuff at the Apprentice. -I heard that.-

“Well if you’d keep your nose where it belongs, you wouldn’t have,” TsuYa grimaced at her. Why he suddenly found himself gutsy enough to back-talk an Arweinydd, he didn’t know. It was just as surprising that she retorted right back.

-My nose is right where it belongs; on my face. Where else would it be?- Zazo’s tail swung back and forth, something akin to teasing.

“Nevermind…”

Father glanced over at them with a frown, “So what do you think we should do?”

Zazo paced around a few steps and finally stated, -Hit the red button.-

“Red button?” the winged man squinted at the board, then back at the she-wolf. “Are you sure?”

-Do you want to stand around all day?-

“No?”

-Then hit the red button.-

“Alright…” Father grimaced, moving his finger to carefully hover over the button on the panel. Then with a quick jab, he clicked it, yanking back again as if afraid of being bitten.

A whooshing hiss suddenly rose around them, the silvery mists churning throughout the chamber as a stream of racing bubbles traced down the long tubes that fed into the globe. A cloud of froth began to pour from the surface of the globe and the clear capsule began retract and folding back upon itself, slowly melting away from the top down.

“It’s opening?” TsuYa gaped, taking a step back.

Father glanced over at Zazo, “The red button… how did you know?”

-Easy,- she told him. -It says “release” underneath it.-

“Oh..?” the winged man turned back to the control panel, eyes brushing over the strange runes that were scripted onto its surface. No doubt they didn’t make any more sense to him than they did to TsuYa.

-Be ready. The Sygnus is released.- Zazo’s warning brought their attention back to the globe.

TsuYa’s throat tightened to match the gripping feeling in his chest.

What’s going to happen now? If this really is a Sygnus, are we doomed?  Or do the Arweinydd know something that we don’t?

The silver mists were now pouring out of the center of the globe as it folded away to its furthest extent. Silence filled the room, only the haunting fingers chilling his skin as the mist brushed past him, swirling across his vision in eerie patterns.

Father slowly crept forward, his wings folded back and hand hovering over his sheathed weapon. Carefully, his eyes probed the mists, searching to find what secret peril the globe held. As he stepped up to the structure, a thrill of shock rushed over him.

“Father… what is it?” TsuYa found his voice nothing more than a rasping whisper.

The winged man said nothing. Instead, he reached up and unclasped the cloak that hung around his shoulders. Then stooping down, cloak within his hands, he gave a soft, uncertain murmur. “Tsu…”

TsuYa drew closer, peering around his father’s side into the bottom half of the globe. His eyes widened as his eyes fell upon what looked to be…

A child…?

A young boy, who looked to be no more than four or five years old, lay cupped in the misty crescent of the globe. His skin was pale to the point of near radiance, his hair wispy and long, the color of molten silver. He did not stir even as Father wrapped the soft blue cloak around his thin body.

-This is the big, terrible Sygnus-thing?- Zazo looked somewhat disappointed. -It figures… leave it to Zemi to overreact.-

A shiver still rippled over TsuYa’s body as he peered down upon the child. The flicker of sound rose to him. A name. And he found himself speaking, “LuShi.”

“What?” Father turned with a quizzical look.

“That’s… his… name…” the Apprentice said quietly. Then he added, “I heard it in my dream.”

-”The Bane”? Oh, how pleasant.- Zazo gave a wolfish grimace. -I say do away with it. Save us all the grief that it’s going to cause.-

TsuYa’s eyes instantly flicked up to his father’s face. There was uncertainty there. And reluctance. It was easy to understand why.

If this kid really will destroy everything… then maybe Zazo is right… we should stop this before it starts.

LuShi made a quiet little sound, peaceful as he curled up within Father’s blue cloak. The mists alighted around him, giving him an air of illumination, the tiny face full of unknowing innocence.

But he’s just a little… kid…

Even TsuYa felt himself choke as he gazed down at the sleeping child. A pang of struggle rippled through his body, the same uncertainty that was mirrored in his father’s stance. And he knew that there would be no death in that room that day.

Face awash with ambivalence, Father reached down and lifted the little boy from the shifting mists. His eyes were heavy with indecision, a choice that he would be unable to make. But there was one thing that was certain.

“We can’t leave this child here… Sygnus or not. As long as Zerom has this boy in his grasp, he will be used against us,” the winged man spoke as he wrapped the child deeper within his cloak, away from the biting cold that would greet them in the outside world. Then clasping LuShi to his chest, he turned and nodded.

Just as TsuYa began to grimace, a shiver ran over the entire chamber. Something deep under his feet began to moan, shifting the ground where he stood and nearly dragging him to his knees. With a startled exclamation, he found himself knocked against the side of the mechanism.

Zazo’s ears flattened back. -That’s not good.-

“What is it?” Father’s eyes rose, peering up in concern.

-The boys are going at it.- she informed them.

As the whole Spire began to shake, trembles of stone and cloth breaking free from above, TsuYa didn’t need a definition on who “the boys” might be.

Zemi… and Zerom are fighting?

-We must move. We can’t stay here. This place might come down on our heads.-

“Let’s go!” Father was already moving towards the exit, double time. He held the boy tightly to his chest as he ran, eyes sharp on the ground ahead of him.

TsuYa followed, clutching the weight of his scythe over one shoulder. He could feel a heavy weariness falling over his body — the result of the battles earlier in the day. His footsteps seemed leaden as he struggled to keep up with the pace of the winged man ahead. And something in his chest had begun to burn…

“Aurhg…!” the Apprentice suddenly choked, doubling over as pain spiked through every limb.

“Tsu!” Father turned on his heel.

But Zazo would have nothing of it. -Fly, ZenToYa! Fly and do not turn back! You must not remain here!-

“Father!” TsuYa croaked, his voice cracking.

The feeling. He knew it. It was the mind of Zerom closing in on him.

He’s found me!

“I can’t! I’m not leaving Tsu!” the winged man protested sharply.

-I will take care of TsuYa. You have to keep going!- fangs snapped sharply, a no-nonsense snarl rising over the she-wolf’s body.

The pain increased, pulsing over the Apprentice’s entire body. And through the fog that rose in his head, he heard himself saying, “Father… go… you’ve got to go!”

-Trust me, ZenToYa!- Zazo prodded.

With a broken sound, Father staggered back a step. Then he turned on his heel and leapt into the streets. His wings unfurled as he took flight, the last glimmer of white in the dead lands.

Father….

TsuYa’s eyes misted over, the image blurring and fading away. The sound of the crumbling School rained down around him. The torture of Zerom’s Chaos ripped through him, scorching his skin like a cold flame.

As he slumped over in the darkness, his last thoughts questioned if he would ever see his father again.

“No!” he pushed away from the image, hands rising up before his face as if to shield his eyes from the terrible vision.

The burning in his chest tore TsuYa from the darkness of his sleep-haze with a sickly choke, his breath wheezing between his lips in labored gasps.

Again… this dream…nightmare… whatever…

He didn’t need to open his eyes to know where he would find himself. Part of him wanted nothing more than to remain curled in his own silence… hoping that if he did not look, did not see, the place around him would not exist. But the burning along the surface of his skin told him otherwise.

How long have I been here…?

Slowly, laboriously he forced his eyes open. Eyes that had grown as dark as the lurking shadows of the chamber’s hidden corners.

“Ahh!” TsuYa jerked back at the sight with a startled, raspy exclamation.

His reflection shown back at him from the surface of a looming glass structure — part of the strange silver globe that stood in the center of the chamber, just as it had always stood in his dreams before. Only, this time, it was TsuYa’s own image that had changed. His complexion had grown darker, skin and hair taking on a sickly shade of grey.

“No!” he pushed away from the image, hands rising up before his face as if to shield his eyes from the terrible vision.

It was then that he saw his hands before him… perfectly fine, untouched by the darkness of his reflection. With a choking hiss of breath, TsuYa flicked his eyes back to the image in the glass, only to find his reflection once more unaltered and normal. Dark green eyes peered back at him, white hair… his skin even more pale than usual from the rising of his fear.

What was that!?

Fighting to regulate the thrumming of his heart, TsuYa remained staring at the glassy surface of the cloudy silver globe. His breath came less labored as, for once in the dream state, the burning in his chest actually began to lessen.

Just a trick of the mind…

The only sounds within the chamber were his panting and the low hum of the strange mechanism that occupied the center of the chamber. The air was still and stale, not even a whisper of motion passing through the long dark streams of cloth that draped from the obscuring shadows of the chamber’s ceiling. There was still a heavy feeling of death lingering upon the stone of the walls… but it was old death, now. A haunting kind of death that shifted among the strange mists and drifted to caress the surface of the glassy, silver globe.

This place is full of mind tricks…

As the light of the globe shimmered in the depths of his eyes, there was movement from the soupy depths of the liquid within. Startled out of his self-thoughts, TsuYa jerked back in a quick crouch, ready for flight-by-instinct. Once again his pulse began to race faster, a sharp feeling of dread tingling through his limbs.

Something in there is alive..?

Each time that he had visited the dream before, there had been a presence within the globe. A presence that had continued to grow more powerful, more dreadful with each return he had made. And this time, the whole room felt tight, wound with tension and trepidation.

Nothing’s ever moved inside of that thing before…

As if in response to his thoughts, the movement came again. Just a shadow flickering from within the silver glow. The mists parted and swirled throughout the room, chilling his skin upon touch.

TsuYa found himself taking another step back. Still, he couldn’t find the will to pull his eyes from the center of the globe. A terrible fascination drew him to watch, just as all of his logic screamed through his mind in warning.

This feeling… it’s… so…

A dull thud resounded through the chamber as the shadow moved within the globe again. This time he could make out a shape… it was a tiny hand, pressing against the glass of the globe, from the inside.

A gasp escaped TsuYa’s lips as he startled back, his daze split apart through sheer surprise. Just as quickly as the shape had formed against the glass, the hand withdrew and vanished.

Another shiver wracked his body. A different sort of shiver. Not one that came from the pressing of the silver mists… but one that was familiar to him all the same.

“Welcome, TsuYa,” a voice resounded through the chamber, worming its way into his mind and capturing him at once. “I see that you have come to visit my son again?”

All coherent thought dribbled out of his ear as he found himself clumsily turning to face the vast presence, the owner of such a voice. Motion was hard, as if he was fighting for control of his own limbs. Thought was dim, his mind struggling to hold fast to his own pattern of thoughts.

A man stood there, bathed in the depths flowing shadows… a man that TsuYa had never seen before. Yet, a man he undoubtedly knew upon first glance.

TsuYa’s voice came in a hoarse rasp, the name fumbling upon his tongue, “Zer…om…”

He was tall and slender-built, dressed down in dark violet robes of fine, wispy material. His facial features were well-sculpted to an unearthly perfection, a hint of arrogance and hidden cruelty shown behind the depths of his eyes… dark eyes that seemed to go on into eternity. His hair, long and caught back in a finely woven wrap, shown a pale silvery-white that was streaked with touches of grey and black throughout.

“You have not forgotten my promise to you, TsuYa?” a slow, deadly smile slithered over the man’s lips.

The Apprentice shook his head, forcing himself to step back.

“I thought not,” Zerom moved forward, a slow, liquid motion upon the air — he had no use for walking. “There is much for you and I to accomplish yet. There is still time before my son will be ready to rise up beside us.”

Did he call this thing his son..?

TsuYa’s eyes darted towards the flickering of shadow within the silver mists of the globe.

But how is that possible?

“Yes. My son… LuShi,” one hand lifted, motioning to the globe in the center of the chamber.

A deathly cold shiver rushed through TsuYa’s mind again, rendering him speechless.

LuShi?

His mouth grew dry, stinging eyes fixed upon the globe once more, the sense of foreboding growing more and more sharp with each passing second.

In the old language… that translates to mean…

Echoes of his last argument with JouKa rushed to fill his head. The things that he had dismissed so casually suddenly reared their head at him in fierce round-about.

The Bane…

The impossibility of such a thing coming to pass shook him to the marrow. The impossibility of the creature that was encapsulated within the silver globe, just a mere few feet away, numbed his body cold. The terror of the dark being that rose before him made his soul scream out in maddening desperation.

Yet all he could do was stand there. Stand there and stare.

All this time… as I have been dreaming… Zerom has been creating this thing?

“Indeed,” Zerom’s slick, dark voice rose around him, caressing through the confusion that held him riveted to the floor. “My son will grow to mark a glorious victory for my forces. Zemi believes that the sheer number of his creations give him the advantage. But I will show him that my single creation will far outstrip anything that he could ever dream up.”

“You want to fight Zemi?” shock and surprise colored TsuYa’s voice.

“Zemi was given a warning not to do as he has done,” the voice grew all at once stern. Cold as stone. “He chose to ignore all that was said… this is something he has brought upon himself.”

“But, isn’t he your brother?”

“My brother?”  A low, chilling sound filtered through the room.

It took TsuYa a moment to realize… Zerom was laughing. Or, something that translated into what could be taken as a laugh. The sound was so devoid of true mirth, so menacing, it choked any further questions out of TsuYa’s mind.

“He ceased to be my brother when he chose to become Rhoi’r. An outcast… one banished from our people for his pride and desire of power,” the words became more distorted, a fuzzed sound around the edges, tinged with a hint of dark madness. The silvery mists began to churn throughout the room in response. “Zemi has become swayed in the grips of Chaos… one that shall be hunted till the ends of land.”

What is he talking about? Zemi… banished and hunted? How can that be?

“And you, young TsuYa. Where do you draw your lines in this battle?” the Arweinydd ‘s voice turned upon him, the full force nearly buckling his knees.

When the Apprentice found himself unable to form the words to answer, Zerom continued.

“You still have a chance, TsuYa…. the School… Nefol… everything that your father and brother are forsaking… these things can be yours.”

A sudden jolt rushed through his limbs at the words. Nefol. His home… the School… everything that he had worked for years to secure in the memory of his father. What would become of it now that the leaders had fled? What of the people… of the teachings… of his position… his birthright?

“Indeed… it should be yours. No one has cared for the establishment quite as much as you have,” the darkness purred to him, beginning to hover closer, feeding into his emotion.

“That’s… true…” the words of agreement hardly sounded like his own. So distant, TsuYa could not feel the motion of his lips as he spoke.

No…! Don’t give into this… you’ve done this before!

One slender-boned hand reached out towards TsuYa, a welcoming motion. Compelled, the Apprentice felt himself moving forward. One wobbly step towards the rising silver mists.

“It can all be yours, TsuYa… you don’t need them to tell you how it is done. You don’t need them to tell you how to live your life.”

You’ve fallen to his tricks before! Remember what happened the first time!?

His teeth bared, streams of struggling sweat trailing down TsuYa’s brow. Somewhere in the depths of his chest, the burning began again. The flickering image of his reflection, transformed — black-eyed, dark-haired – flashed through his mind.

He’s lying to you! Fight it!

The extended hand groped further, becoming less welcoming and more demanding as Zerom felt his efforts being repelled. “TsuYa… you cannot escape what you are meant to become…. my Rhyswyr.”

This time revulsion grew so strong that TsuYa’s voice exploded through him, “No! Never! I’ll never bow to you!”

“You speak as if you have a choice,” a grim smile slipped over the cold, white features. Zerom’s dark eyes focused sharply, draining away any will that might have given his prey a fighting chance.

As the Arweinydd’s fingers splayed wide, the pain within the Apprentice’s chest exploded in sharp sparks, rushing throughout his entire body. TsuYa’s head slammed backwards, reeling on the fragile length of neck as a ripping burst of wetness split open his lower cheek. His voice gurgled from gape-mouthed torment, fighting desperately to sound the agony that consumed him.

Reeling on the tips of his toes in a broken-back arch, his eyes rolling back into his skull, TsuYa felt his senses swim and scatter out of his reach. There was a scream… a scream that did not belong to him. A woman’s scream… and the feeling of movement around him in the phasing darkness that swept over his vision.

Time and again, his name was called. He felt himself shaken roughly, the pain intensifying, welling up until he could no longer bear it… an animalistic screech ripping from his throat. A sound so chilling, so inhuman… it seemed impossible that such a shriek could come from himself.

Jolted fully awake at the sound, TsuYa’s eyes flipped open and the blur of his own room in Ceiswyr slowly rose to his vision. Winged people stood staring at him from the threshold of his doorway, eyes wide with shock and fear. JouKa and Aunt SaRa stood among them, their faces reflecting the same apprehension and concern.

“Tsu…Ya…?” Aunt SaRa finally spoke, voice wobbly and wary.

He gave a low, uncomfortable groan at the sight of so many people staring at him.

“Go on, now. Get back to yer beds!” JouKa turned instantly on the prying eyes, waving them away with wide sweeps of her hands.

Slowly, the people filed out, but not without a few wandering stares in TsuYa’s direction. Finally, JouKa pushed the door shut, turning her own pale face back towards the happenings of the room.

“Hedd-ynad… TsuYa…” Aunt SaRa approached him carefully. “Are you going to tell me that this was just another bad dream, too?”

“What… are you talking about?” he grumbled, fighting to regain his senses. The room wanted to keep spinning, leaving him too dizzy to throw up his normal defenses against his Aunt’s kindly prying.

Aunt SaRa silently pulled a cloth from one side pocket. Folding it into a square, she reached out and gingerly dabbed at his cheek.

“Ow!” TsuYa hissed, suddenly aware of the terrible stinging that enveloped the whole left side of his face.

As she pulled the cloth away, he could see it was wet — covered with a thick black liquid. “I’m talking about this?”

One hand instantly shot up to his face, the stinging intensifying for one blurry-eyed moment. His fingers met with a number of long, yawning gashes that traced the entire lower area of his cheek. When he finally pulled his hand away, it too was covered with a slick black liquid.

Not… blood…

His hand began to shake as he stared down at it.

What is this…?

Gently, Aunt SaRa’s cloth was there, wiping the darkness from his fingers. And her voice broke through his panicked silence. “TsuYa… I think we need to hear what is going on now.”

Even after the darkness had been wiped away, he could not bring himself to drop his hand.

“Com’on, TsuYa. Let us ‘elp ya…” JouKa prodded, hands planted on her hips.

After a long moment of stunned silence, TsuYa looked up at them numbly, fighting back the tears that threatened to overrun his dignity. To his surprise, he heard himself choke in agreement, “Okay…”