Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[AncientBird]

While Serik was about to loose his grip, something brown shot through the air with incredible speed. It blasted off the skull roof of the serpent deathborn, leaving the snout and the jaws which were still intact snapping aimlessly. "Talon???" Serik gasped as he saw Gerel's eagle flew off after performing her powerful dive. There was no way an eagle could do that by itself, Gerel's magic must had given her extra speed and power to piece through the fiend's thick skull.

Due to Talon's assault, the deathborn was disoriented and it stopped pulling, giving Serik and the guard another chance to take another firm grip. However, they still couldn't be able to pull the monster down on their own... Suddenly, a another pair of powerful hands gripped on Serik's rope. It was Matthias, the huge Northarian stormed in like a furious bear and pulled as hard as he could. With his additional strength, the deathborn was brought down from the sky, plummeting against the sandy floor. Before Serik could thank Matthias about his aid, the man was already off on his toes, charging toward the thrashing deathborn. He jumped on it and started punching the monster with his bare fist, each time knocking small pieces of bone from the monster's disfigured skull, yet Serik couldn't help feeling the pain in Matthias's place for having to punch on hard bone like that.

Despite his attack, Matthias was not going to dispatch the deathborn that way... Its orb must be destroyed. Serik turned to the guard who was no less shocked and impressed by Matthias action. "Do you have any thing heavy to hack inside the monster's rib cage?" Serik asked the guard. "I... I have this machete... But it is rather small." The guard replied. "Better than nothing... I and my friend will handle this. You should go check on your comrade, sir!" Serik said, pointing toward the guard who was smacked away earlier, who was still lying about, unconscious. "Ah yes, here you go..." The guard replied and gave Serik his matchet before running off to check on the injured.

Serik then ran toward Matthias and the struggling deathborn. As the big man was pinning its neck and head, Serik could freely reach to its back. The rib cage of the monster was fully protected by bony plates that were packed together tightly. Serik tried to chop it with machete but it could only make a scratch on it... It would take too much time to try to break through the plates... Serik needed to find other weak spot. Suddenly, he realized that there were gaps between each vertebrae that form the spine of the creature, they weren't as protected as the rib cage, if Serik could seperate each of the vertebrae, he could reach to the orb from above instead!

Serik started hacking into the joint of the vertebrae. The deathborn seemed to notice his attempt and squirmed even harder, making Serik unable to land a firm strike. "Just stay still! I am going to put you out of you miserable life, don't you see?!" Serik said to the deathborn, his brows lowered to his stress and determination. Another chop on a joint and Serik finally broke the vertebrae apart... Now, he needed to do it one more time to finally get to the orb...

The deathborn however, thrashed again. One of its bony wing hit Serik in its desperate flutter and sent the young man stumbled to the ground near by, right into the range of its deathly tail swing, the machete flew out of his grasp... Serik gasped in terror as he was about to be hit by the sharp spike on the serpent's tail when suddenly, a huge scissors-liked beak stopped the tail in its track. "Valkyrie!!!" Serik cheered, surprised and rather happy. The stork drake was standing right behind Serik, her beak grabbing on the deathborn's tail. She struggled to get a firm hold a bit and then, with a powerful jerk, she snapped a decent amount of tail tip from the deathborn and threw it away. Valkyrie screeched loudly and looked at Serik, checking if he's alright. "I am fine, Valkyrie! Whoa, you came all the way from the academy to help me?" Serik said and patted the stork drake on her bill. Serik then noticed other skybeasts that were left in the stable earlier arriving as well. It surprised him how the bond they made with these beasts were so strong even with such a long distance apart...

"Anyway, you need to help Matthias! Quick, destroy the spine of the deathborn and got to its orb!" Serik said and pointed toward the weakened vertebrae he just hacked earlier. Valkyrie, with her might, struck her large beak into the spine of the deathborn. With a couple of blow, she eventually pulled out a piece of vertebra out and tossed it away... The purple orb was in their sight. "Now, Val! Break the orb!" Serik said.

The stork drake was about to make another strike, when suddenly, the remaining tail of the deathborn slapped onto her back and started constricting Valkyrie by her body. The sharp spikes on the tail started piercing into her body. "Valkyrie!!!" Serik screamed as the stork drake screeched in pain and tried to break away from the deathborn's grip.

Featuring: SilverFlight SleepyCreamy kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Lioness075 Saturn_moon

 

[Saturn_moon]

As Marylka threw herself and the boy into the shallow waters below, Zeke appeared from behind and wrapped his chain round the undead wolf's jaw before slashing through its underbelly. In a few quick moves, he'd successfully bound the monster up by its legs, leaving it struggling on its back. Grabbing the boy who was paralyzed with fear, she climbed out of the fountain, movements hindered by her water logged clothes, and half-jogged half-dragged the boy over to where Caliban was. "Caliban here will take care of you. Don't worry." She said gently, gesturing to the blonde. With a quick nod to Caliban, assured that he would get the boy to safety, she turned and rushed back into the fight.

Passing by an overturned carts, she twisted off one of its broken handles and made her way back to Zeke, now joined by his skybeast, still trying to pry open the orb's bone encasing. "Watch out!" She shouted at him, before raising the wooden handle over her head and bringing it down with all her strength, striking the monster's chest. She repeated this several more times, watching as each hit caused the spider web of fractures on the bone casing to blossom and spread a little more.

Eventually, as a chunk of the bone fell away, she caught sight of the gleaming purple orb beneath. Unfortunately, by this point, the handle was absolutely wrecked and incapable of inflicting any more damage. "Zeke, now! Kill it!"

❊❊❊❊❊​

Back at the academy stables, Archie was about to settle in for a nap after being fed when he suddenly felt a wave of panic and distress and the feathers on the back of neck bristled. Marylka. In that moment of realisation, her panic and distress became his and the hippogriff leapt up. Peering over the partitions, he noticed the other skybeasts seemed to have felt similar feelings from their respective partners and were one by one rushing out of the stables to their aid. Spreading his wings, Archie gave two large flaps and took to the sky, letting his connection with Marylka guide him to her.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Lioness075 AncientBird

 

[SilverFlight]

Gerel's new command of wind was impressive, though wingless and lame, the dragon still fought ferociously. It threw Zephyr, who was sent flying into a fruit stand, melons smashing on the stone. Kari was hit my it's tail and hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of her. The bone plate guarding its orb was still completely intact.
Kari forced herself up just as the beast turned, the purple light in its eye sockets looked at her with cruel intent. She had to think fast. A wooden support held up a number of laden ceramic jars. One of the beams had been badly damaged and Kari stood to throw her whip around it. She pulled hard. With a whining splinter the beam gave and the pots cascaded down onto the dragon's back, burying it almost completely. When it finally pulled free, Deralis was waiting. The tip of his spear cracked through the bone plate and turned the dragon into a pile of bones, the magic drained out of it. Deralis was a lot stronger than he looked.

The young boy, on Marylka's instruction made a run for it, straight into the arms of his mother, who dropped the sharpened piece of debris as soon as she saw her boy safe and sound.

From above them, sitting on the rooftop of one of the buildings overlooking the square was another deathborn. This one was much smaller than the others, cat-like in shape with leathery wings and its orb was places in a single, central eye socket that took up nearly the entirety of its skeletal face.

With the battle turning and the guards rushing to the help of the young warriors the creature hissed and bolted.

Deralis had seen it, and called out as he pointed.
"Do not let that thing escape!"
But it had a good lead, whoever gave chase would need to be fast.
Nearby horses, abandoned and left tied to a post, whinnied and kicked, fear would speed their hooves.
Kari was looking Zephyr over quickly, checking for injuries but the gryphon seemed only to have a few small scratches.
"Let's go!" She jumped on her skybeast's back and together they launched into the sky after the tiny deathborn.
Zephyr was faster than the little creature, but not nearly so agile. To lose them, the deathborn darted down into the streets, forcing Zephyr to sly above and guide anyone who was following on horseback.

((No controlling the creature ty))
SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Lioness075 AncientBird kase9187 Naberius Elenion Aura Saturn_moon explosiveKitten

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf finally managed to pry loose the plates protecting the core of the Griffin deathborn, taking his daggers and stabbing them both into the core. It cracked, but Aldaf wanted it to break. He shoved the knives around the orb, forcing it to break into two uneven halves.

The creature turned to dust, Aldaf landing with a thud on the ground and scattering said dust everywhere. Spica rushed to his side, still bleeding.

"I'm fine, Spica. You need to get looked at."

Aldaf took some rags and tied them into improvised bandages to stop the bleeding, Spica lying on her side and staying relatively motionless.

SleepyCreamy SilverFlight explosiveKitten YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Lioness075 Saturn_moon AncientBird Elenion Aura

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit

She's wearing the first, green one.

When they left Katja's family, Leandra felt dazed. It had just been so much to absorb all at once and she was not used to such a big family gathering as that had been.

As they neared the marketplace, Leandra heard the shouts and screams and was soon breaking out in a sprint along with the rest of the group. Her heart was pounding with adrenaline as she saw the Deathborn disrupting the market and even trying to attack a boy hiding in the fountain.
Luckily, Leandra always kept her daggers on her hips and so she unsheathed them, ready for yet another fight. She wished she had brought her bow, but they had not exactly planned for a fight in the middle of the city like this.
The others all rushed past her, clashing with the Deathborn and Leandra was pleasantly surprised to see Caliban holding off from rushing headlong into danger for once.

Leandra dashed forward to join the fray and she ducked just as a Deathborn tail went flying over her head. She flinched when she saw it wrap around Valkyrie, who had swooped in just in time to help Serik and Matthias. Serik shouted for his Skybeast and Leandra felt her heart swell in sympathy.
At the same time, a roar echoed from above and Falarion flew down low, skimming along the ground before he lowered his head and flew right through the Deathborn's tail at its hindquarters, shattering the tail from its body and freeing Valkyrie. Falarion's rainbow wings shone in the desert sun, as he flared them out and landed, sliding to a halt several meters away.
Grinning at the sight of Falarion coming to the rescue, Leandra whooped and then charged toward the Deathborn with her daggers in hand. As she neared the Deathborn, Leandra skidded to a halt a few feet away and threw one of her daggers at its exposed orb, striking true as the Deathborn collapsed into an ash pile now.
Leandra quickly ran to the ash pile and dug out her dagger before she turned towards Falarion and cheered again for him.
Falarion roared again in delight and then his head turned as he heard Deralis shouting for them to not allow one of the monsters to flee. Dashing towards Leandra, Falarion spread one wing while keeping the one nearest Leandra folded and she sheathed her daggers, understanding his intent as if they had done this before. Right as he ran past Leandra, she leapt onto his back and settled into the saddle while he spread his other wing and leapt up into the air. A few wingbeats later and Falarion was in pursuit of the fleeing Deathborn.
The Deathborn tried to lose those in pursuit, but Falarion was more agile than most Deathborn and he dove down to follow the small Deathborn's path.
Mindful of how disruptive they were right now, Leandra began shouting out warnings to people ahead, hoping to avoid any collisions while they flew this low.

SilverFlight Naberius AncientBird Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja was beyond elated.

She had finally met her family. The side of her family that she had never known. And they ADORED HER. They even gave her a new mask, which she was proudly wearing now. She had an extra spring to her step, a big grin on her face. NOTHING can spoil her mood now!

... and then the word “Deathborn” met her ears.

... and she sighed. I am so tired.

Before she could turn and run, she met eyes with a group of cowering children, who were hiding under a stall. A little girl with an even littler boy, who was crying and screaming while his older sister attempted to quiet him down so as to not attract attention.

She moved without really even thinking about it. She ran across the field, dodging passed flying debris and angry Deathborn as she made her way over. The young woman skidded to a stop in front of the the stall and bent over to grab the kids. At first they were too scared to move, so she had to just grab and wrench them away, grabbing them into her arms and running away.

“Do you kids know where your parents are?!” She asked.
The both of them shook their heads.
“Crap!”
She swung her head around, looking for any responsible looking adults. While she was dallying, she caught the eyes of a woman whom was horrified by the scene around her.

Katja then scuttled over there and handed the two children over to her. “get these kids to their parents!”

While she was running around trying to get people to safety, she watched as the deathborn attempted to flee, and she let out a sigh of relief. Finally this whole thing was over. She could tend to the wounded around her and leave this fighting behind her.

She looked up as several of the skybeasts with her friends flew off in pursuit of the Deathborn, and she watched them go happily. She tried her best to tend to the wounded, but had none of her supplies that she needed. Boy, having that magic healing power would sure be helpful right now.

... RHYNE! Oh, she needed to go talk to Rhyne! How had she forgotten that?

 

[Saturn_moon]

When Zeke shattered the creature's orb, the deathborn instantly froze as if caught by surprise. For a moment, Marylka was afraid that they hadn't in fact killed it and that it might suddenly jump back up stronger than before. The deathborns had after all evolved since their last encounter with them, who knew what else had changed. Thankfully, as with all the other times, it crumbled into dust and dissipated with the wind. Marylka dropped the beaten up cart handle she still grasped in her hands and wiped the sweat from her brow. Her breathing was heavy and she felt slightly light headed from the adrenaline rush. She looked to Zeke and was about to thank him when she heard Kari shouting something out to them before taking off on Zephyr's back. She only managed to catch a quick glimpse of the small skeletal creature as it as sped down the narrow streets. Damn it. Not wanting to waste anymore time, she ran over to untie one of the horses in the corner and leapt up on to its back. Her thanks would have to wait till this was all over.

Taking the same street she last saw the deathborn head off in, she started to give chase, urging the horse forward as fast it could go. Still, with the head start it had and in the labyrinth of streets, it was almost impossible to find the creature. Kari and Zephyr seemed to have realised the conundrum she was facing and were flying low above the buildings, serving as a guide. At the same time, she heard a familiar call sound and looked up to see Archie swooping down from above. "Archie!" She exclaimed with glee. "I'm fine! Go take instructions from Kari! Help her cut the deathborn off!" She shouted up as the horse continued to dash down the street. As instructed, Archie flew ahead and flanked Kari and Zephyr.

When the street opened up to another square, smaller than the main marketplace, she caught sight of Falarion with Lea on his back shouting at people to get out of the way. "Come on!"

SilverFlight Naberius AncientBird Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 SleepyCreamy Lioness075

 

[kase9187]

Spica whined a bit as Aldaf worked, the bandages kind of tight but the cuts burning even worse.

"Settle down, I cant help you if you keep wiggling. I know it hurts."

Aldaf managed to get some bandages on Spica's neck. He motioned to the rooftop and Spica lifted him up to let him get on it. He saw the deathborn chase from a distance, notching an arrow and drawing back the string.

 

[SleepyCreamy]

With one final blow, Zeke managed to shatter the orb with the help of Marylka. His face was filled with relief once the skeletal wolf was taken care of, his arms laid limp. However, they soon tensed when he heard a command from a nearby Deralis, pointing at the creature above the roof. It was at that moment that Zeke realized how much of a mess the place is. It reeked nothing but fear and chaos. Zeke wanted to put a stop at everything. He felt his fist tightened as the image of the place he grew to love was now a complete mess. Zeke was angered at the fact that these filthy creatures even thought of laying their disgusting claws, hooves, or whatever they may have to this sacred land he calls home. It was at that moment that Zeke swore to do anything in his power to put a stop to all of these fear and chaos.

Once Marylka separated herself from Zeke, he then decided to hop on Azurine's back and follow suit to Archie, who is also helping in capturing the cat-like deathborn. He stared at the unusual creature as if it was the answer to everything. However, before Zeke and Azurine could get any further, the fifth deathborn finally decided to show themselves by tackling the two mid-flight. Zeke's one of many nightmares finally became a reality as he felt himself slide off of Azurine's back. Without a saddle on, it would almost make it impossible for Zeke to ride Azurine properly, and add the raging bull that managed to tip Zeke off of his Skybeast's back.

Zeke had to act quickly, so he only did the one thing that comes to mind. He gave his sickle a mighty throw over to the bull's neck, the sickle fell into momentum, and soon, the chains went around the bull's thick neck three times, digging its sharp end at the beast's thickened core. Before Zeke could say a word, his fall was suddenly halted and his grip on his chains tightened. However, by doing that, he gained some nasty scratches on his palm. His hands shook as pain flared through his arms. As he descended, a couple of guards caught Zeke's chains and brought the bull down with a swift pull. Once the deathborn was on the ground, the guards wrapped ropes around its bulky build to constrict it from any more movements, and Zeke could finally let go of his chains.

One of the guards undid Zeke's chains and hurriedly gave it back to him. "Go and help Deralis. He seems fixed by the creature." Zeke was going to argue more about staying, he was going to say something about it being his own fight, but he kept his own mouth shut as he motioned Azurine closer. His curiosity about the unique-looking deathborn outweighed his own pride. There's something about the creature that needed to be dissected. Zeke even thought about sketching the creature in his journal, but then decided not to. It would only taint the other beautiful sketches he had done in the past. Maybe he would document his findings of these specific creatures some other time. Now is not the time.

"Let's Go! You're one of the fastest among them, so this should be easy." Zeke gave his Skybeast a knowing grin, before hopping back on Azurine's back. Azurine didn't hesitate to follow up on Zeke's orders as he zipped across the sky, wanting nothing but to dig his claws deep into the unfamiliar deathborn. "Let's go and get it." He muttered under his breath as if it was a wish. A wish that Azurine will surely carry out, Zeke was sure of it. He believes in Azurine's abilities wholeheartedly.

Zeke felt his hands quivering in pain, however, he only shook some of the dripping blood off before grasping Azurine's blue feathers, racing towards the creature. When Zeke met the creatures for the first time, he ran away out of fear. He didn't know what he was simply getting into, but now that they have invaded something personal to him, he will make it his responsibility to put a stop to these creatures. He won't back down like last time. This time, he'll face them with everything he has to offer with his newfound will to succeed.

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Through Kari's amazing whip technique and the coordination of the guard, they brought down the dragon deathborn, who put up quite a fight even as the spear pierced through its orb. Gerel took a quick look at the others and was heartened to see them taking care of the other deathborn with their skills and talents, along with the help of the brave men and women of the guard. But it wasn't over as Deralis barked a loud command about chasing after something. When he looked he only caught the tail end of the deathborn as it vanished above the rooftops, followed quickly by Kari, Leandra, Marylka (on horseback), and finally Ezekiel. He could catch a ride on one of the horses scattered about, but lack of familiarity with the streets of To'Bai could get him helplessly lost. Thankfully Talon was already on the case, banking towards the direction where the deathborn fled. With a quick whisper, Gerel bestowed a blessing to the eagle so that the wind would speed her along. At the same time, he sent out a call to his skybeast to come as quick as he could. To his credit, Jeff only barely hesitated turning away from his scrumptious bale of hay and flying as fast as he could towards Gerel's location.

Now, to other matters.

The bull deathborn was a fearsome sight. Its bones were thicker than his thighs. Two curved horns shone ominously in the afternoon sun, and Gerel could easily imagine one goring through him and crushing rib cage and heart alike. And there, alight with a sinister glow, was a purple orb encased inside a lattice made of bone. Was it really bone? Or something else? Could the deathborn evolve to overcome its weaknesses? It was a sobering thought, but something else made Gerel's eyes narrow. What if somebody else was modifying the deathborn? What if the deathborn wasn't something natural but rather... magical? In a moment of weakness Gerel thought of Keshka and her magic and--

Immediately felt guilty for even considering the idea that she was the mastermind behind all of it. She risked her life to save theirs. He was in no position to be thinking up accusations for people like her. In fact...

He approached the struggling deathborn, careful to dodge its frantic movements. The armored core was an irregularity, an unknown, and if Keshka could take a look at it, she might figure out something more about its nature and origin. Channeling wind around his buckler, he raised it and made ready to crush the deathborn's rib cage and pull out the core from it. There might probably be consequences, but the promise of knowledge was worth it.

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[AncientBird]

Before the deathborn could successfully constricted and crushed Valkyrie, a black figure with rainbow plume darted it and struck the monster’s bony tail and shattered it. Valkyrie was freed and as she tried picking herself up, she looked upon Falarion who just rescued her from the monster’s grasp. The stork drake panted and looked at her savior, confusion showed in her golden eyes.

Just as the deathborn struggled with what was left of it, Leandra charged in and put an end to the monster, destroying its orb.

Serik reached to his skybeast, checking on her injury. Valkyrie got stabbed by some of the spikes as the serpent’s tail wrapped around her body, but it wasn’t deep and posed no serious threat to the stork drake.

“Thank you! Both of you!” Serik said to Lenadra and her skybeast. Suddenly, a commotion was heard. It seemed that a small deathborn that was somehow hiding around there showed up and was about to escape. Escape? Does a deathborn even know how to retreat? Serik thought, amazed by the behavior of this individual. Kari, Leandra, Marylka and Ezekiel were quick to give chase and they quickly went out of Serik’s sight before he could even get things together. The young man decided to let his friends did this job and he turned his focus to the last of the large deathborn, a winged bull.

It was the most massive bull Serik had seen in his life, with its long, curve horn that looked so threatening and majestic at the same time. Serik wondered of how majestic this creature would look like during its life as a living animal... So unfortunate that it had to be turned into a dreadful monster like this upon its death. Gerel had already approached the struggling monster, which was chained up by the guards, readied to end its life.

Suddenly, something caught on to Serik’s ear as a loud screech in fear. He turned back and saw Valkyrie rummaging through the ruin of the stalls that were destroy during the fight, which the screech Serik heard was coming from.

“What are you doing?” Serik asked as he approached the stork drake. He then saw something lying on the ground, trying to hide from the stork drake among the debris. It was the bird of prey, the one that intercepted the deathborn before the monster could kill Serik. It was terrified of the giant skybeast trying to pull it out, possibly to eat, just like Valkyrie always did.

“No no no no!!! Valkyrie stop! You can’t eat that bird!” Serik exclaimed as he put himself between the two. “It saved my life!” He said and then turned toward the bird who seemed more comfortable with him and even allowed Serik to picked it up. Valkyrie pulled her head back confused, but let the young man took the bird anyway.

Serik inspected the bird. It was a large bird of prey, with reddish brown color, white belly with yellow bill and legs. Its large deep brown eyes glared at Serik with a curious feeling. One of its leg was tied with a flat string made of leather.

Spoiler: Westerosian buzzard

(Stand in by Ferruginous hawk)

“A buzzard? Well you are definitely not the uniform brown kind from Estendor I often saw at the wood... Must be one of the guard’s bird... Thank you for rescuing me anyway. Are you hurt?” Serik said and looked to see if the bird was injured. It seemed unable to fly or else it would had gotten to the sky when Valkyrie tried to eat it, however it could still flapped its wings, so not a broken wings as well.

Just as the bird took a good glance at Serik and heard his voice up close, it started flapping and squealing... Like a chick calling to be fed.

Spoiler: Buzzard’s squealing

“Whoa, there! Easy, don’t screech your voice box out.” Serik said as he carried the bird as if it was a kitten in his arms and walked toward the two guards that helped him fought the winged serpent deathborn, with Valkyrie followed suit, still confused of what Serik was doing. the guard who got whipped away had waken up, luckily he got only a minor injury. Both of them were sitting, still recovering from the fight ealier.

“Thank you for helping us.” Said Serik to them. “By the way, is this one of the guard bird you brought?” he added and showed them the buzzard.

“We didn’t bring any birds with us. I don’t think we have anyone training hawks in our rank.” One of the guard said. “But this bird attacked the deathborn just before the monster got me... Surely it couldn’t be just a random bird?” Serik said. “Let me take a closer look.” The other guard saud and stood up to check on the bird. “Hey, I think I recognized it... It is the butcher bird! Or what I think... It lives around the butchery section of the market. I see it every time I go buying meat there.” Said the guard.

“Butcher’s bird? What’s a butcher’s bird doing here? Not to mention, engaging a deathborn???” Serik said and the guard raised his shoulders, having no idea himself.

Serik decided to keep the bird for now and walked toward the rest of the band that were left behind. “Well, don’t worry, little one. I will go to see the butcher and return you once all this mess was over.” He said as the bird kept squealing at him, and to Serik’s surprise even tried to snuggle up his chest.

Valkyrie kept following Serik, still confused. However she seemed irritated that Serik suddenly paid so much attention to the bird she was about to eat... They walked pass the subdued deathborn that was about to be hacked by Gerel’s buckler.

Suddenly, the bull deathborn broke one of the chain off. Its head bearing large horns swung wildly and threw everything around it. The guards scattered from its thrash and the monster eventually got up on its feet, it turned to face Gerel with a loud bellow.

“Gerel, get out of there!” Serik shouted in panic.

Featuring: SilverFlight SleepyCreamy kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Lioness075 Saturn_moon

 

[SilverFlight]

With the other deathborn in pieces around them, Deralis turned to the only one left standing, the one Gerel was carefully trying to collect from. He had his spearmen flank it, cutting off its escape, then Deralis charged. The creature pivoted, the blade glancing off of its bony plate, but it was a decoy, to draw the creature's attention so Gerel could do what he wanted, get the plate.
YumenoTsukishiro

((I'm going to skip ahead to the end of the battle, YumenoTsukishiro you can end the fight with the bull deahtborn as you like))

The silence that followed when all the dust settled was deafening, and then it was broken by gentle laughter. Deralis was beaming as he looked over the defeated creatures.
"You fight like devils!" He cried in delight. "Clearly you have done this before. I am in your debt." He bowed deeply to those left in the square. "And the city is too! You saved many lives today. I knew you weren't just students."
He looked up and called to Aldaf. "You there! How's your skybeast? Does she need medical attention?"
He looked over to Serik, holding a strange bird. "And yours? Is your beast all right? I saw it took some nasty wounds from that spiked tail."

kase9187 AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten Elenion Aura Naberius


Meanwhile, Zephyr tore through the air, and Kari tried her best to keep the slippery little monster in her sights, but it wasn't easy. The thing seemed just as fast on its feet as it did on wings and used both to dive and weave in and out of cover. They nearly lost it 3 times, but the outskirts of the city were fast approaching, and out on the dunes it would have nowhere to hide.
They chased it as close as they could, and suddenly Kari noticed they were getting closer. Was the creature tiring? Could it tire? Whatever the reason, they might have a shot at catching it. Kari urged Zephyr lower as the houses lined a narrow street in a straight line, the city gate open and approaching fast. Zephyr just had room to fit down inside the street, his wingtips brushed the buildings. Closer and closer they got and suddenly, the creature darted to the side, scaled direclty up a sandy wall and with its razor talons, cut the ropes holding laundry, flags and cloth-bag rain catchers, which all came crashing down directly on Zephyr's head. With a surprised squawk and a cry from Kari, they hit the ground in a tangle of bright fabric, rope and water. The mess it created blocked the street entirely and the creature made it out of the gates and then vanished, right into thin air.
Kari swore, trying to fight her way out of the tangle, soaked and angry, and Zephyr was struggling too, making it worse.
But the creature had escaped them, in a very creative way...that was a whole new level of troubling.
"Little help!" She called, falling again for the second time, knocked over by Zephyr's thrashing tail.

Lioness075 Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf looked for his shot... then unnotched his arrow. The runner was too far away for him to make a good shot, and he didn't want to hit someone that wasn't his target.

He hopped off the roof back onto Spica's wing, sliding down to her back. He nodded tersely at Deralis.

"The Deathborn got her neck; I don't think it's too deep. Medical attention might be required..."

Aldaf rubbed Spica's head while she leaned into his hand weakly. Her struggle plus the added effort of the fight was starting to wear her out.

"We've done this before, yes. That's why we were called. They invaded our Proving and we managed to fight them off."

Aldaf deliberately told Deralis what could easily be confirmed by multiple people; Deathborn invaded, the group managed to drive them away, then were fetched by the Academy.

He made his way to each of his friends that didn't make chase, making sure everyone was alright and offering rudimentary first aid if needed.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy explosiveKitten YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Lioness075 Saturn_moon AncientBird Elenion Aura

 

[Naberius]

Caliban Lupei

Caliban made himself as useful as possible, despite not being able to actively participate in the battle itself. He felt rather useless because of it, but he didn't let that dampen his smile after seeing that everyone was more or less safe. At least, none of them seemed to have any immediately dire injuries. He met back with the others, smiling but also looking rather sheepish the whole while.

"Sorry, I wasn't really much use this time around. I sort of left my spear back in the dorm rooms, I didn't really think we'd need it just wandering around the city. Didn't really feel right to lug around a large weapon like that when we weren't exactly heading in to a combat situation."

He looked around at all the others, some of the wounded soldiers and luckily the civilians had all been evacuated in time. They had managed to any serious casualties and had no fatalities this time around, but something was bothering him. These had been different. They were smarter, and more...evolved than the ones they had encountered before. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was only going to get worse. He wasn't used to that sort of pessimistic outlook and it took him by surprise.


SilverFlight SleepyCreamy explosiveKitten YumenoTsukishiro kase9187 Lioness075 Saturn_moon AncientBird Elenion Aura

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit

She's wearing the first, green one.

Leandra and Falarion kept on the little Deathborn's tail, though it was far more agile than Falarion could be with his size, so they kept having to catch up again when it would reappear farther ahead. Just as Leandra thought they were nearing it and Falarion opened his jaws as if to bite at the monster's tail, Zephyr flew down with Kari and Leandra cried out as she yanked back on Falarion's reins. He lurched back with a yelp and put on the brakes, flapping his wings hard to avoid a collision. Then the Deathborn knocked down the laundry lines and Zephyr and Kari were tumbling.
Startled by the sudden appearance of her teammates and near collision, Leandra was too stunned to follow the Deathborn, as it vanished beyond the city gates.

Falarion landed lightly and folded his wings, allowing Leandra to slip down from his back. She rushed forward and then gestured for Falarion to join her.
Falarion moved to where Zephyr's lashing tail was flailing about and moved forward to try and gently bite it and hold it still. He tried to purr, sounding like he was whining while holding the tail, to alert Zephyr that he was a friend and not the enemy.
At the same time, Leandra said loudly and calmly, "Zephyr, it's Leandra and Falarion. We're here to help you guys, so please be calm, yeah?"
She moved over to where Kari was and knelt down, trying to untangle the mess. She quickly realized that would take forever and unsheathed a dagger, cutting through the laundry lines and garments to get to Kari.

It was very frustrating that they had failed in their chase attempt, but there was little they could do about it now. Leandra tried her best to not feel disheartened by the near collision, but was still off-put by her friend's behavior.

SilverFlight

 

[Saturn_moon]

As they approached the edge of the city, the streets began to widen and the number of buildings got sparser. Marylka pushed the horse faster, doing her best to keep on the deathborn's tail. Just when it seemed like they had caught up, Kari and Zephyr came crashing down in a tangle of fabric, causing Falarion to lurch backwards in an attempt to avoid colliding with them.

Marylka's horse immediately skidded to a stop but the inertia sent her flying forward towards a brick wall. With her eyes shut, she braced herself for the impact, but something grabbed the back of her tunic and pulled her to sudden halt in midair. Looking up, she saw Archie peering down at her, eyes wide and innocent, as she dangled from his talons, inches away from breaking her face. She grinned up at the hippogriff. "Thanks for the save. Again." He gently lowered her back down on the ground and they rushed over to help free a very annoyed Kari and struggling Zephyr. The deathborn was long gone by this point. Once that was done, she quickly drew the water from Kari's soaked clothes as she had done for Matthias back on Mount Arebos.

"Not to rub salt into our wounds, but did we just get tricked by a deathborn?" She asked, brows furrowed with concern and question.

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

He hadn't gone two paces when a loud bellow rang in the marketplace. In its rage the bull deathborn broke free of its bindings, scattering the rest of the guardsmen holding onto them. Then it charged straight at him, head lowered, curved horns rushing to bore a hole through him. Too quick. Gerel couldn't get out of the way fast enough. Wind. Yes, the wind could save him. No, not enough. By some awareness, he knew the next time he called on the winds would be his last, before he becomes limp and exhausted. Stomping closer, the bull bellowed. Gerel raised the buckler and prepared for the worst.

Then from the side Deralis came, brandishing his spear and striking at the bull's flank. That one moment of distraction, when the deathborn pivoted to face the Head Guardsman, was all they needed to turn the battle around. From above, like a messenger from the deities themselves, Jeff descended in all his glory. He smashed his hooves straight on the deathborn's face, knocking it flat back on the ground. That was the opening Gerel needed. Mustering the last of his magical power, Gerel stepped forward. He gathered winds into his open palm and thrust it forward, smashing through the ribcage. Without wasting a moment, he grabbed hold of the armored core and pulled it out. Broken bits of bone left bleeding lines on his arm, but Gerel finally did it.

With this, they could finally learn more about their greatest enemy...

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy explosiveKitten Naberius kase9187 Lioness075 Saturn_moon AncientBird Elenion Aura

 

[AncientBird]

Serik watched in terror, seeing the bull deathborn about to charge at Gerel... There was no way a man could move fast enough to dodge in such a close distance and those horns would certainly make a short work on his Estendorian friend. In that moment, Deralis intercepted the monsters, striking the bull deathborn by its flank and turned its attention away from Gerel. The monster bellowed a monstorous call, readied to attack the captain of the guard when suddenly, a large figure dropped at it from the sky.

Jeff, Gerel's kirin struck the deathborn's head and with his might, brought the monster to its knees. Given another chance, Gerel waited no more and smashed the deathborn with his power, breaking through its bony plates and pulled out the monster's life orb... Ending the deathborn's terror.

The band regrouped as they waited for those that followed the smaller deathborn. Serik looked around to check on everyone. Katja and Caliban were fine, they didn't participate in the fight and instead helped the citizens away from the scene. Aldaf fought bravely earlier along with his skybeast, the quilled wyvern Spica who seemed to get some injury from the fight and was being tended by her rider and Gerel stood around with the deathborn's life orb in his hands. Serik approached them, followed by the tired Valkyrie, the young man still held on to the buzzard who kept squealing at him non stop. Serik stopped right next to Gerel.

"That was a really dangerous moment... The bull was so close to you." Serik said. "Thankfully you are not hurt... Well, except you arm..." He added, looking at some blood that bled from Gerel's arm, however it didn't seem very serious and knowing that they would quickly heal it out made Serik not too worry about his friend's injury. He then looked at the deathborn's life orb. "You got its life orb! What do you think we could do with it?" He asked.

Then Deralis called Serik's attention. He was please of the result and thanked the band for helping the guards destroyed the deathborn. He also turned at Serik and asked about Valkyrie's condition.

"She got a bit of bleeding wound but nothing too severe, sir." Serik replied. "Also, thank you for taking care of the city and helping my friend Gerel out. That monster would have harmed him without your interference."

Featuring: YumenoTsukishiro SilverFlight

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke held tight onto Azurine's feathers, maybe a little bit too tight, since he saw Azurine pupils turn into slits every once in a while. His palms were a bloody mess as they've chased the peculiar-looking deathborn around. Zeke felt himself be filled with adrenaline as he realized that they were nearing the town's outskirts. They needed to capture it as soon as possible and that goal alone made Zeke extremely determined to achieve that very task. Azurine was fairly close behind the two other Skybeasts as they raced to capture the deathborn. As they turn a corner, Zeke's sharp eyes caught sight of Falarion's jaws about whisker away from capturing the creature and Zeke almost yelped in victory at the mere sight. However, his happiness was somehow halted, as Kari and her Skybeast came tumbling down, along with a tangle of fabric.

Zeke and Azurine almost crashed with Leandra and Falarion if it weren't for Azurine quickly elevating himself above the two with a single powerful wingbeat. Zeke, however, who is inexperienced with riding, was launched off of Azurine's back (once again) after Azurine surprised Zeke with a sudden halt. Zeke groaned in frustration and once again launched his chains out for Azurine to catch him, to which Azurine did. His Skybeast gently lowered his rider safely to the ground, before landing himself right next to his rider. Zeke took another glance at where the creature was last seen and he released a frustrated sigh, before brushing some of his dried blood on his hands on Azurine's beloved feathers. To the Skybeast responded with a huff of disapproval and a rough shove. Zeke quickly dismissed his Skybeast's playful actions and turned around.

Once Zeke took a look behind him, he was greeted by the sight of a pile of fabric, along with a struggling Kari and Skybeast. He sighed and looked down at his new outfit that was dirtied from his last fight. He may need to take a long bath once he's back at the academy.

"Not to rub salt into our wounds, but did we just get tricked by a deathborn?" He heard Marylka ask once he was near enough.

Zeke felt his left eye twitch at her remark, it was a sign of agitation. No one just... tricks him. "Then... I guess we'll just have to learn how to not get tricked the next time we encounter it." He said in a sour tone as his bright yellow eyes hovered to the area where they've last seen it. This won't be the last. He thought to himself. Zeke walked over to where Leandra is and helped her in releasing Kari. He failed in something he has hoped to achieve, to him, failure is something he was not used to. So, he might as well help someone in need and focus on that task alone, just to cover up the fact that he's deeply disappointed in himself.

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

Matthias gave Leandra a solemn nod, even as his hands still throbbed like his heart was in them. And then, as quickly as it had begun, the battle was over. They had won. Matthias was about to see about speaking to Deralis when he heard a heavy thud and turned just in time to see Volos lumbering up to him, huffing and sniffing the air. "You're late." Matthias chastised the great bear even as his snout was pressing against him. The bear was happy to see him. He could feel it through their bond. Matthias, despite the fact that their battle with the Deathborn was still so near - or perhaps because of it - found himself feeling happy, too. Volos responded in kind, dragging his warm, slobbering tongue up the side of Matthias' face, slicking the hair that hung there. Matthias barely masked his aversion to this kind of display of affection, but Volos' happiness was contagious and at last he relented, laying one hand on top of the bear's head, and the other cupping his chin to give him good boy scritches. Matthias smoothed down his hair as best he could. He'd need a wash after this.

"All right. I missed you too." Matthias admitted, causing Volos to huff with delight.

The two of them approached Serik, Deralis, Gerel, and the others. "What word?" Matthia asked, though he could see well enough what Gerel, Deralist and his men had been able to do. He only hoped there was some good to come of all this. At least, Matthias thought, they could be glad that the attack happened when they were near enough to lend aid. Had this occurred in another part of the city, there likely would have been casualties. "Is there nothing more to be done but wait to be attacked?"

Tags: Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Saturn_moon Naberius YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten SilverFlight
​

 

[SilverFlight]

"Very curious." Deralis stroked his chin, "but there will be plenty of time for talk later." He whistled and one of his men stepped forward, a pack strapped to his back, leather straps wrinkling his neatly-pressed city guard uniform. The guard set the pack down and began pulling out medical supplies.
"Stem the bleeding on the two injured skybeasts, they can get proper treatment back at the academy."
While his men did as they were told Deralis went to examine what Gerel had pulled from the creature.
"How very curious indeed...these deathborn are different. I've never seen a chest plate like that...it's almost as if the design is...compensating for exploited weaknesses."
It was clear in his tone that he did not like that idea one bit.
He nodded at Serik, showing his appreciation for the thanks by clapping the youth on the back.
"My duty son, my duty. No one in this city needs to thank me for standing up to monsters when they threaten. Damn devilspawn can all burn."
Deralis eyed Matthias with a begrudging smile.
"Huh, man of action. I think I'll like you. No. I do not intend to simply respond to attacks. Did you see which direction that little one ran off to? That was no where near the closest edge of the island, and it's not the first deathborn to run off in that direction...I believe they are coming up from somewhere not far from the city. A cave, or a tunnel. I've had scouting parties searching, so far they've come back empty-handed."
kase9187 AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten Elenion Aura Naberius

When Kari heard the voice she let her body relax. Zephyr went limp at the same time, his emotions tied to his partner. Together with Lea and Falarion's help, they extricated themselves from the tangled heap.
Kari could only mutter a few apologies to the owners of the lines and clothes.
Marylka made her comment and Kari snorted. "Yeah, it sure looks like that's what happened...I don't think the ones on Arebos were that smart..."
She looked back at the others gathered. "Between that and those weird protective plates...I think they're...getting stronger."
Lioness075 Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy

~*~*~

Kari lead the way back to the square to meet up with the others. Deralis and his men were just about to take their leave.
"We can discuss everything we know about the deathborn at the meeting tomorrow. I look forward to your attendance with great enthusiasm."
He bowed elegantly, and left.

"We should get back to the academy."
Kari had no sooner spoken than a familiar voice called out to them.
Ord was jogging at a steady pace, flanked by Targus, Keshka and Rhyne.
"We came as soon as we heard...is everyone all right?"
Keshka was the first one to catch sight of Gerel's prize.
"That's different." She said coolly.
Even though the deathborn were slain, Kari still felt relieved to see the teachers.
"We were about to come back to the academy when we heard a commotion in this square. Deralis and his men were here and we jumped in to help."
"Deralis was here? Did you say anything to him?" Keshka asked with an edge to her voice.
"Regardless, we had better get back, Candour was very worried." Ord interrupted. Whatever information they had to share, it could wait until they were off the streets.

~*~*~

The evening was approaching fast, the sun already hiding itself behind the buildings. Kari and whoever volunteered had given as much information to Candour as they could. Keshka looked like she wanted to take the deathborn chestplate and the orb from Gerel, but didn't, for now.
They were fed, and given leave to rest for the night. Classes would begin first thing tomorrow morning.

Kari was by the skybeast stables, shoes off and dangling her legs in the cool river water. Zephyr was crouched by the river's edge, eying the glinting silver fish that darted just below the water's surface. Every now and then he would lunge forward, entering the water like a spear tip to try and snare one of the fish. So far, he had been unsuccessful, but it looked like he was enjoying himself anyway.

Lioness075 Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy kase9187 AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten Elenion Aura Naberius

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf was grateful for Deralis' first aid for Spica, but said nothing more. He waited for the others to arrive, then saw to helping them as well. When the teachers showed up, he was relieved. When Keshka asked if they'd told him anything, he shook his head.

"Only the bare minimum."

~~~~~~

"They're getting smarter." Aldaf said to Kari on the way back. "Not to mention I still don't trust Deralis."

Spica trodded alongside him, rather quiet for a large wyvern. Aldaf laid his hand on her head, calming her down.

~~~~~~

Aldaf walked out to the stables to see Kari at the water's edge. He walked over silently and sat down next to her.

"Hey." He spoke rather softly. He looked a little downtrodden, now that the adrenaline and caution had worn off.

Spica was resting in her stable, her wounds treated. She needed rest, though.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Saturn_moon AncientBird Naberius Lioness075 explosiveKitten

 

[Saturn_moon]

Up to this point, Marylka had never thought of the deathborns as sentient beings capable of reason and thought. How could they? They were technically dead, brought back to life by some strange magic. They didn't have brains, at least not in a form she recognised. Yet, from what they had seen from this battle, the creatures had proved otherwise and it terrified her. If the deathborns were evolving, their group had to as well. If they didn't, they were going to reach a point where they would no longer be able to defend the people or themselves from these creatures.

Night had fallen by the time they returned to the academy and Marylka made sure Archie had settled comfortably back in the stables before joining Kari and Aldaf out by the river. Physically, she was exhausted, but her mind was still reeling with so many questions from their most recent encounter with the deathborns that it would have been impossible for her to fall asleep even if she tried. While she wasn't in the mood to make conversation, she found the company of her friends and the sounds of gentle rushing water comforting and it helped calm the noise in her head. The river laid before them like a belt of black velvet with streaks gold from the light of the academy behind them running through it. The waxing moon reflected upon its surface danced like a tiny white flame where the water rippled. Slowly, she started to try and piece together all the information in her head in a way that would at least make some sense.

"What if they're like bees?" Marylka suddenly asked absent-mindedly. "Deralis mentioned that the deathborns always retreat in the same direction which suggests that they have a hive of sort somewhere. And based on what we've seen so far, the different deathborns each seem to have a specific role to play which makes me think that they're functioning with some kind of swarm intelligence. The larger deathborns behave like foot soldiers or fighters while the smaller one we attempted to chase down looked like it might have been collecting information? Possibly, at the centre of all this there could be a queen or someone controlling everything." She looked up and immediately turned a bright shade of pink when she realised she had unintentionally vocalised her inner ramblings in front of the other two. "Eh! These are just my thoughts though. I'm really not very sure about anything now."

SilverFlight kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Lioness075 SleepyCreamy explosiveKitten

((I feel like I'm treading into dangerous territory bringing up bees when I really don't know much about them.))

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Deralis’ words about the armored core in his hands made Gerel tremble. Not quite in fear, but it was getting there. Fighting mindless monsters was easy because they were predictable, easy to handle, easy to defeat. Having armor around their weakest point meant awareness, evolution, progress… intelligence. An intelligent enemy was a hundred times harder to beat. What would happen if their evolution far outstripped their own abilities?

---------

That question plagued him as they all returned to the Academy. He joined Kari in explaining things to Headmaster Candour, even showing him the armored core he got from the bull deathborn. He noticed Keshka’s intent eyes on him the entire time, and it made him tremble even more. But he had to endure much more if they wanted to find answers to the never-ending questions.

Hearing about Kari’s report about the little deathborn only added oil to the fire of grim speculation. At least she wasn’t hurt, despite once again rushing headlong into danger. Once they were done, Gerel watched Kari and some others head for the skybeast stables. He owed Jeff a delicious bale of hay, and he would like to spend time with the rest of them.

Then he remembered the armored core and the answers it promised. He turned the other way and walked towards Keshka’s office. Standing before the door he steeled himself, and then knocked twice.

SilverFlight kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Saturn_moon Naberius Lioness075 SleepyCreamy explosiveKitten

 

[AncientBird]

Serik returned a bit later than the band. After sending the buzzard to a falconry room (with some struggle as the bird wanted to be with him.) and Valkyrie to the stable, he joined his friends at the meal and after that returning to the stable once more.

Valkyrie was standing in her stall, preening and being comfortable after all the fight and struggle she had to face. Serik could see her wounds were getting dry and sealed. At least the fast healing ability was also extended to the skybeast as well and Serik was glad so, or else their life would be much more difficult ten folded. He approached the stork drake in her stall. The beast looked up at him and continued preening.

"What a day... isn't it? There is so much for me to take in right now... Was thinking it would be a relaxing day in the market, getting to known more people... Then deathborns attacked, learning that they have evolved and also from what Kari and the others told... Getting smarter... And then there is a possibility that I just left a pet here somehow and lost all memory of it..." Serik said and sighed as he leaned on the stall's divider. Valkyrie paused from preening and looked at him with her golden eyes.

Serik then looked at his skybeast. "What about you huh? How was your day before having to fly from here and battled deathborns in the street?" He asked. Valkyrie stood up. Her shadow cast on the floor and suddenly, Serik saw something hiding among the hay, some that shone brightly from the darkness. "What's that?" Serik said and reached out to the object. He picked it up and took a closer look. It was the glowing stone, illuminated brightly under darkness and faded as light from the torch touched it. "This wasn't here yesterday? Who dropped it here? and why was it stained with... fish?" Serik said, curious of what the object was. Valkyrie watched him without any particular reaction. The young man tried sniffing it and it almost made him throw up. "Yuck! It smelled so grossed, like puke! Was it from you?!... It was from you!" Valkyrie tilted her head and made a soft shrill. Serik shook his head at the beast and observed the item in his hand again. "But it is indeed really beautiful, seems to be some kind of stone that glow in the dark... I have no idea where you got it but I think I will keep it, is that alright?" Serik asked his beast who didn't do anything but kept staring. "Well, thank you then. I will see what it can do, maybe there will be tools for this in Targus's workshop..." Serik said. "But first, I got to wash it... I can't carry a smelly stone around."

Serik left the stall and headed toward the entrance that led to the river. There he saw some of his teammates gathering around the bank of the river. Serik joined them, sitting next to them and pulled out the glowing stone from his pocket and started washing it in the river. The stone shone brightly as if it was competing against the stars in the sky. Serik overheard the concern his friends were sharing about the deathborns which had mysteriously improved themselves.

"I don't know what happened with those monsters, but it seems we will have to up our game as well if we want to take a step ahead of them before we find the way to eliminate them for good. The classes are starting tomorrow. Let's see what we can do and what the instructors have in their sleeves for us." He said as he pulled the stone from the water to sniffed. Again, he immediately pulled his face away in disgust. "Argh, the smell won't just go away!"

Featuring: SilverFlight SleepyCreamy kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Lioness075 Saturn_moon