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Chapter 4

Vethir

One of the Braende dragons attacked the human king, and the foolish creature died doing it! That's when the battle turned against our forces, they started using ballista, machinations which fire massive logs with metal tips attached, tearing many Braende and 2 of the Grishke out of the air. His lordship, VInterock the many-hunter, assures me that it will be fine, but if a child's death will get humans to kill over a dozen of the lesser dragons, what will the destruction of much of the city of Calris? We've burnt it's castle and it's slums alike, it's brothels and it's churches. Will they not be enraged? Hmm, it doesn't matter though, does it? They're mortal. They're pathetic, and they deserve what they get. Filthy rats. I wing through the air around Fort Shatter-Host, the lesser creatures look upon with what i believe to be fear. They can likely sense the rage that's filling my blood. We won, we crushed Calris's forces, killed it's child-king and razed much of it to the ground, but what sort of victory involves the deaths of a quarter of our attacking forces? I shake my head and rid myself of these thoughts, the death of lesser beings will not hault the razing of this world, nor will outrages of the mortals, however my own doubts just might. I'll need to discuss these issues with Lord Vinterock.

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Calrik the VIII

I sit with my remaining bodyguard, thankful for his enhanced senses and reflexes having saved his life, if he'd not had them he likely would have been slain just as horribly as the other one. Before us lies the sacrificial circle, the ram and the she-wolf are bound together, in such a way that will keep them from hurting one another. I sigh " did you bring the Agar, Wolfsbane and Orcanet?" He nods to me "yes, and the Aloe and Athea root." I nod back "let's get this over with, then." We begin the ritual, Branding the Ram and the she-wolf with a hot-iron, put in charcoal made of rowan wood. We burn the various plants, some we inhale, some we have the animals inhale, and the rest are just used as incense. The wolfsbane is, somewhat forcefully at first, fed to the ram. After a few minutes, the ropes burst into flames and both animals flee, completely unharmed, and of course, we hear it's voice. It's cloyingly, almost frustratingly "charismatic" voice. "Hello again, young king, young captain. How have my blessings gone to you today, hmm? Found anything capable of fighting off the being that has been destroying your kingdom?" It says with a smirk in it's voice, if not on the incomprehensible face. The burning, occasionally blocky look of him hurts the eyes. At least it's voice sounds more-or-less human, much nicer, actually. "We very well may have, Altere Wessen, but I must-" he interrupts me "-ask for advice on what to do with it, I know, I know. You know, if you just put some more confidence in yourself you'd be a magnificent king." I sigh, this is perhaps the dozenth time he's told me that "and as i've told you, I do not believe I have the skills to do it!" He just shakes his head at me, or at least that's what his voice makes it sound like he's doing "And i'll tell you right now, young king, that is precisely why you will be a good king. You understand that your actions have repercussions- which is why you keep asking a GOD to do your job for you!" And he's laughing. At least the smug creature is amused, i'd hate to see one of his bad moods. "Yes, Altere Wessen, I know, I know. Will you just listen for but a moment to your humbled royalty?" "But of course, Calrik Calris the VIII, how could I ignore it when you put it so? State your question and I will answer it. Or, alternatively, I won't. Ya Never know with me, Calrik. Even I don't!" He chuckles and i choose ot just speak before he can begin rambling. Sadly, it took me a few summonings to figure out that that was necessary. "Altere Wessen, I know the being i've found is a Skygge, and I know it could potentially defeat the lys, but i don't know what to do with it! It killed my other guard like he was nothing, but then... it didn't understand what it had done." "It's quite simple, Calrik, i'm surprised neither of you or the half elf thought of it. The Skygge is still incredibly young, not even 10 years old yet. You need to teach it, to help it grow into itself. That might take decades, but I know of a way you can... speed the process up. You just need an ambassador. Go to the Steel-Thorn Mountains, but do not go through the dark-forest or the grander-plains. Go instead through the valley of Isk-talvanark. And before you ask, young king, The dark-forest is the most likely place for you to flee to, and thus it is expected, and the plains are reinforced by the kings of other lands who have taken the raising of Calris to mean that you and your people have sinned against their god. I would suggest this, change your peoples crest to that of the young skygge, bring it to the place i have described the way i have described, and prepare for defeat. That is the only way you have any chance of victory." Before i can ask it what that means, it simply disappears. I look to my guard captain, "Tristan, what do you make of this?" And, of course, he answers me honestly "I do not know, lord, but I do know that neither of us are all too likely to make it out of that valley alive, but we should do as the wessen says, for the nation will surely fall if we don't." I sigh deeply " I was afraid you'd say that.

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Vingya

According to the newfound king we're going to need to go through the Isk-Tarvalanak to get to the Steel-thorn mountains! He ignored me when i told him both of those places are cursed, and told me it's the safest way! "If we go through the dark-forest we can get aid from elves and Untvir courts! The kingdoms that control the greater-plains are your ALLIES!" He just gives me a cold look "half-elf, my capital city was burned by the lys. They aren't my allies anymore. The Untvir expect us to go through the dark-forest, there's already word of several kingdoms declaring war on the dark forest and all of it's inhabitants. The only neutral party and the only group which is unlikely to hunt us and place for us to be looked for is the primian tribes of the Isk Tarvalanak valley, and the Steel-thorn mountains have a cache of weaponry, armor, and magical artifacts we can use." I glare at him "i'd personally prefer our, supposed, enemies have to hunt us through the defense of the Untvir court and the elves, and NOT to be eviscerated in the Isk-Tarvalanak valley! Running onto someone's sword is healthier than going their! Plus! Plus only the Forest has omnipresent darkness! The skygge won't be able to go through the other routes!" I give him a smug grin. The impudent little mongrel just rolls his eyes and points at the wagon "you do realise it won't have to walk the whole way right? And that wagons have coverings. The Isk-Tarvalanek will be safe for us, half-elf, I would stake my kingdoms fate on it." I scoff at him, royal title be damned. "I'm worried more about my life then your kingdom!" Of course, that's when Vinkiir starts talking "Vingya, this might be a learning experience for you, and even if it isn't we're more than a match for any barbarians or what-not. And even if you're not, your life isn't important anyway, so it doesn't matter." Thankfully, Calrik, of all people, cuts her off "if you'd prefer it, half-elf, you can ride in the carriage with the Skygge. And the full-elf won't be going." He glares at her "we don't need anyone who thinks a sentient life is worthless coming with us."

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Auvith

The elf and the human missing an arm are arguing about something, the elf is screaming at him and he's giving her a cold look. The shadows are telling me that now's the only chance I have of helping the half-elf. I decide that that's probably a good idea, so I ask the shadows how i'm supposed to help her. They tell me that the "full" elf thinks that half-elves aren't people, and that the only thing greater than her is... me? The one armed human believes the "full" elf shouldn't come with us to where we're going. I decide rather quickly whom to side with, so I go and sit by the human, and hope that my meaning is understood.

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Calrik the VIII

The skygge started talking to the shadows of the room. Mine and the elf's shadow moved unnaturally and began talking to it... the elf seemed to be far less disoriented by this, but far more confused when the SKygge looked at her the way it did, muzzle scrunched and eyes squinted in disgust and confusion. It quickly turned from her and marched up to me, sitting by my side... "it seems he's made his choice, druid." She nods, and goes over to grab the girl, Vingya, when the Skygge rushes into action. I don't know which of us was more surprised by it's actions, although i have a feeling the high druid was most disturbed by them.

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Vingya

I'm shocked when, not only has the prince stood up for me, but the skygge did as well! Vinkiir looks... infuriated. She marches towards me and from the smoldering, hateful look I can tell that i'm not likely to live my full lifespan. Hell, i'm probably not going to see the next morning... but then the skygge bolts over between me and her it's mouth open, fangs and teeth bared, and hisses at her. She quickly gets the message and, fuming, rushes out the door, grinding her teeth. I can hear her turn back into her bird-form and fly away, wings flapping loudly. The skygge keeps glaring at her the whole time until she's out of the door and still is looking out it. I... I don't know how to thank it, so i just sit down next to him and hug him to my chest. This creature... it just saved my life. I don't know how i'll thank it, but i swear to myself that I will do so in the time I have in this world. It feels the tears running down my cheeks and into its fur and, looking me in the eyes, licks the moff of me. A creature worshipped by numberless masses is acting like a puppy, and just saved my life... I'd consider writing about this but i doubt even I would believe me.

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Chapter 5

Neithid

I watch the human children, a half a dozen, they're fishing I think. They use poles with bits of string and hooks on them to get their fish, and some are using nets on the end of sticks. I don't understand why the land-siders don't just go into the water, it's not that deep here and the current isn't fast, there isn't much danger. I sigh to myself and shake my head, i'll never understand the humans, and it's incredibly unlikely that they're the ones i'm looking for. They fill some rivers with filth but nothing to the scale I'm looking for. Perhaps i'll find better luck in the next stream...

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Ktarl-arl

I watch the dwarves in their mountain. The Uhk-vul-nath tribe is attempting another siege, none seem to understand how deeply entrenched the dwarves are in that mountain. Their shell-crackers rarely hit, but when they do the devastation caused to one of the Kat-ravale is devastating. I shake my head, the uhk-vul-nath tribe is doomed to destruction. They do not have a second-born to lead them, all of them are grey with a lack of experience. They will do this petty-war for but a drop of liquid chaos. It will kill them, their greed. Why must I watch their deaths? I think i may head to the coast soon, get some water of Kulash in me, that will help with my burdens. As I turn away I see and am reminded once more of why they wage this petty war, a black-shell spots me and snarls, clicking his mandibles at me before sending more of his tribe to their deaths. I do not know it's motivations, but I would wager some of them are based off of ignorance of the dwarves. They are individually small, but their numbers are far larger, and they have defended that gate since before most anyone can remember. I fear that endless lives will be lost, all for want of a resource that might not even be there anymore. I clack my pincers at the black-shell before leaving, a small part of me hopes that it takes offense and decides to fight me. That part of me is disapointed.

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Calrik the VIII

We've headed on our way. I've sent instructions to the nobles and the seneschal of the keep at Calris. We've already managed to get within a few miles of the Isk-Tarvalanak valley. We'll be meeting with a Steel-thorn envoy near the entrance of their city. The only troubles we should face are the natural ones, I hate to admit it even to myself, but the half-elf is right. The Isk-Tarvalanak has an incredibly fast strong-current river, filled with jagged rocks. The sides of the canyon crumble constantly, sending boulders down onto travelers daily. There have been reports of some dragons nesting in the valley every decade or so, usually the treasure-hoarding ones, but they usually end rather abruptly. The only reason anyone even goes through here is becasue of how valuable it is to black-markets and thieves, and some mercenaries are trained here. If even dragons can't survive here, those who can must be fairly tough. "My lord, we have perhaps a days travel further" I nod to him "thank you Tristan, we can camp here for now" he nods to me and tells the others "halt, we're camping here tonight!" And the few other men we have with us begin setting up their tents. I head into the carriage and immediately have my eyes assaulted with the sight of vingya doing something to the skygge's claws. "What are you doing?" Of course she glares at me "i'm painting her nails!" I look at her, probably looking comically foolish, "how do you know it's not a he?" She rolls her eyes like i'm some sort of daft-peasant who needs to be told how to spell his own name "i checked for bits and didn't find a sheath or anything in the fur, just a slit!" I smack my hand against my fice and try to hold in a deep sigh "you do realize that a dragon's "bits" ,as you called them, would be like a lizards, which are inside, right?" She gives me that look again "lizards. Don't. Have. fur. " I decide to drop it at that before she starts her infernal yelling. The poor creature in its eternal curiosity must have gotten bored whilst me and her were talking and is currently sniffing the nail-polish " you may wish to stop it before it-" and of course that comes to late, it stucks it's tongue out and into the liquid and then starts trying to spit it out. Of course this offends VIngya to no end "oh come on! Have you a clue how valuable that stuff is!?" The poor creature is hit with a pillow by vingya and it rushes towards the door "close that! It's nails need to dry!" She grabs it's tail and i, reluctantly, close the door. I hope it understands the near infinite sympathy i try to convey through my eyes.

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Auvith

This disgusting tasting stuff the half-elf's been putting on my claws is still wet, when i tried to get away from her bashing my head with a pillow the human slammed the door shut as she grabbed my tail. At least the human looked sorry for it. She's yelling at me, something about my claws. After what feels like an eternity the human and half-elf are asleep, so i head outside. It's so nice and colorful here, the bright thing in the sky sheds a bright-grey but not too bright a light upon the world. It's so nice, there's a breeze and everything. This world is so so so much nicer than the world i've come from. It's all so big and there's so much of it all... Sometimes i wonder if i'll ever be able to go back there?

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Auvith

We're in some sort of crevice deep in the earth, there is a loud thing full of crashing water, and many sharp-looking stones within it, we've gone through here 2 cycles of bright and less-bright, but they've not let me out since we got here, likely afraid i'd hurt myself in the "river". I'm half awake, but i've got a bad-feeling about something. I hear something above us, barely loud enough to be heard over the crashing of the river. It sounds vaguely like a hiss, but also somewhat like the cracking of pebbles underneath things holding up the carriage. The shadows tell me that something horrible will happen if I don't act. I make as much noise as i can, knocking stuff over, things like that. When they get up I try forcing them out of the moving-box, when it stops and the human steps out, a massive rock falls onto the front of it and after that I just sorta, black out again, it all goes so quickly... all i remember is a blur of movement and noise.

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Carthin

The royal convoy was s'posed to be at Steel-tooth days ago, but they haven't shown up, so i've been sent to see if they died in the valley, the daft fools decided to go through 'ere for some reason. Probly' to make a statement o' some kind. I see some wreckage up 'head, seems pretentious enough a carriage to be royalty. Horses and the driver all dead, some soldja's to. No sign a' royalty, but 'e was prolly in the carriage. I sigh deeply, just what we need, prolly gon' have another one of those succession wars, might come to us and blame dwarves, more problems than imaginable. I've already gotten all the way out here though, so i may 'swell camp here for the night, thankfully the rocks that fell were the only ones above 'im, so it should be fairly safe to stay in the wreckage. Off to the side i see a broken looking shield sticking out from under a boulder. I shake my head and bed down for the night.

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Vingya

I slowly open my eyes, my head hurts so much, like a woodpecker is trying to get at termites from inside my skull! It's so dark, but I can see something, the light-green of the Skygge's eyes seems to be the only thing in the world... oh... oh my god.... She saved my life... I slowly sit up and look around. The air is filled with dust, it looks like some rocks fell into the entrance of... wherever we are after we got inside, the skygge, me, and the royal look like the only ones who made it. Speaking of the royal, it looks like he's coming to too. He slowly gets up rubbing at his eyes with his hand. "Ugh... am I dead?" i roll my eyes "not yet, but i can arrange it if you'd like." He groans again "is the skygge okay?" I look it over, the fur is dusty but i don't see any blood or anything, no marks on it but... oh son of a-! The nail-polish is all chipped off! "She's fine but her nails are all chipped!" "Are you kidding me half-elf? That's the LEAST of our worries right now!" He groans before adding "do you see some way out of here? If not we're gonna die in here sooner or later" "honestly kingling, i'd prefer not to think about my potentially imminent death. We need to wait for a little bit anyway, my head is killing me and i can't see anything!"

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Auvith

The human and half elf seem to have finished yelling at each other for now. I decide to look around this cave some, it's been awhile since i've been in a place as dark as this, but I grew up in one so my eyes adapt fairly quickly. The way we came in seems to be blocked by rocks, but opposite of that is a small little path. I decide to go along it, the others will come along when they're ready. I just hope they don't yell when they do so, i'm beginning to think they don't hear how loud they are as well as I do.

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Calrik the VIII

That stupid skygge had left us behind, but i managed to cobble a torch together with my sword and shirt, having VIngya light it with her magic. The flash of light from it hurt our eyes so we had to wait a minute or two but we've managed to go a considerable distance in the mean-time. It seems this place is ancient, perhaps part of a temple? There is some sort of scrawling on the walls, "hey Vingya, do you understand this scrawling?" I can almost hear the smirk in her voice "no, royal, i don't speak ancient gibberish, don't learn that until 8." She pauses for a moment before saying "let's hurry up, the skygge shouldn't go so far ahead..." it takes every ounce of training i've been given not to start arguing with her. She should be glad that i'm not more like my great grandfather, he'd have likely let her be taken, and even if not he'd gut her for talking to him like this.

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Auvith

The shadows are loud in this place, all talking over one another, but it seems like these shadows don't know me like the ones in the old world did? They call me "lord" and "young god"? I don't know what a god is, but i don't think i want to be one. It sounds like gods think they're better than others, but i'm no better then the shadows. They tell me things, that sound like songs but not quite, weird little sets of words that sound important "as the sun was brought down, the fall was quick, the moon did rise, and mortality grew thick" and "Rise lords and ladies of the coast's, be prepared for your oceans will be poison, and your souls may be lost! Rise to the fore of Praeter and Sidhe, and prepare yourselves for entrance of Vykreve. Pray to life and shun death, or be swallowed by plague." They tell me these are the prophecies that are scratched onto the wall. I don't understand what a prophecy is but they seem important somehow, like they involve lots of people's lives or their futures... I don't quite feel right about these things, they seem large and encompassing, It makes me feel... small and unimportant. I don't like this feeling. The shadows keep talking, but i don't think i want to know what they're saying, it seems so strange. Part hopeful and part sad.

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Calrik the VIII

Me and Vingya have gone through this tunnel for something around 15 minutes. I'm beginning to worry that this place might not have an end. "Vingya, do you think that, if this tunnel doesn't have an end, that you might be able to break open the entrance?" she snorts in what i have to guess would be derision "you don't know much about architecture or mining, do you?" I snort in what i hope sounds like derision "i wear finery and wield a sword, not rags and a pick, what do you think?" she rolls her eyes and says "well king, if you did know anything about them you'd know that there's always a second exit near the end, in case of a cave-in." "and if there's been 2 cave ins?" she waits a second "well, i didn't say the practice was foolproof." I groan and say " you haven't answered my question about whether or not you'd be able to blow the entrance open." she doesn't answer the question and instead says "hey i think i see the skygge, lets hurry ______________________________________________________________________________

Auvith

I've entered some sort of room with the floor lower than that of the corridor i've come through. There are several indentations in the ways with pillars holding up the ceiling here, a small amount of light comes down through the ceiling. It seems like if it were somewhat brighter it would be painful, but is otherwise the perfect level of light. In the center of the room is a creature that almost hurts my eyes to look at, it's all blocky and smoky, like it doesn't belong here. It speaks in a way that i can understand at least "hello, child-god. I see you've arrived safely, which means that fate has deigned to allow you to continue your fight. Although, i guess that doesn't make much sense to you, does it? If I were in your position i'd likely not see the strings and connections and would call it chance. Thankfully for me, though, I'm not in your position! Hehe, " it shakes what i assume to be it's head "anyway, you've entered a sepulcher, one of 3 such sepulchers, one is here, obviously, one is in the Untvir part of the sidhe, and another in the Vaknir side. The Untvir one is aligned to shadow, and thus to you, the Vaknir one is aligned to light, and thus the Lys, and this one is neutral. Your third and least alignment will be granted to you hear and, because i'm not quite as neutral as this shrine, and because I like underdogs, i'm going to grant you a gift. Something to help you catch up to the lys on your journey, though it might not be particularly useful, depending on how you use it. Just remember that normally i'd make you jump through a bunch of hoops and even then only give you some frustratingly vague or difficult to remember advice." it presses something against my forehead and my eyes become heavy, it's so difficult to keep them open that i just stop fighting it and shut them. On the inside of my mind i see something, and odd image, a table with 2 diagonal lines going down towards the center, and 2 going up and towards the center, with small curved lines surrounding it. I slowly fall to the ground, and slip into darkness.