Tale of Storys.

[AoshiShinomori]

*Man you guys really raise the bar each time. Am I jealous or am I jealous >_<* ^^

Well if two musketeers can do it then so can the third (and roleplay was one of my favourites anyway )... here goes nothing...

Chapter 1: Rebirth

Unbeknownst to either Kazu, Swift or Suzie, turmoil had started within the land. The shedding of dragon and human blood had reached it's fiercest peak in the long battles fought so hard. The land was tainted with the sorrows of the dragons and cry of their hopes... it was speckled with the corpses of the humans and the pain of their agonies.... The air stood heavy with the thick suffocation of revenge... the wind sang their deathly laments... and in this musical charade the land stood to respond with a voice of its own.... from a cave hidden deep in the mystic boundaries of the forest of voices.

Deep within the fiery heart of the land a conciousness awoke from it's slumber in the vastness of Ether. With a sudden but swift decisiveness the clouds around the forest center joined thick in union forming a solid boundary of condensed air. The light of the sun blacked out and the gathering clouds turned dark and sinister. A sense of immeasurable power pulsated through the land. The air filled with purpose and black clouds began swirling in a dizzying vortex. The sense of power grew stronger and more pronounced, the clouds swirled faster into the vortex... A sudden searing vertical shaft of light lit up the forest. It burned the land and pierced through the dark firmament. Time stood still across the forest. The universe itself seemed stalled to watch the scene. The throbbing sense of life and presence palpated through the forest. The very earth seemed alive and awake. The tall trees cowed down in awe and fear, their heads bent low lying prostate on the ground. Lightning bolts rippled from the dark vortex and struck the timid branches below. Burnt cinders flew from trees ripped asunder. Dried leaves burst aflame scattered around in the demonic wind like an eerie dance of fireflies... Amidst this grisly cemetary of beheaded trees a spark of conciousness suddenly spoke...

"Eaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" A terrible scream echoed through the ether. Tendrils of thought arced chaotically around surprised with their existence. The spark continued... "What age is this? Where am I? What are these blood memories I perceive? Kinsmen murdered... oaths betrayed... a deep evil treachery... vengence is at hand... a deed must be done and I am the only one to do it... I am the only one, that CAN do it... I am the only one, born to do it... I am... alive!!!!"

A flutter of gigantic wings echoed through the dark and a burst of red hot flame gushed through the cave. Trees afar and nigh transformed instantly to ash. Brown sand charred a deep black in a matter of seconds. The searing heat vapourised the clouds above. As suddenly as it had appeared, the shaft of light vanished. Bright sunlight burst through the vapourised cloud cover. As the first beams of the golden sun reached the earth, all that could be seen for miles around was charred black ground and scattered ash. What once stood as a mystical forest now lay charred as a cremated corpse. The mystical forest of voices had been broken.... and walking away from this scene of blatant massacre, TENSHOUJIN paced forward with determined steps. For a moment, a gleam of vengance and determination shimmered bright in those red eyes, but in a trice they were gone. The eyes took on a clear blue shade, silky black hair fell parted upon his head, rippled muscles lay as testimony to the vanished wings. In his first few steps, whisps of smoke rose from the ground, burning the very ash that lay there but like the rest of his features the smoke faded and his feet turned human.

Awake, Alive and Astute he marched ahead... for ahead.... destiny waited...

NEW character:

Name: Tenshoujin (Heavens destroyed benevolence)
Breed: Dragoman (Half Dragon Half Human)
Height: 6"
Weapons: Materialized fire sword and summonable fire shield protection.
Abilities: Dragon magic, but these are untapped abilities that will develop over time as Tenshoujin learns from his blood memories.

Vulnerabilities: Invulnerable to elemental damage. Absorbs strength from fire and lightning attacks. Specially vulnerable to chaos and confusion spells but when driven into frenzy is more likely to transform and use powered attacks against friend and foe alike.

Appearence: Not overly muscular but a chiselled form with smooth black hair parted at the center. Eyes are clear blue and his face is angular. He wears no head gear. He wears a black garment with a red outlined dragon emblem on the chest.

Additional details: Tenshoujin is an oddity in nature. As a hybrid of dragons and humans he has the ability to transform into his "dragon" state. In this state, his appearance mimics that of a dragon. he grows a sharp tail, talons, wings and his eyes burn red. In this state his magical abilities are heightened greatly but he loses the ability to fight with a sword or use the fire shield. His fire breath is lethal and the hot flames are capabile of burning even ash. As with his human state, his magical capacities and control are limited initially and require development over time from his blood memories. Anger is a trigger for sudden exceptionally skillful and immensly powerful use of his power but this is a rare event.

His origins are a mystery and the secret to his birth and existence lie in forgotten memories embedded in his mind. For a long time he lay trapped within the cave in the forest of voices suspended in magical sleep. The planetary alignment and the rift between humans and dragons triggered the conditions for his birth. His only reason for existence is to achieve a single goal. What this goal is, is still undisclosed and all that is known about it is that it involves an ancient legacy and the dragon queen.

Allegiances: None. He keeps his own counsel since he has just come into existence. He will step with those that aid his goal but never truly be part of any team other than his own.

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

** O_O Shino-san! That was one the best, most descriptive posts I have ever read! It makes me want to step up my game and make myself write even better! Bravo, I take my hat off to you!**

TATSU

With quickness I dash descending the Northern Plains. The nebulous sky grumbles with a coming storm. I must make haste to the Dragon's Lair. Deep inside a spiraling tower I would find my target. Ichirin and Nozomi. The two of them are very much alive. Fortuitously, this new body I had come to inhabit was much more agile and energetic. My old body was much more brawn. Even though rigor-mortis had begun to set in, this body sprinted at what felt like a thunderbolt soaring through an ominous cloud. Was it because of my desire and prudence to save those who are in distress?

Regardless of my emotions, I was making quick progress. The Lair's Tower was coming into view. Suddenly, the sky opened up and a rainstorm crashed down upon my head. Last time I was in a storm like this, everything was being taken away from me, and I was damned to suffer alone and shackled within the darkness, just before my life, and the life of a close friend was snuffed out.

My thoughts antagonized my concentration. Mud and water splattered my clothes. The boots I swore grew heavy, and clambered about in the mush. But this did not slow me, my speed stayed constant and did not wane.

Yogensha! I shout in my head. Are you still there?!

.....Silence.....

"Certainly Tatsu. I may have not informed you of this earlier, but when I aid a soul, I am with that soul through all the trials of his life until the end of his days. I can guide you along your Path of Destiny. I cannot affect what you do, but I can influence you and direct you to do what you need to accomplish."

I am not entirely sure of what you are trying to say sir. Are you telling me that you will continue to lend me your immense powers?

"Ho, ho." Yogensha laughs. "My powers? Well in a sense. Most of the time, I give assistance to those who are alive. My powers increase their's greatly. So imagine the affects it has on the Dead?

I go quiet in an attempt to process what this means.

"Don't get it son? In giving you a new life, I had to put my powers into your soul, to attach you back to the Physical Realm. In doing so, you have received a portion of my abilities. Thus imbued, you can do what I do....Can you feel it? Can you feel my powers? They are a blessing to you. You who's powers are sealed within yourself because you have banished them out of freewill. Now these powers you yearn for. Why do you think you can not acquire them? Your Elven powers that you were born with..."

I- I don't know.

"Indeed. When you can answer that question, then your goal will be for-filled. For now, go to your friends. With my powers inside you, I am sure you can feel their souls if you look beyond your own view."

I thought of Ichirin and Nozomi. Just then, I could feel them! I have to hurry!

I ran up the steps of the Prison Tower and moved inside the Tower's Main Hall.

** Hope it was okay. I'll wait for Shino-san and Nard-kun before I continue along with these two characters I have created. ^_^ **

[CoolNard]

** O_O Aoshi's first post here just like, pwned everyone else's X__X**
**Kanji's latest post is in a neck to neck race with his =P**

Despite of our still intangible distance, I raise fair attention on the alarmingly enclosing eclipse, my array of pugnacious instruments a hair's width from my wield. Focusing on its travel towards us, Suzette and I hold our ground, allowing the sunlight beyond to assist our queries, by molding its details symmetrically - a dragon with a viciously scaled hide as black as night, and indiscriminately riding on it, a shrewd-faced man of slim built, decked in an outfit no brighter than the dragon.

Intriguingly enough, the smaller of the two triggers the impact of a first impression, etching an establishment of vague but familiar vibes emanating from him.

"Suzie, is it me, or has he came here before?", I ask out of curiosity.

"He seems... recognizable...", she murmurs uncertainly.

Thunderously, the black dragon plummets its powerful claws into the earth; its intimidating shadow looming over us, in an inescapable sanctum of loss. The man slides gracefully off it and strolls in our direction, his movements casual, ironically agile. Something dangling by the newcomer's waist credits him careful emphasis... - my sakkat! No mere human strength would have sufficed where and when it could have been retrieved.

"Swift... There's no way...", Suzette whispers, her tone appalled.

"Who cares, I'll just have to get it back.", I assure her.

"Swiftant! I need a word with you!", calls out the stranger.

I dive at him with fierce velocity, my red eyes burning ferociously at the area his body and my sakkat contact.

"First, that's mine!"

**I sooo need to get back into practice XD.**

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

**Hehe Nard-kun, we both made the same face when we saw Shino-san's incredible post. I thought you said Swiftant wasn't going to fight Kazu? Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to oblige him! XD**

KAZUHIDE

I had approached Swiftant and Suzette quietly and calmly. But my sudden appearance in front of the two did not bear a warm greeting.

The moment I spoke out, Swiftant had dashed at me at a great speed. His eyes shot a crimson stare into my own. As he moved closer and closer, cutting the distance between us, like a coming comet into a celestial object, his feet made like sound as they feel upon the earth. He dashed at my waist, in what appeared to be a malevolent attempt to reclaim his sacred item, and at the same time take his sudden aggressions out on me.

I had little time to jump back, in the seconds I had, I removed Jet from my back. Time felt it had slowed, my heartbeat elevated, I swung Jet upon Swiftant. My blade was clashed into his katar. The weapon he had in his hand now, was not there but a moment ago. He was much faster then I anticipated. A head on collision with him, would spell my defeat, I didn't want to hurt him. That was not my desires nor were they my intentions, I wanted to his ally, this reaction of his was most unexpected....

An unexpected encounter....

I could feel his strength as he forced down on my naginata, and fended off my attack with one hand. In a futile attempt to keep him at bay, I struggled to hold him off me. He wanted his sakkat, and he wasn't going to stop until he retrieved it.

With a great surge of desperation and sheer will, I was able to knock him from me for a moment. I flipped back and landed on Fayuro's head, Swiftant stumbled back for just a moment and lunged at me again, joining me on top of Fayuro.

What was this strength?! Surely he did not have that tremendous tenacity before.

"Wait! Why do you attack me?! I am not your enemy! Listen to what I have to say before you decide to do this!" I attach Jet back in holster on my shoulder blade. Quick, I pull out a twisted dagger and hold it down to Swiftant's sakkat.

"If you do not co-operate and listen! Then you can say goodbye to this treasure of yours! Just hear me out!"

Swiftant grew still. I knew he was assessing my demands in his head. I did not know what he would do now....

With trembling fingers, I looked past Swiftant for just a moment. Suzette was just standing there. A look of concern and shock had come over her.

Fayuro growled under his breath. He was waiting for my word, before he threw Swiftant from him.

I think to myself. I don't want to have to use that technique. But I will if it comes to it.


**Okay, not half as good as CoolNard's but I hope it will suffice.**

[AoshiShinomori]

*O_O'... O_O"...x.x'... if you guys write any better than this I'm gonna have to quit! . Outstanding posts the both of you!!!! Cooly as usual making stunning posts with those flavoured adjectives and Kanji-kun just magnificent with those fight scenes. I can practically see the fights happening as I read about them. I'm just luving the way this story develops... whoots!*

Sorry I wasn't online yesterday, had some important stuff to take care of at work and I have some travel coming up as well. But in the meanwhile, Tenshoujin's agenda needs to progress...

Chapter 2: The Feeding

Swirling colours dazzled around him, vivid greens and ecstatic blues. The sky stood glittering with a myriad hues, every single colour calling out to his senses. He felt the movement of the wind, he tasted the moistness in the air, he perceived every movement around him, every blade of grass, every glowing cinder and every single wisp of ash... They seemed struck in slow motion and standing where he was he felt he could direct their poetic movements like a composer beckoning a virtuoso. A sudden acrid smell of fire woke him to reality. The movements and colours turned normal and the smell of burnt wood reeked stronger around him. His dragon vision had subsided and his senses mimicking his appearence turned human as well.

Broken images of fire and destruction flashed past his brain. Screeches for help mixed with cries of valour distorting his senses even more. Buildings turned to ash, castles lay ravaged and razed to the ground...the sound of falling mortar spelt doom to those who lay below... The scene suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by a shining bright blue. It shone so magnificently he could touch it's sparkling rays. Standing next to it he felt warm and alive... What was this glow? Where did it come from? Did the crystal reflect a light from elsewhere or was the source of this illumination within it? He reached out to touch it...

*Hsssshh* *Crunch*

Another rude awakening... the images were gone and all that lay clutched in his fist was a smouldering bush. Tenshoujin hung tightly to the thread of reality. He fresh birth had granted him great power indeed, but it had cost him much sanity in return. He knew he could not dwell on his unbidden thoughts swiftly though they assaulted him. He had taken on a mortal form and he needed to replenish his strength. Weakly, he looked around...

He sighted a stray deer on the path ahead grazing on grass. He moved forward to reach out to it. The deer didn't react at all, it ambled on its own routine seemingly unaware that a predatorial hunger stalked it. Tenshoujin's reach grasped thin air... What was happening? He knew the deer was ahead. He could see it clear as crystal. Why then did his fist touch nought but wind? Was this another memory? Was he in another spell of hallucination? He closed his eyes and wished his memory away, feebly searching for reality again. Slowly, his heart calmed and his sanity came closer at hand. He opened his eyes again...

The deer was gone... but so was the path in front of him. All he could see around him were shades of black... their uneven medley hinting a horrific incident. He stood confused again ... what was reality now? Which of his two visions were real? Driven by hunger, he walked ahead... ten feet later he fell again. The urge was getting stronger by the minute now. His frenzy was building in him, he knew he needed to feed soon or he would lose control again, sinking into his chaotic memories. For yards around, there was nothing but burnt ground and charred wood. Desperately he grabbed at the ash, ready to feed on anything that would keep his nightmares at bay.

The hot ash burned his throat and he stifled a sudden urge to yell. The desperation for food still clung to him. Urged by his frenzy he shoved another handful down his throat. The burns were sharper now…but was that proof that he was closer to sanity? Powered by this thought he sank his face into the ground hoping to gulp as many crumbs as he could. Six mouthfuls and severe burns later he realized the ash hadn’t helped his hunger at all… however it had triggered a response… he was a being of fire and the burning cinders had pushed his frenzy over the edge. He drew strength from fire… at least his dragon half did…

A sudden burst of wind scattered the ash in every direction, two loud flaps resonated through the burnt land, a hundred feet in the air, Tenshoujin spotted the deer again. For a moment he panicked worried that he would sink into his cursed memories again, but quickly he realized the truth. The deer was not a hallucination nor was the green path upon which it grazed. The grass and the stream weren’t figments of fantasy that his mind had built up for him. They were real and they existed…three mountains away!!!… His powerful dragon vision had seen them clearly from this far. He shuddered at his own skill for a second... Another beat of his powerful wings and he rose higher into the clouds. A herd of cattle ambled away to the west kept restrained by a flimsy wooden fence. Smoke came from nearby houses. He counted… there were 12 houses in all. A small village then… he committed this piece of information in his memory... he would need it later. For now though, there were more pressing problems at hand. His immediate hunger had to be satiated.

He turned his sights toward the deer again. It remained unaware, grazing happily in the watered meadow. Little did it know that death was upon it bearing down more swiftly and surely than any prey had ever known. Tenshoujin whistled through the clouds, his dazzling speed leaving streaks of shredded white clouds as a mark of his trajectory. The cool wind filled his lungs and calmed his mind, but the cold also sapped the little strength he had managed to absorb from the measly ash. He knew he couldn’t risk powerful strokes to aid his speed but he desperately needed food regardless...

[AoshiShinomori]

...A sudden black out and an assault of more memories stunned him...

A vision of a crimson sky with the vermillion sun fading away in the horizon… the same cool feeling of breeze, the same thrill of swiftness… this was a hunt… Far away he sighted a herd of huge creatures, towering over the land yet grazing as docilely as the deer he had marked for lunch. A whisper of thought blended into the vision… Margoth…

Who was Margoth? A slain kinsman? A treasured friend? A hated enemy?... The whisper of thought urged louder… not who.. but what… The vision focused more clearly on the enormous creature ahead… the voice spoke stronger now… MARGOTH… He slowly began to learn… this vision was from a margoth hunt. The creatures ahead were margoths and their short lifespans were now running out fast as doom from the dragoman approached.

The vision unfolded faster in fast forward, yet he still grasped all it had to offer. The dragoman beat his wings hard and gained surprising altitude. The margoths were now little black dots on a tiny bushel of land far ahead. The dragoman inclined downward, hunger and killing etched deep in his eyes and began his dive toward his prey. At first he glided on the wind, but with each passing movement he gained tremendous speed. He seemed to dance upon the wind drafts like a happy fish at sea. Faster and faster he plummeted toward the herd. The black dots grew bigger and the land raced forward faster like a mother embracing her long lost child.

With the same fluid movement as his glide, the wings now stretched and quickly curved back winding tightly round the dragoman’s body. With the precision of hunting shark the dragoman twisted his neck at the same time that his wings wound in and made a corkscrew movement in the air piercing through the clouds. He gathered speed swifter than he ever had before. He was now a twisting bolt of air grinding toward his prey. If he had danced on the wind currents then, he was literally cutting through them now. Nothing stood in his way.

The herd of margoths below heard nothing and felt nothing, they grazed placidly on their morning meals… With the speed of a striking snake, the dragoman launched toward the middle of the herd. Beside himself with excitement, Tenshojin watched the memory. The margoth at the center of the herd seemed like the definite target, completely unaware of the approaching death hammer from above.

The vision turned to slow motion now as though specifically stalling to make a point… The same whisper of thought again… “Watch closely for nothing is as it seems. The only obvious deduction is the unexpected”… Tenshoujin focused on the vision. What did this riddle mean? The obvious deduction was that the juicy margoth in the center was about to outlive it's purpose...

The vision continued... Like a bolt of lightning on a clear day the dragoman paced toward the herd center. Everything stood still as though chiselled from stone, the wind lay passive as he cut through its currents, the grass lay frozen like a lake during winter, the margoths stood eerily unmoving, the head of the pack right up front stood halfway through an eye-blink. At the very last moment when crashing seemed imminent, the dragoman fluidly made another neck twist out of his corkscrew dive and stretched his wings out on the air currents. The vertical descent of his dive now transformed into a burst of horizontal speed… he whistled right past the herd center heading instead toward the head of the pack. Just as he was almost about to miss the herd altogether, he stuck out his claws to slow himself a glimmer and with perfect timing, grasped the margoth, still three quarters through the blink. The dragoman arched his tail and tilted his wings upwards just a little. The whooshing air currents now picked him up and he rose into the air, this time with the margoth clutched victoriously between claws.

The vision resumed its normal pace. The herd resumed its pacing only slowly awakening to its tragedy. Panic rippled through the herd as it realized the pack head was missing but by now the dragoman was cleanly on the mountaintop feasting upon his kill...

The dark shadow had fallen and vanished within the blink of an eye… the entire move was impeccably graceful and poetic to watch and as it unfolded its deadly rythm all that was left to sing its testimony was a dead carcass on a mountaintop. One less margoth now stood to graze on the greenery below…

The vision vanished, and reality returned. Yet again, Tenshoujin took a moment to adjust. He was still in the air gliding toward the deer. The deer was in the same stance as if stunned, and the wind still flew past him rejuvenating the cold burst of discomfort. The vision had come and gone in an heartbeat but it had left Tenshoujin wiser. His lack of strength did not bother him now, his inability for powerful strokes seemed a redundant fear. Tenshoujin knew what to do. There were no strokes and no power required… just precision aerobatics and focused reflexes. Tenshoujin had learned from his memories…

With a swift change in angle he melded perfectly with the wind currents gliding on them as he had learned from his memories. The lake and meadow loomed up in front of him. With a twist of his neck and tail, Tenshoujin paced into the dizzying corkscrew dive dipping his angle further. He knew now that he shouldn’t dive straight for his prey but rather incline his dive behind the prey to give him space to steady out for the kill.

As the nearby trees watched, a black bolt of lightning struck the ground behind the deer. Not a single speck of dust was scattered. A heartbeat later the ground stood clear. The grass swayed free from its herbivorous enemy...A hundred feet up in the air, a dead deer hung in Tenshoujin's talons. Giving into his carnal craving, he dug into his first meal. The strength returned to his newly formed body. His grip on sanity tightened. His fear of his visions slowly abated.

As he landed on the mountaintop, he thought back to the days events. In all that had happened, the glowing blue crystal still stood out in his mind… A search was at hand… his destiny was linked to it. He still feared his nightmarish memories… but the day had taught him that he could learn from them as well. He knew he had much that lay ahead of him and he would need every bit of tutoring he could muster.

Sunset had fallen and the blue sky now turned crimson, its heavy shades of red and orange adding a soft glow to the dragon emblem on his chest. With strength in his limbs and purpose in his eyes, he looked toward the village in the west…

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

**Amazing as always Shino-san. Your usage of the English language is amazing as ever. Such incredible writing talent!**


TATSU

The storm rolled away, and the rain subsided. Slowly, the moon climbed to it's place in the sky. The sun had passed into slumber, and the night was filled with a thousand dancing lights. The Prison was filled with darkness. Only candle flickers illuminated the gloomy hallways. I proceeded inside. I could feel the souls of Ichirin and Nozomi somewhere in the basement level.

Water dripped from my clothing. With each step my boots made a monotonous squishing sound. I found the nearest spiraling staircase and proceeded down into the bowels of this maddening place.

Within a few moments I was in the executioner's sector of the Prison. This corridor rang with reminiscence. I was here before, this is where I was captive. My cell of torment was located off to the left. I turned to clarify my coming thoughts. Suddenly, my heart stopped and my blood ran cold. I gulped as I looked down at a motionless figure. I knew what it was that I saw. The candles on the walls only passed a glow on what I was staring at.

I swallowed deep, and my throat burned. It was me. Or at least it used to be, lying there, dead and frozen. My hair was over my eye, and my skin had already changed into a gray tint.

I quivered with fear. I stopped. Listened. Everything was silent. Not the faintest sound could be heard. A pool of blood was escaping from my body. As if it longed to be free from my vessel.

I couched to one knee. Sora and Inferno were still equipped upon my old self. I removed the sword attached to my belt, and placed it upon myself, along with my brown cape. It was drenched in blood, but I hadn't cared. I had that cape for as long as I could remember. The bloodstains would merely add to it's history and character.

Carefully, I removed Inferno from the dead cold grasp of my former self, and placed it upon me once again. Moving it over my left middle knuckle, down the shaft of my finger, and placing it there.

"Tatsu? Is that you?" Inferno's frail voice filled me. "Yes it is me. I have returned. From the depths of Hell, I have somehow crawled my way back to humanity, back to the realm of the living, and back to those I love."

"So you desire to re-instate the pact do you?" I smile cooly. "Indeed. Please lend me your power once again, I can use all the aid I can muster.....

I'm so weak and pathetic on my own, I need others to go on. Without other's power, I am nothing...."

"As you wish." whispers Inferno. I leave the glittering ruby ring upon my finger and rise to my feet...

Ichirin and Nozomi are here waiting for me.... I back away from my body, and round the next corner. With a quick action, I steal one final look at my first life. "Farewell."

I move on.

With ease I found Nozomi's Cell. The main gate had been destroyed. Ichirin and Nozomi were holding each other in a corner. Nozomi was crying. Her sobs filled me with happiness. Not because I found enjoyment in her tears, but for the simple fact that I am seeing them again after what felt like an eternity.

Why hadn't they escaped by now? Why were they still here? Had she given up all hope that she had stayed here to die? I wanted to approach them. What would they say to me? Well, it didn't really matter at this point. We had to leave, and run far away. To our escape!

After intense contemplation, I brisk into the room. The coming footsteps startle the two. Ichirin clambers to his feet. "TATSU?! Tatsu! How is it possible?!!" For one of the first times I see Ichirin cry, and he cries for me. I should be honored that I had received such note-worthy affection, but I feel just downright awful.

"Yes it is me Ichirin. But I have no time to explain. We must escape!" Nozomi comes and throws all her weight into me. Her eyes twinkle in mine. She buries her face into the muscles of my chest. I clasp my arms tight around her, and pull her into me.

"Tatsu, I don't know how you are here, but I must leave. I left Myzura alone, and must re-join her." I nod at Ichirin, and he vanishes in a light.

Nozomi looks up at me. Still in awe. I rub a tear from her face, and brush back her hair. "Tatsu...I'm just.....so glad" She hugs me tight. This is the first contact with another living thing I am having in this body. Her warmth proves to me that I am alive.

"Come on Nozomi, we must not waste any time." I look around. Guard's bodies litter the ground, as well as the Knight with who had wielded a flaming claymore, the one who killed Ichirin. He was dead as well. " I heard the guards earlier." says Nozomi. "There is an exit one floor above here. It brings us out to the grasslands. If we head south from here, we can run to Asgard."

"That's my girl." I smile at Nozomi. I grab her hand and we run up a flight of stairs. As we reach the next landing, a small unit of guards head towards us. "STOP RIGHT THERE! PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED! SECURITY HAS BEEN BREACHED!" I draw Sora from it's resting place.

The guards line up before us.

"Lay down your arms!!" I shout at them... My eyes narrow.

"Or die....."

[CoolNard]

**I dunno, I ain't Swiftant XD He may have reformed his ways, but his personality stays true ^___^**


Thinking: Is reality maligning me? Isn't Swift renowned for being an undisputed fighter? And yet, he could only have forsaken his sakkat in a duel...

"Swift... There's no way...", I blurt out my thoughts.

"Who cares, I'll just have to get it back.", he confidently declares, his motion edging contentiously to our visitor.

"Swiftant! I need a word with you!", he announces, unaware of imminent danger.

"First, that's mine!", already unhesitatingly discarding any feasibility of reasoning, Swiftant plunges to claim his prize - be it sakkat or blood, I do not have the slightest prospect.

After a series of mind-numbing entanglements in a battle waged by Swiftant's rash nature, the stranger proves to be a decent fighter. Enlightened to the futility of snatching his sakkat, Swiftant pulls his arms backward, only to swing it forward in a vigorous crisscrossing pattern, aiming for his opponent's neck.

Upon noticing Swiftant's motives, the man stealthily bends to his rear, in a direction parallel to Swiftant's attack's, neatly avoiding his death, before attempting to launch a lowkick. I survey them with readiness to intervene, apprehensive of the future and for Swiftant.

Uninfluenced by gravity, he hoists his body to the cave wall and disappears into the upper depths of the cave ceiling. Condensed water droplets continue dripping onto the cave's inhabitants, unconcerned with current events. Swiftant's adversary has his eyes closed; probably trying to hear out more motives.

Without warning, his eyelids wind up and he abruptly jumps behind, brandishing a black naginata, with a golden dragon pattern on it, in the process. I feel a sudden gush of wind bellowing from the top... Swiftant has returned to view, in the form of a tornado! I can recognize that technique: He does it by letting himself fall onto the enemy headfirst, twisting and swirling his whole body into a rapid spin, followed by holistically thrusting his katars' blades in front of himself to smash his rival to bits.

*CHING!! SHHEEEEEEK*

A rain of sparks pour out of the collision of their weapons, as the whole cave reasonates with the clash.

"Not too shabby, didn't expect you to actually stop my momentum...", leers Swiftant. I watch Swiftant's menacing smile glowing from the sparks, the veins in his eyes bulging with blood. I lift my fingers to touch my lips; feeling them curl into a grin as well. It has been a while since I last saw him in serious action.

Clearly out of desperation, the stealth-suited man manages to push Swiftant back, and leaps onto his dragon's head, Swiftant at his heels.

"Wait! Why do you attack me?! I am not your enemy! Listen to what I have to say before you decide to do this!", the man attach his naginata back in the holster on his shoulder blade and shrewdly pulls out a twisted dagger, and holds it down to Swiftant's sakkat.

"If you do not co-operate and listen! Then you can say goodbye to this treasure of yours! Just hear me out!", he shouts threateningly. Swiftant pauses in midway of exhibiting another technique, of a similar magnitude to his last.

"How dare a scrawny audacity like yourself threaten Swift!", I yell.

"What makes you think I'll abide by the rules of someone who doesn't deserve it?", Swiftant says, as I get over with being a sitting duck.

"The destruction of your sakkat, along with all its sentimental value?", the man says, unable to contain his sarcasm.

"Which, in turn, may result in us destroying your dragon?", I snap, in an equally sarcastic retort.

"Hmph, I don't share an intimate bond with my armor whatsoever; they're meant to be destroyed eventually anyway. I'm just irked that it was touched by your filthy hands. Now, give it to me, Suzie here isn't a woman of words alone.", Swiftant subtly finishes, and resumes his fighting stance.

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

KAZUHIDE

After all of my attempts to end this quarrel in a positive manner, Swiftant's and Suzette's arrogance defied everything I was aiming to accomplish. Even with his sakkat on the threshold of being destroyed, he continued to advance on me with ill will. The woman was fond of forcing her way into affairs that hadn't concerned her.

Her shrewd tongue was starting to poke at the edge of my annoyance. How dare she threaten Fayuro! Slowly, I backed further down the body of my dragon friend. Swiftant stood with his katars at the ready. His crimson eyes burned madly, as he scanned me up and down. Waiting and looking for any unexpected movements.....

Then, with no notice, Fayuro starts to violently shake. As Swiftant regains balance from the jostle, I dive at him, grabbing Jet by the side of it's shaft, I knock the metal into his katars, and push him back off of Fayuro's head. He flips backwards, as he twirls into the air, his foot impacts into my jaw. A sharp pain runs up my face and digs deep into the bone... Swiftant lands upon the dirt, crouched with both hands on the ground.

Fayuro beats his wings, and takes off into flight. Swiftant, utilizing his powerful legs, jumps straight up, and grabs upon the leg of my dragon...

Suzette tries to run over quickly, and jump onto my dragon as well, but by the time she reaches our location, we are already too high into the air...

Now many hundreds of feet over the cave. I have the advantage over Swiftant....

"Now let's try this again!!" I say much more stern then my last attempts at a conversation with the DragonSin.

"Will you listen to me? Or risk your sakkat's destruction?!" With my words, Swiftant climbs up the side of Fayuro, and kneels perched above the dragon's shoulder. He is processing my words.

"Please Swiftant. Just hear me out." I place the twisted dagger back into it's hiding place, and grab the sakkat firmly with two hands, to make sure that he could not break it from my grasp.

My lips curl into a half grin. "Shakura needs to die doesn't she?" Swiftant's eyes widen a little when my words travel into his ears.

"You desire revenge on her...Do you not? I also want her death, and together, along with others, we can make that all possible."

To prove my worth to Swiftant, I carefully toss him his sakkat. He grabs it with one hand as it spun towards his head.

"I don't want to fight. I merely want to talk. Giving you your sakkat is proof of that. You could leave, now that you have regained your treasure. But if you do, then you won't hear how I came to acquire it, or my plans for the dragons."

We were very far from Suzette now. There was no way she could hear our voices, as the wind blew into the air. Night was descending on us fast.


**I am making it night, to show that everything that is going on, with Swiftant and Kazuhide, Tatsu and Nozomi, and Tenshoujin, and are happening at the same time.**

[Kuroneko]

God I wish I could Join you guys again... But I have to much School work to do. -_-;