One Last Walk Through the Dark

The Pride of Kryo, Svadilfare, had not been seen for six days. The reason? He was sick. The Chieftain left home for the first time in two years and ended up catching a cold during his travels. A little cold was nothing new to Svad, but as was natural for the man whose stubbornness rivaled that of his own late father--who may very well have invented the concept--he saw nothing wrong with risking something more nefarious as long as he got the results he needed. A week of traveling, fighting, and flying in the rain--twice--saw the Kryoan's cold progress into pneumonia. By the time he returned home, his breathing was barely distinguishable from that of a dying man, and he had a fever that might have kept a dragon egg warm. Luckily for Kryo, their Chieftain seemed to possess an aptitude for survival that left them wondering if his dragon wife actually had turned him into a god.

Svadilfare awoke to the sound of his daughter, Elara, trying to sneak into his room to check on him. Elara was one of Svad's six half-dragon children, the last to figure out her abilities--her magic had been sealed--and the most boisterous. With all of his human children grown and living elsewhere, and the rest of Elara's siblings--Jericho, Andromeda, Aurora, Cassieopia, and Cygnus--all off helping their mother or exploring the world, the Avedon house was silent. Elara's loud nature was most welcome. She'd coincidentally returned home the same day Svad had and had been dutifully taking care of him since. "No, don't send a message to your mother." Svad had insisted when Elara brought it up, "She needs to focus on her duties and the college. Besides, I'm not dying, and I have you to take care of me, right?" Elara had yet to notice that her father was awake because she was trying to ease a bucket of water into the room without spilling it, so Svad turned his head toward her and wondered, "Have you considered just using magic?"

Startled, Elara nearly dropped the bucket. "Papa! I didn't wake you, did I? I was being so quiet this time!"

Svad chuckled. "You always wake me up, Elara. I think your ability to be quiet is about as good as my ability to leave home and come back unscathed. But I'm glad, because it's been far too quiet around here for the past two years."

Elara set the bucket down beside her father's bed and went darting around the room in search of the rag she was sure she'd left. She also lacked the ability to be still and do anything in a manner that could be considered calm. It was a wonder her egg didn't constantly roll around while she was inside it. "Oh. Should I send messages more often?" Elara usually sent her father a letter to update him on her adventures once every couple months, via meteor. The citizens of Kryo had nicknamed her Star Storm and welcomed the challenge of constructing buildings that could hold up to space rocks. "Hmm, I could send them once a month instead, or every two weeks. Or would once a week be better?"

Svad sat up and tossed his blanket to the side as he moved to stand. "No, no! I uh, don't think there would be anything left of Kryo if you sent them every week. What you've been doing is just fine, sweetheart."

Elara finally gave up on finding the rag and noticed Svad getting up. She ran over and took his arm. "Where to?"

"The hearth." Svad was actually feeling better today, but Elara vowed not to rest until her father was well enough to be dropped onto a mountain. Once at the hearth, Svad used his fire magic to light it. He caught Elara watching him rather intently and rose a brow. "What?"

Elara smiled. "It's still awesome to watch you use magic. I mean, since you're human. I know Mama is going to make it so all humans can learn and use it, but you'll always be the first."

Svad smiled back. "That's true." A thought suddenly occurred to him. "With that in mind, she might want me to come teach."

Elara beamed at the thought. While she had always felt closer to her siblings than her parents, she still very much admired them. "You're a great teacher, Papa. You taught us lots of stuff."

Svad did have a knack for teaching others--at least when it came to fighting and hunting. He looked down at his Moonstone. "Hm, but I don't know about teaching magic. Even with your mother to guide me, it took a long time for me to just grasp the concept. As a creature not generously touched by magic, it would be difficult for me to explain it someone else. That's why I couldn't help you figure out how to transform. Well, that and I hadn't even learned to do it myself yet." Svad tossed a fresh log onto the fire then grabbed the cauldron and started to head for the water barrel outside. "However, I would certainly give it a try, if your mother asked it of me."

Elara snatched the cauldron before her father could get anywhere near the door. "You're not better yet!" she yelled as she ran outside. She returned mere seconds later with a cauldron half full of cold water and hung it over the hearth. "Ok, what next?"

"Now we wait for the water to boil." Svad returned to his room found the rag Elara had been searching for; it had been lying under his head. He washed up and changed, then returned to an uncharacteristically quiet Elara. "Elara?"

Elara was sitting at the table, writing. "I'm writing a letter to Nari."

Svad visibly winced. "Not Nari Taloe?" Nari Taloe. Born in Gynaikes, she was the female version of Svad and his sworn rival. She vowed to overtake him as the world's greatest assassin--though in her mind, she always had been--and to be the bane of his existence. She certainly had accomplished the latter. Though the woman irritated him to no end, he did acknowledge her standing as one of the best assassins and harbored a certain amount of admiration for her achievement of rising to become the most dangerous resident of Kakos.

Elara nodded. "Yeah. She came by a couple days ago for you; I told her I'd send a letter when you were well enough to get out of bed."

Svad blinked. 'Well by that logic, why didn't you let me go outside to fill the cauldron?' "If that woman came to see me, it can only mean that she wants my help on a job."

"What's wrong with that?" Elara wondered absently and clearly having forgot Nari's profession.

"I'm retired, remember?" Clearing his throat, he added, "Permanently."

Apparently remembering suddenly, Elara nodded. "Oh, right. Oh!" She turned and looked at her father. "I know, I could help her! I mean, I know Aurora is training to be an assassin, but she's helping Mom right now so we can't ask her."

Svad crossed his arms over his chest. "Elara, you can't just--"

"--How hard can it be?" Elara went on, ignoring her father as shiny new possibilities of adventure danced in her head. "I can just crush whoever it is with my meteors!"

Svad blinked again, slowly. "...There's several problems with that. Let's start with all of the innocent people you'd be killing along with the target."

"Don't worry, Papa. I know I'm only allowed to destroy Kryo. I'd just swoop down and grab the person and fly them off to the wild and then crush them with my meteors."

Svad's mouth opened and closed several times before he finally found his speech. "While that's... better... you can't just go swooping down and plucking humans like you would a sheep. For one thing, it would cause a panic. And if it happened in Anthropinos, you'd probably end up dead because they're one of the few places equipped to defend themselves from dragons. No, you know the rules. No being dragon in human cities and no being human in dragon cities."

Elara frowned but nodded. "I know..."

Svad sighed and reached out to pat Elara's head. "I know it's hard, being part of two worlds. It is your mother's and mine hope that one day you and your brothers and sisters can be your entire selves in front of everyone, not just Kryo and the Twilight Imperium leaders." He stoked the fire then glanced at the letter as he went to grab some potatoes and carrots. He suddenly began chuckling to himself as he sat down to cut up the vegetables.

"What's so funny?" Elara demanded, albeit halfheartedly, as she sat down to help, moving her letter aside first.

"I was just thinking, you never have been one to follow the rules. Do you remember the first time we told you not to go outside because the people of Kryo didn't know our secret yet? Not five minutes later, you bolted out the door shouting, "'Hi! My name's Elara and I'm half dragon!" How lucky we were that we live on the outskirts of the village."

"I don't remember that." Elara conveniently never seemed to remember any of the times she'd taken her parents' for-good-reason rules as silly suggestions. The only rule she actually did follow was the one about keeping her heritage a secret.

Svad chuckled again. "Of course you don't. I suppose you also don't remember when you finally unlocked your magic, and I specifically forbade you from summoning meteors anywhere near human cities."

"......Kryo is a village, Papa."

"Oh, you're right. That makes it okay then." Svad then lightly smacked his youngest daughter over the head with his tail--he'd learned how to do a partial transformation.

"Papa!" Not wanting to accidentally hurt her father, she opted for throwing potato peels at him instead.

Svad laughed for the first time in quite a while. "I fear I let you get away with too much, my little Butterfly." After the potatoes and carrots had cooked for long enough, Svad and Elara gathered some spaz fish from the storage pool Svad had built beneath the house. They cleaned the fish then added them to the cauldron along with some herbs. Soon, the spaz fish soup was ready.

While they ate, Elara went into more detail about her travels. "...I was flying to the NightWing kingdom because I wanted to see where Mama came from. And out of nowhere this big Manticore attacks me! He thought I was trying to take some humans he was hunting for myself."

Svad's brow rose. He knew of a Manticore--the only one he'd ever seen--that liked to prey on humans. "I think I know that Manticore. He tried to eat me, once. It was shortly after I met your mother; she saved me from him."

"Really?"

"Mhm. So, did you explore the NightWing kingdom?" Svad found himself thinking back to his travels with Astral. During the nights, they would ask questions back and forth about the other's race. While Svad had taken Astral to every human city and shown her around, there had been no way for Astral to return the favor. So he listened with fascination as his daughter described what she'd seen at the IceWings, FireWings, and NightWings.

"I want to see the EarthWings next." Elara concluded as she finished her third bowl.
__________________

A week later, Svad's health had improved to Elara's satisfaction. Father and daughter were outside doing some training. Elara had asked her father to sharpen the blade of her rope dart, and this had intrigued Svad. The doting dad who refused to acknowledge that his beloved daughters had aged past 5, had never pictured Elara as a fighter. She could hunt in her human form, but combat was a bit much. Of course, all one needed was practice to achieve just about anything. After all, Aurora had decided to follow Svad into the dark underworld of assassination. Elara explained that she'd bought the rope dart because it looked easy to use. So now Svad was watching her demonstrate her knowledge of the weapon, then correcting the mistakes he saw.

After two full hours of training--not even his daughters were spared from the Pride of Kryo's famous rigorous training methods--Elara slept curled up by the hearth in her dragon form. Svad wished the rest of the family were here for the momentous occasion: the first time Elara seemed to be completely depleted of energy. While Elara slept, Svad sat down to write a letter to Jericho. Like Aurora, Jericho could always be found wherever Svad was, watching him and asking every question that came to mind. When they were little, the two often competed for his attention, argued over which he loved more. Svad would let them fight until they wore themselves out, then fall asleep with both in his arms. While Elara sent letters the most often, Jericho came home to visit the most. He usually stayed two days and spent the whole time observing his father's daily life.

Dear Jericho,
I'm glad to hear Clementine and the others are doing well. Have you gone anywhere new since the last time you wrote? Have you visited your mother and sisters at the college? The tundra is starting to get colder, so when you come for your next visit, we can go hunting. See you soon, son.
--Love, your father.

As Svad prepared the letter to be sent off, he wondered whether Jericho had any interest in becoming the Chieftain of Kryo one day. Aurora was following in his footsteps in one way; perhaps Jericho wanted to, too. He would have to ask the next time he saw him. Svad chuckled as he imagined the two arguing over which of them would be better at carrying on his legacy. Just as he was enjoying such happy thoughts, he detected the footsteps of misery. "Nari." Svad greeted with all the enthusiasm of a mouse knowing it was about to be swallowed by a snake.

Nari Taloe stepped into the open doorway of the Avedon house, the layer of snow that had begun to accumulate on her shoulders immediately falling to the floor as she leaned against the jamb. "Leo. How'd you know it was me?"

"You have the vilest aura of any creature that ever walked this earth. And don't call me Leo."

Nari smirked, knowing full well how much Svad hated that she refused to call him anything but Leo. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

Svad got up and went over to the hearth, throwing a fresh log on the fire. "Insult, of course."

Nari smiled as she invited herself fully into the house... and helped herself to some fruit and dried meat sitting on the table. "Good. I hate compliments." Elara yawned as she woke and sat up. She immediately noticed Nari and bounded off to her bedroom. While Svad had a strange feeling that he could trust Nari with the secret, he had absolutely no intention of willingly telling her. "And here I thought that kid was the only one with a pet dragon."

Svad's brow rose at Nari's audacity. "What kid?"

Nari pretended not to notice his look as she bit into an apple. "You know, that kid in Kakos, like literally the only child assassin around?"

"Oh." Svad had heard of a 15-year-old girl who'd quite quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the most feared assassins in Kakos. He'd yet to meet her though. "What's her name?"

Nari had to think for a moment. Svadilfare was her rival, so she didn't bother learning other assassins' names unless she absolutely had to. "Naviera." she said finally.

"Naviera..." Svad repeated thoughtfully. "Hm. Actually, I think I saw a bounty poster for her recently. Anyway, I don't have a pet dragon. Think of it more as when a dog has gotten used to seeing the same person all the time."

"Interesting. And it didn't attack you when you first saw it?"

Svad shook his head. "It was only a baby then."

Elara had changed back into her human form then climbed out the window of her room. Now she walked into the house. "Hi, Papa. Hi, Nari."

"Hello, Elara." Svad replied as he went over and hugged her--more to help with the ruse than anything.

Nari gave a wave as she reached for some dried meat. "Hey, kid. So, Leo. Let's get to why I'm here."

"Don't call me Leo. And the answer is no."

"Don't be like that, Leo." she replied, gleefully and blatantly ignoring him. "I promise, you'll like it. Just hear me out."

Elara, sensing an opportunity, bounced over to the table with excitement and sat. Svad folded his arms and frowned at both of them. "Make it quick."

Nari grinned. "First, a question. What do you know about the Kingdom of Moon?"

"The Kingdom of Moon." Svad echoed as he sat down in front of the hearth. "Other than the name and location, nothing. I've never been there."

Nari seemed only mildly disappointed. "Well, the part we'll care about is this: they're going to war. A civil war, actually. See, the Tsuki family has been waiting for years for an heir to take the throne. But they weren't the best rulers to begin with and people are tired of waiting. Every ruling body has their loyal followers though; those say to keep sticking it out, maybe the heir will appear soon. The opposers say enough is enough, let's let someone new on the throne." Nari paused to finish off her piece of dried meat and reached for another. "And then there's the bandit problem. They almost give Kakos a run for its money. Almost. I mean, kudos for bringing a kingdom to its knees, but you gotta expand your reach or end up draining the well."

"Right." Svad agreed, much to Elara's surprise.

"So, a kingdom rife with bandits bloodletting the wealth, and a population split about its monarchy. It's the perfect opportunity to swoop in and make a killing!"

Svad's brow rose slowly. "Literally or monetarily?"

A rather malicious grin spread across Nari's face. "Both, of course."

Svad half smiled in spite of himself. He was first and foremost a warrior, and this did sound like just the sort of thing warriors--Kryoans--lived for. "But here's the important question, Nari. Is either side looking for outside help?"

The woman shrugged. "No clue. But the bandits are definitely something both with want to deal with. Imagine how grateful they'd be if we showed up at the gate with the means to kick some..." Nari glanced at Elara as if she'd forgotten the girl was there. "...Bandits out of the kingdom." she finished.

"I'm sure they would be very grateful," Svad began as he fondled his Moonstone thoughtfully, "but we can't just show up uninvited to fix their problems. Well... you can. But I'm not looking to replace the bandits."

"You don't have to. I won't need you once the fighting is over."

"I thought you came here to convince me to join you?"

"Come on, Leo. I saw it on your face a minute ago. You don't care what I say now; you totally want in."

"You're seeing things." He got up and went outside, grabbing Elara's rope dart. "And don't call me Leo."

Nari and Elara followed, the former leaning back against the house as she watched the Kryoan begin to practice with the rope dart. Well, practice was a bit of a stretch--if it was or could be used as a weapon, Svad knew how to use it with deadly precision within seconds of touching it. Elara had picked up a second rope with a small rock attached to it instead of a blade and was trying to copy her father. "Papa..." she began as she looked over at him.

Svad had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask but responded anyway. "Yes?"

"Isn't the Kingdom of Moon near Brysur?" Oh. Well, Svad hadn't expected that question. "You could see Jericho and the others on the way."

"That's true."

Nari grinned at Svad's back. "I like this kid."

Very much not by accident, Svad launched the rope dart behind him, the blade bouncing harmlessly off the stone beside Nari's face. "Duly noted, now go away."

"I'll go away if you come with me. Come on, it's not like this is an assassination. I wouldn't dare come to you with that when I know you're permanently retired now."

Svad wound up the rope on his hand to bring the blade back to him. "Nari, I have your letter from six months ago."

"I bet you didn't look at the payment for that." she pouted.

"No, because I stopped reading and tossed it into the fire after the word 'assassination'."

"You do know that people still come looking for you in Kakos for a job, right? You might have decided to retire, but not everyone is ready to accept it, especially since no one's been deemed worthy enough to be your successor."

Svad smirked. "Not even the great Nari Taloe?"

Nari chose not to dignify that with a response. "Leeoooo, I need you. Sure, I can just grab and sword swinging, axe wielding guy off the street, but I need the best of the best to lead him. Seriously, because you know I can't stand idiots."

Svad groaned. Dragging out names like that was the closest Nari Taloe allowed herself to get to begging. And Nari Taloe never begged for anything unless she really wanted it. Even then, she'd rather cut off her own finger. He scowled at her as he turned to face her, her giddy, victorious grin grating on his nerves even more than her insistence on calling him Leo. He held up one finger. "If we get there and no one wants to hire us, I'm leaving you there." He held up a second finger. "I want 60/40, even if I do leave."

Nari was like an older--albeit much more controlled--version of Elara, her excitement palpable. "Why 60/40?"

"For having to put up with you."
_________________

The next day, Svad held a meeting with the village. He couldn't very well go off to fight a war without giving the rest of Kryo a chance to sign up. The possibility of turning back without fighting didn't bother anyone--in reality, the Kryoans were starting to get a bit restless with nothing to do since the world had calmed down after the monsters--and naturally everyone wanted in. Svad selected three men. After putting Kryo's second best warrior, Rondo, in charge, Svad departed with his daughter, his rival, and three fellow Kryoans. Staying ahead of Nari so she wouldn't see, Svad smiled a bit as they got underway. No matter how this ended up going, it would be the first time in too long since he got to lead a march toward glory.

The journey to the Kingdom of Moon would take the group past other points of civilization. Kakos, Anthropinos, and Brysur were the ones Svad planned on stopping in. Actually, stopping in Kakos was Nari's idea; she apparently had to pick up a few men of her own, but Svad had a feeling that she just wanted to parade the Pride of Kryo around. His presence in Kakos, even if he weren't there in the capacity of an assassin, would only stir up wonder and rumor that he was stepping back into the world. However, his concern was Elara. Svadilfare had made a point of especially forbidding his daughters from ever visiting Kakos. He wouldn't even allow Aurora, who intended to follow in his footsteps, to go. He knew he couldn't keep his children away forever. They were spending more time away from home--away from his watchful eyes--and soon they would be beyond his law, able to make their own decisions. Svad turned in his saddle to look at Elara, who was watching a bird fly overhead while listening to Nari. As much as he loathed the idea of taking her to Kakos, he was glad to have this opportunity to travel with her. Unlike the rest of his children, Svad had never been able to take Elara with him on trips, because she had been stuck in dragon form.

It only took two days to reach Kakos from Kryo. As the city came into view, Svad went over a very long list of things Elara was not to do. "Don't worry, Papa. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, Leo," Nari chimed in as she caught up to them, "what's to worry about? She has an escort of Kryoan warriors and a Gynaikes assassin. She'll be more protected than a freaking royal."

Tar, Bjorn, and Samson rode up beside their Chieftain. Tar was a blacksmith; Bjorn was Svad's childhood friend and blood brother; and Samson was a young man who had yet to taste real combat. Samson beat his fist against his chest, trying to look as tough as the older men. "We'll keep her safe, Chief."

Bjorn, who had been the first to accept Astral and swear secrecy, clapped Svad on the shoulder. "Aye, don't worry, Svadi. If anyone so much as looks at Elara funny, we'll give them a good talking to."

Tar grinned. "And a peek at Kryoan steel for good measure."

Svad couldn't help but laugh. "I appreciate the offer."

"Ha!" Bjorn grabbed his arm and shook him. "'Offer', he says!"

Tar took Svad's other arm and did the same. "It is our duty! Leave a son to his sire, but all of Kryo raises a daughter. And no daughter is more precious than the Chieftain's."

Nari led the way to Kakos' infamous tavern. Elara, sandwiched between Svad and Bjorn, looked this way and that like a bird searching for a particular piece of food. "Papa, if I take Uncle Bjorn with me--"

"--Not even if you took your mother with you."

Bjorn laid his hand on Elara's shoulder and winked at her before asking, "Are you saying you don't trust your own blood brother, Svadi?"

Svad reached into his coin pouch and handed Elara a few coins, all while muttering under his breath and refusing to look at Bjorn.

"Listen up!" Nari began as she, Svad, Tar, and Samson walked into the tavern, "I need a few swords. Any takers?"

"What's the job?" someone at the back asked.

"Ridding a kingdom of its bandit problem. Maybe even sticking around for a civil war."

A wave of murmurs spread through the tavern. Finally, someone asked, "You talking about the Kingdom of Moon?"

"The very same." Nari answered as she walked up to the owner. "Give me an ale."

"Didn't know you had a death wish, Nari." the owner said as he handed her a mug. "You're not the first to chase that dream. There's a reason those bandits kept ahold of that kingdom for so long."

A woman leaned back in her chair. "Their leader is a bear and the rest of them can actually function without his direction."

"So, what you're saying is even the city full of murderers, mercenaries, assassins, slave traders, bounty hunters, and freaking dragon trappers... can't handle a few glorified pickpockets? Or worse, are scared of them?" Nari laughed at the looks she received. "That's hilarious. Leo, do you hear this? I've seen weaning babes who were braver than this lot."

"You come in here looking for a sword, or a fight, Nari?" An ex-soldier turned mercenary with a longsword, tapped the flat of his blade against his table.

Nari grinned. "Maybe both, actually. I could use a warmup before I get to the Kingdom of Moon."

Somehow, Svad had gone largely unnoticed. Then again, he hadn't moved from the door yet. Now, he and the others weaved through the tables to make their way to the bar. Naturally, he heard the whispers and saw the looks. "Nari, we can't recruit anyone if you kill them all."

Nari downed her ale. "I'm not going to kill everyone." She looked at the ex-soldier. "Just the ones who ask for it."

The owner filled three mugs with ale and handed them out to the Kryoans. "Well, well, Svadilfare. I didn't think I'd ever see you in here again."

Svad dropped a coin on the counter. "You can thank Nari. But it's nice to see you again, Trevor."

Trevor pocketed the coin with a smile. "So, how's retirement treating you?"

"Very well."

"You know, I still get people coming in here looking for you."

"Nari told me." Svad downed half the ale. "But no amount of coin is going to change my mind. I'm just Kryo's Chieftain now. The world will just have to wait until my daughter is ready to take my place."

"You didn't have a son?" someone asked.

Svad chuckled. "I have five. My oldest had no interest in walking Kryo's path, which is perfectly fine. My two youngest haven't decided on their futures yet, but I hold out hope for one. If you think any daughter of mine would be raised to aspire to nothing more than a wife, however, you're sadly mistaken."

"Five sons! The gods really do favor him." a voice at the back marveled.

"How many daughters?" the ex-soldier asked, genuinely curious.

"Six." Svad answered with a swell of pride.

"Any of them available?" a slurred voice called.

"Unfortunately for you lot, I have high standards."

Nari had been watching the ex-soldier while the attention of the room shifted to Svad. "Hey, royal grunt. Why'd you run?"

The man looked back at Nari. "My name is Brent. And I didn't run from anything. I got kicked out for speaking my mind, for trying to help my fellow soldiers get home to their families in one piece. Most people see us as one of two ways: the protectors of the realm, or the enforcers of the royals' laws. The royals and nobility see us as an expendable resource. That was especially true when the monsters were here. I know there are exceptions to every group, but most of them aren't. Problem is folks will do and put up with just about anything for enough coin. Most soldiers actually come from poor families; they sign up and send the majority--if not all--of their earnings home to give their parents and younger siblings a better life. With plenty of poor people needing coin, there will always be someone to replace a dead soldier." Brent paused, apparently recalling some of his former comrades, and sighed heavily. He took a long drink from his mug. "Anyway, because I dared to try to explain why having an exhausted battalion escort would be just as bad as travelling alone, and that I couldn't afford to send men to their deaths for the sake of one nobleman who didn't even have a good reason to be travelling, I was arrested."

"I like a man who shows his betters a little backbone." Nari went over to his table. "Shouldn't you have been beheaded or something?"

"Some monsters attacked while I was being taken to the execution block. I slipped away in the chaos."

Nari ran her finger over the edge of his longsword. "Any interest in joining us?"

"You really need anybody else when you've got three Kryoans with you? One of which being their leader and the world's best assassin?"

"Retired assassin." Svad corrected.

Brent leaned to peer around Nari at Svad. "A man with legendary status like yours? I'm afraid only death will prove your retirement to the masses."

Answering his question, Nari said, "Actually, I have four Kryoans with me. But they might bail on me once we get to the Kingdom of Moon, so..."

Brent rose a brow. After a moment or two, he shrugged. "All right. I haven't had work in a while."

Nari grinned. "Perfect." She turned to look around the rest of the tavern. "Any more takers?"

No one spoke; glances were exchanged. Finally, the woman stood up. "I'm in as long as the Kryoans stick around."

Nari looked at Svad. "Hear that, Leo? You can't bail out now."

"I can and will if I want to, Nari. And don't call me Leo."

Svad, Nari, Tar, Samson, Brent, and Vivian left the tavern a few minutes later. Bjorn and Elara were already waiting with the horses. As they left Kakos, Elara showed off the bottle of poison she'd bought for her rope dart, then turned her attention to Brent and Vivian, bombarding them with questions.

"Try to keep your arm steady, like this." Vivian pulled back on her bow to show how her arm remained still. Elara tried to do the same, humming with determination. She managed it, but only for a few seconds. Vivian chuckled softly and patted her head. "Don't worry, with some practice, you'll get it."

Svadilfare was standing nearby, watching them. Bjorn and Tar were hunting; Samson and Nari were gathering firewood. Brent was sitting down near Svad, sharpening his longsword. "I have a little girl." he mentioned casually. "She's almost six."

Svad glanced at the ex-soldier. He smiled lightly after a moment. "I wish they would stay that young and small."

"Heh. But then you'd spend your whole life wrapped around their little fingers."

"Trust me, that doesn't end when they get older. Not if you're their favorite parent."

Bjorn and Tar came back first, a large buck hefted on their shoulders. "We bring supper!" Bjorn announced with a beat of his chest.

"You brought a feast, Brother." Svad corrected when he saw the size of the buck. "The hunters of Val smiled on you."

"Well, they smiled on me." Tar huffed as he and Bjorn laid the buck down. "Bjorn wasn't named so because he's a massive beast, you know. It's because he hunts like one. He might be able to spot mighty prey, but he doesn't have the finesse to actually fell it. I had to do it, or else we'd be going hungry."

"Bah!" Bjorn waved his hand dismissively, which, because he was a hulking figure--and clad in Kryo's traditional fur clothing--looked an awful lot like a bear swinging its paw. "You're just mad because I saw it first and all you'd found up till then were a couple squirrels."

"Now, now." Svad pulled out a dagger. "Argue while you work. We need to have this dressed by the time Nari and Samson get back."

"How long does it take to gather wood, anyway?" Bjorn asked as he grabbed his own dagger and sat to start dressing.

Tar chuckled. "Something tells me Nari has Samson doing all the work. Or else he's obliterating the wood as he chops it. Either way, he's probably trying to impress her. Our little Samson isn't quite a man yet, you know."

Bjorn laughed but nudged Tar. "Don't forget to use Old Kryoan if you're going to bring that up." He nodded toward Elara.

Svad shook his head. "She knows Old Kryoan, Bjorn. All my children do." Svad hadn't really planned to teach them. But one day, Andromeda came in while he was working on a speech for a wedding. Andromeda was very intelligent and loved to learn new things. She'd noticed right away that what her father was saying wasn't exactly the Kryoan language she knew. "What is that?" Andromeda had asked then. "It's Old Kryoan." Svad had answered. "We still use it for special occasions like weddings and funerals." Andromeda had sat and listened while her father practiced his speech. He had noticed her trying to mouth the words along with him, so he offered to teach her. The next day, the lessons began. Eventually, Aurora and Jericho noticed their sister--who normally could be found with Astral--was spending a lot of time with Svad. He caught them peeking in on a lesson and pretended not to notice, knowing they couldn't go long without investigating this strange occurrence. Elara ventured into learning simply because it meant spending time with her siblings, which was her favorite thing. And Cygnus had considered it his job as the "big brother"--even though he hadn't actually been the first to start.

Svad smiled at the recollection. It was his favorite memory of Andromeda. His attention was drawn to the arrival of Nari and Samson. "We haven't kept you waiting long, have we?" the former asked as she proceeded to sit down without helping Samson. Just as Tar had predicted, she'd made the young man do all the work.

"Only long enough to kill this deer and almost completely dress it." Tar answered with annoyance. "What were you two doing?"

"Gathering wood." Samson replied with an innocence that made Tar and Bjorn strongly suspect otherwise.

Nari caught their glances and rolled her eyes. "If you two must know, I prefer--"

"--You know what I'd prefer?" Svad interjected. "The sound of work being done."

"Sorry, Chieftain." Bjorn, Tar, and Samson mumbled.

Nari laid on her back to look up at the darkening sky. "Leo, can I give you some advice?"

"I'd rather you gave Samson a hand with building the fire."

Soon, a fire was burning, and venison was cooking. Elara and Vivian ended their bow practice for the evening, and Brent joined the group. While they all sat around waiting for the meat, Bjorn told stories from his and Svad's childhood. While they ate, Vivian decided to share a little about herself. She was a nomad who took odd jobs. She went after bounties; she accompanied people wanting companionship while they travelled; she spied on targets for assassins; she even lent a hand at orphanages.
______________

"You know magic?" Vivian and Brent asked in astonishment as they watched Svad cast a spell to preserve the leftover venison.

"There's nothing the Pride of Kryo can't do." Bjorn boasted.

"I was given this as payment for an escort job." Svad pulled the red Moonstone out from under his shirt. "I didn't know what it was, so I had it appraised by a scholar. Apparently, it's an artifact that allows the owner to learn magic by granting understanding of the concept."

"But aren't those ridiculously rare?" Vivian asked.

"And like, off limits to everyone except royalty, nobility, and the insanely wealthy?" Brent added.

Svad shrugged as if to say he hadn't known at the time nor cared. "He tried to buy it from me."

Vivian rose a brow. "And you turned him down? He must have offered you enough to turn Kryo into a small kingdom."

Svad closed his hand around the Moonstone for a moment before leaving it to soak up the sunlight. "It's bad luck to part with a gift from someone who loves you. It was a woman who gave this to me, and during the travel I fell for her. When we're apart, this makes me feel she's still beside me and reminds me of our journey. I wouldn't part with this for all the world's wealth."
_______________

[A week and a half later...]

Anthropinos was the next stop. The group split up, with plans to meet in the square in two days. Bjorn went with Svad and Elara to the magic college. The trio hadn't gotten more than two steps into the building when Astral plowed into them. "Svad!"

"Astral!" Svad hugged his wife tightly and kissed her.

"Eep!" Elara exclaimed as she scrambled out of the way to avoid being scooped up in the tackle. Then she spotted Andromeda and Aurora and immediately copied her mother. "Aurora! Andromeda!"

"Hey Ela--ah!" Aurora didn't have time to get her greeting out before Elara rammed into her... in her dragon form... for reasons only Shardas knew.

Andromeda deftly side-stepped her sisters, avoiding getting tackled as if she'd spent a lifetime doing so. "Hi, Elara."

"Um, you know we're not at home, right?" Aurora asked as she tried to push Elara off of her.

"Huh?" Elara asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was now in dragon form. As if to further this theory, she looked down at herself. "Oh." Changing back, she stood and helped Aurora up. "Well, I don't see anyone around."

"That's not the point." Andromeda said in her most Astral-like imitation. She hugged Elara and pointed to the college's rules, which were posted in the alcove. "'Absolutely no using magic without your teacher present'. Plus, you know, our family's number one rule."

Aurora shook her head. "Elara couldn't follow rules if her life depended on it. She just does whatever she wants like... like a..."

"Like a cat?" Bjorn offered as she squeezed by Svad and Astral to greet his "nieces".

"Yes! Exactly, Uncle Bjorn." Aurora said as she gave him a big hug. "She's like a..." she paused to make sure no one was walking by, "a Dragon Cat."

"Ha! I've never heard that one before." Bjorn hugged Andromeda next. "Hello, Andromeda."

"Hello, Uncle Bjorn."

Elara crossed her arms. "I can follow rules! I just, uh, don't always remember what they are."

"Uh huh, sure." Aurora grabbed Bjorn and Elara's hands. "Come on! We'll give you a tour of the college."

Astral finally let go of her mate and looked him over with a smile. "What took you so long to get here?"

"You knew I was coming?" Astral could see where he was at all times.

"No, but I could see that you were headed in this direction; I was just hoping that this was your destination."

Svad smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't dare travel toward Anthropinos and not stop by to see you."

"Good. Want a new tour?" Svad had seen the college after it was built, but this was the first time since then that he'd had a chance to visit.

"Lead the way." Astral showed him the library, the classrooms, the dormitory. She introduced him to some of the students, in part to show them what a real Moonstone looked like, and so he could show off his own magic abilities. "It seems like things are going well here." Svad commented as they walked next door to the temple.

"It is. Andromeda and Jericho are doing a really good job." Andromeda can already run the temple without any help from me, and Jericho is getting more confident about working in college every day. I'll be able to leave it all to them one day with no worries."

Svad smiled and kissed her temple. "I'm proud of all of you. Speaking of Jericho, we planned on stopping to see him in Brysur."

"No need, Dad." Jericho said from behind his parents.

"Jericho!" Svad hugged his oldest son tightly. "I'm glad I didn't send the letter I wrote before we left, then. Elara told me you were there."

Jericho returned his father's hug. "Yeah, but you know Elara. She flew off in the middle of me telling her that my vacation was over and that I was coming back here."

Svad chuckled. "That sounds about right." He walked up to the altar and looked up at the stained-glass window. He wondered how the dragon version of Astral's temple looked. "So, are you able to beat Aurora yet?"

Jericho smiled. "I'm getting there."

"That's my boy."

Svad, Astral, and Jericho finally found the girls and Bjorn. Bjorn greeted Astral with a wave. "Quite the school you have! We've got a few sons who don't seem fit for the sword, maybe we should send them here."

"The more the merrier." Astral said.

"Daddy!" Aurora ran to her father and hugged him tightly.

"Aurora!" Svad laughed and hugged his--totally unofficial of course--favorite daughter. "How's my little girl? Staying out of trouble?"

"Of course, Daddy." Astral, Andromeda, Jericho, and Elara all looked at each other and shook their heads.

Fortunately, Svadilfare didn't believe his little troublemaker one bit. "Do you at least make it worth it, like I taught you?"

Aurora looked up at him with a grin. "Always."

"Good." He kissed the top of her head then snatched up Andromeda. "Your mother tells me you're running the temple well. I'm proud of you." He let go of her and reached into his bag for a book. "I brought this for you. It was your Grandmother's. I think she would have liked for you to have it."

Andromeda took the book with a smile. While she'd always preferred spending time with her mother, Svad had never failed to notice what interested her. Whenever he could on his travels, or even just from browsing the market at home, he'd get books and scrolls and maps for Andromeda. Human history, dragon history--though those required special trips into dragon territory--any form of knowledge he could find for the daughter who loved to learn. "Thank you, Dad."

"You're welcome."

It wasn't a complete family reunion--Cygnus in Ammos visiting his human friend--but the family was happy, nonetheless. They enjoyed a feast of Spaz Fish cooked in various ways, and everyone took turns telling stories from the past couple years. After, Bjorn left to find an inn. Astral asked, "So, how long are you in town?"

"Two days. Nari is looking for more mercenaries to join us." He'd filled her in on the potential job.

"Aurora and Jericho will love that." She looked over at the pile of sleeping dragons. Naturally, the college had private quarters for herself and the kids, in the form of a pocket dimension that could only be accessed by the family. In here, they could stretch their wings--literally--without being seen or blow off some magical steam without worrying about accidentally destroying the college. After having filled their bellies with Spaz Fish, perhaps due to nostalgia, the siblings had decided to take their dragon forms and sleep in a pile together like they did as Hatchlings.

Svadilfare smiled at the sight and took Astral's hand, squeezing it softly. "You'd think they were Hatchlings again."

"I guess they miss those days, too, sometimes." She got up, pulling Svad with her. She changed to her dragon from and picked a side of the kids to lay on. Svad took the other and changed as well, even though his form would only last an hour. They each spread a wing over the kids and soon they were asleep as well.

"Attention everyone! The college is closed for today due to me having some very important business to take care of for Astral. Go home, roam the city, whatever, just don't be here. That's all." Most of the students left without a fuss after the announcement. A few needed a little extra nudge in the form of some spending money but Astral didn't care. Now all that was left was to get rid of the kids. She herded them out the door. "Ok, so go on. Shoo. Stay out of trouble."

"Wait, Mom." Jericho said.

"What's wrong?" Andromeda asked.

'You're still here.' Astral thought. "Nothing, really."

"But you said it was important. Did something happen?" Elara wondered.

"Can we help?" Aurora asked.

"Nope!" Astral answered to both. She finally shoved them through the door and out onto the street. "Look, your father is in town for today and tomorrow. Tomorrow he's going to spend time with you kids, but today he has some very important things to do that I need to help him with."

Andromeda tilted her head at her mother. "Ok, but isn't the whole point of me and Jericho being here is so that we can take over for things like this?"

Jericho nodded. "Yeah, Mom. We can run things for you while you're out."

"Right. Great point. Except we won't be going out because we'll be doing those important things from here. And it'll take all day. You kids don't want to be stuck hanging around here all day with nothing to do. So shoo!"

The siblings looked at each then back at their mother. Aurora smiled slowly. "So... you'll be too busy to worry about what we're doing?"

"Oh, I'll be worrying about it. But what can you do? When you're busy, you're busy." Astral started shoving them again. "Now SHOO! Remember the rules and don't do anything your father and I wouldn't do. Actually, there's a couple things we do that you probably shouldn't--"

Svad grabbed Astral and threw her over his shoulder before turning to walk back inside the college. "Jericho, look after your sisters. Aurora, make it worth it. Elara, if you love us at all, don't destroy the city. Andromeda, if your sisters go too far, hold them until I can get to you." With that, the Pride of Kryo disappeared inside with his wife and closed the door.

"Pfft. How would Dad even know if we did?" Aurora asked as she and her siblings began walking off in no particular direction.

"Dad always knows." Andromeda reminded her. "It's like he can see what we're doing no matter where we go."

"Wouldn't he have to be a god like Mom, though? And Mom can't even see us." Jericho said.

"No, I think Mom can't see us because we're only half that." Andromeda said as some people walked close by. "So, Dad wouldn't be able to see us, either."

"What would Dad as a god even look like?" Aurora wondered. Astral had told them that the gods all had different powers and realms of control. What would their father be the god of? Warriors? Assassination? Snow? Building?

"Maybe Papa just follows us around." Elara said, pulling her siblings out of their thoughts. They stopped and looked at each other. It was definitely possible. They looked over their shoulders slowly, expecting to find some evidence that their father was indeed shadowing them.
_______________

"Come on, get him!"

"Knock him out!"

"Hang in there!"

The Twilight-Avedon siblings wandered up to a crowd of people huddled together watching something. Naturally, Aurora had wanted to check it out. It turned out to be a fight between two guys. One looked like he could be related to Bjorn, and the other was about their father's height, but leaner.

Takeo Takeuchi stumbled slightly as he leaned back out of range of the sword swing coming toward him. He moved to the left and threw a punch into his opponent's side. The sword wielder grunted and swung to his left, only for Takeo to duck and deliver a strike to the back of his knee. He backed away as the man went down, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

A woman--one who looked quite wealthy--leaned into her friend and muttered, "The little guy is lasting longer than I thought."

Someone elsewhere within the circumference of spectators wondered, "You know, that guy has an axe and a couple daggers, but he isn't using them."

"How long do you think you can get by with just dodging and punching?" Takeo's opponent questioned as he stood. "My blade is going to catch you eventually. You'd be better off using that axe of yours."

"You don't want me to use my axe." Takeo retort. "Unless you're not interested in walking away from this."

"Where do you think you are, Kakos? Around here, a man has to actually be able to back up his words."

"What are they fighting about anyway?" Aurora asked to no one in particular.

A woman next to her replied, "Apparently, the one with the axe stole some food, and the big guy caught him."

"I don't see anything on him."

"Maybe he threw it away while he was being chased. I say he did it; just look at him, he screams criminal."

Aurora tilted her head a bit as she tried to get a good look at Takeo, who was fighting again now. He sort of looked like any other guy. He definitely looked nothing like a criminal as he took a barrage of punches to his midsection. When the Bjorn look-alike brandished his sword again, Takeo earned a slice to his side. His strap of his bag was also cut, spilling its contents onto the ground: a loaf of bread and three apples. "Ha! There, you thief! What do you have to say for yourself now?"

Takeo stooped to pick up his bag and put the food back in, only to get kicked in the face in the process. "That's my food." he spat out a bit of blood-tinged saliva.

"Food you stole." He picked up one of the apples. "So, which hand to you want me to take?"

"Neither." Takeo got up while rubbing his chin. "What gives you the right, anyway? You're not a soldier."

"I'm a hard-working merchant who can't stand sneakthieves." Takeo ran at the man and tried to take the apple back. "I think you have much bigger problems than this apple, boy." He bit into it and threw the rest back at Takeo.

Takeo stopped and looked down at the apple as it rolled along the ground. He grabbed his daggers and suddenly slashed at the man's chest, causing him to stumble backward in effort to avoid it. Takeo had been fighting with some discipline before, but now he moved with wild abandon. After a while, he seemed to resemble a snake. Aurora and Jericho thought he was starting to look like their father, though they'd never seen Svad in a real fight, just his training sessions with the other warriors of Kryo.

The siblings left without seeing the winner of the fight. Elara had heard bells and run off to see what they were for, so the others had to chase her. "Does anyone else remember Elara being this fast in human form?" Jericho asked his other sisters as they followed.

"Nope." Aurora answered. "But I guess when something catches her attention, it doesn't matter how weak her human form is."

"We're going to be running all day, aren't we?" Andromeda groaned. They finally caught up to Elara, who was now staring in wonder at the large market. "Oh, yeah." Andromeda said after catching her breath, "That bell was to signal that the market is open now."

"You can find just about anything here." Aurora explained to Elara as they began walking around. "Sometimes, there's even people selling Lesser Species and Dragons."

"I wish there was something we could do about that." Jericho said.

"Yeah. But Mom said it's not that easy." Andromeda spotted a vendor selling books and wandered over.

Aurora grinned mischievously and looked at Jericho. "If anybody asks...?"

"You just left for a sec and will totally be behaving, so we shouldn't be worried about running when we see you." Jericho sighed. He had a bad feeling he was going to get in trouble with their father.

Aurora waved as she took off. "You're the best, bro!"

Jericho sighed again as he watched her. "Yeah, yeah..." He looked over at Andromeda. She was definitely going to be there for a while. Elara was nearby, with a vendor who was supposedly selling very potent medicines made with dragon bones. He knew Elara wouldn't fall for a scam like that--at least, he was sure she wouldn't--she just was fascinated by anything related to dragons. He went over to her and patted her shoulder. "Looks like it just you and me for a while."

"Hey, Jericho, look at this!" Elara said, picking up a small vile. "This guy says it's dragon venom."

...Maybe she would fall for it. Well, in her defense, she hadn't had as much exposure to humans as the rest of her siblings. And since being able to leave home, she almost exclusively explored the dragon world. Jericho took the vile. "Is that so?" He inspected it and looked at the vendor. "It could just as easily be snake venom."

"Oh no, my boy. That there is genuine dragon venom, I can assure you. I collected it myself."

Even Elara looked puzzled. "Really, you?" She eyed the vendor. "You don't look like you could survive a dragon attack."

The man laughed. "No, no. I'm not that strong or brave. I harvest from the dead dragons in the mines. They give me first pick since I give them a portion of my earnings."

Jericho scowled and took Elara's hand. "Come on, Elara, let's go." He didn't let go until they were far away from the vendor.

"We should go find them." Elara said as she pocketed the vile of venom.

"Mom and Dad would never let us. Besides, we don't even know where to start looking." Wanting to get off the subject, Jericho pointed to a food vendor. "You should try the fish here. It's not Spaz Fish, but it's still pretty good."

Smiling, Elara dashed over. Jericho smiled lightly and followed.

About two hours later, Jericho, Elara, and Andromeda met up and went looking for Aurora. "Maybe she actually is behaving for once." Andromeda said with only the slightest bit of hope. "It's been very quiet; it usually only takes five minutes for Aurora to wreak havoc."

"Even less if Elara is with her. Remember that time everyone chased them back home because they destroyed like half the village, including the meeting hall?"

"Really?" Elara asked, trying to pretend she didn't remember.

"Didn't Aurora dare you to summon a meteor?" Andromeda recalled.

"Yeah. She said it would scare everybody, but then she would use her lightning to destroy it before it landed, and everyone would call her a hero like Papa." Elara smiled sheepishly. "But, well, I sneezed, and instead of one, there were... a lot."

"You Hatchlings had no business doing that." Andromeda chuckled.

"Ok, Mom." Jericho teased.

"I see Aurora!" Elara announced, pointing ahead of them.

"Get ready to run." Andromeda sighed.

"IT TOTALLY WASN'T MY FAULT!" Aurora shouted as she dashed past her siblings, a quartet of soldiers chasing after her.

"Uh huh." the siblings said in unison as they followed.
_________________

"I thought we'd never lose them." Aurora said as she and her siblings sat on the roof of a tall building, watching the world go by as they rested.

"Dad is going to kill you this time for sure." Jericho predicted while exhaustedly flopping back to stare up at the sky.

"Yeah right." Andromeda disagreed. "Aurora is his favorite. She can literally get away with turning evil and enslaving the whole world, including him, as long as she hugs him and calls him Daddy while she does it."

Even if Aurora wanted to deny it, her siblings were laughing too hard for her to get a word in. They spent the rest of the day showing Elara around other parts of the city and teaching her more about human ways. By sunset, they were almost back to the college. "Hey, kids!" Bjorn called from a distance. He, Tar, Samson, and Nari were on their way to the college as well.

"Hey, Uncle Bjorn!" Elara called as she ran over. All ran out for the day, the others walked.

"You there's soldiers walking all around the place looking for you, Aurora." Tar said as they all walked.

"Yeah..." Aurora said with a sheepish smile.

Nari laughed. "I can't wait to see the look on Leo's face."

"Actually, if you could not tell him, that would be great."

"Hmmm..." Nari made a show of thinking. "How much coin do you have on you?"

As if he knew they were coming, Svadilfare opened the door before anyone had a chance to knock. His hair was a bit disheveled, and he was wrapped rather unapologetically in a bedsheet. He stood staring at his four children, blood brother, two warriors, and rival as if he didn't quite recognize them. Or perhaps he was trying to figure out why they were here, as if he'd just been interrupted after specifically asking not to be. He leaned out of the door and looked up at the sky for a moment. Leaning back, with the air of a king deigning to meet with a commoner, he beckoned everyone in before turning to head back to the private quarters. A few minutes later, he returned fully dressed and significantly more alert. He smiled and greeted his kids first. "How was your day?"

"How was yours?" Tar and Nari asked with knowing smirks. Svad shot them a look that announced his willingness to kill them both without a second thought.

Even Andromeda replied with her siblings, "It was fun."

"Good." Svad looked at Aurora. "So, how bad is it?"

Bjorn laughed. "The soldiers are looking for her." He held up a parchment with a drawing of Aurora.

"Uncle Bjorn!" Aurora cried, feeling betrayed.

Svad took the parchment and shook his head in disappointment... even as he failed to hide a smile. "Do I even want to know what you did to earn this?"

Aurora gave him her most adorable and innocent pouting face. "No..."

Svad sighed and pet her head. "I'll take care of it tomorrow."

"You're the best, Daddy!" Aurora beamed and hugged him.

"And you are way too much like your mother."

"Guess what, Leo? I found another member for our group."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he's like a younger version of you, if you were Tar and born in Kakos."

"Hmph, you eviscerate one guy one time, and suddenly you're Rabid Wolf for life."

"You are when all the guy did was compliment your wife on her wedding robes."

"I didn't like the look in his eye when he said it." Tar defended. "You agree, don't you, Chieftain?"

Svad shrugged. "Even I think you went a little too far, Tar. Although, no one would be stupid enough to flirt with my wife in front of me."

Aurora looked at Nari. "Does he have an axe and two daggers?"

Nari nodded. "Yep. So, you saw the fight too, huh?"

"Yeah."

Svad raised a brow. "What fight?"

"Oh, these two guys were fighting because one of them stole some food."

"If I had to guess, the one accused of stealing is the one you hired, Nari?"

"Naturally. I mean, I wasn't going to recruit the one who lost the fight." Nari turned to leave. "Anyway, that's all I came over here for. You can meet him tomorrow."

"You might as well stay for supper, Nari." Astral said as she walked in.

Nari smiled, as if she'd been waiting for the invitation. "Great, now I won't have to pay for it at my inn."

Six dragons flew high over the city of Anthropinos, the clouds providing a brief shelter from the predawn light chasing them. They were of similar size--though two were slightly bigger than the rest--and appearance, with only one being a completely different color. The one was white as freshly fallen snow, while the other five were black as pitch--though two sported a secondary color that set them apart. It was clear that these six dragons formed a family unit. The mother and father tipped forward and tucked their wings in close to their sides. The children followed suit only a second after. The morning sky was suddenly pierced by the shrieking whistle of six dragons divebombing in tight formation. They spiraled with practiced precision, unconcerned with colliding because they knew they wouldn't. That same practice allowed them to flare their wings open at just the right moment without having to check their proximity to the ground below. On widespread wings they glided, nary a sound to warn anything that might be in their path. The trees ahead of them would provide greater cover from the soon-to-awaken sun, and also a fun obstacle to test their reflexes in a confining space. "Let us race" someone had challenged, and everyone agreed, for it had been many years since the family last partook of a friendly competition. They sped through the trees, wings tucked in tight to avoid smacking trunks and snagging long reaching branches, and tail fins precariously balanced on needlepoints to aid in the sudden turns they would be making. Mother won, of course, because mother always won. But today, she noticed that her children weren't too far behind her. They were catching up, as children always did, and she couldn't wait for the day that they finally passed her. Father brought up the rear today, but that was to be expected. From his position he could see how much further they had to go, and even look behind to see how far they'd come.

Six dragons began the flight over the skies of Anthropinos, but the river beside which they landed saw only five. Curiously, a human had replaced the father, and the mother seemed not to mind having him on her back. But what's this? Suddenly, the mother and her children changed their form, as easily as a chameleon changes its color. Now, they too were human in appearance. Ah, that explains things. This was a family of humans gifted with extraordinary magic, the ability to take the form of their world's mightiest being. Or... could they perhaps be dragons, gifted with a power only the gods should possess? Why then, would they take the form of a human, the lowliest creature their world had to offer? Perhaps it doesn't matter. No matter which race they belonged to, they were clearly much more than their brethren could ever hope to be.
________________

Astral and Andromeda spent some time together while Svad, Aurora, Jericho, and Elara went hunting. When the hunting party returned, they ate and talked about dragons, from their own experiences to the matter of humans capturing them for slave labor. After breakfast, Elara decided to teach her siblings how to play meteor ball (a game not unlike dodgeball). Andromeda wisely chose to sit out and kept her poor father safe within her pocket dimension.

The Twilight-Avedon family arrived back at the college just in time to open, curtesy of Astral Teleportation Inc. ("We get you where you need to go in the blink of an eye!" Seriously, don't blink or you'll miss it) As Astral greeted her students, Svad and the kids went off to spend some quality time together. Well, they would as soon as Svad took care of Aurora's teeny tiny problem.

"I promise she won't cause any more trouble. Thank you, again." Svad told the garrison leader before leaving. "If you're going to replace me, Aurora, you really need to work on your subtly. I've noticed that even Elara can go unseen if she really wants to."

"What?! No way! Everything about Elara screams 'look at me!'."

Svad chuckled. "Exactly." He led them to the market. Once there, he gathered them into a huddle and whispered, "Let's have a little contest, shall we? I want each of you to steal something without getting caught."

"Wait, really?" Jericho asked incredulously.

Andromeda blinked. "Even me?"

"Even you," Svad thought for a moment, then added, "if you want to." He smiled at her. "If you want, we can bet on who will lose."

Andromeda liked the sound of that. "Ok. I say Aurora will lose."

"Hey!" Aurora crossed her arms. "If anyone loses, it'll be Elara." As someone who constantly lost to Aurora in play fights, Jericho very much appreciated not getting called out for once.

"Hmmm, we'll see." Elara said, unphased.

Svad shook his head with a chuckle. "All right then. I think I'll bet on Jericho."

"Really?" Jericho asked, unable to hide the sadness.

"Really." he replied noncommittally. "Now, off you go."

As her siblings split up and began their trial, Andromeda questioned her father. "You picked Jericho on purpose, didn't you?"

Svad smiled at his daughter, though he didn't take his eyes off the others. "Do you know why?"

"Because you actually want him to win."

"Precisely. At the end of the day, Elara only wants to spend time with her siblings; she doesn't care about defending her honor. Aurora believes she will always win, no matter what the challenge is. It's going to get her killed one day, unless I can teach her some humility. The best way to achieve that is to have her lose to her biggest rival."

"Jericho."

"Yes. And as for Jericho... He's always felt..." Svad trailed off, trying to find the right words. He'd been watching Elara and now his eyes flicked to Aurora.

"Insecure?" Andromeda offered.

"Yes," Svad concurred after a while, "particularly about his place among the rest of you. Beating Aurora at something--anything--even once, would let him prove that he's just as strong and capable as his siblings."

Andromeda nodded in agreement before something occurred to her. "Doesn't he know that..."

Svad finally looked at her. "That he doesn't actually need to prove anything? That you love him regardless?" He laid a hand on her shoulder and kissed the top of her head reassuringly. "I'm sure he does, Andromeda. But sometimes, that isn't quite enough. So, I gave him a little push. Wanting to prove something to your siblings is one thing. Needing to prove something to your parents is another. And if he can achieve the latter, it'll give him the confidence he needs for the former."

Andromeda spent the next few moments looking at her father in much the same way she usually looked at her mother when learning from her. Svad noticed but said nothing and wrapped his arm around her. "So, what do I get if I win?" Andromeda asked as her siblings began to head back a few minutes later.

"Whatever you want, even if I have to go to the ends of the earth to get it."

"Mom! Mom!" Jericho yelled as he ran through the college. He found her in her office, writing a letter while having lunch. "Guess what? I beat Aurora!"
______________

"Will you stop by on your way back?" Astral asked her mate as he put the last of his things into his saddle.

"Only if you have some grilled Spaz Fish waiting for me." he joked before kissing her lovingly.

She returned his kiss. "Only if you bring Jericho and Aurora back in one piece." She was very much not joking. Somehow, though not surprisingly, the two kids who loved their father the most talked him into letting them go with him to the Kingdom of Moon. And somehow, Astral got talked into agreeing.

"You know I'd die before I let anything happen to them." Svad mounted his horse.

"Except you don't have permission, so you're going to have to figure out a way to keep them safe without doing that."

"...Like leave them here?"

Astral smiled. "Great idea! Kids, trip's off! Your dad just said so!"

"Yeah, we're too old to fall for that, Mom." Aurora said as she and Jericho rode by on their own horses.

Bjorn rode up. "Don't worry, Astral. If anything happens to Svadi or the kids, it'll be because I failed in my duty as a blood brother. And I certainly don't plan on doing that!"

"Thank you, Bjorn."

Nari arrived a few minutes later with Takeo and three other people--two men and a woman--she'd managed to recruit as well. "All right, let's get going."

"Bye!" Andromeda and Elara waved to their siblings, father, and "uncle". Astral waved as well and watched until her mate and offspring were well out of her physically-in-front-of-her eyesight. She knew this would be a good experience for them, she just hoped they were ready for it; for the reality of what their father did, and for seeing that side of him in action.

A series of storms slowed the way to Brysur. But no one was bothered too much by it. For the Kryoans especially, half the fun of a fight was getting to it. While Nari, Takeo, Vivian, Brent, and the three others from Anthropinos huddled around the fire, Svadilfare led the Kryoans and his children in combat exercises. A Kryoan warrior kept his combat skill and readiness as sharp as his blade; travel was no excuse to slack off. Bjorn paired off with Samson, Tar with Aurora, and Svad with Jericho. Samson was eager to prove himself, so Bjorn focused on his hasty movements. No special treatment for the Chieftain's daughter; Tar was just as hard on her as Svad himself. And Svad sought to raise Jericho's confidence. "Don't worry about how Aurora's doing," he had told his son, "just focus on your own training." The Kryoans didn't stick to their original pairings, however. They switched after so many minutes so that the younger ones could learn from all the teachers, and the teachers all got a chance to spar.

Vivian wrung the water from her shawl and hung it over the fire to dry. "Two days straight. I'd love to know who asked for all this rain."

"Could be worse." Brent muttered as he tried to find space on the rack for his sopping cloak. Just as he considered tossing a couple of the Kryoan furs, Svad constructed a second and third fire. He hurried over before the others took notice and hung his cloak.

"How? Vivian followed and settled close to Svad's magical flames--he'd used his fire magic to light the other two fires. The rest of the group spread out among the three fires, taking their respective covers with them.

The other woman answered, "It could be snowing instead."

Nari shuddered at the thought. While the women of Gynaikes were willing to visit Kryo in search of a husband or to attend the annual festival held between the two villages, they all hated the cold. "I'll take rain over snow any day."

"And yet you have no problem coming to Kryo to pester me." Svad remarked as he walked by.

"You love it when I visit, Leo."

"The only time I don't mind you visiting is during the festival."

The storms finally passed but were almost immediately replaced by peril of the animalistic variety. A Manticore had spotted their fires the night before but refrained from attacking. The large male feared no human, however. No, he didn't even fear dragons. Rather, humans were his favorite prey. They were small but plentiful and their pitiful attempts to best him were amusing--he liked a little entertainment now and then. It was the rain that kept The Manticore--Servius Eirene Koinonia, for those of you who can't abide a nameless creature--from engaging in his hunt right away. Rain never failed to create mud and Servius Eirene Koinonia detested having a dirty pelt. There was one other problem, though one The Manticore was loathe to admit. One of the humans he saw down below... he was certain it was the same that had once been accompanied by a dragon. The little dragon had claimed to be a goddess and that Servius' intended prey was under her protection. The Manticore feared no dragon, not even a god, yet he had not been willing to die in pursuit of only a single human. He neither saw nor smelled any trace of a winged lizard nearby. Perhaps that protection had long since passed. Or perhaps the rain had washed away any trace--quite a feat, given how much those winged lizards reeked.

The Manticore followed the group of horseback riding humans 13 strong from the sky. He enjoyed the warm current whipping through his mane and allowing his wings a chance to rest. He saw a flock of birds passing below him but didn't hear their conversation, if they were indeed having one. Servius Eirene Koinonia was deaf. Born with this affliction, his whole world has always been silent, free of needless clamoring, upsetting arguments, and... ahem... the far-reaching and constant announcement of feline fun time. With these things in mind, one might consider The Manticore to be lucky, but Servius had never thought himself unfortunate. The winged feline's strength and venom could only be rivaled by an EarthWing's, he could read lips, he did not have to share his favorite food with any others, and while he could not hear, his eyesight and smell were better than most.

The Manticore's lunch eventually stopped to acquire their own. Thanks to Svad's preservation spell, the leftover meat from the last hunt three days ago was still perfectly good. The spell kept food from spoiling for a week after it normally would have. This was particularly helpful in an area where the group currently found itself--flat open plain with no forest. The only food they could hope to find out here were birds, a few burrowing creatures, and perhaps a snake if they were lucky. But no one in their right mind would consider a snake as a source of food unless they were starving. Even then, most would likely resort to cannibalism first. There was just something about Pyrrhian snakes that humankind found utterly repulsive.

Takeo Takeuchi hovered close to Svad, eyeing the grilling boar meat. Though he was fit and well-fed, Takeo had the air of one who experienced perpetual hunger. Even the smallest crumb of bread or scrap of meat attracted him as dung and rotting organic matter attracted flies and blood attracted sharks. More than once, Svad had caught the younger man trying to get to the shared provisions. "Does your food not stay with you?" Svad asked as he turned one of the spits.

"It does." Takeo responded with a quick glance up at the older man. "I just like to have more of it."

"I wouldn't advise eating more than your share in a group like this. If you want more, you'll have to go hunting for it."

"I wasn't going to eat it all at once." Takeo explained as if this perfectly justified his desire.

Svad's brow rose. "That's actually worse. You'd let food go to waste?"

"Of course not!" Takeo snapped, offended. "That's the worst thing you can do in this world." The scent of grilling meat had been filling his nose for the past few minutes. He was beginning to drool just a bit; he wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "I never let my hoard go bad. It sure would be easier if I could do that fancy noble hand-waving thing you do, though."

"It's called magic." Aurora deadpanned as she walked past.

"Also, Dad is more noble than an actual noble. And the only thing fancy about him is Mom." Jericho added from his spot nearby.

There was no point in even trying to deny the second point, so he didn't. "I wouldn't call myself a noble."

Bjorn laughed from 30ft away. "Svadi could live in a castle, have a Queen for a wife, have all the riches this world has to offer, have the favor of his subjects, and sit on a throne--he'd still refuse to call himself a King. We almost had to force him to accept his birthright as our Chieftain."

"I'll do you one better," Nari began as she joined Takeo and Svad at the fire.

"Please don't." Svad half pleaded as he turned another spit.

Ignoring him, she went on, "I remember the time Leo refused to take a job because doing so would have prevented a certain someone from being able to make her mark on the stage."

It took all of a second for Bjorn to close the 30ft gap between himself and the others. "Svadi! You passed up a job for a Gynaikes woman??"

"Don't be absurd, Brother." Svad stuck his dagger into the flames to adjust the coals. "I just decided at the last minute that I didn't want that job."

"After I told you that I was planning on becoming the world's best assassin."

Samson scrambled up to the fire. "Chieftain! There's a Manticore flying over us!"

12 heads raised to the sky. Sure enough, a winged lion with a scorpion's tail was circling. Weapons were brandished and someone had the presence of mind to go keep the horses calm. But there wasn't a trace of concern in the Pride of Kryo's voice, nor on his face. "This is its fifth pass," Svad replied far too calmly for Samson's liking, "if it were going to come down here, it would have by now."

"So what do we do?" Vivian asked.

"Pray for trees." Tar and Takeo answered at once.

The Manticore could have plucked a few humans. There was a rather plump one that would have made a delectable snack. But Servius Eirene Koinonia was a purist. Humans tasted best when prepared properly, and there was only one way to serve them: raw and marinated in fear. Once his prey looked skyward, he knew it would only be a matter of time before that fear set in. But the best way to extract it was by toying with his food. He could fly off with one of their horses--as if The Manticore would ever choose to feast on a horse over a human--or give them false hope by pretending he was uninterested. Then there was simply stalking them and keeping them guessing as to when he would finally pounce. How would he kill them? With his teeth or tail or claws or quills? And when? Would he swoop down any moment now or pick them off in the night?

"We don't do anything." Svad repeated. "As I said, if it wanted to come down here, it would have."

"But it is hunting us, right?" Aurora asked.

"Right."

"Shouldn't we run?" Samson was too concerned to try sounding brave.

"No," Jericho answered, "because then it'll just chase us."

"There's always a chance that we're just in its territory, and its surveying. Until it leaves or comes down here, we're better off just continuing on as if it weren't there." Svad pulled one of the spits away from the fire, drove the tip of his dagger into the meat, inspected the color of the juices that flowed out, then returned it to its place.

Samson frowned and reluctantly sat down, keeping his gaze on the sky. "If it does come down..."

Svad sighed lightly and looked up from the fire. "You volunteered, Samson. Because you were ready to face your rite, to become a true warrior of Kryo. Are you trying to tell me now, at your first encounter of peril, that you aren't ready? That I've endangered the rest of us by bringing someone incapable?"

"N-no, Chieftain. I just..."

"Fear will see unnecessary loss on this expedition. Fear will see you turned away from the gates of Val. My son and daughter are a ways from their trials, yet they would charge headlong into battle if I let them. This group doesn't need a hesitant fledgling. And I have no place in my village for a boy who would run rather than protect his home." Svad finally looked up at the circling Manticore. It had been there too long to simply be surveying. If not for the mixed company, Svad and the kids could have driven it off by now. "You have a choice, Samson. Go home, or I'll kill you now."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Brent asked.

"Not for the Kryoans and Gynaikes." Nari said. "We live to fight, compete for highest number of kills, and dream of dying on the battlefield. We can hold our own and then some. We have to protect our parents' reputations and want to surpass them with a greater one. We don't look for love in a spouse, we look for someone who's going to make a strong child. We expect our children to start fighting as soon as they can walk, and to give a bigger beating than they get. Gynaikes and Kryo may be rivals, but we agree on a few things, one of them being that running away from a fight is the worst thing a warrior can do. We hate cowards more than traitors. In Gynaikes, a woman can at least go into assassination or dedicate herself to motherhood to atone for cowardice. In Kryo, if a man can't grow a pair, he's better off dead. He'll get sent back to this world eventually and hopefully turn out the way he was supposed to the first time, so he can be accepted into Val when he dies. Although, if you ask most people, a coward doesn't deserve a second chance."

Bjorn was sharpening the spear he'd bought in Anthropinos. "They don't. That said, it's a shame to see the boy go so soon."

Tar was lying on his back, arms crossed behind his head, looking up at the Manticore. "He does have another option. He can fight the Chieftain."

"That's cruel Tar, even for you. He won't last five seconds against Svadi."

Tar grinned. "Maybe, but it'll be more entertaining than just killing him outright. And who knows? Maybe he'll get lucky and land a blow."

"Quiet." Svad laid out the wooden plates and began portioning the meat. He paused on Takeo's portion, seemed to consider something for a moment, then gave the younger man a slightly bigger piece. "Samson, you have until sundown to make your choice." He raised one finger. "Go home to face your parents." He raised a second finger. "I'll kill you and prepare you for your second life." He paused then raised a third finger. "Or you can convince me that you belong." Svad finished handing out the boar, put out the fire, and moved away to eat alone.

Aurora and Jericho could usually tell when even they weren't allowed to intrude on their father's brooding. This appeared to be one of those times, so they sat with Bjorn. The Manticore decided it was time to prepare his feast. He began by making one more pass over the humans, then flying off to the west. Everyone noticed but no one said anything; the Manticore's departure wouldn't change the fact that Samson had violated Kryo's creed. After eating, the group continued southward toward Brysur. The Manticore landed and followed them on paw.

The closer it got to sundown, the more the non-Kryoans kept looking at Samson. The young man looked somewhere between fearful and accepting of his fate. There were no trees nor rocks to make camp under, though no one minded sleeping beneath the moon and stars. As they sat around a single fire--it was time to conserve firewood--and ate, Samson approached Svad. "I... I've made my choice, Chieftain." When nothing was said, he went on, "I've never really liked the idea of fighting. But my parents... it's all they've ever wanted for me. To be the great warrior they couldn't and bring our family honor. I pretended to want the same thing, at least until I was old enough to make my own choices. But by then... after so many years, I actually wanted it, too. At least for them. I want to make them proud of me and give them the one thing they've ever asked for. It would crush them to find out that I betrayed the creed. I'm disgusted with myself, really; I've never been the bravest, but I thought I could at least handle this. I want a chance to prove I can... or could have."

Everyone looked from Samson to Svadilfare, who'd been stoic and silent since the break hours before. He took a bite of dried Spaz Fish and chewed slowly, though it couldn't be said whether he was doing this to think or simply making Samson wait until he'd finished eating. The fact that he took another bite suggested the latter, but lowering his gaze to the flames suggested the former. Either way, everyone remained silent rather than falling back into their conversations, and Samson remained standing. Finally, Svad lifted his gaze back to Samson and spoke. "Then eat and sleep well. At first light you will have your chance. You will face one of us at your choosing, with the weapon of your choosing. You need only draw blood to prove your resolve. If you are bested..." he trailed off, feeling no need to go on.

The night was cool and clear. The moon lit the way. Servius Eirene Koinonia could see the humans' fire; against the darkness it was a beacon. He landed a half mile away and slowly walked. He was in no hurry. The Manticore roared as he went, to let his prey know he was coming; to let them know they stood no chance in the dark.

Aurora and Jericho heard it first. They looked around and up at the sky. A few moments later, the others reacted and jumped up. "Which way did it come from?" Vivian asked.

"Does it matter?" Nari countered. "We won't see it until it's too close."

"It sounded far enough away." One of the two men from Anthropinos said. "We could leave now and--"

"--And go where?" Takeo asked. "In case you forgot, we're nowhere near any forests."

Tar and Bjorn were perfectly happy. "Its head will look great in the meeting hall." the former remarked.

Bjorn nodded. "Aye, and the pelt will make for nice clothes."

"Clothes for who?"

"Whoever delivers the killing blow, of course."

Aurora and Jericho went to their father, who hadn't moved and seemed to have no intention to. "Dad?" Jericho began, "What do we do?"

"We want to help." Aurora added, as if to make sure Svad knew that this was their reason for asking.

Svad knew full well, of course. Not that he had any intention of preventing them. For one thing, it wasn't an option. He answered in Old Kryoan. "Lightning of the Gods is strictly prohibited. Otherwise, use your magic. Don't fight it at close range; leave that to us."

The siblings nodded, then inevitably wondered, "What about our dragon forms?"

"Only as a last resort. To escape." There was an implied "without me" that the kids chose not to acknowledge. Reverting back to Common Pyrrhian, Svad added, "Now get ready and keep a lookout."

The group stood in a circle with their backs to the fire. Every other person looked to the sky while the rest scanned the plain as far as their eyes would allow. Jericho and Aurora could use their draconic vision but if they did spot The Manticore, they would have no choice but to wait until it entered into the range of human sight. Svad had learned--kind of by accident--how to partially transform. But doing so completely drained his magic pool and left him exhausted. A fight--particularly one in the dark against an animal--wasn't the sort of situation where the trade-off would be worth it. It didn't take long to figure out which direction the Manticore was coming from, anyway. After a minute or two of watching and waiting, three large quills sailed through the air and landed in the circle, just missing a couple people. Nari and Samson had seen them. "It's coming from the west." Nari announced.

"Everyone face west and spread out." Svad commanded. They did. A few tense moments passed, then three more quills struck, this time a foot shy of anyone. Everyone backed up a few steps. For the next five minutes or so, The Manticore launched quills at the humans as he approached. He purposefully avoided striking them, occasionally moved a few degrees left or right to change the trajectory of his quills so they were never quite sure where he was. Then, he flew around so that he was behind them, landed, and began launching quills again.

"He's toying with us!" Bjorn spat, though he was hardly mad about it. He liked a challenge. A circle was formed again. The Manticore toyed with them for another several minutes, always moving and staying just outside their range of sight. Just when they thought this might go on all night, the winged lion pounced. He attacked from above, landing in the middle of their circle and knocking them back. Aurora and Jericho immediately moved to get away. Brent, Bjorn and Tar ran at The Manticore. Vivian moved away as well so she could use her bow. Takeo, Samson, and the third woman were trying to distract or find an opening. The other two men were trying to avoid the beast's paws. Svad and Nari were watching everything unfold.

Servius Eirene Koinonia was a bit puzzled. Humans usually fled at the sight of him and their attempts to fight him--if any--were feeble. These humans weren't causing any problems, but they were unusually willing to stand their ground. He stepped over them with ease, used his tail to keep them from charging with their weapons, and knocked them around with his paws just for fun. He didn't notice the tiny arrows that got caught in his mane.

Nari had gone in to join the... 'fight'. But The Manticore was displaying a level of intelligence that was starting to annoy her. Rather than just outright attack and kill them, it was waiting until they made their attempts to attack and either evaded or batted them away. Nari was trying her best to get underneath, but it jumped away almost as soon as she did. Bjorn had been right: it was toying with them. Speaking of Bjorn, she watched as he and Tar got sent flying for probably the tenth time. Just as she was about to look for Svad, The Manticore landed atop her. Well, that was lucky. The Gynaikes assassin was quick to dash for a back paw and drive her daggers into it.

Servius felt the tiniest pinprick on his back paw. Did he have a tick? He twisted around and raised his back paw. Oh. One of the humans was using their little pointy hand teeth to climb up his paw. How cute. He lowered his paw and turned his attention back to the others. He'd noticed that there were two smaller humans who, while not running away, weren't trying to fight either. Perhaps they were frozen with fear. Servius launched two quills at them. They finally moved, scrambling to get out of the way.

Aurora and Jericho had actually been waiting for The Manticore to notice them. Since Aurora couldn't use her lightning, and neither of them could go dragon, they'd decided to hold off on attacking. Now that it was flinging quills and running toward them, they could attack without hitting anybody. They both opted for a fireball. Because why wouldn't a dragon--even a half one--not open a fight with fire? Not counting dragons of a different element, of course. Jericho aimed low while Aurora aimed high, so the Manticore couldn't dodge. The Manticore stopped and used his wings to shield himself. As soon as he did, Aurora and Jericho split up, each going around to the side of the winged lion. The Manticore lowered his wings and prepared to charge again, only to find the smaller humans weren't there. He looked to his left first and spotted Aurora. She was already preparing another fireball. The Manticore raised his tail, the stinger swaying like the head of a snake, then struck.

While Aurora was banned from using her lightning, Jericho was free to do so. So, he launched a lightning bolt at The Manticore's side--just in time to save his sister from being skewered. Nari, meanwhile, had been thrown off when the winged lion ran. She'd landed the wrong way and dislocated her shoulder. Takeo was looking at it while the others rushed to get to The Manticore while it was stunned. They jabbed and slashed at his paws and tried to climb up his legs to reach more vulnerable places, only to be impeded by the spikes that covered them. Servius finally recovered from the lightning and went after Jericho, only to have Aurora hit him with the fireball she'd been preparing. The siblings went back and forth like that, though with everyone else around now, Jericho had to switch back to fire.

Servius ignored the pinpricks at his paws. It was the two magic-wielders who were doing any real damage. He could tell that their magic went well beyond what humans should be capable of. In fact, he could almost swear that the energy coming from them was decidedly draconic. Were they dragons disguising themselves as humans? No... the lizards had a distinct smell that no amount of magic could cover up. As mighty as Servius Eirene Koinonia was, fighting two dragons at once would be challenging. If he'd known they were hiding amongst this group of humans, he would have let them be. Then what was causing that distinct energy? There was no time right now to be pondering. He had to put some distance between himself and these flame throwers. Servius leapt suddenly into the air, causing the humans on his paws to be thrown.

"Is it leaving?" Brent asked hopefully. Pointlessly stabbing at Manticore paws was actually very tiring work. Not to mention the brutal smacks and incidental falls.

"No." Tar said as he looked up. "Just getting ready for an ariel attack."

The Manticore hovered above and looked for one of the two magic users. Which one to go after? The one that used lightning was particularly annoying... He spotted Jericho and dove. Speaking of lightning, Jericho decided to use it again now that The Manticore was in the air. He fired a bolt at him as he dove, then ran. Everyone else followed suit. Servius crash landed, a few of his own quills getting lodged into his side. "Well, if that doesn't make it run..." Nari remarked. Takeo had popped her shoulder back in place.

"This should." Svad said. Svad finally joined the others and walked a few steps toward The Manticore. He'd spent a majority of the last few minutes sitting behind one of the quills, preparing. Jericho's lightning seemed to be effective, but using an amount that would completely incapacitate or kill The Manticore was out of the question. Svad's magic pool allowed him to create two 12ft fire streams and five 6ft fireballs. But he would need more than that here. The more magical energy you put into a spell, the more powerful it would be. Astral had taught him this. The problem for a human was twofold: the amount of energy that gets depleted with a more powerful spell, and naturally having almost no magical energy to begin with. Svad had figured out, however, that training with magic wasn't unlike training with weapons. The more he used it, the better he became. Case in point, when he'd first started learning, he could only manage a candle flame. Now he knew various spells and the extent to which he could enhance any given one before his pool was depleted. Svad raised his right hand and put his last few minutes of preparation into action. He was going to combine the five separate 6ft fireballs he could create into one 30ft fireball.

Aurora and Jericho watched their father form the 30ft fireball and immediately wanted to do the same. Actually, they really wanted to see which of them could do a bigger one, but they had a feeling their father wouldn't approve of any sibling rivalry right now. So, they spread out on either side of Svad and each made a 30ft fireball.

Servius woke up and felt quite sore. Lightning was now on the list of things he couldn't stand. He moved to stand and felt his own quills digging into his side. He looked at it. They were in there all right, but not so deep that he wouldn't be able to remove them. First, it was time to stop playing with his food and just eat it. Servius' eye was caught by a rather bright light. He turned his head to find three medium fireballs pointed at him. Three? There were three magic wielding humans? Could this new one use lightning as well? The Manticore might be in trouble if it could. The winged lion growled, his tail lashing in irritation. The sole purpose of humanity was to provide Servius Eirene Koinonia with nourishment. If they entertained him while willingly sacrificing themselves to him, all the better. But this? Being able to deter him with the one thing Shardas had seen fit to bestow them the least of? It was madness. It was unacceptable. Still... Servius looked at his side again. He needed to remove the quills and really didn't want to get hit with anymore lightning. It took him longer to recover with each strike. Humans were his favorite food, but he wasn't going to die trying to eat them, especially not if they were somehow going to be the death of him. Spreading his wings, Servius roared at the humans, in particular at the three magic users. He would remember them. He took to the sky and flew off.