P.S.S. "The Legend Of The Primal Keys"::Ch.1- A Bit Of Deception [Completed IC]

[K_H]

"I was never a part of the Church, so i'm eager to help you out in any way Possible, Stratos. My name is Ko'luki, and i specialize in the Technology of Wyrm-Fire. I've done a lot of R&D, so there's quite a few designs for Weapons back at my Laboratory in the Countryside. One such Weapon is what I call a Handheld Explosive Device, or HED for short. If i need a bit more range, i use my HED Launcher, which i affectionately call Hilda."

when he said this, he patted the Crossbow hanging from his belt.

[Sutoratosu]

Somewhere on the streets of the White Town District...

"So, you say that the Papacy has fallen?" Lucian asked, leaning back nonchalantly against the stone wall of the small trinket shop behind him. his company were gathered around their sudden visitor, guns at their sides, but still ready to fire the moment their lord commander might order them to. Cardinal Morsey's face scrunched in anger as he heard the almost whimsical tone of Lucian's voice... Things were falling apart as they spoke, the Church itself was under attack, and yet to this arrogant officer, it seemed as if he'd just been told something as meaningless as 'Horses go nay.'

"Yes!" He called frantically "And from the information I can gather, it seems as though you are the highest ranking officer left alive!" he stepped forward and gripped the man by the lapels, his eyes pleading with him to take this with even a modicum of solemness "You must take over the command and direct our defenses!"

The Gun Slinger simply laughed at the old man's baying, shoving him away as he retorted. "Defenses? I see no defenses here, good sir. if what you say is true, this night is already lost." Moresey's face lit up in surprise at hearing these words.

"No defenses!?" he shouted in anger "What the hell do you mean 'you see no defenses'? You are the damn defenses! you are a member of the army of the Sky Lord, you swore to defend the faith with your very life!"

The Look on Lucian's face remained infuriatingly jocular and playful "alright, Old timer..." he began "Tell me then, If I'm to defend this city, then who, may I ask, am I going to be pitting my life against tonight?"

"You'll be pitting your worthless life against ME if you don't start taking this seriously, you little whore son!"

"Well... now, Cardinal... that is no way to speak to a man who you are beseeching to defend your fine... religious establishment, now is it?"

"I've far fouler things to say, and do, to you if you and your company don't get your sorry asses to the Holy citadel and destroy the Sky Slayer and his cohorts!"

At that moment, Lucian's face became quite intrigued. "The Sky Slayer, you say?" he asked "As in, the Stratos Valgiri, man who slew god himself?"

"YES!" morsey shouted, his face beginning to turn red with flushed anger. Lucian simply simply stared at the man for a moment, that carefree glint still in his eyes. then the smirk on his mug grew darker.

"Wrong Answer." he explained simply.

"What are you tal-" Before morsey could even get the sentence out, Lucian had whirled out a small fusil equip with a long barel, one of the lesser known flint lock models, and was pointing it directly inbetween Morsey's eyes. the commander had an unreadable expression on his face as he looked the Cardinal straight in the eyes, soaking up all the fear that was there.

"Nothing personal, but..." he pulled the hammer back and fired the fusil, sending a ball of hot lead flying out of the barel and lodging itself deep inside of Morsey's skull. twin trails of blood leaked out of the wound as the man's eyes rolled back and he fell over, dead on the street. Lucian tucked the pistol away in his armor. he glanced down at Morsey's cooling corpse.

"I'm afraid that me and my subordinates no longer work for you... and we can't have any loose ends, like a witness to our desertion and betrayal... now can we?" With that said, he turned his attention to his men.

"Alright fellows," he called "Time to Shed the colors of the Church Army! We work for the Sky Slayer as of tonight!" The men shifted in their places as they followed his orders, removing their doublets and casting them to the stones of the street before standing at attention before their leader.

"Good," Lucian said "Now then, why don't we all go pay a visit to our new employer!" The men all cheered and marched off behind him as the Gun wielder made his way towards the holy citadel... all the while, Lucian was thinking about how interesting things had just gotten. he had never gave a flying damn about the Church or this religion of theirs, he'd only been in this gig for the Myta, and everyone of his men had similar feelings. there they had been, the most disloyal unit in the entire Army, they'd just been waiting for someone to come along and offer them a potentially larger gain. and tonight of all nights, they'd found it. Stratos Valgiri... the men who killed god himself, apparently twice, one might add. By far, he had to be the most powerful thing ever to walk the earth, and where there was power... wealth was usually close by, or at least some potential benefit for service... And Lucian and his little band of Fusil wielding deserters intended to earn what ever benefits Stratos might have to offer them.

In the Papal Alter...

(Kenny, Super, Chimchain)

"Very well then," Stratos nodded as Ko'Luki stated his intentions to fight alongside him "I am sure that your weapons will be of use to us." as he spoke, his hair noticeably lost a degree of it's white coloration, fading to a dull, Murky grey hue. his eyes began to again flicker, flecks of green beginning to show through the golden glow. Stratos seemed not to notice the change... though Atton and Boho had, and were now exchanging puzzled glances.

Sinbad's Group

(Hukuna, Dobby, Exlink, Typhlosion)

It was not long before the four men managed to find their way through the carnage inside the Holy citadel. needless to say, the place was a complete mess. bodies upon bodies of dead Church soldiers littering every floor, many of them with wounds characteristic of a sword or some type of magick conjuration. but by far, the worst scene was the Central hall of the Citadel. the entire room was covered in a thick layer of soot, the floors and lower parts of the walls and twin staircases were scorched, a gaping crater in floor. hanging from the ceiling was a chandelure which seemed to be hanging by a weakened chain, now

held in the air lopsided, several of the candles spilled onto the floor far below and broken. it was almost as if someone had been standing on it...

They all made their way up the Papal staircase, soon coming to the door way leading to the roof. they stepped out of the stair well one by one, seeing six men total standing there: A hunter, an Ekarder, and an Alchemist, none of which any of the men recognized. but there were familiar faces here. Gideon could recgonize Atton and Sinbad Boho as the two stood nearby on the floor of the Papal Alter. But there was one man here who stood out amoung the other five... his hair had faded to a murky gray for some reason, but his eyes still retained a golden glow for the most part, though it seemed dimmed... either way, this man matched the desciptions and legends nearly to the letter...

Standing there... was none other than Stratos Valgiri, former champion of the lord turned traitor and global criminal... or so everyone had made him out to be over the centuries.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Stratos

[Ragnar]

On their way up, after seeing the carnage. Gideon quickly withdrew his swords and was very aware of the situation, The turk said nothing to the group as he looks at the dead bodies on the staircase and remains on guard as they make their way into the top.

Gideon enters the door leading to the rooftop and was surprise, six other man are standing there, two of them which he recognize. "Atton? Boho?" he muttered.

The swordsman removes his facemask, steps forth and begins to talk. "Love what you have done with the place, dead bodies everywhere with the walls painted red and the air smells with rust." The turk wryly said.

Gideon quickly changes stance holding his two swords in a menacing manner, one of which he holds like an ice pick. "Now care to explain what' the fuck is going on or should i continue your decor on this roof!?" like always, Gideon was very volatile. He looks around and notice the man with the golden eyes. Gideon was a bit intimidated, but he was not gonna show fear in this situation as he remains on his highest guard.

Edited August 24, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I suggest you calm your tongue Gideon, these aren't men you should be pointing a sword at lightly." Sinbad said. "Especially, him." Sinbad said as he pointed towards Stratos. "A Legend in the flesh, eh? Must be something pretty important if you are here, not everyday the dead once again walk the earth. Oh and nice to see you again Boho, sorry, you should know an adventurer like myself wouldn't be able to stay away."

[Chevaleresse]

Matrim brought the man into the building, looking for a place to set him down so he could be attended. "Do you know this young man?"

[Aurorix]

Zolivar was appalled to see all these dead and wounded people everywhere, and didn't expect to see six men still standing on the top of the staircase. Then he started to fell thirsty and remembered he still had his bottle of ale and proceeded to drink in in front of the all the men, he was too thirsty to care about being polite, though he was never really ever polite at first.

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Octavia followed after and closed the door, breathing a silent but deep sigh of relief as they entered on time, she was extremely worried the whole way over. Worrying about the possibility that there was another sniper and worrying that they might not make it in time. They seemed in the clear now, somewhat, and that was a bit of relief.

Taking in the room, Octavia immediately recognized the elderly apothecary, though she really had to get used the fact that she seemed to be everywhere. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Octavia probably would have jumped out of her skin from the Lady's mysterious voice that came out of seemingly no where earlier. Not to mention the way the bolt seemingly moved on it's own. Looking at the fourth person in the room, of who she didn't at all recognize, she assumed him to be the reason the were there, seeing at how Eric's mentor temporarily mended, but was unable to fix Eric up. Regardless of what or who, however, Eric had better make a full recovery because she would probably be unable to forgive herself otherwise. Or Eric for that matter.

(Sorry it's rough, though it should be mentioned that it's 12:15am right now xD)

[Felicity]

Darius was conflicted. His surroundings combined with the presence of Stratos and all the tales told by his sister screamed at him to charge the man and take him into custody. At the same time, tpse that he would take the man too were standing there calmly. So Darius took the simple route. "Legend or not, Is Stratos the man we seek this night? Needless to say, I have my qualms with workin with him if that is he case" the question had been posed to anyone with an answer

[K_H]

"Needless to say, Stratos isn't the man we seek. Instead, we need to find someone else."

Ko'luki turned to Stratos.

"Who is currently in possession of the Primal Keys?"

[Sutoratosu]

IN THE PAPAL ALTER...

(Kenny, Supernovae, Chimchain, and Sinbad's group)

Stratos watched as this new group burst onto the scene... some of them were just damn insolent. one of the men, a Turk, was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. another man, a knight, seemed to be another of those moronic superstitious types; the types who would fling shit and flaming pitch at him whenever they learned what his real identity was... yeah, working with this one would be fun... like hell it would. The Sniper seemed to be the most level-headed and sensible man in the group of four, though this could easily be explained by him appearing to be a decade or so older than any of his young cohorts. Stratos decided right then and there that he was going to ignore the other three fellows since they'd been so disrespectful right off the bat, and address any questions and answers he might have to the Sniper alone. He did however, make an exception in this rule and glared right at the Turk, still in a fighting stance.

"Put the damn swords away," he snarled. "There's no one here who is going to fight you, so stop the act." He then glanced over at Ko'Luki.

"And to answer your question," he reached over and took the journal from Trsytane, holding it up for them all to see "I'll get to that after we have a bit of persuasion with our visitors here. since my reputation is complete shit, of course I must offer physical proof for every word that comes out of my mouth"

He took a single step forward, intending to hand the Journal to the Sniper for him to read, then he stopped mid stride, remembering the three volatile fools following behind the older man. He turned to Boho, not having to say a single word. Boho got what Stratos was thinking. he stepped forward himself, taking the book from the Sky Slayer and handing it to Sinbad. Stratos was sure that if he himself had done it, then there would've been an attack from someone in the group, so seeing as Boho seemingly knew the leader, he was the best choice to hand him evidence. the Deputy returned to where he was before after handing the journal to Sinbad. Stratos began to explain the significance of the book in his hand.

"That is the Journal of Rodac Y. Tactalli," he said "you all should know his name, he was the first high priest of the theocracy. And he was also the first to stumble upon the truth, four thousand years ago, long before I came along and acted on the knowledge he obtained. That journal is his personal account, his diary. it begins during the darkest days of the Nix war, and goes all the way through to his days as high priest, where the account ends abruptly and suspiciously, as if the writer were murdered in the middle of penning the text. you will see what I mean, flip to the last few pages of the journal, that is where the truth lies."

((I have already stated in an earlier post the text that is inside the journal.))

Murdoc & Snap

Muya snapped her fingers and a cot appeared before her.

"Know him?" she asked rhetorically "I practically taught the boy everything he knows." with that said she stepped out of Matrim's way, giving him space to place Erick down... well, more of glided out of his way, really, and moved to Aaron

"Show me your palms," She ordered. Aaron was hesitant at first. "Damn it, boy! If he dies because you're going to bitch and moan abiut how unfair your life is, then I'll take the Primal keys from you and go kill Rossephus myself!"

"Go ahead," Aaron said coldly. Samiel glared at the boy.

"Divinius!" He roared, as to whose name he was shouting, it was unclear... until Aaron turned and looked at him with a confused look.

"Are you...are yelling at me?" he asked

"Yes, Divinius," he said "that is your true name, the name I gave you the day you came into the world. Now show her your damn palms, if you don't, you'll be committing murder."

Relunctantly, the boy did as his 'father' ordered, showing Muya both his palms. She examined them carefully, as if looking for something, yet unable to find it. She looked over at Samiel, who simply nodded, knowing what to do. The next words that came out of his mouth were cold and in a monotone voice, devoid of emotion.

"I never wanted you, you know. that is why I got rid of you."

Aaron...no, Divinius shot a harrowing glare at the man, his anger rising "So you did abandon me! You lied, you didn't have any orders then, did you, you bastard!?" as his emotion's rised, however, Muya finally found what she was looking for on the lad's palms, two symbols, one on the Left hand, and one on the right each one glowed with a bright hue, a fiery scarlet for the first symbol, and a dark blue for the second one:

She griped the boys wrists, preventing him from moving away.

"Set him down!" She again ordered Matrim. the symbols faded away after a few seconds, but that was fine, she just needed to know which hand was bearing which key, and now she did with complete certainty.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Stratos

[Ragnar]

"Put the damn swords away,There's no one here who is going to fight you, so stop the act."

Gideon looks back with fierce in his eyes, not backing down from the stare, gazing into Stratos' golden musk eyes, building tension. Somehow Gideon felt his heart raising and flinched, he couldn't maintain his eye contact towards the city's legend. "Fine." Gideon sighed and looks away, the Swordsman come to his senses and sheathed his swords, He went near the door and leans on the wall, waiting on further orders.

Edited August 24, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Felicity]

After Stratos was done with speaking Darius spoke up, annoyed that the man had jumped to assumptions himself.

" I said I didn't like the idea of working with you, not that you were the scum of the earth. You over sensitive prat" Darius's mood had certainly soured. He was eager to see the book nd learn some solid information about this situation.

[Sutoratosu]

IN THE PAPAL ALTER

Stratos stood silently as the Knight addressed him with a sour tone to match his words. there was a flicker of something in his eyes just then... it was anger. The black and white electricity beginning to course down the length of his Spear proved as much. "Worthless little fuck..." He thought to himself as he glared at Darius. "You're damn lucky that Rossephus wrecked my arm..." He refrained himself from voicing these thoughts, but they were plain as day on his face. Boho saw the rage beginning to rise there, and cast a glance at Atton, whom promptly moved behind Stratos, ready to hold him back from striking anyone dead if necessary... afterall, it wouldn't be very good for their cause to go killing off potential allies just because they didn't know when to hold their tongues sometimes...

[Aurorix]

Zolivar was tired of all this hate and gloom in the air, though he did cause some he wanted to try and make people less likely to kill each other,

"Ok everyone just calm down, we all have our reasons for being here and may not want to speak of them, but while we keep bickering the perpetrator is getting father and farther away. I'd rather spend the time working out a plan then trying to slit throats, i think we can all agree."

[Chevaleresse]

The bard did so, looking about confusedly. He was certain he had read something about what these people were talking about, but as of right now nothing was coming to him. Matrim tried to stay polite through his confusion, however. "Is there anything else this old man can do for you?"

[Felicity]

"Ok everyone just calm down, we all have our reasons for being here and may not want to speak of them, but while we keep bickering the perpetrator is getting father and farther away. I'd rather spend the time working out a plan then trying to slit throats, i think we can all agree."

"Fine, though Obviously we're not all familiar with each other. My name is Darius Renalim, Knight of the Sword"

[Sutoratosu]

Murdoc & Snap

"Nothing besides just standing back and watching," Muya said. she grabbed Aaron and dragged him behind her as she glided back over to Eric's cot. she seized the young man by the right wrist, looking him in the eye, deadly serious.

"Place your right hand on his shoulder," she ordered.

"Why?" Aaron asked. apparently, he still felt like being a bit difficult.

Muya simply replied by grabbing the boy by the nape of the neck and forcing him to look at just who was lying in the cot. His eyes lit up with surprise as he noticed that for the first time... it was an old friend of his... Eric. Aaron slapped muya's hand off of him, reaching down and doing just as she had told him to. he quickly found the wound that the young man was sporting, and positioned his right hand over top of it, as if applying pressure, which at this point was beginning to become necessary again...

"Like this?" he asked.

"Yes," Muya said "Now focus."

"I am focusing." Aaron said.

"No your not," Samiel interjected "You're still being difficult"

His words seemed to spur the youth to shut his mouth for now. he concentrated on his palm and Eric's wound, just to shut the both of them up. a few moments passed, then a faint blue glow issued from under his palm as electrical arcs began to course along the back of his hands. there was a strange tingling sensation there as he concentrated harder, the glow growing more intense.

"what now?" he asked Muya

"Tell the Omega to heal him," she said "It's not much different than using Magick."

Aaron returned his attention to the task at hand... like using magick? alright... seems simple enough. He tapped into all the anatomy lectures Samiel had given him over the years, willing the Omega to first mend the shattered bones in Eric's arm and shoulder, then radiating his focus outwards after that, piecing the torn muscles and ligaments back together and rebinding them to the bone. it wasn't long before he moved on to repairing the artery that had been severed by the bolt... and then Eric was fine. He removed his hand from his friend's shoulder, now there was not even a trace that he'd ever been injured besides a hole torn in his shirt... and a heavy amount of blood staining on the cot and Eric's clothing. He took a step back, looking down at his hand. a strange symbol was still pulsating with deep blue light there. It faded after a few seconds. Aaron was a bit surprised at how well that had gone. He'd completely reversed the injury, hadn't even broken a sweat doing it... if these "Primal Keys" he'd been given could do this...who knows what else might be possible with them? He let his hand drop back to his side as Eric began to stir on the cot.

"Oc...Octavia...?" he called weakly

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I see." Sinbad said. "However, I personally did not need some book to tell me where I stand. I never had love for this church." Sinbad paced over to the others of his group, his boots landing heavily on the ground. He handed the journal to Darius. "Read this, I think it will help to ease your mind on the subject, goes for you as well Gids, and you." he said pointing at Zoliver as he still didn't know his name. "I am sure we will all be in agreement after you have done so." Sinbad said, spinning one of his custom bolts in between his fingers.

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Oh all the questions, her face held a faint mixture of confusion and curiosity underneath her concern. Primal keys? Exactly who do they plan to kill? Under what circumstances did this guy not know his real name? What were those glyphs earlier? What was this Omega? How could anything but magic do what she just saw? How could anything but magic heal a wound that dire and leave not a mark? Octavia's thoughts and questions fell to the back of her mind as Eric stirred, however.

"Oc...Octavia...?" She stood silent for a moment. First thing out of Eric's mouth after nearly dying is the name of a person he had barely just met. Well, okay, so perhaps she should have given him more credit. The first thing out of his mouth after nearly dying was the name of the person he had just saved. It had still caught her off guard, Octavia figured the better thing to say would be a "where am I" or a "what's going on?" but then again... this was also the same person who had pushed her out of the way of a bolt and stepped right infront of it's destination.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, scratching the side of her head and shifting her weight on her feet. Octavia was just glad he was alright now.

[Felicity]

Darius quickly read through the book, taking it in. Once he was done, he passed the book on. "Very well, I'll lend my sword." Darius turned to Stratos once more. " I owe you an apology Sky Slayer. I'm sorry for my words, and also for what had to be done, though I find myself wondering how much of the tales are true." The words were salty in his mouth but Darius knew to own his mistakes. He had been taught better than to hide from them. He still harboured some resentment. A man willing to betray, even for a worthy cause went against Darius' own ideals but in the light of what the journal had revealed, he could let it ie for the time being.

[Ragnar]

After Darius finished reading the book, Gideon toke it from the Knight's hand, and started reading. His eyes couldn't believe what he just reed as his eyes went back and forth reading the book in disgust.

"Ok ill bite." Gideon said after finishing the book. "So let me get this straight, you mean to tell me one man was able to change the course of history and to top it all that, he's older than the earth itself and embodied this city savior, and the only way to stop him is to find these keys? and i though i make-up the stories." Gideon smirked.

"But im not gonna take any chances, I am no knight; but i believe in what is right. You have my blades, I am Gideon, hound of the Diran Desert." Gideon pass on the book to....

[Aurorix]

Zolivar took the book from Gideon and read through it,

"Hmmm, well I don't quite understand this completely but, I'll go with you." Zolivar said rather cunningly "though the reson why I'm coming completely personal and for my own goals, as soon as I finish the thing I set off to do in the first place then I'll choose whether or not to continue. But who knows, I might not even get to my purpose. Anyways I don't think I gave my name yet, and seeing as how we'll be traveling together for awhile, the names Zolivar Nix.

(You're welcome Hukuna, the thing you've been silently pestering me about is done. <3)

[Sutoratosu]

In the Subterranean Levels of the Holy Citadel: the Chamber of the Sphere of the Dawn

The altar moaned and crumbled as more and more of the Great sphere began to crack and splinter, it's ethereal light spilling into the vast chamber housing it. For nine thousand years, this sphere had stood guard over the world of man. For over nine thousand years, it had been connected with the other Five Spheres, forming a nexus, a matrix, a protective barrier of power to prevent an invasive force from walking the earth in a physical form.

For over nine thousand years, It had acted...as a part of the Grand Seal... but now that seal is broken... broken by individuals whom no one would of suspected... but they would still not be suspected...because almost no one was aware of the Crime against humanity that had just been committed. but there had been one man, very, very long ago. The old sage, he had learned of what was at stake. but he was murdered by his own guards before he could ever spread the truth to the world. But now... now it was too late to stop this. The Spirits of the Spheres knew this, but even now, they tried desperately to prevent it, to fulfill their duty, what GOD had created them to do. They communicated with each other, the six of them, all trying to devise ways to preserve themselves and force their foeman back to his prison.

But it was futile, oh so damn futile now. this was the end of their time, and they all came to realize this quickly. they realized it with great sorrow. The world... horrible things awaited this world. Things that would mirror what had happened to the world that came before it. Another Alpha & Omega War was going to start. people would die by the hundreds of thousands this time. And the Spirits of the Spheres, the guardians tasked with watching over them were now powerless to prevent it. And so they simply gave in to fate. they accepted what was to come... but not before issuing a single prayer to the only individual in the world who had the power to fulfill it...

"Kill him," they cried "The world lies in your hands now. Onto you Tomorrow must be entrusted. onto you... Mankind's fate is entrusted... just as it was long ago... Stratos" and they sent their prayer. their last will and testament. And then the Spheres all began to shatter, one by one. in the order that they were crafted:

The Soul of the Dusk cried out as he perished. The City of Black shield, on the border between the Papal State and Crayland, was reduced to nothing but pure darkness in the following blast. Next the Soul of the Earth was silent as he fell to a similar fate. and in the Kings chasm, deep within the lands of Renalim, lit up with a light never before seen in the world. Then The Torrent made a final speech before his own Sphere collapsed upon itself, sending the waves into a frenzy and destroying the Kadrus peninsula entirely. Then the soul of the sun fell... and the city of Lithania burned in a hellish fire the likes of which had never been seen. then the Soul of the Gale perished. and the City of Halsburg in the Zrazara grass sea was engulfed in a monster wind that tore it apart in mere minutes...

And then it was time for the Soul of the Dawn to fade. he could feel it happening even now. and he took this moment and reflected on mankind. he reflected on their actions over the ages... on their magick. they had always thought that Lenach came from the Spheres, but they had always been wrong. the spheres gave them no magick. They did, Them, the Six Souls of the world, each tasked to guard a certain element. It had been they who had saved mankind by lending him their power, which took the form of magick like it was never seen before. They saved Humanity during the Nix war, not Azuaqyar. even if that Winged imposter had never descended, The Souls would've intervened when things were at their bleakest point. as they had always done for mankind. As Marcelos himself had told them to do. It was a thankless job. but that had been fine. The greatest heroics were those that never received recognition... Dawn was proud of the Work he and his brethren had done. but now the task of the worlds safety had to pass onto to mankind himself. but it was in good hands... it was in the Sky Slayers hands, and the hands of several others as well... as well as in the hands of the Third Heir. and so it was that assured of the Future, Dawn put up no more resistance, put up no more effort to hold himself together. he sent one final message to the Heir... they had spoken much in the past five years, him always giving the child visions to ready him... but now his time was done.

"Run." he called into Aaron's mind silently, as well as Stratos's "Run like you have never before... or you never will again." with that final task done, Dawn then released his barely existent hold on his existence... and the Sphere of the Dawn shattered into millions of shards as a wave of light poured forth from the chamber, filling the Subterranean levels of the citadel and rising to the street level. all that touched it burned into nothingness.

In the Papal Alter...

(Chimchain, Kenny, Super, Sinbad's Group)

Stratos took a step back as a sudden message rang through his skull clear as day. The words that these new arrivals were speaking made no sense to him. The world swam and spun with light and color. He could barely recover before his hair turned to a pitch black and his eyes a vibrant green. then The Sky Slayer collapsed to the Ground and went limb, his body shifting in and out of focus before the eyes of all those present. Boho and Atton were on him in an instant.

"Stratos!" Boho yelled, to no avail. the Dragoon was completely unresponsive. he grabbed him by the Lapels and tried to shake him. "STRATOS!!!" several seconds later the Drake Thead finally arrived, his body blazing in a fiery orange glow as he descended, coming in for a harsh landing and Crushing the stones of the Altar beneath his form, nearly some 5 and a half meters tall upon his hind legs. he swatted Boho and Atton Aside with his tail like they were rag-dolls taking care not to use enough force to actually injure them. he reached down and scooped Stratos's unconsicious (And seemingly dead) form in his arms, extending his wings and preparing to take off once more. he took a moment to direct his attention to all those present at the alter, however.

"I suggest you run," He spoke into each of the minds of the men, translating his thoughts so that they'd be able to understand them. "This city will be reduced to nothing before long... do not ask questions, if you want to live, go into the desert... run through the Diran gate. and do not touch the Sea of light." with that Cryptic message of Doom spoken, he again took to the skies, carrying his rider in the direction of the Diran Desert.

In the distance, a series of pulsating lights could be seen spreading throughout the city... and then all of the men saw what Thead had spoken of when he had said "Sea of Light", surging through the streets was a tidal wave glowing as hot as fire, the white hue nearly blinding. everything it touched began to glow and flake into the air, dissolving into nothing. it was closing in on them very...very...very fast. Boho and Atton looked every person present at the alter in the eye. there was a frightening sense of urgency there.

"Grab onto me and don't let go!" they both ordered in unison.

In the Tower...

(Snap & Murdoc)

Eric sat up slowly and swung his legs over the side of the Cot. his head was beginning to clear from the Fog of pain he was in.

"Glad to hear it," He said to Octavia "Be a shame if you went and got killed after what I did..." He then glanced over at Matrim.

"And who are you, Sir?"

"You can get acquainted later," Interrupted Aaron. his voice was so sudden and solemn that everyone stopped to stare at him. "We need to run... it doesn't matter where, but we need to just get away from this city, or we all die tonight."

"What's this, all of a sudden?" Samiel asked "Another Vision?"

"No, Words this time." the boy said. "Words saying to run for our lives. They've never been wrong about anything before. So I'm not going to hesitate listening to them now." as he spoke, the flecks of gold that had dotted his iris all faded back into green. The streaks of white in Gray running through Samiel's hair faded to a pitch black. neither of them seemed to notice the change.

"Then run we shall" interjected Muya. she moved a bookshelf on a nearby wall, sending it sliding several feet out of the way with just a single touch. beyond was a gaping dark passage, one that apparently ran beneath the city wall itself. She turned her attention to Erick and Matrim and Octavia

"I suggest you get in there and keep moving. save the questions for later." she said simply... it was more of a command really.

Masterweavile898

"Do you have the Girl?" Decate asked Royce, supporting Marshals dead body on his shoulder... they'd have to get him revived later.

"Yes," said Royce. He adjusted Amelia's weight on his back, making sure that she wouldn't fall. "What about Samiel and Aaron?"

Decate shook his head "There's no time..." he said "not with that...thing coming our way. and I'm sure Aaron will be fine if he's with Samiel." with that said, he cast a wary glance over his shoulder. They had come here trying to see if anything had happened with Marshall and Aaron after the former had failed to return. they'd arrived here to find Marshall dead on the street and this young woman, the same one who had accompanied Aaron to the Library not long ago, unconscious not much farther down the way, on the steps of Samiel's front porch... seemed she was under a Sleep inducement... They had no idea what the hell had gone on here,, but they didn't have much time to think about it anyway, seeing as how there was a tidal wave of pure light heading towards them, destroying everything it touched.

"Are you ready?" Decate called. he had to practically shout now that the Surge of Light was getting closer.

"Does it matter?"

"No..." with that said, they both stared off into the distance, vanishing from sight along with the two they were carrying. The surge charged through where they had been only seconds later, completing the destruction of the West Market district...

((I'm just gonna go ahead and move you forward for now. and by the way, Amelia was put to sleep by Samiel, just like Aaron was. couldn't have any witnesses...))

DERIC

"what the hell is that?" Deric asked. in the distance, the City had started lighting up like wild fire... several buildings were beginning to disappear one by one, but from where he and Jez stood just outside the Diran Gate, the cause was not visible.

"I...don't know," Jez said "But let's not wait around to find out..." with that he collected his old weapons from the shallow pit he and Deric stood over, an intricately carved staff with the seal of his country upon the head. Deric reached down and took the two sacks lying in the earth, slinging one over his shoulder, the thing jingled with Armaments and gear that hadn't been touched in over five years. he tossed the other to Jez.

"What about Marshall and Royce and Decate?" he asked, glancing back at the city beyond the gate every so often... the glow was getting brighter... and much closer.

"They will be fine," Said Jezicalo "They managed to stay alive despite all the stunts they've pulled in the past. They won't die so easily as... whatever this is. But we need to go, now."

Deric didn't put up any further argument. he knew that Jez was right. it was now or never apparently. the two men began making their trek down the mountain road leading away from the Diran Gate, the dessert looming not far in the distance. when a voice echoed out in the distance... it was Decate's.

"Don't you leave us behind, you bastards!" he called

Deric glanced back behind them, seeing him and Royce running towards them as fast as they could, Marhsall was propped up on Decate's shoulder and Royce was giving someone a piggy-back ride, as to who it was, they were too far a way to tell.

"Hurry up!" Deric ordered, then resumed his brisk pace down the road, his burden jingling silently on his back as he tried to keep up with Jez's pace. over head, a blazing star soared across the black sky, like a scarlet comet... and on the horizon, another tiny, fiery light could be seen... little did Deric know that this second light was the inferno engulfing the City of Lithania.

[Supernovae]

Maximus was still smiling. He'd finally seen one. A real life drake, right before his very eyes. It was every Ekarder's dream to see a dragon, drake, or wyvern. Many believed them all to be extinct, Maximus may have been included in that group before this day. But, today of all of the horrible things he'd discovered he at least got to see something truly majestic. Of course his sense of majesty was quickly reduced after the drake's cryptic message. Maximus turned quickly and grabbed on to Atton, hoping he and Boho had some kind of plan.

[Felicity]

Darius was completely dumbfounded, he barely heard the creatures message, he as so shocked. It wasn't until the two magistrates yell shook him out of his dismayed state, and Darius quickly reached to grab Bohos shoulder.