The dark side of magic
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		<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Non-Adult Sandbox =&gt; Non-Adult Roleplays =&gt; Topic started by: Lady Jenn on November 11, 2011, 04:35:55 pm</h2>
		<dl id="posts">
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 04:35:55 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Barkeley parked himself across the road from his bank, looking left and right before turning the engine off and getting out. He was a tall man in his early twenties, short blue hair just reaching to above his eyeline. He was wearing a long red cloak pulled around him and so disguising the rest of his clothing, ice blue eyes the most distinctive thing about his appearance.<br><br>"This is the last thing I need," he said under his breath as he saw the queue waiting to be served inside the bank. He never liked staying anywhere in public for long but he couldn't risk using his magic to speed things up either. He tried to act naturally, aware his appearance made him stand out on its own.<br><br>Just out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure moving along one wall of the bank, hoping it was merely a trick of the light.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 05:55:30 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The wind had picked up since Aurora left her apartment and she wished she'd tied it back as wisps of hair crisscrossed across her face. She was a simple girl, not drop dead gorgeous but not hard to look at, her hair was dark, eyes green and a pale complexion. She was fit but had the slight curves that came with being a female.<br><br>Her fingers ghosted over the right pocket of her jeans and felt the very slight bulge in the denim from the folded check in her pocket. She had a habit of forgetting things, cellphone, purse, keys. She's had to replace everything at least once.<br><br>Upon reaching the bank she stepped into the building and brushed her fingers through her hair quickly, getting the strands of hair off of her face and made a face as she pulled a few lingering hairs that had gotten stuck to her lipstick.<br><br>After getting the wind tangled mane of knotted hair somewhat under control she stepped up to get into line so she could wait to be served and looked over the back of the man in front of her. The red cape and blue hair was very unique.<br><br>"I like your hair," she said, hoping she said it loud enough to get his attention. "And your cape, can I ask why you're wearing it?" She questioned. Aroura had been born without much of a filter and had a high curiosity level. If she had a question she asked it and if something was on her mind, it came tumbling past her lips before she could think it may not be the right thing to say.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 06:06:23 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Uh..." he froze, unsure what to say. He couldn't tell the honest answer and he'd never been good at coming up with a cover story. "I just have a weird fashion sense," he said, laughing. "Strangely looking like this seems to help me melt into the background unnoticed more."<br><br>At that moment he caught something out of the corner of his eye. The vage shadow he had seen a moment before was moving towards him and Aurora. It suddenly dawned on him what he was looking at, he had no time to worry about blowing his cover.<br><br>"Get down," he shouted to the other customers, pushing Aurora to the floor and flinging a blast of white light straight at the creature which was flung back stunned, but still alive. "Crap, they've found me. How do they keep finding me? I need to get to the vault," he said to the girl behind the counter, who did as he asked almost out of fear more than anything else. He reappeared a moment later, an object wrapped in a black cloth slung under his arm. "Sorry," he said to Aurora. "I wish we could've met in slightly...calmer circumstances than this." With that he ran towards the door to make his escape.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 06:20:18 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well I wouldn't call it weird and I think people notice you more, just don't know how to approach you," she grinned and looked over his face, her eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed the way he seemed to be watching something.<br><br>When he shouted get down she turned her head to see what was happening but instead was pushed to the ground. The blast of white light was so sudden it was blinding and her hands covered her head with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.<br><br>Once she heard Barkeley's voice again she dropped her hands and looked up, watching silently as he spoke to the teller and disappeared into the vault. When he returned she was staring at the creature laying stunned and jumped a bit when his voice startled her.<br><br>"No, wait!" She called and ran after him. "You can't just disappear after all that. What was that light thingy you did? What is that thing?" She said, her hands moving awkwardly as she tried to figure out how he made the light appear, then as she mentioned the creature she threw her hands up in the air.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 06:32:15 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"They're called Shades," he said. "Wizards of sufficient skill can give shadows sentience, that's what a Shade is...." he froze, realising he was discussing magic as if it was normal with someone who probably had no idea what he was talking about. "Its magic," he said. "But not the kind of magic you see in the movies."<br><br>He headed out of the door and froze as he saw the Shade wasn't the only creature they'd sent. Stood in the centre of the square was what looked, at first glance, to be a man, but this creature wasn't made out of flesh and bones but electricity, the heat of which could be felt even from where Barkeley was stood.<br><br>"This...beauty," he said, a note of sarcasm in his voice, "is a lightning elemental. The best advice right now would be...well, to run. I'm not sure I can fight one of these things, nevermind protect you from it. You go, I'll try and draw him away from you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 06:41:57 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Barkeley with a blank stare as she blinked slowly. "Ooooh," she said when he just simply said 'its magic'. "Well, there now. That clears it all up," she said and frowned when he headed out the door and followed him, right on his heels.<br><br>"You can't just say it's magic but not the kind I see in the movies and just leave. I mean, why are these things trying to kill you? Or capture you, or whatever it is that they're doing and what is that thingy under your arm?" She asked, rambling. She opened her mouth to continue speaking when he spoke and she followed his gaze and simply stared at the creature in front of them.<br><br>"Draw him away from me? What's it want with me? Can't you make us disappear?" She asked quickly and looked between the two. "If you can't fight it then maybe we should both run?" She suggested. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 06:50:41 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It wants me, if you follow me it'll come after you as well," he said. He thought quickly, sending a blast of energy towards the creature which threw it through the window of a nearby shop. "Making that thing disappear would take a far more complex spell than I have anytime to produce right now."<br><br>He grabbed her hand and ran towards his car, grinding to a halt when he heard a crunch behind them. The elemental had picked itself up, barely scratched by the blast. Barkeley cursed under his breath, he at least thought he'd knocked it out but he'd barely scratched it.<br><br>"If this doesn't work we are officially screwed," he said, firing a blast of ice at the creature. It managed to freeze the creature but not before it fired a bolt of electricity at him, which hit him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble. "Damnit," he said through gritted teeth. "You'll have to drive, I can't drive with my arm like this." Little sparks of electricity were moving up and down his arm. "We need to move, ice magic won't stop that thing for long, the amount of heat that's giving off will melt the ice in no time at all."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 07:00:54 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				There was not a single time in her entire life she could remember her heart pounding so hard against her chest, if she wasn't breathing so hard she was sure anyone would be able to see the rapid bu-bum vibrations.<br><br>When he grabbed her hand she stumbled but ran with him to the car and paused when he did. She chomped down on her bottom lip. She wanted to just run and get away from everything she also felt like she'd caused him to hesitate and that could have caused him so it wasn't like she could just leave.<br><br>The scream forced it way from her throat when the bolt of electricity flew at him and hit him. A quick nod of her head said she'd heard him and looked at the ice surrounding the element then opened the door and grabbed his keys from his pocket then shoved him into his car. "Okay, okay," she mumbled to herself repeatedly. "Oh yeah," she said as she was about to get into the driver's seat and shut the door she'd shoved him through.<br><br>She put the keys in the ignition and pulled away from the curb, thanking whatever or whoever was watching that the car was automatic and not manual. After speeding down a few blocks she lightened up on the gas and looked over at him. "Are you okay? Where should we go?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 07:09:53 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Not a hospital," he said, the pain of the wound causing him visible pain. "If they know I'm hurt it's the first place they'll go looking for me. Besides, no medicine I know of can fix this." He took a map from the glove copartment and opened it, pointing to an isolate lake "Go there, I don't have time to explain why, you'll just have to trust me on this one."<br><br>He looked back, seeing the ice already melting and cursing his luck. He had fought these creatures before but something was different about this one. It was shrugging his magic off too easily. Then something dawned on him.<br><br>"Its a REALLY good thing we didn't hang around," he said. "That elemental had been enhanced somehow. I could've thrown magic at it until I was exhausted and I may still have done almost nothing to it at all. That amulet around its neck, I've seen it somewhere before, but..." he could feel himself starting to black out. "Talk to me," he said through gritted teeth. "If I lose consciousness then you'll have to do this alone, and I guarantee this is beyond your skills to deal with, whether you have magical ablility or not.."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 07:21:26 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded her head quickly as she looked at the map and glanced down a few times to make sure she was heading in the right direction out of town and let out a slow breath. She glanced at Barkeley when he began talking about an amulet and tried to think back about what it looked like but couldn't picture it.<br><br>"I don't have magic anything. If I did I would've made myself win the lottery," she said and did a double look at him as what he'd said clicked in her head and thought quickly. "Okay, umm, so this one time when I was in grade school. Grade three. We were putting on a play. The Wizard of Oz. I was Dorthy," she said and kept looking at him. "Well I mucked up some of my lines and I started to get really nervous and when the pretty witch came out I threw up on her dress. In front of everyone," she said and rolled down a window to let some air into the car as they left the city limits and she pushed on the gas.<br><br>"It should only be about ten or fifteen minutes until we get there. So long as nothing else tries to stop us," she mumbled and looked back at Barkeley too. "So, I wonder if my little episode with the witch in grade three was a warning about bad experiences with magic," she said, attempting to make a joke.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 07:28:16 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"If you can believe me most female magic users are fighting on the side of good," he said, the air helping him remain conscious more easily. "At least, all the ones I've met have been anyway. You'll see a turning half shrouded in trees about two minutes from now, take that. It'll take us directly where we need to be."<br><br>He used his healthy hand to partly uncover the object he was still carrying, smiling as he covered it again.<br><br>"A hell of a lot of people have a bounty on my head because I inherited this from my grandfather," he said with a grimace. "Half of them don't have the first idea what it actually is though. It took me long enough to realise it and I've had it most of my life."<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 11, 2011, 07:36:23 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Considering how much I know about all of this stuff I'll take anything and everything you say to heart," she said and nodded again as she took his directions and turned off the road when he told her to. "So what exactly is it?" She asked, slowing a bit on the rougher roads as the car bounced.<br><br>"Sorry," she apologized and slowed the car down when she saw the lake and put the car in park then turned it off and climbed out and opened his door for him.<br><br>She looked down at the covered object then looked at him. "You've had it for all of your 20 years of life?" She asked. "What is it and what do you want me to do?" She asked, unsure if she should touch him since she was scared it might hurt. When she pushed him into the car it was a bit more of an adrenaline rush but now she was thinking a bit more clearly now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 02:31:10 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Its..." he paused, but this time not because he was unsure how honest to be but because he was struggling to think of an answer that would make sense to most people. "Some people think its a weapon, others think its a key for unlocking some ancient long hidden vault. If I'm right in reality its both. Once I've sorted my arm out we can come up with a more coherent plan for what to do."<br><br>He climbed out, staring across what appeared to be an empty lake, aside from an island at its centre with no obvious way to reach it. Perched on a small wooden post near the water's edge and watching them intently was a small eagle who took off and landed on Barkeley's unharmed shoulder when it realised who he was.<br><br>"Muroe old friend," Barkeley said as the eagle nuzzled his hair. "Aurora, meet my lookout/guardian Muroe. He's trained to attack anyone who approaches the lake who isn't me, but since I'm here he evidently doesn't consider you a threat. Now to show you something quite cool." He raised his free hand and uttered something under his breath. Nothing seemed to happen at first but slowly, seemingly out of thin air, a stone bridge linking the lakeshore and the island appeared. "Its a magical safeguard," Barkeley said. "If you try and cross the bridge without casting the spell first you'll just fall into the lake."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 09:55:24 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She waited patiently when he paused and took in a breath of the fresh air. It was nice out there, so quiet and relaxing, well, as relaxing as it could be considering the circumstances. As he spoke she listened silently, her lips pursed as she thought about his words and nodded. <br><br>"With you're magic, isn't there ways to talk to people who've passed over?" she asked. "Or maybe you have an old wizard friend who can help you figure out what it is?" She asked then stared at him when the eagle landed on his shoulder.<br><br>"Oh. I was gonna say," she said with a laugh and stepped closer to the eagle and tilted her head at him. "He's beautiful," she said and smiled. "I've never seen an eagle this close before." Aurora had her hands clasped behind her back so the urge to pet the eagle was kept in check. She didn't need to go and upset one of his friends. "This is gonna sound greedy, but if we survive this, can you make a Chanel bag appear outta nowhere like that? Or a car?" She asked when he made the bridge appear.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 10:40:11 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sadly I haven't perfected creating things out of nothing," he said, laughing. "The bridge is always there but its covered in all sorts of charms and hexes. Unless the bridge is visible then it is impossible to cross it. I wasn't the one who put the charms there so I'm not 100% sure how the spells work."<br><br>He took her hand and led her across the bridge, Muroe remaining perched on his shoulder as they walked. At the far end of the bridge was an unusual sight. Two statues of knights leaning on swords stood to either side of the bridge and sat at the centre, blocking the entrance to the island was a fearsome looking lion, which snarled at their approach, but calmed after a cry from Muroe.<br><br>"See, getting onto this island when I don't want you too is next to impossible," Barkeley said, letting the lion nuzzle rub its head against his hand in welcome. "It could be worse, those statues are designed to spring to life at one command from me. No-one's managed to get past my defences so far." Laid out in front of them was a grassy clearing surrounded by a large forest, at the centre of which was a two story stone building covered in ivy. "This is where I call home," he said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "What do you think?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 03:05:03 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Ooooh," she said in understanding and followed him as he took her hand and led her across the bridge. As they walked over the bridge she reached out and ran her fingers along the surface, just to know what it felt like. She didn't know what she was expecting but it just felt normal.<br><br>She looked forward when they began nearing the end of the bridge and looked over the statues then tilted her head when she saw the lion. She was about to open her mouth about the lion when it snarled. She didn't think it had been real until it snarled. Aurora let go of his hand and stepped back a few steps.<br><br>After Muroe had calmed it she ran up behind Berkeley and edged as far from the lion as she could. "Oh. I see," she nodded and looked over to notice the scenery the first time when he spoke as she'd been staring at the tiger. "Wow," she mumbled and stared. "This is like, you're own piece of paradise," she mumbled quietly and continued staring in awe. "It's so beautiful."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 03:55:13 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Its nothing too special really," he said, laughing. "I promise you that the novelty of living here wears off really quickly after a while. Give me a few minutes to make sure the house is in a reasonable state, I don't have visitors very often...well, more like ever."<br><br>He vanished into the house, the lion turning to Aurora and rubbing its head against her hand, encouraging her to pet it.<br><br>"Wow, almost no-one gets to pet Tea aside from Barkeley, she must REALLY like you," said a voice that at first seemed to come from nowhere, but then its source revealed itself. Jumping from a tree where Muroe had been sat moments before was a young man, dressed in a bright blue shirt and a rather tattered pair of jeans. "Sorry, Barkeley should've warned you before I did that. I'm Muroe, I happen to be an animagus." He smiled at the confused look on her face. "Basically I can take the form of any animal I wish, I just prefer my eagle form." The biggest hint as to his identity was the fact his eyes were emerald green, exactly the same as the eagle's she had seen before.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 05:18:45 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh god don't eat me please," Aurora mumbled when the lion turned towards her and closed her eyes as she stood still and held her breath. When the lion rubbed her head against her hand she opened eye a crack and peered down at the lion. "Oh, hi," she smiled and ran her hand over the lion's head.<br><br>She crouched down as she continued to pet the lion with a big smile on her face. "You're very soft, such a beautiful animal," she whispered to Tea but startled when she heard the new voice and fell on her butt. She peeked over the lion's back and nodded slowly. "Oh. Well, considering the day I'm having you fit right in," she smiled and pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself off.<br><br>"When I was a kid I used to climb ontop of our fridge and jump off trying to fly," she smiled and let her fingers run over Tea's hair as she looked at Muroe. "So have you all been here long? Or just since Barkeley inherited the weapon-key thing?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 05:27:34 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"He rescued us," Muroe said. "Well, he rescued me anyway. Got into a fight with a fire elemental, really not a smart idea when your only real magical skill is turning into an eagle. By chance I had a run-in with the thing a matter of feet from where Barkeley had gone to get some groceries. Since I was homeless and he needed someone to keep an eye on the lake when he wasn't around I ended up coming to live here. As for the lion..." he paused, shrugging. "We don't know how she got here, apparentely Barkeley came home one day and found her waiting here for him."<br><br>He knelt down and stroked the lion, which purred contendedly in response, evidently glad for the human company.<br><br>"We're not sure what she is," Barkeley said, reappearing from isnide the house. "We're fairly sure she's not actually a lion and since she's never returned to a human form its highly unlikely she's an animagus. There are a whole lot of creatures in this world even wizards haven't even begun to understand, and Tea there is one of them."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 05:47:42 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora smiled a bit as he spoke of how he met Barkeley and looked down at Tea when she purred. "He does have that air of being very giving to him," she smiled and scratched behind Tea's ear then looked at Barkeley when he emerged from the house. <br><br>When he finished talking she tilted her head as she looked down at the lion and smiled. "Well, no matter what you are you're still the most beautiful lion I've ever seen, the only one but that just makes you more special," she smiled and continued petting Tea.<br><br>"Got your place all clean and tidy now?" She asked with a smile and looked at Barkeley. "Do you think those things that were after you would know who I am now?" She questioned.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 05:57:34 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Unfortunately they will," he said with a grimace. "Elementals may not speak english but there are other ways of communicating with them. You're safer with me, otherwise they might try and use you to get to me and...let's just say you don't want to know what they do with their prisoners. And yeah, the house is ready, come in."<br><br>HInside the door was a big, spacious lounge with a silk covered sofa at its centre and a door that led off to the kitchen and stairs which led up into the darkness of the first floor. There was another door with a strange symbol on it on the opposite side of the room.<br><br>"I'll get us a drink," Barkeley said. "What do you two fancy having?"<br><br>"A glass of water will do me fine," Muroe replied. "Changing form all the time is ridiculously thirsty work."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 06:08:04 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Just thought I'd ask," she said with a smile and nodded in agreement. "I'm very sure I wouldn't want to know. I don't handle pain very well either," she admitted and walked into the house with the two.<br><br>She got her shoes off at the door before she looked around and touched the silk couch. "Jeeze, is that real silk?" She asked and glanced at Barkeley. "Just a water for me too please," she smiled and continued to look around.<br><br>"From the movies and all that I figured changing form would make you tired and hungry too," she said and looked at Muroe as she walked up to the door with the stranger symbol. "What's that mean?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 06:14:43 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Its another spell," Muroe said, walking up next to her. "Barkeley's never entered that room, it was like that when he got here. Apparentely he can sense a whole lot of magical energy emanating from behind the door, which is probably why he never opens it. I don't fancy trying to open it myself."<br><br>Barkeley walked in with their drinks, laughing as he saw them studying the door.<br><br>"There's a bigger problem," he said with a smirk. "Whoever put that charm on the door was a far greater wizard than me, I haven't been able to remove it and the door won't open unless or until its taken away.When people use charms like that its usually a hint you should steer clear of whatever its protecting."<br><br>"You'll have to show her our magic library in the basement," Muroe said. "As long as you prepare her for the fact that room seems physcially impossible of course, its hard to get your head round the scale of the room."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 12, 2011, 09:47:41 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Is there a way to tell if it's good magical energy or bad?" She asked and looked at Muroe. "I mean not all magic is bad right? You two seem like good people so how do you know this in here is bad magic?" She questioned and looked back at the door.<br><br>"Thank you," she said to Barkeley when she took her water and looked back at the door then between the two of them. "You have a magic library?" She asked with a bit of a smile and took a drink of her water. "I'd love to see it sometime," she said with a nod of her head.<br><br>"It can't really be that..." she cut herself off and waved a hand. "After everything I've seen today I think I can handle just about anything. Especially a massively tall library," she said with a curt nod of her head. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 13, 2011, 02:40:22 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Not all magic is obviously good or obviously bad," Barkeley replied. "Often its more about who wields its magic than it is about the magic itself. Although in the case of dark magic its almost always evil, even if the person wielding it is good it just ends up corrupting them."<br><br>"You've not seen the library," Muroe said, laughing. "A lot of things about this island don't make a whole lot of sense if you stop and think about them long enough. For whatever reason this island seems to be surrounded by magic, not all of which Barkeley was responsible for putting there."<br><br>"Can we at least eat something before we vanish to the basement?" Barkeley asked. "I don't fancy getting lost down there on an empty stomach."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 13, 2011, 02:44:45 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora only nodded, having not had much experience with magic she could only take what was said as the truth. She had no reason to think they were lying to her and she didn't believe they were. Though she'd only just met them they didn't give a single vibe of being threatening.<br><br>"A lot of today hasn't made a whole lot of sense considering my extent of magic dealings has been going to see the Harry Potter movies," she pointed out and finished her glass of water.<br><br>"Wait, you can get lost in your library? Really?" She asked, her eyes a bit wide as she looked from Barkeley to Muroe. "Really? Lost?" She asked again and looked to Barkeley. "You guys eat normal food right? Not... eyes or some weird type of animal I've never heard of?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 13, 2011, 03:53:46 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yes, normal food," Muroe said with a laugh. "Magical animals are almost entirely inedible, at least according to the few people who tried eating any of them anyway."<br><br>Barkeley appeared again with a bowl of fruit and another of chips, setting them in the centre of the table.<br><br>"Its not much but I'll fix up something a little more substantial later," he said. "Its easy to get lost in the library, whoever built this house designed it so that its secrets were hidden fom all but those who could find their way around the tricks and jinxes put on it. Go down into that library unprepared and you could easily never find your way out again. Be glad you've got me and Muroe to protect you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 13, 2011, 09:04:33 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Okay, so don't eat magical animals. Got it," she said with a smile and looked at Barkeley when he appeared with a bowl of fruit and chips.<br><br>She walked over to the table and picked up a piece of fruit and popped it into her mouth then nodded her head. "Fruit is my favourite pickish food," she grinned.<br><br>"So if I get seperated from you down there I should just sit down and wait?" She asked and looked between them. "Or I'll just hold your hand. I think that'd be better," she said, talking more to herself then to either Barkeley or Muroe.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 02:30:26 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Stick with Muroe," Barkeley said with a laugh. "He spends more time down there than I do so he's probably long since figured out a way around most of its traps."<br><br>"Can we see what your grandfather left you before we go down there?" Muroe asked. "I'm genuinely curious what has got so many people chasing after you."<br><br>"Fine," Barkeley said, laying it on the table and slowly unwrapping it to reveal a long sword which glowed with a strange green light which revealed writing all the way down its blade and gemstones embedded in its handle. "I don't know what my grandfather wanted me to do with this, I'm hoping the answer is in that library somewhere."<br><br>"Is it just me," Muroe said as he studied the blade, "or does that look a lot like the swords the two statues guarding the bridge are carrying. And not just because its a sword too."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 08:31:31 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You got me all nervous now so you won't be able to get rid of me once we're down there," she warned as she looked at Muroe then offered him a bit of smile.<br><br>When Barkeley laid the sword on the table and unwrapped she looked at Barkeley. "I can understand how a sword can be a key to something but that's definitely a weapon. It's a sword. And it's glowing which is kinda creepy but definitely a weapon, if even only a knife," she mumbled.<br><br>She leaned down to try and read the words then looked to Muroe when he pointed out the sword's resemblance to the ones outside and looked back down at it. "I'm not sure, I didn't take much notice of their swords. Tea scared me," she admitted.<br><br>"Maybe we should go outside before going downstairs and check? Cause if you're trying to find answers knowing if it's linked up with this place would be a good place to start. Right?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 10:47:37 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I've seen that language before," said a voice that nearly made Muroe and Barkeley jump out of their skins, turning around to see a small winged girl perched on the top of one of the sofas. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stayed hidden so long, I'm..."<br><br>"Tea," Muroe finished her sentence. "You're a Chameleon Sprite, I've heard of your kind before but you're the first I've ever seen with my own eyes. They're like the fairy equivalent of an animagus," he said, seeing the looks of confusion on the others faces. "Its why she didn't feel human, its because she isn't. I'm guessing its no accident you came here then."<br><br>"No," Tea replied. "The writing on that blade is a language so old there are few of my kind alive who can still read it. There should be a book in your library you can use to translate it though. As for the statues, they are fae knights, fairies who once stood beside human mages in an ancient war. That is why their blades match yours, they were all forged by fairies."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 01:42:25 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora let out a squeak when she heard the voice and clasped both hands over her mouth as she looked at the small winged girl sitting on the sofa. When Muroe said it was Tea Aurora relaxed, dropping her hands to her sides.<br><br>As Muroe and Tea talked she tried to wrap her brain around everything that was being said. She glanced towards Barkeley then back to the other two. "You don't know which books are in your library?" She asked, looking to Barkeley. "Gosh this place must be huge," she mumbled.<br><br>"Are you going to come down with us?" She asked as she looked towards Tea. "I mean, you're a fairy and you can fly so you'll probably be able to find it quickly right?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 04:32:56 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I've lived here half my life and I've probably only seen even half of that library," Barkeley replied. "The deeper into it you go the more likely it is that you won't find a way back out again. I did warn you it'd make your head hurt."<br><br>"I will come with you," Tea said, nodding. "The fairy queen sent me here years ago, knowing one day the sword would come to you. There was no way we could take it out of the vaults ourselves, not with the creatures who seek to control its power."<br><br>"But this is the first time we've seen..." Muroe started saying but then he laughed. "Of course, me and Barkeley both have to sleep at some point, you'd only have to shapeshift while we were asleep our off the island to ensure your secret was hidden. I get the feeling we probably owe you a few favours for protecting this island for us."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 05:15:02 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She couldn't help the small whine that escaped her throat but nodded her head. "What about bread crumbs? We can leave a trail of bread crumbs and bring a Swiffer or something down with us to clean up on way back," she said, getting a bit more nervous over the fact she could get be lost in a huge library within the hour.<br><br>When tea said she was coming with them she relaxed a bit more. Having Tea, who could fly, was a bit of relaxing knowledge. "What kind of creatures are after you? Just those elemental things who were at the bank or are there worse things out there?" She questioned and looked between the lot of them.<br><br>"I think I should stop asking questions. I'm just digging myself into a deeper hole of worry and nerves," she mumbled and ran her fingers through her hair before taking a deep breath. "Okay, can we go get this over with?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 05:25:55 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The elementals are only the footsoldiers for far darker forces. Even the shades are nothing but pawns in this war. There are humans wielding dark magic, demons, orcs...and far worse if you can believe that."<br><br>"And then there are the dragons," Tea said with a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Who long since turned their back on the outside world. Their city, Dragonblight, is said to be one of the most beautiful places in the world but the last non-dragonkin to know its location took its secret to his grave centuries ago."<br><br>"Let's go the library," Muroe said. "This discussion's starting to get depressing and I want to show Aurora how...well, extraordinary this place really is."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 05:33:11 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She appreciated the honesty the others were showing her. They weren't sugarcoating anything and giving her the best answers they could, or so it seemed like they were and she was usually fairly good at knowing when she was being lied to.<br><br>"Dragons?" Aurora asked, her eyes widening a bit. Wizards and magic and fairies and people who could change into animals was a bit hard to handle but dragons were a whole other story. "There's dragons in this world but nobody's seen them?" She asked, staring at Tea for a moment before Muroe's words caught her attention.<br><br>She reached out and latched onto his hand. "If we're going I'm not letting go," she warned and pursed her lips a bit as she looked around. "Where's the door to the library?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 05:47:39 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Dragonkin are expert shapeshifters," Tea said. "Far superior to even the most skilled animagus or Chameleon Sprite. It is said in their human form you could look one directly in the eyes and still be unable to tell the difference between them and a human being. You could've walked past any number of dragons without realising it."<br><br>"Follow me," Barkeley said, leading them to a trapdoor at the back of the kitchen which opened after he had uttered a spell in an unrecognisable language under his breath. "Its about the only bit of fae language I was ever taught," he said to Aurora. "It takes years to learn how to speak the fairy language."<br><br>After walking down the stairwell that stretched down from the trapdoor for what felt like hours it opened into a cavern that, while well-lit, stretched well beyond the reach of the torches on the wall. Even the ceiling stretched beyond their sight. Line after line of bookcases stretched out in front of them.<br><br>"The ceiling can't be that high, its..." Tea started saying.<br><br>"Impossible?" Barkeley said with a laugh. "You're right. We've never figured out how this ceiling can reach far above where the floor of the house would be, except whoever did this was immensely powerful."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 06:04:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"So my landlord could be a dragon?" She asked, he was the first normal human that popped into her head and a frown crossed her features as she tried to figure out who in her life could have been a Dragonkin and she didn't know it. Even though Tea said she wouldn't have realized it she was still trying to sort it out in her head.<br><br>She walked forward though her brain was preoccupied but the mutter of a foreign language caught her attention and she looked to Barkeley as he explained. "Okay," she said and looked at Tea. "Maybe Tea would be willing to teach you know that you know what she is," she suggested and started down the stairs.<br><br>After all the walking Aurora looked around then looked up. She had her head tilted all the way back as though she was trying to see a night sky full of stars and stayed like that until she began to lean backwards from having her head so far back. "Wow," she mumbled and squinted to try and see deeper into the library.<br><br>"Okay, I'm impressed now,' she said and looked at Barkeley before she looked upwards again.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 06:15:15 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Even my eyes cannot see the ceiling of this place," Tea said, "and my eyesight is far stronger than any of yours. I think I know where in the library we seek though."<br><br>"Okay, everyone grab a torch," Muroe said. "Stay together and move carefully. I don't know how many traps are dotted around this library and I'm sure I've not found any of them."<br><br>They took the last few steps down to the floor of the library, walking between bookshelves that dwarfed them, the occasional ladder left to help access the higher shelves. The shelves were stacked with books and scrolls, some written in human languages, some in the fae language from the sword and some in languages even Tea seemed puzzled by. Suddenly there was a noise from somewhere in the darkness ahead of them.<br><br>"This place is empty right Barkeley?" Muroe asked, trying to stay calm.<br><br>"It should be," Barkeley replied, drawing the sword and gulping as he noticed it had begun to glow brighter. "Something tells me that's not a good sign."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 06:23:31 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Tea when she spoke. "So it just keeps going?" She asked and tore her eyes from the ceiling when Muroe said for everyone to grab a torch and did so. She gripped it tightly and squeezed his hand as she stepped closer to him.<br><br>She began to relax a bit more and started looking at the spines of the books, most she couldn't begin to understand but there were a few in English but it didn't seem like something she'd even begin to understand if she were to open it and read it.<br><br>When there was the sudden noise she stopped dead in her tracks and remained silent as Barkeley and Muroe talked. "That's not very comforting guys," she mumbled and took in a deep breath. "Should we run? Or..." she trailed off when she saw the sword. "Oh damn," she whispered and stared at the growing glow.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 06:34:00 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Wait," Tea said. "I think I know what it is. If it thinks you're threatening it it'll attack and believe me that sword will be no use against it. Stay here."<br><br>"Okay," Barkeley said, sheathing the sword and waiting patiently. For five minutes there was no sound from Tea until Barkeley heard a whistle from somewhere ahead. "Follow me," he said to the other two. As they approached where Tea sat the torches caught the shine of something even Barkeley had never seen before. It was a dragon who took up a huge courtyard within the library, but its skin sone like a diamond. "It..." Barkeley was lost for words for a moment. "I thought they were a myth."<br><br>"There are so few of her kind now they may as well be a myth," Tea said, stroking the dragon's head. "She is a crystal dragon, even rarer than her ordinary kin. They and my kind fought together long after most dragons had retreated to Dragonblight but I had feared they were all long gone."<br><br>"You should feel special," Muroe said to Aurora. "No human has ever seen a real Crystal Dragon before, and believe me wizards have spent centuries searching for them."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 07:04:03 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Should she go alone?" Aurora asked as she watched Tea go forward and looked down at the sword as Barkeley sheathed it and jumped when the whistle came. "I thought we were coming down here for books," she mumbled to herself and let go of Muroe's hand a moment to wipe off her palm which had become sweaty.<br><br>"Sorry," she mumbled to Muroe then grabbed his hand again when they began to move forward and stared at the dragon as they approached. "I thought we just talked about how they were not around or hard to see," she whispered and continued staring, wide-eyed at the large creature.<br><br>"She is pretty though," she mumbled and nodded at Muroe's words. "I do feel special. I've felt special all done. Waiting to wake up from this dream but still special."<br><br>"Can I touch her?" She asked, looking between Tea, Barkeley and Muroe.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 07:09:46 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yes," Tea said. "If she was going to attack you believe me you wouldn't have got this close to her alive."<br><br>"What's she doing down here," Muroe asked, in awe at the creature in front of him.<br><br>"She and her mate once protected this island together and then...a war came. He left to fight, and told her to stay here and wait for his return, but..." A tear fell from Tea's eye. "I fought with him, I know what his ultimate fate was."<br><br>"And she's stood guard here ever since, even knowing he'll never return?" Barkeley asked.<br><br>"Yes," Tea said, nodding. "She saw it as her duty to. Plus its not the books she and her mate were guarding. Your sword isn't glowing because of her, you've come within reach of the door it was destined to open."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 14, 2011, 07:29:53 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora let go of Muroe's hand slowly and walked closer to the dragon, she looked at the huge beast as she approached and reached out, she took her time, making sure the dragon wasn't going to lunge at her.<br><br>When her hand touched the dragon's scales she smiled and let out a quiet laugh. "Wow," she breathed out and drew her fingers over the dragon slowly as she listened to the story and looked into her eyes. <br><br>The smile faded as the history of the dragon came to light. "I'm sorry," she whispered and continued moving her hand over the dragon and looked back at Barkeley when Tea said the sword was glowing because they were within reach of the door it was supposed to open. "Is she going to leave when the door is opened? Go back to her own kind?" Aurora asked, looking back at the dragon. Feeling nothing but sympathy for the beast at being left alone all this time after her mate had gone.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 02:21:48 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Whatever is in that vault she was sworn to guard until her job was done," Tea said. "So either it gets to the point where whatever is in there is no longer needed or she dies, until then she is sworn to protect it and anyone who doesn't try to use it for the wrong reasons."<br><br>"Then what are we waiting for," Muroe said excitedly. "Let's get down to the vault and find out what she's guarding."<br><br>"We can't," Tea said. "Although the sword is reacting to the fae spells that protect it they are not the only magic guarding it. Dragonkin magic is at work here too, and I can't even begin to dispel magic that strong. She said there's a book in the library that we can use, she can help us translate the language too."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 09:03:26 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh," Aurora said quietly and continued to pet the dragon, she looked at Muroe who seemed excited to get going with the whole thing and couldn't help but crack a little smile because of him. He seemed to have a very positive outlook.<br><br>Her eyes moved back up to Tea as the fairy spoke then looked towards Barkeley. "Maybe we should split up? Go in groups of two's to try and find the book," she said and looked between them.<br><br>"I know I wouldn't be much help but we may find the book faster if there's two different searching parties," she suggested and dropped her hand from the dragon's scales.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 09:10:55 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Or she can just show us," Tea said with a smile as the dragon moved, revealing her formidable height and ponting one claw to a bookcase that was a matter of metres behind her. "There's a green book on the top shelf, its easy to spot because its the only one not in English."<br><br>"Great, I'll go get it," Muroe said, starting to run before Barkeley stopped him. "What was that for?"<br><br>"There's no way you can safely climb that bookcase," Barkeley replied. He stretched out a hand and within moments the book was floating through the air towards them. It was green but covered in golden letters in a language that no-one aside from the dragon seemed able to interpret. It looked like it hadn't been opened in many years, a thin layer of dust covering it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 09:21:38 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh," Aurora blushed. "Sorry, I didn't know that was an option," she said and looked at the dragon after she pointed out the book. "Thank you," she smiled and moved to stand next to Barkeley as Muroe began to run off towards the book shelf.<br><br>As Barkeley stretched out a hand she stared, wide-eyed, as the book floated down towards them and stared down at it. "You do know you could be a millionaire if you took your show to Vegas right?" She asked and looked down at the book again.<br><br>She drew a finger across the cover and looked at the layer of dirt. "So, we let the dragon read it and Tea'll be able to understand what it is she's reading?" She asked, glancing between them to make sure she understood what was going on.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 12:26:00 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It'll have to work like that I'm afraid," Tea said. "She can speak fae and read English but she can't speak English I'm afraid. But...there's something she wants to show you before you read the book. Something even few fae have seen."<br><br>"It would be an honour for us to see it," Barkeley said. "Something tells me this isn't something we'll forget easily."<br><br>For a moment the entire room filled with light and when it cleared it revealed a mountain ridge filled with an immense wall more than twice the height of even the tallest man.<br><br>"This..." Muroe said in awe. "This is Dragonblight isn't it?" Tea nodded. "But how?"<br><br>"She cannot take us there but she can show us her memory of it. Do you want to see closer?" Tea asked. In the far distance they could make out a tower that stretched high into the air, dragons of all sizes and colours cricling it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 12:32:54 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded in agreement with Barkeley about being honoured the dragon wanted to show them something. "I don't think anything about today will be easily forgotten, " she mumbled to herself and covered her eyes when the room filled with light then peeked around her fingers.<br><br>"Wow," she breathed out and stared at the mountain ridge and the wall. "What is it?" She asked then tried to remember as Muroe spoke and remembered Dragonblight was where the dragons lived.<br><br>"Oh my gosh!" Aurora said in an embarrassingly high voice and pointed as a little dragon kept trying to fly but continued crashing to the ground, only ever making it a meter or so off the ground. Another dragon remained close by the youngster. "That is so cute," she said and stared, completely focused on that scene.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 12:48:44 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"This city is defended by an army few could stand against," Tea said. "Each adult dragon is a magic user far stronger than even the greatest human mage. But it is not just dragons who guard this city." They flew closer to the out wall, where the strange figures who stood there were better revealed. Each had the upper body of a man but the lower body of a reptile and stood leaning against an immense spear. "Dragon Ogres, once they were numerous throughout the world but now they are found only in Dragonblight."<br><br>"Bloody hell," Muroe said as they flew past the ogres. "I wouldn't want to try fighting ONE of those things, nevermind a city full of them."<br><br>They flew over the inner courtyard of the city, where female dragons tended to young dragons and some were guarding their eggs.As they approached the tower they finally saw the formidable creature who sat on the spire. Even by dragon standards the creature was huge, a scar running across his right eye and claws that looked capable of ripping through metal.<br><br>"Stormrider," Tea said, indicating the dragon. "The king of the dragonkin. I couldn't even begin to guess how old he is, but even so his age hasn't dimmed his powers. It was his father who ordered the dragons to withdraw, but his father died, betrayed by a human wizard. It is said that the fae are the only race aside from his own Stormrider trusts. He would make a formidable ally in a war but...I fear we may have no way of persuading him to help us."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 12:55:21 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora focused again once the images began to move and her little dragon got lost in the movement. She stared at the Dragon Ogres and then the largest dragon. "Maybe whatever is behind the door is something we could use to make him like you," she said and looked at Barkeley. "You are kinda in the center of this so if anyone needs Mufasa there it's you," she said and looked back to Stormrider.<br><br>"Is it possible for him to turn into a human? You said before that dragons can turn into humans right? But nobody knows. Is there a way we can, I dunno, get him to come out as a&nbsp; human for a meeting?" She asked and looked up at Tea then to the dragon there.<br><br>"If she went and offered an invitation to meet with Barkeley, plead his case to him, would that work?" She asked, looking to Barkeley.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 01:12:49 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There is a legend about the day the dragon king was betrayed," Tea said. "The wizard didn't simply kill him, he stole from him an ancient dragon artefact of immense power. If you could find the artefact and return it to Stormrider he may be willing to listen if nothing else."<br><br>"It would explain why she's guarding it," Muroe said. "You said yourself Tea that the Crystal Dragons stayed long after the dragons had retreated. If they'd found it after the wizard had died then she and her mate would almost certainly wish to guard it. It would explain who the dragonkin magic got there, I doubt the wizard would've known how to cast dragon hexes."<br><br>"Even if that is what the dragon is guarding we still face a big problem," Barkeley said with a sigh. "We don't have the first idea where Dragonblight is, we have no idea even where to start."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 01:21:29 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No," she said and shook her head as she looked at Barkeley. "We do know something. It's on a mountain range with a tall tower," she said and looked at him. "We just need to figure out which mountain range. I could do that. Search through atlas' and maps," she suggested.<br><br>"Just try to find a range that looks like the one we saw and then Muroe could fly there, maybe," she said and looked at Muroe. "If there are dragons and if the artifact is behind that door then we'll just need to figure out a way to get you an audience with the king," she smiled. "Simple... enough," she added quietly.<br><br>"Or maybe once the artifact is out and we need to see Stormrider she could take us," she said, looking at the crystal dragon.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 01:31:50 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I guess that's as good a plan as any," Muroe said with a laugh. "If we take it from the vault she'll have no reason to stay here so she may be more willing to take us."<br><br>"Well then," Barkeley said, "we'd better get started on reading this book so we can figure a way around those hexes." He opened the book and sat down almost instantly with a sigh. "There are hundreds of pages here, how on earth do we know where to start."<br><br>"We have a dragon here," Tea said. "Dragon runes are her language, let her read it. If she helped place the hexes there then she'll know their counterspells too. Plus she'll have to cast the counterspells, you COULD attempt to wield the magic of a dragon but non-dragonkin can easily control the amount of power it requires. There are stories of beings destroyed attempting to control the magical energies that a creature like Stormrider could wield in his sleep without batting an eyelid."<br><br>Barkeley walked over to the dragon, placing the book in front of her and watching as she studied the book intently.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 01:41:08 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Barkeley as the dragon studied the book. "I don't want you to get destroyed. Just so you know," she mumbled and offered him a smile before she looked back at the dragon.<br><br>Everything was so confusing now. This morning she got up and the most important thing was depositing her check so she'd make rent and here she was. Trying to get an ancient artifact out of a cursed room so they could take it to the dragon king and hopefully have him as an ally in some war she didn't even know about. She still didn't really know any of the facts about the war they were apparently involved in.<br><br>All she knew was Shades and elementals were not nice, tigers and eagles and even humans could not be as they seemed. "Hey, do some people who change shape, would they just be a deer in the woods?" She asked and looked at Muroe.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 01:49:06 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"They could be," Muroe replied. "People who are still learning the skills of an animagus would be easy to tell apart from real animals. The more skilled you become the easier it is to disguise your human side. I leave my eyes the same colour out of choice, a girl once told me they were the most beautiful thing about me."<br><br>"You'd never guess he's still a teenager would you?" Barkeley asked with a laugh. "Even I'm quite young. I'm guessing you and the dragon are of a more considerable age though Tea?"<br><br>"Oi, remember the dragon could flatten you with one claw," Tea said cheekily. "But no, you're right. "I've lived for...more centuries than I care to mention and I wouldn't dare even TRY asking the dragon her age. Female dragons are as sensitive about their age as human women are, except if you annoy a dragon the consequences are potentially FAR worse."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 01:55:29 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Aurora said and looked between the two men with a smile. "I'm surprised you even had the gall to ask a question like that."<br><br>She looked at Muroe a moment then looked at Barkeley. "So am I older than you two? Well I'm older than you but are you older than me?" She asked and looked from Muroe to Barkeley again. She wasn't that sensitive about her age since she was still young and looked young.<br><br>"That'd be funny though, if a male dragon asked a female dragon her age and the female went all vicious on him," she smiled. "That's the start of a bad joke," she said to herself and sat down on the floor while the dragon continued to read.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 02:03:45 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm older than you, just" Barkeley said. "But not by a whole lot. I had to grow up very quickly so I can look a lot older than I actually am."<br><br>"Dragon couples are much different to your relationships," Tea said with a smile. "They mate for life, so if you're actually stupid enough to attempt to steal a dragon's egg then you have to deal with two parents who are most likely going to kill you as soon as see you."<br><br>"Note to self, its a dumb idea to annoy the dragons," Muroe said with a laugh."<br><br>"She's found the spell," Tea said suddenly. "Luckily for us there's one spell which will take out all the dragon hexes in one shot, otherwise we'd be here for a while."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 03:22:40 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded her head and looked to Tea as she spoke. "If humans had to mate for life the murder rate would skyrocket," she said with a roll of her eyes. "And divorce lawyers would be outta business," she said with a bit of a smile.<br><br>"Oh! Yay!" Aurora said and clapped her hands together when Tea said the dragon had found a spell that would get rid of all the dragon hexes in one shot. <br><br>"That's good news," she beamed and rocked on her heels as she waited to see what would happen next.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 03:34:15 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The dragon moved, revealing an immense trapdoor which she had been sat almost directly on top of., nodding to Barkeley and pointing to an opening in the centre of the doorway.<br><br>"Guess I don't need to ask where the sword goes," Barkeley said, walking over and slotting the sword into the opening. Suddenly the trapdoor lit up, revealing a myriad of strange letter written across across it.<br><br>"We can deal with all the hexes at once," Tea said to the dragon, who silently nodded in agreement. Tea uttered a short sentence under her breath and the letters seemed to melt away, the dragon showing no sign of casting a spell beyond a faint glow appearing in her eyes. "She will bring the object up," Tea said. "There's no way you could safely reach where it is, and I doubt I could carry it back up."<br><br>The dragon jumped up into the air, revealing a wingspan&nbsp; which seemed to fill half the library before diving down into the opening, vanishing from sight.<br><br>"Considering what happened to Stormrider's father I'm amazed any dragon would choose to help us," Muroe said thoughtfully.<br><br>"She's watched you and Barkely," Tea said, "and Barkeley's grandfather before you. She has seen that there are humans who are capable of great acts of kindness. If we could convince Stormrider of the same who knows what we might achieve."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 03:47:17 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora continued to sit on the floor and watched silently. She tilted her head as Barkeley slotted the sword and jumped back a bit when the trap door suddenly lit up.<br><br>Her gaze moved to Tea when the fairy spoke and watched at the dragon's eyes began to glow. "What is the object?" She asked and jumped back again when the dragon jumped up and dove into the hole.<br><br>"Holy!" She said and moved over to the hole to look down it then looked at Tea. "She'll be alright right?" She asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 03:56:41 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Her skin is as tough as the toughest diamond," Tea said. "Diving down there might scratch her slightly but its not going to do much else."<br><br>After a few minutes there was a wooshing sound as the dragon returned, landing and revealing the object nestled between her formidable claws. It turned out to be a suit of armour made from an unrecognisable material and a sword almost as formidable as the one Barkeley carried.<br><br>"No wonder people wanted that," Tea said. "Those are the rarest materials alive. The armour is made from dragon scales and the sword is forged with pure dragonkin magic. Someone with that power would be impossible to get near, nevermind have a fair fight with."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 15, 2011, 10:26:24 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora peeked at the armour and sword when Tea explained what it was. "Maybe you can wear it," she suggested and looked towards Barkeley. <br><br>"I mean, if your grandfather had it hidden down here and the sword and all that then maybe you were meant to have it and use it against those evil people," she shrugged.<br><br>"Or would the dragons want it back?" She questioned after a moment and looked to Tea.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 16, 2011, 02:47:17 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Something tells me we should at least attempt to give it back to Stormrider first," Barkeley replied. "Using it without his permission may only succeed in making him attack us."<br><br>"I'm not sure even dragonscale armour would be much help against a fully grown dragon of his abilities," Tea said. "Shall we set off for Dragonblight?" she asked.<br><br>"I think we need food first," Barkeley replied. "Especially if we don't know how long this trip is going to take."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 16, 2011, 09:54:52 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she said as she scratched behind her ear and blushed a bit. <br><br>"Well dragons can kill dragons so it kinda makes sense that a dragon could kill anyone wearing the armour," she commented and stood up, dusting herself off.<br><br>"Food would be good, we can pack some stuff in case we're gone a long time," she said and looked at Barkeley.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 02:19:17 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We should at least eat something first," Muroe said, blushing slightly as his tummy rumbled.<br><br>"He's right," Tea said, smiling at his embarrassment. "Besides, Kara here hasn't flown in a very long time, she needs to go out and stretch her wings first to make sure they still work."<br><br>"But how will she..." he started saying as the dragon launched off into the darkness above them. "The magic that makes this room so big is dragonkin as well isn't it?" he said, Tea nodding in reply."Well, let's go get some food ready while we wait for her to get ready."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 02:25:31 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora smiled when he blushed. "Aw, you don't have to blush cause you tummy is hungry," she smiled to Muroe.<br><br>"Kara? That's her name?" She asked Tea since she hadn't caught it before if it was mentioned and flinched when the dragon launched into the air.<br><br>When it seemed like Barkeley knew what was going she just shrugged it off. The way she saw it, if Barkeley, Muroe or Tea were okay with something then she didn't have to worry. And they made such a big deal about getting lost in this library she felt more comfortable of their abilities. "Okay, let's go to the stairs. That way?" She asked and pointed down the aisle of books.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 03:41:47 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You're right," Tea said with a slight giggle. "No idea how we managed it but we went in pretty much a straight line so getting out again is easy."<br><br>The trip back to the stairs seemed to take less time than the journey to the dragon,, even with them carrying the armour and sword, before climbing up the stairs to reach the kitchen. When they reached the kitchen they noticed a strange green light emanating from outside, which seemed to catch everyone but Tea off guard, who smiled.<br><br>"Gimme a sec," Tea said. "We have some company. Don't worry, they aren't hostile," she said, noticing Barkeley reaching for his sword.<br><br>"I'm guessing they're other fae like her," Muroe said. "I've seen that light by the lake before but I could never quite figure out what they were till I read one of the books in the library."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 12:36:54 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Ya know, walking back to the stairs was alright but I prefer going down stairs than going up them," she mumbled as they made the long walk up the stairs and she figured she should have gone on more walks or runs rather than just eating right to keep her figure.<br><br>Aurora hadn't noticed the light until there Tea spoke and looked up from the floor. She noticed the light and Barkeley reaching for his sword.<br><br>"More fairies?" She asked excitedly and ran to the window to look out at the fairies the way children ran to candy store display windows. She peeked outside and looked all around, completely forgetting about her growling stomach.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 12:46:41 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I guess I'll be making the lunch then," Barkeley said with a smirk as Muroe walked over to a window to see what was happening as he set about making a snack of fruit and sandwiches.<br><br>Tea was stood on the grass outside but there were four other figures with her. One was a tall, regal looking male fairy dressed in golden armour which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The other three were soldiers, each with their backs to the house so their faces were hidden but each wiedling spears just visible even at distance.<br><br>"It must be something serious," Muroe said. "A member of the fae Royal Court rarely comes this close to human civilization without a reason. I'm guessing he's a prince, doesn't look quite fancy enough to be a king."<br><br>"Plus the way the fae royal succession goes its quite rare to see a fairy king anyway," Barkeley said with a laugh. "Its safe to say the women wear the trousers in fairy society."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:07:18 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				A small smirk came to Aurora's lips at Barkeley's words. "Just the way human women wear the trousers in our society, though no male will admit it," she said quietly.<br><br>"So that's a fairy prince, he looks more manly than I thought a fairy male would look," she said quietly, her eyes glued to the fairy prince before she looked to Tea and finally back to the scene in front of them.<br><br>"Do you think she called them here to help?" She asked after a moment and looked over the soldiers. "It's kind of ironic they'd show up just as you found the amour and sword."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:16:07 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Or they need her for something," Barkeley said. "Tea isn't a princess herself and there are plenty of other Chameleon Sprites they could've sent. If she's here they sent her for a reason, and they may need her help."<br><br>Tea signalled for them to come outside, Muroe and Barkeley helping Aurora outside. The prince turned to them, bowing deeply and revealing a small, if formidable, sword sheathed in his belt.<br><br>"This is Prince Imrik," Tea said, "the third son of Queen Elena of Shadowglade. You should feel proud, Imrik rarely leaves Shadowglade so if Elena sent him to see you you must be doing something right."<br><br>"A oleasure to meet you all," Imrik said, taking Aurora's hand and kissing it. "Word has reached the Royal Court that you seek an audience with Stormrider. I cannot guarantee you he will agree to help you but he is more likely to be willing to listen if he knows you have the blessing of Elena herself. Elena and Stormrider have a...unique bond."<br><br>"What he means," Tea said with a faint smile, "is that Stormrider is the only dragon to have perfected turning into a fairy, and in his fairy form he and Elena fell in love. Nothing came of it but their close bond remains to this day."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:26:38 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When Tea signaled for them to come outside Aurora planted herself on the floor. "That's a prince. We can't go out dressed like this," she said but didn't put up any resistance when Muroe and Barkeley helped her outside. <br><br>When the prince turned and bowed Aurora looked from Muroe to Barkeley to see if they did anything in turn such as bowing or anything. When they didn't she just stood stock still and barely wanted to breath.<br><br>Her eyes drifted to the side, looking for Kara since she hadn't seen the dragon since she took off out of the basement. She felt her hand being touched and turned her head to Imrik and flushed brightly when he kissed her hand. She couldn't keep the giggle down but quickly clammed up.<br><br>"Men where I'm from don't do that," she mumbled and lowered her eyes, thoroughly embarrassed now. She glanced at Tea when she spoke and smiled. "Oh that's cute," she said, then decided she'd keep her girly thoughts to herself from there on in.<br><br>"So, you're say that the Queen can get Barkeley in there safely?" She grinned and looked at Barkeley. "You've got more luck than anyone I know."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:34:11 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Indeed," Imrik said. "Even with Kara on your side that would only guarantee you could land in Dragonblight before they attacked. With us by your side you can at least be sure he'll listen."<br><br>"Where is Kara?" Muroe asked, nearly jumping a second later when the dragon perched herself on top of the house and watching them intently. "How...where did..."<br><br>"Oh Muroe," Barkeley said with a laugh. "That's where Kara's been. Tea couldn't leave our side but she needed someone to get a message to Imrik. I could believe the soldiers were here by chance but a fae Prince doesn't go anywhere by 'accident'." He smiled as Imrik nodded. "Well we'd better get going soon, we don't want to waste too much time."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:42:40 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When he said they'd better get going she opened her mouth to speak but her stomach gurgled hungrily and she closed her mouth. "Yeah, that," she mumbled and looked at Barkeley.<br><br>"Can we eat really quick?" She asked timidly, feeling a bit like a child since everyone else was magic except for her.<br><br>"You don't think the dragon will get mad that I'm there right? Can they sense when someone isn't magic?" She asked, looking between the lot of them and just noticed the soldiers again and focused her gaze on Barkeley since he was the first one she came into contact with.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:47:19 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Just be careful when we get there," he said having sent Muroe to get the food he'd made. "They shouldn't attack unless they consider us a threat."<br><br>"Especially since we're going to be in the middle of their stronghold," Tea said with a slight laugh. "I don't think they think we're stupid enough to pick a fight in the middle of a city full of dragons.<br><br>Muroe put the bread and sandwiches on the grass where any could take some, although the fairies and dragon seemed uninterested.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:51:13 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora crouched down and picked up a sandwich. It was hard not devour the meal like a beast but she restrained herself and took a few small bites, chewing thoughtfully and enjoying the food.<br><br>"I don't mean as a threat. I mean as me being of no magical descent or anything. Would they be insulted that someone like me was in their city?" She questioned then took another bite of the sandwich.<br><br>Though she was excited, she didn't want to mess anything up for anyone and now there was a Queen putting her name on the line as well.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 01:58:52 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"To be honest the less magical ability you have the more they'd probably trust you," Barkeley replied. "Bear in mind the man who betrayed them was a wizard."<br><br>Suddenly Kara sat bolt upright, staring at some point across the lake from the house. Her movement caused Tea and the prince to both draw their weapons, Barkeley quickly following suit.<br><br>"Muroe," Barkeley said. "I need you to go take a look at the shoreline, something's not right out there." Muroe quickly shifted to his eagle form, flying low across the lake. "What is it?" Barkeley asked Tea as she saw the fairy communicating with the dragon.<br><br>"There is something disturbing the water of the lake," Tea replied. "And if Kara is right whatever it is isn't human or fairy in origin."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 02:05:38 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh! Well that's good then!" She smiled and became more chipper at the fact she could go and not cause a disturbance. She really hoped she'd get to see a baby dragon since they were so cute.<br><br>When the fairies and Barkeley drew their swords she gasped and looked around, not seeing anything. She watched Muroe fly across the lake and stepped back a bit.<br><br>If something was coming to attack them she didn't want to get in the way and she was frightened. But her primary concern was not getting in their way. Anything that was coming probably wouldn't even notice her.<br><br>"You said nothing can get across though right? Because of all the spells and everything," she said quietly, looking at Barkeley.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 02:11:41 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No, nothing can cross the bridge," Barkeley said as he saw Muroe flying back. "Most people wouldn't be dumb enough to try swimming."<br><br>"Its an elemental," Muroe said as he transformed back into his human form just before landing. "But its not like any elemental I've seen before."<br><br>"Oh god..." Barkeley said under his breath before turning to Tea. "Tea, Muroe, take Aurora inside. This thing is well beyond either of your abilities. Let me, Imrik and Kara deal with it."<br><br>"What is it?" Tea asked, staring across the lake where a strange shadowy shape was visible just below the water heading straight towards them.<br><br>"Its a shadow elemental," Barkeley replied. "Unbelievably rare but extremely powerful and very very dangerous if you don't know how to fight it. The magic required to summon one alone is enough to kill an unprepared wizard."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 02:59:59 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora frowned a bit when he spoke about how dangerous this thing was but stepped back then turned and headed inside of the house.<br><br>She knew the last thing they needed was her getting in the way. Once they were all inside she shut the door and went to the window to watch what would happen.<br><br>She lifted her hand and wrapped her fingers around the small amulet that dangled from her neck. She only ever held onto it when she was scared, it had been handed down to her from her grandmother.<br><br>"They'll be okay right?" She asked, looking over at Muroe as she rubbed her thumb over the amulet.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 03:09:29 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Tea nodded. "Imrik is said to be second only to his mother in terms of magical skill and Kara can deal with anything." She suddenly noticed the amulet around Aurora's neck and looked at it with a slightly confused look on her face. "Where did you get this?" she asked.<br><br>"We've got big company," Muroe said, pointing out of the window. Rising out of the water was a dark shape that looked vaguely bat-like but much larger and with horns just emerging from the top of its head. There was a sudden bright flash of light, Muroe pushing Aurora to the flooras a wave of energy hit the window.<br><br>When the light had cleared the creature was gone but everyone but Aurora and Kara were unconscious, the dragon gently nudging the prince and Barkeley to try and wake them up. They were unharmed but unmoving.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 03:16:29 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora always kept the amulet under her shirt and did a double take at Tea when the fairy asked about the amulet and glanced down at it. "My grandmother gave it to me. Why?" She asked, confused since Tea seemed confused which only confused Aurora more.<br><br>Aurora looked back out the window then grunted when she hit the floor and glanced around after a moment. She picked herself up and touched Muroe's face then gently shook him before she felt for a pulse. She took a moment to look around then pushed herself up and ran outside.<br><br>"Are they alive?" She asked Kara, hoping the dragon could understand her and at least nod that they were.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 03:22:46 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yes," replied, speaking for the first time, smiling slightly at the surprise on her face. "I have always been able to speak, I merely choose not to. As for them, I had forgotten how powerful my magic was, luckily they were only hit by the aftershock from it. If they'd got the full brunt they might've been in more trouble."<br><br>"Ugh," Barkeley said as he sat up gingerly, rubbing his head. "Next time you do that Kara can you give us a bit more warning? I've had hangovers less painful than that."<br><br>"I'm sorry," Kara said with a laugh. "I have not used my magic for a long time, it is easy to forget how strong I am when my magic has been inactive for so long. The pain will wear off quickly," she said as the others stirred, Muroe stepping out of the house with Tea perched on one shoulder.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 03:32:06 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora's eyes went as big as saucers as she looked at the dragon after she spoke. When she explained and Barkeley began to stir she turned to go to the house to shake Muroe awake but stopped when she saw them. "Oh thank you!" She grinned and ran over and gave Muroe a big hug then grabbed Tea off of his shoulder and hugged her too.<br><br>"I thought you guys were dead or something!" She mumbled as she held Tea in her arms. <br><br>She suddenly realized what she was doing and loosened her grip on Tea and looked down at the fairy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hug you that hard," she said and looked around. Glad everyone was alright.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 04:47:29 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Be thankful Stormrider didn't do that," Kara said. "I fought alongside him once in my younger years, even then his powers surpassed everyone besides his father. Being knocked out would be the least of your problems if he had done that."<br><br>"Its okay," Tea said with a smile. "I don't get it though, how did that thing find us? Do the enemy know we're here?"<br><br>"No," Barkeley replied. "Shadow elementals are drawn to sources of great magical energy, this island gives off more magical energy than anywhere for miles around."<br><br>"So, essentially it saw this island as a free-for-all buffet?" Muroe said with a smirk in an attempt to lighten the mood.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 05:07:51 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked around and let out a breath as she looked around and then looked at Tea. "How come it didn't knock me out?" She asked and looked at Kara. <br><br>"I didn't feel a think. Except being tackled to the floor," she added with a bit of a shrug.<br><br>"Or was it cause of you?" She asked and looked at Muroe who covered her with his body when they fell to the floor.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 05:13:08 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It won't hurt non-magic users unless it hits them directly," Kara replied. "Magic users have a...well, aura is probably the right word for it, around them which is what the shockwave reacts with to knock you out."<br><br>"Thankfully auras are almost invisible to most people," Barkeley said. "Its why normal criminals can't find magic users, unless they give themselves a way a magic user is usually difficult to spot from normal people."<br><br>"Kara," Tea said. "I think there may be something else protecting her. Aurora, show Kara your amulet."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 05:22:00 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Who knew not being a wizard could be so rewarding," she said with a smile and looked to Barkeley as he spoke.<br><br>She then looked to Tea when she said there may be something else protecting and looked confused a moment then looked down at her amulet and pulled the chain over her head.<br><br>Aurora walked over to Kara and held up the amulet so Kara could see it and looked at the dragon, curious as to what she would say.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 05:30:38 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"That looks fair..." Kara paused as she looked at it closer. "It can't...where did you get this?" she asked Aurora in astonishment.<br><br>"I don't get it," Muroe said. "It looks like a necklace to me."<br><br>"Yes, that's how it appears unless you know what you're looking for," Kara said, a note of annoyance in her voice as she uttered something in a strange language under her breath. At first it seemed to have no effect but then strange symbols began to appear around its edges.<br><br>"That's the same kind of writing from the book," Muroe said with a gasp.<br><br>"Dragonkin runes," Kara said. "That suit of armour we have is covered in them. They will have absorbed all the power, so you pushing her to the ground was unneccessary."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 17, 2011, 07:17:33 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The fact her necklace caused Kara to become astonished left Aurora speechless as she looked at the amulet.<br><br>"I don't get it either," she said in awe and lowered the amulet to look it over.<br><br>When the symbols appeared around the edges she gasped quietly and turned it over in her hand. "Wow, so this is something that was created by your kin?" She questioned and looked up at Kara.<br><br>"So this thing will absorb the power of spells?" she asked and looked around, feeling a bit more confident now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 18, 2011, 02:41:18 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"To a point yes," Kara said. "But even Dragonkin runes can't stop all magic."<br><br>"I don't understand though," Tea said. "No human wizard could've enchanted that amulet with magic that strong so how did something like that end up with Aurora?"<br><br>"I've seen something like this before," Kara replied. "I believe Queen Elena has an amulet like it herself. Dragons falling in love with non-dragons is more common than you might think, and often these are given as a gift to protect their loved one."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 18, 2011, 04:59:57 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked between Kara and Tea as they spoke, her fingers running over the amulet as they spoke.<br><br>She slid the necklace back over her head and looked down at what she always thought was just a simple necklace her Grandmother got a long time ago from some random little store or something.<br><br>"So, my grandmother fell in love with a dragon?" She asked and looked around. "Would that mean that my parents are part dragon or something?" She asked, thoroughly confused now as she tried to understand how the amulet came into their family. "My grandmother had to have known, when she gave it to me she said it was priceless and important. She said it didn't look like much but I had to keep it around my neck at all times," she said and looked around.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 18, 2011, 05:05:19 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No," Kara said, shaking her head. "While dragons can fall in love with other species they can only mate with their own. It is entirely possible your grandmother had no idea who her lover truly was, for it was no mere dragon she was in love with. Looks at the runes on the amulet and the runes on the armour."<br><br>"They're almost identical," Tea said, half surprised half confused.<br><br>"They are identical," Kara said. "They are the runes of Stormrider's family, in the case of the armour it is his father who put them there. My guess is it was Stormrider himself who enchanted these runes though."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 18, 2011, 05:13:05 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora stared at Kara as she spoke. "So, my grandmother was smitten with the King of the dragons?" She asked, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Oh nana," she laughed and looked down at the necklace again. "Her name was Elaine, you think he'll remember her? Or this?" She questioned and held up the necklace to show what she meant.<br><br>"Maybe he'd help us out if I explained I was her granddaughter?" She asked, looking between Tea and Kara. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 18, 2011, 05:18:49 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Between Queen Elena's blessing and Aurora's amulet there's probably more chance of Stormrider giving us an audience," Barkeley said. "We need to hurry up though, I doubt the enemy is sat waiting for us to complete our plans."<br><br>"Indeed," Kara replied. "Tea and Imrik can fly themselves but the rest of you will have to ride on my back."<br><br>"I can fly," Muroe said, a note of petulance in his voice, which ended at one glare from Kara.<br><br>"You would never survive the magical energies that surround Dragonblight," Kara said. "I and the fae have traversed them before, we know how to safely approach the city."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 18, 2011, 07:38:59 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora couldn't help but smile, feeling a bit more of use to the group now, thanks to her grandmother.<br><br>She glanced at Muroe when he spoke and smiled a little bit when he was silenced with a glare from the dragon.<br><br>Aurora walked up to the dragon and carefully climbed onto her back, she tucked the amulet under her shirt like she usually wore it and looked around. "So, since there's no saddle or anything. Are you going to catch me if I fall?" She asked, a bit of worry in her voice.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 03:18:27 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Between all our agic users one of us should be able to stop you falling somehow," Barkeley said as he jumped on the dragon's back, Muroe getting on behind him.<br><br>"Return to Shadow Glade," Imrik said to the soldiers. "Tell my mother we will bring news from Stormrider as soon as we can." The soldiers nodded, launching off into the sky one by one. "We're ready to go when you are," he said to Kara.<br><br>"Hold on tight," Kara said as she launched into the air with one strong push off the ground, Imrik and Tea following her into the air, she flew upwards until they were above the clouds before flying south. "I'm sorry," she said to those on her back. "Dragons are required to protect the route to Dragonblight. I may not have lived there for centuries but I still feel a loyalty to my own kin."<br><br>"I can understand that," Muroe said with a smile. "You have nothing to apologise for."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 11:34:23 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Okay, that sounds good. Makes feel a little better," she said as she looked back when Barkeley got up on to the dragon.<br><br>When Kara told them to hold on tight she gripped onto some scales she could actually get a hold of and held on tight. She squeezed her eyes shut as the dragon took off and kept them closed until they leveled out.<br><br>"Yeah, nothing to apologize for," she agreed, even though at this height it was beyond freezing. She began to sniffle a bit and as she got more relaxed on Kara's back she let go of her scales and pulled her arms inside her shirt and hunkered down a bit to try and get warm.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 11:45:02 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Halfway to Dragonblight they suddenly noticed strange flecks of light drifting around them. At first they looked like specks of dust but they were moving too deliberately to be an inanimate object. Barkeley reached uneasily for his sword.<br><br>"You have nothing to fear," Kira said, not even turning her head as she focused on her course. "They are Sky Wisps, there would need to be thousands of them to pose any kind of threat to us. I think they are merely curious who has entered their aerial realm."<br><br>"They're beautiful," Tea said, watching them dance around the three flying figures. "Can they understand what we're saying?"<br><br>"Not that we know of," Imrik replied. "If they can they've never made an attempt to communicate with other species."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 11:56:49 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora lifted her head when she heard them talking and noticed the flecks of light drifting around them. "They kinda remind&nbsp; me of tinkerbell," she said quietly. "From Peter Pan," she added, though she was sure none of the magic folk had ever heard of the children's story.<br><br>Her nose had gone numb and she was shivering now.<br><br>She turned her head and looked back at Barkeley. "Can you hold me? I'm really cold," she said quietly and looked into his eyes. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 12:03:48 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He put his arms around her, holding her close but blushing slightly as he did. Suddenly a shiver ran down his spine.<br><br>"That was the barrier around Dragonblight wasn't it?" he asked Kira, noticing the air suddenly felt a lot different.<br><br>"Indeed," Kira replied. "Its how the city is protected from the eyes of non-magic users. If you have an aura you enter the realm of Dragonblight, if not than you carry on over it as if there is nothing there but mountains. It is my aura that allows Aurora to enter this area." Suddenly they seemed to be buffeted by a wind which hadn't been there before. "Hold on tighter, this is the second line of defence around Dragonblight, and why Muroe couldn't fly this himself."<br><br>"You weren't kidding about how strong they are were you?" Muroe asked as he hung on as strongly as they could, impressed by the fact the fairies and dragon seemed barely fazed by the turbulence.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 12:34:27 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora shifted so she was snuggled up against him, wanting to share as much heat as she could. "Thank you," she whispered and laid her head on his shoulder.<br><br>When she felt the shiver she glanced at Barkeley as he spoke then looked to Kira as she answered. When the wind picked up she reached down to grab a scale with one hand his jacket with the other. <br><br>She closed her eyes against the wind and ducked her head down a bit. "How is this not bothering you?" She asked, flicking her eyes up to look at Barkeley. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 12:41:57 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"When you've been through what I have this is quite soft in comparison," he said with a laugh.<br><br>"Here we go everyone," Kara said as she suddenly started flying downwards through the clouds, they could see nothing for a few seconds before they got below the clouds again and found themselves faced by two mountains, between whih stood the wall they had seen in the vision. The ogres on the wall had evidently seen them already because even at that distance it was evident they had caused a commotion.<br><br>"For our sakes let's hope they're planning a welcoming comittee," Imrik said. "I don't fancy our chances, even with Kara, if we've caught them in a bad mood."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 12:55:40 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She smiled before snuggling down again, keeping a firm hold on his jacket. "I would've brought my winter jacket if I knew how cold it was gonna be," she said then sat up a bit when they began to descend.<br><br>Her eyes looked over the walls then she squinted as she watched the ogres rushing about and looked to Imrik when he spoke. "If we did catch them in a bad mood. What'll they do to us?" She asked, glancing to Barkeley again.<br><br>"Just because the ogres are in a bad mood doesn't mean that Stormrider will be," she suggested hopefully.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 19, 2011, 01:05:51 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Each of those ogres has the strength of six men," Imrik said. "Remember there are at least 100 of them dotted around that city. They alone could rip us to shreds if we weren't careful."<br><br>"I bring visitors to see King Val'than," Kara shouted to the ogres on the wall. "By dragonkin law I can bring anyone I choose here." For a moment there was complete silence from the wall until a tall cloaked figure appeared from behind two of the ogres. "I have his father's relic, the one taken by the Fallen centuries ago."<br><br>"You may pass," the figure shouted out to them, turning to utter something to one of the two ogres who disappeared down the steps behind the wall.<br><br>"Val'than?" Muroe asked. "I thought it was Storm..."<br><br>"Stormrider is his human name," Kara replied. "If you said that name to the ogres or his herald and they wouldn't know who you meant. Val'than is his dragon name." She guided them over the wall, where they were met by an extraordinary sight. Hundreds of dragons of all shapes, sizes and ages dotted the ground, from fearsome mothers guarding clutches of eggs to younger dragons making haf-hearted attempts to fly and some even performing basic magic. A space had been created in the centre for them to land, where a vanguard of Dragon Ogres awaited them. "Welcome to the lost city of the Dragonkin," Kara said to those on her back as she landed. "You are the first humans to visit here in nearly a millenia."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 20, 2011, 11:49:11 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked over towards the wall and watched the ogres, a little nervous since there were so many of them.<br><br>Once they were over the wall her face broke out into a big smile and she looked around, trying to take it all in as she watched the dragons. She grinned as she watched the little dragons and pointed to a few of them, feeling giddy at how adorable they looked.<br><br>She climbed off of Kara's back once she landed and looked around then took in a deep breath of the clean air and smiled as she looked around. "It's so beautiful around here," she said and moved to the other side of Kara to look over that way.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 02:58:50 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"They don't seem too alarmed," Barkeley said, noticing the younger dragons seemed more interested than the adults, although some were keeping a watchful eye on them.<br><br>"You're five non-dragons in a city full of dragon-kin," Kara replied. "Only an idiot would try and attack them when they're outnumbered this heavily." The tall figure from the wall appeared again, bowing to Kara, who caught even the fae off guard by tranforming into a beautiful young woman, who bowed. "Meren old friend," she said. "It has been far too long."<br><br>"You have no need to bow Kara," the figure replied. "You are like an aunt to Stormrider, if anyone should be bowing it. I will go and tell Stormrider you have arrived. Wait here, I will send someone to get you when he is ready." He walked off towards the tower, as the ogres slowly dispersed and returned to the wall.<br><br>"What is he?" Muroe asked. "He doesn't feel like any human I've ever met."<br><br>"He isn't," Kara replied. "No-one's 100% sure what he is, it is said only the dragon king ever knows Meren's true nature, it does require a great deal of trust though."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 04:11:28 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora did a double take of Kara when she saw her transform into a beautiful young woman. "Wow, she's a looker in that form too," she mumbled to herself and stared as the two of them talked.<br><br>She made her way over to Barkeley and looked up at him. "Is it impolite to stare at dragons?" She whispered to him, looking back at Kara and the other man.<br><br>When he left and Muroe spoke she looked towards him but stayed attached to Barkeley's side, determined she wasn't going to leave him no matter what. She trusted him more than anyone here. She didn't distrust them, but she felt drawn to Barkeley and safe with him.<br><br>Aurora reached up, grasped the chain and tugged the amulet out from under her shirt and began rubbing it again, it just felt right to rub it now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 05:05:50 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I think they'd expect it," Muroe said with a smile. "Dragons can be a little vain at the best of times, if they think you're admiring them they'd probably be quite flattered."<br><br>"I don't know many of the dragons," Kara said, before pointing to a male who was almost as large as her dragon form was who was watching a group of younger dragons carefully, while occasionally casting a glance in their direction. "He's the only relation I have left, my nephew, I call him Lightning for...well, you can see why." Running across the dragon's right eye was a lightning shaped scar which had evidently long since healed.<br><br>"I'm guessing its as bad an idea to get on his bad side as it is to get on yours," Barkeley said, a note of awe in his voice. "Can you imagine an army of these? They'd make a formidable army against just about anyone." A young dragon flew unsteadily over to where they were, walking up to Aurora and watching her with a look of curiosity on its face.<br><br>"Feel free to pet her," a female dragon who was sat watching another group of young dragons said. "She doesn't bite. I mean, literally she doesn't, her teeth are still developing. She couldn't do much more than leave a very slight scratch right now."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 05:13:56 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When Aurora saw the little dragon flying unsteadily she let out a cute noise but moved behind Barkeley since she wasn't sure what to do and didn't want to upset any of the dragons and get everyone in trouble.<br><br>When the female dragon spoke Aurora's face broke into a huge grin, she stepped slowly from around Barkeley and knelt down onto her knees as she approached the little dragon slowly.<br><br>She held her head out so the dragon could become a little familiar with her before she let her fingers touch the top of the dragons head and ran her palm down her neck. "Hello there, you're absolutely adorable," she cooed, shifting to sit on her butt to get comfortable as all of her attention was focused on the little dragon now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 05:21:13 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I haven't given her a name," the mother said, watching with a smile on her face. "We usually wait till they are able to speak for themselves, otherwise we see a name as slightly pointless."<br><br>"Maybe Aurora could give her a name, as a way of building some bridges between us," said a voice which seemed to come out of nowhere, Barkeley wheeling around to find himself face to face with a man who seemed almost seven feet tall but whose emerald eyes revealed he wasn't quite who he appeared to be. "My apologies, I wanted to see you acting more naturally than if you entered my throne room." He was wearing a ring on one hand which bore the same runes as Aurora's necklace.<br><br>"Stormrider, its a-" Muroe started saying before Stormrider put a hand up to stop him.<br><br>"I only expect formality from my own kind," Stormrider said with a smile. "My offer was an honest one however, you may give her a name if you wish."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 05:41:55 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora pulled her eyes from the little dragon to the mother and smiled bigger when she saw the mother was smiling and looked back to the dragon, playing a little bit.<br><br>When she heard her name she looked back and stared at the man then looked at the dragon again when she was told she could name it. She noticed his height first, then the ring and glanced down at her amulet before she looked back at the little dragon. She was a pretty blue and Aurora had read some books about dragon riders, the start dragon, a blue female, was named Saphira and it was the only name which might be suitable for a dragon.<br><br>When Muroe said his name she looked back again, smiled a bit at how nice he seemed and looked to the mother dragon. After some thought and getting her voice to work she asked to the mother dragon. "Do you like the name Saphira?" She asked, her hand still stroking the little dragons powerful neck.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 05:51:02 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It is a beautiful name," Stormrider said, turning to look at the mother who nodded in agreement. "She evidently likes the name too," he said, laughing as the dragon nuzzled Aurora's hand. "I have an especial affinity to that name, it was my mother's."<br><br>"Well this little one could be named after far worse dragons than your mother Tyke," Kara said, smirking as she saw Stormrider's embarrassment at the nickname. "I should introduce you properly. This is Barkeley, without whom we would never have retrieved your father's armour," she said as Barkeley bowed to the king. "Muroe, a talented young human animagus. I doubt Tea and Imrik need much introduction I'm guessing."<br><br>"My mother sends her best wishes," Imrik said, bowing to the king. "But for her being needed in Shadow Glade she may even have come personally."<br><br>"I could not ask her to come here," Stormrider said, returning the bow. "I would not be responsible for depriving Shadow Glade of its greatest defence. And who is this young lady," he said, turning to Aurora as a smile played across his lips. "I haven't met you but those eyes remind me of an...old friend," he said, bending down and kissing her hand. "There are only two people I've given amulets too and since you aren't fae I can guess who you must be related to."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 05:58:26 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora grinned when the dragon nuzzled against her hand and beamed at Saphira, her mind reeling at the fact she was allowed to name a dragon.<br><br>She listened as they spoke but continued playing with Saphira until she heard him mention that was the name of his mother, she looked back and listened a bit more closely before she went back to playing with the dragon.<br><br>When he addressed her though she stood quickly and looked at him, returning his smile, flushing slightly as he kissed her hand and looked down. She looked into his eyes when he said he could guess who she was related. "Elaine," she smiled a bit. "She was my grandmother," she said after a moment and looked down at the amulet. "She gave it to me just before she passed," she said with a small smiled and fingered the amulet before looked back at him. "It was peaceful, and she was surrounded by family," she offered.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 06:07:36 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There wasn't merely family there," he said, a note of sadness in his voice. "She made me promise a long time ago to leave a dragonkin to watch over her. When it became clear she was dying she begged him to send for me, and so I took a rare trip out of Dragonblight," he said, chnaging his form to a shorter, younger manwith more normal looking green eyes. "I don't blame you for not remembering me, I chose this appearance to ensure I would draw as little attention to me as possible. She wanted me to stay but...I told her I felt only her family should be there at the end."<br><br>"I hadn't realised," Kara said quietly. "I'm so used to seeing you're towering human form I suspect even I would've been hard-pressed to recognise you."<br><br>"I don't know about that," he said with a laugh before turning back to Aurora. "It was your grandmother who showed me humans were not the monsters I had long believed them to be. But for her I might not even be alive now but...I'm not sure that is a story to be told with quite such an audience around us. Shall we go to my throne room? We would have more privacy there."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 06:17:56 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She was confused a moment before she understood what he meant and when he changed she nodded her head, a sense of familiarity came to her but she wouldn't have been able to place. "I was only little when she passed," she said quietly. "About six," she said with a nod of her head. "I wish I could remember you though, if we'd have known how much you meant to her you would have been more than welcome to stay," she said quietly.<br><br>She looked to Kara as she spoke then back to him, surprised her grandmother had been such an influence on someone like Stormrider but when she thought about it she couldn't help but laugh. "She was the nicest woman I ever knew but my mom always told me she was stubborn to boot so if she didn't make you believe by accident she would've forced you too," she grinned.<br><br>When he offered to go to his throne room to tell her the story she nodded eagerly. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 06:29:58 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He led them into the tower and into a room which was empty but for a throne at its very centre. At the foot of the throne was a carving of a young dragon which seemed to stare at them, its emerald green eyes making its identity immediately obvious. Stormrider sat down with a sigh.<br><br>"I have rarely ventured beyond Dragonblight in my dragon form since the great Exodus but, for some reason, that day I chose to," he said, staring beyond them out into the city. "Unfortunately I drew the attention of a less than pleasant creature, a dark firebird."<br><br>"Imagine a phoenix," Kara said to Aurora, "but much bigger and vastly more dangerous. Sorry," she said, realising she'd interrupted the king's story.<br><br>"We fought and eventually I forced it to retreat," he continued, "but not before it would badly wounded me. I made a vain attempt to reach Dragonblight by my left wing had been badly damaged. When I saw I was landing near a human house I changed into my human form just before I hit the ground. Your grandmother nursed me for two weeks till I was strong enough to stand without help from her. When I finally came to tell her what I truly was she told me she knew already, she had seen me come down and had decided to help me anyway."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 06:38:05 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora sat down, staring at him. When she was a child storytime was her favourite and she sat cross-legged, her elbows resting on her thighs as her chin rested in her palms and she stared at him, waiting for him to start.<br><br>Once he did and said a dark firebird she took on a slightly baffled look then looked to Kara as she spoke. "Thank you," she mouthed then looked back to the king, smiling more and more as he talked about her grandmother.<br><br>"You're Stromy! I never made the connection but my grandmother told my mom stories of a dragon king named Stormy and she told them to me!" She grinned then thought a moment. "Did you really set the kitchen on fire when she tried to teach you how to make toast?" She asked with a slightly amused smile.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 06:49:20 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I did," he said, a smile playing across his lips. "I'm not sure your grandma realised how powerful my fire breath really was. I spent six months with her, forming a bond I have formed with only two other people in my entire life. But, eventually, I was needed at Dragonblight. I offered to take her with me, or to try and return whenever I could be she said no. All she asked was for a chance to see what I truly looked like. When she saw my dragon form she said it was more beautiful than my human disguise," he said, blushing slightly.<br><br>"You loved her didn't you?" Kara asked. "No dragon, king or otherwise, would leave Dragonblight for a human for any length of time except for love or if his king had ordered him to."<br><br>"I did," Stormrider replied. "Or as close to love as I can feel anyway. But for what she taught me even with Kara you would not have reached this city alive.&nbsp; You and Barkeley may not realise it but you are related," he said, standing up and taking the dragon-tooth sword they'd brought with them. "Your grandfather had a brother, under who's protection the sword for opening the vault was kept until Barkeley decided to retrieve it." He held the sword as if it had been made specifically for him, spinning it in his hand deftly.<br><br>"My grandpa told me he had a relative who claimed to know a dragon," Barkeley said. "I thought it was the ramblings of an old man's failing memories."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 21, 2011, 08:31:53 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She smiled at his brush, thinking it was cute. She glanced to Kara then back to Stormrider as he spoke. She looked confused and a little grossed out when he said her and Barkeley were related. She'd begun to think of him as attractive and perhaps date-able once this whole ordeal was over-with. But now that she knew she was related to him, those thoughts went flying out the window.<br><br>She looked at Barkeley when he spoke and then back to Stormrider. "Hey, wait, does that mean I can do magic stuff too?" She asked, looking around.<br><br>"Or was that only on his side of the family?" She questioned.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 02:38:07 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sadly no," Stormrider replied. "I can see any magical aura around any person or creature and I can't see any around you. I'm not sure not being a wizard is necessarily a bad thing," he said with a slight laugh. "I'm assuming you did not come here merely for a social call or to return the armour?"<br><br>"Are we that transparent?" Imrik asked, trying to supress a laugh. "We have come here to ask the Dragonkin's aid. The forces of darkness are building their strength again and I fear without your aid we cannot fight them and hope to win."<br><br>"I cannot afford to offer you every dragon in Dragonblight," Stormrider replied, "but if Elaine was here she would pester me to offer her family any help I can. I fear you do not realise the scale of threat facing you, I can show you if you wish me to though."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 07:33:56 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It was bit disappointing to know for sure she had no magical power but it's not as though she actually thought there was a chance she'd be magic. She'd never so much as seen a hint of it during her life so it wasn't about to change her life.<br><br>She eased her way over to Barkeley and looked at him, studying his face. "I guess I can see some resemblance," she said and brushed some of his hair to the side. "Not the hair, but maybe in the nose," she said, tilting her head as she tried to see some family resemblance.<br><br>When Stormrider spoke again about her grandmother she looked towards him and couldn't bring a smile to her face after hearing they didn't realize the scale of their threat and felt a little twinge of fear. When he offered to show them she nodded her head, not interested in surprises later.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 09:10:20 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Meren, bring me the Seer," Stormrider said to Meren, who had been stood in such a deep shadow that none of the others had even realised he was in the room with them. Meren nodded and exited through a door in the opposite end of the room. "I'm assuming only Kara is aware who...or what...the Seer is?"<br><br>"Considering it is a secret kept by the Dragonkin royal family I'd imagine only we would know," Kara replied. "A creature fell from the sky into Dragonblight millenia ago, before even I or Stormrider's father had been born. The then king, Skyhorn, was about to kill it, believing it a threat to our kind when it warned him an army of Orcs were about to assault Dragonblight. Although Skyhorn's advisors were skeptical as to the truth of the claim he refused to be caught off guard and so reinforced the walls with fresh troops."<br><br>"The creature was proven right," Stormrider continued. "That night a horde of Orcs attempted to attack the great walls of Dragonblight, but found themselves opposed by a gathering of dragonkin the likes of which had never been seen before and may never be seen again, who showed no mercy. The few who weren't killed fled down the mountain but back then far deadlier creatures lived in the foothills so what the survivors' ultimate fate was is unknown. Anyway, having proven its worth to Skyhorn, rather than being killed the Seer was given his own chamber within the king's tower, and all it asked in return was that no-one, not even the king's own subjects, were to be told of its existence until the coming of something he called "The Time of Shadows."<br><br>"Its remained in the tower ever since," Kara said, finishing the story. "It mostly stays within its private chambers, only venturing forth if it has information the king needs or if the king seeks its counsel in making a decision. Stormrider is the fourth king it has worked for." Meren returned, followed by a figure who gave off enough light that even the dragons had to shield their eyes, before its light dimmed slightly, revealing what looked at first to be a human being but it was almost entirely of energy.<br><br>"My apologies," the figure said. "I have company so rarely that I am not used to adjusting my appearance for other species."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 09:24:12 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora listened to the story silently, trying to figure out first how old the being was and what he might be. She had no idea how long a dragon could reign over Dragonblight so she was completely lost as to how old he probably was.<br><br>She gave up on trying to figure out how old the Seer was or what he might be. She settled for just sitting quietly and waiting like the rest of the group.<br><br>When the doors opened she looked over but quickly ducked her head and covered her eyes with her hands as the light was so intense. When she heard him apologize she lifted her head carefully and peeked towards him, looking him over. She was surprised he looked so normal. Aurora rubbed her eyes gently and sat up straight as she watched him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 09:35:13 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Seer," Stormider said. "These are the people you told me would seek my aid. You must tell them what you told me you have seen."<br><br>"There is something coming," the Seer said. "Something the likes of which this world has not seen since long before my arrival. It is causing the amount of magic in your world to increase, which is why there seem more and far stronger elementals than before, they are feeding off the magical energy. But as they feed off the energy the barrier between your world and the shadow world this creature inhabits is thinning. If they are not stopped soon it will have a clear path to Earth and I am not sure anything short of every wizard and magical creature on the planet could stand up to it."<br><br>"Then how can we win?" Barkeley asked.<br><br>"I have seen something else," the Seer replied. "There is one wizard with powers beyond even Stormrider's capabilities. But they are unaware of their own abilities and if the enemy discovered them before they were ready they could kill them before we are ready."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 09:41:28 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked to Barkeley when the Seer finished speaking, her gut instinct was that it was Barkeley. She felt he was powerful but didn't know exactly how powerful.<br><br>Aurora stayed silent a while then looked towards the Seer and back to Barkeley. "So, have you seen who it is that is more powerful than Stormrider and looked back to the Seer, meeting his eyes.<br><br>"Maybe he's in the room now? Could you tell us if he is?" She asked the Seer, hoping she was right that Barkeley was more powerful than he knew.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 12:51:20 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Something obscures my view of them," the Seer replied. "I do not know what it is, but if I cannot see them then even Stormrider would be unable to see it."<br><br>"So it could be Aurora?" Stormrider asked. "Would they have to be conciously aware they were obscuring your visions?"<br><br>"It is not the wizard obscuring it," the Seer replied. "It is a great power. For it to block my sight it has to be something that even a dragon of your power would struggle to dispel Stormrider, and we both know that is a power we can ill afford to lose to the enemy."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 02:18:30 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora did a double take of Stormrider when he asked if it could be her. "I thought you said I had no magic power," she said, shaking her head.<br><br>"And I really doubt it could be me. I've had any type of powers. At all," she said and began rubbing the amulet again as she looked around.<br><br>"What kind of power can obscure the Seer and be so powerful a dragon would struggle to dispel it?" She asked, whispering to Barkeley.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 02:25:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Dragonkin powers have lessened over the millenia," the Seer replied. "Someone with the magic of a dragon the likes of Skyhorn protecting them would be a match for any dragonkin from even his era, nevermind now."<br><br>"Skyhorn was Stormrider's great-grandfather right?" Muroe asked, to which Stormrider nodded. "So the runes on her amulet may be those of his family, not specifically Stormrider's runes. Did you create the yourself?"<br><br>"No," Stormrider replied. "We have had those amulets stored within the tower since before even Kara was born. Seer, is there a way we could test her for powers?"<br><br>"There is," it replied. "But...it is not an easy one. I would not advise trying unless we are certain, after all Queen Elena has the same amulet, it could equally be disguising her true power."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 02:36:01 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She continued to look around then looked to Kara and moved over to the woman and looked at her. "What kind of test are they talking about?" she asked, looking towards them.<br><br>"I can do it. I will do it. If you think it'll help I'll do it," she said and looked towards the Seer. <br><br>"You just got to explain it to me. I never even knew magic was real until today," she said quietly and licked her lips a bit nervously and continued rubbing the amulet.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 02:43:19 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No," the Seer said. "I will not try unless I am certain. To discover the answer involves showing things that, if I am wrong, may leave you mentally scarred."<br><br>"I can do it," Meren said. "I have been here since before even Skyhorn. If it is her this magic is protecting then I can discover the answer without risking her wellbeing. It would mean allowing me access to your deepest memories though so if there are things you don't want me to know you had better tell me now."<br><br>"Don't worry," Stormrider said with a smile. "He has kept the secrets of every king he has served so there's no danger of him revealing your deepest secrets to us if you don't want us to know."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 05:04:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked a bit nervous when he said it would leave her mentally scarred but stood her ground. "I'll risk it, this is important."<br><br>When Meren spoke up she visibly relaxed though and looked at him. "Deepest secrets?" She asked and shook her head. "I don't have anything to hide really," she said and walked up to Meren and looked at him.<br><br>"Don't go peeking around the more... intimate parts though. You know. After a few too many and there's a good looking fella at the other end of the bar," she said and gave him a nervous smile and a blush. "Okay, go to town," she said and touched her head then dropped her hands to her sides and stood still.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 05:14:51 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Okay," he said, walking over. "You're going to see my secrets too you realise?"<br><br>He reached one gloved hand to the side of her head and closed his eyes, concentrating. In a moment they found themselves in a frozen wilderness. Stood opposite her was a tall, white-robed figure who had wings sprouting from his back.<br><br>"Even Stormrider hasn't seen my true form," he said, reaching out a hand from which flew a series of small butterfly like creatures.&nbsp; "I want you to try something which, if you have no powers, you won't be able to do. Picture yourself throwing me against the rock behind me. It won't harm me, this is merely a mental projection so I will come to no harm."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 05:42:47 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I can keep a secret," she smiled at him and watched his hand to come to the side of her head and closed her eyes the way he did.<br><br>She opened them again when she felt a change and looked around. "Holy!" She jumped away from the white-robed figure then relaxed when he spoke and she recognized his name. "Jeeeze, don't do that," she mumbled, putting a hand over her heart and looked around.<br><br>She was about to ask where they were when he reached out and watched the butterfly like creatures. "Are those the things we saw flying into Dragonblight?" she asked then looked at him when he spoke again and let out a sigh as she moved to stand in front of him.<br><br>She stared at him a moment before she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and envisioned herself throwing him against a rock. She didn't feel anything and began to feel frustrated and concentrated harder and harder. She clenched her jaw, balled her hands into fists and envisioned it once more.<br><br>The force of the power she felt course through her body took her breath away and she fell to her knees. "What was that?" She asked, opening her eyes as she panted for breath.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 05:50:07 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Although he hadn't been thrown against a rock he had had to use his powers to stop himself, regaining his composure as he stood back up.<br><br>"Either your powers are being suppressed or I've become weaker with old age," he said with an impresed smile on his face. "No-one's done that to me in a very long time."<br><br>He walked over to the rock, staring at it for a moment before turning to her again.<br><br>"Imagine yourself breaking this rock," he said. "Pushing someone back is easy, this is tougher."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 05:54:11 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora stared at him a moment then looked down at her hands and had to keep herself composed as he spoke, she gave a nod of her head.<br><br>She pushed herself back up to her feet and focused on the rock. She stared, squinted, widened her eyes and began to feel the frustration building again.<br><br>She closed her eyes and saw the rock in her mind, focused as hard as she could and her breathing got deeper as she began to get angry.<br><br>"Damn rock," she growled and focused everything she could. She felt the force of power course through her body and again, fell to her knees and looked up just in time to see the dust that had once been the rock settle onto the ground. "Did I just do that?" She asked, staring at the pile of dust.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 05:59:27 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He nodded, a look of genuine surprise on his face as he stared at the remains of the rock. The creatures he had released returned to his hand and he stood silently for a moment.<br><br>"Something is blocking an area of your mind," he said. "Its not your more intimate secrets, but something is barring my projections from entering it. All they can tell is it is something from your past Any idea what it could be?"<br><br>Suddenly the Seer appeared next to him, a look of concern on his face.<br><br>"You need to return," he said to them. "We have news from the outside world and...its not good."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 06:16:38 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She looked at the small creatures and pursed her lips as she thought. "When I was young we were in a car accident and I hit my head really hard. My parents told me I couldn't remember my name and they had to teach me everything again. But even that's all fuzzy," she explained, unsure if that was the right type of incident he was talking about.<br><br>When the Seer appeared she flinched and stared at him then looked to Moren and walked up to him so he could get them back quickly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 06:27:14 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When they returned there was a new man in his twenties in the room, blood running from a cut on his forehead and the unconscious body of a teenage girl in his arms. Meren pointed to a laptop that had been borought in by a dragon who could be seen just outside the tower being tended to to the mother from earlier.<br><br>"There's been an attack," Stormrider said, pointing to the screen. "One of my scouts was flying past in the aftermath and did his best to rescue who he could but was hurt in the process himself."<br><br>The image on the screen was of the same town Barkeley and Aurora had been in hours before but large parts of it were reduced to rubble.<br><br>"Oh god," Barkeley said. "The elementals...I should've tried to stop them while I had the chance." He was visibly shaking with shock.<br><br>"That would've achieved nothing," Kara replied. "If you'd been killed uring all that then the armour would still be down there and the enemy may even it themselves."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 06:31:51 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora stared at the man and the teenage girl a moment before she looked to where Meren pointed and walked over to it. She peered down at the screen and gasped, covering her mouth.<br><br>"Are they attacking there because it's where we were?" she asked and looked up at Stormrider a moment before she looked back at the screen.<br><br>She looked at Barkeley when he spoke and then sat down slowly.<br><br>When Kara spoke, she nodded her head in agreement but stayed quiet, wondering if all those people in the town died because of her and because she didn't know who or what she was.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 06:39:39 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It was a warning," the man said as he laid the girl on the floor, allowing Tea to tend to her wounds. "There was a man there, he said to tell the dragonkin this is only a sample of the power they can unleash. If I didn't have experience of magic myself my sister may not have survived."<br><br>"They've been enhanced somehow," Barkeley said. "Elementals are strong but the lightning elemental I faced was shrugging off spells that would've have KO'd an elemental before. We need to find what they've done and stop it."<br><br>"You're in no state to fight," Imrik said, shaking his head as he saw how much Barkeley was shaking. "I'll go to Shadow Glade, gather what scouts I can and track them to their source. Could you afford to lend us a dragon or two?" he asked Stormrider, who nodded grimly in response. "Then I will return when I can," Imrik said, jumping into the air and flying away.<br><br>"Meren, Seer, look through my father's old library," Stormrider said. "There must be something in there with a clue as to how to fight this."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 06:44:21 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora chewed her bottom lip as she stared at the screen on the laptop then looked to Imrik as he spoke and stood up.<br><br>"What can I do? I wanna help in some way," she said and looked between them. She didn't know if there was anything she could do without Meren teaching her and telling her what to do but she wanted to help in some way now that she knew she had powers.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 06:54:20 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Look after Barkeley," Kara said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "He is in a bad way and I fear if someone doesn't keep an eye on him he may do something stupid."<br><br>"Kara," Stormrider said. "We must gather the council of elders, I fear it is too late for us to sit back and watch events take their course. I will meet you at Talon's Rock."<br><br>"Okay Kah'lun," she replied, before turning to Tea. "If you need any help healing the wounds Maira outside is an expert healer." she then walked out of the tower, returning to her dragon form and flying from sight."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 22, 2011, 07:12:38 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded her head and looked to Barkeley then took his hand and lead him over to a few seats in Stormrider's hall and sat down, pulling him to sit beside her.<br><br>She offered him a smile and looked over his face. "We'll be able to help out eventually, but for now we just gotta sit around and wait for them to figure things out," she said, letting go of his hand and rubbed his shoulder lightly.<br><br>"Who would've thought we'd be related huh?" she asked with a grin and tilted her head.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 02:21:30 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"My grandfather once told me there was no such thing as a coincidence," he said with a smile. "Maybe he was trying to hint about you and I just wasn't listening."<br><br>He watched Tea who, having done what she could for the girl, was now tending to the wounds of the brother, occasionally reaching into a bad at her waist and taking out herbs.<br><br>"If we make it out of this alive Tea could you show us Shadow Glade?" he asked tentatively, unsure how she'd react.<br><br>"If you two help us succeed in saving the world I think the Queen will insist on you being her guests of honour," she replied. "But if not then of course I'll take you there."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 12:38:48 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You think he knew about me?" She asked with a smile. "That you'd bump into your distant cousin are some random bank the day some elementals decided to attack you?" She questioned with a raised brow and amused smile on her lips. "I think a warning about strangely strong elementals would've been better," she teased.<br><br>She looked to Tea when Barkeley spoke to her and smiled a bit. "I think that's be amazing. "It's probably so beautiful," she said quietly and smiled to herself. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 12:47:07 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Considering how memorable your grandmother evidently was I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about you," Barkeley replied. "They may have hidden us from each other in case one or the other turned to the dark side, in case whichever went rogue might go after the other."<br><br>"It was once," Tea said. "In my grandparents time it was one of the most extraordinary sights on Earth. But the wars have changed it. Although its true beauty will survive as long as there are still fae to protect it."<br><br>"I'm glad Lightning's on our side," Muroe said from the spot by the door outside he'd been sat the whole time. "That scar just lends to the air of menace that comes from him, I imagine Kara isn't that different to him when they get into a proper fight."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 01:11:40 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"So he knew that I had some sort of powers then?" She asked quietly and looked into his eyes. "The Seer said they were after me, right? Why would they want me when I don't even know what I can do? Or how to do it?" She asked and glanced to Muroe when he spoke.<br><br>"I'm just glad the dragons are on our side now," she said with a light smile and sat back in the chair. "I'm not a huge fan of just sitting here though. I wish there was something we could do."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 01:21:37 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"If they unlocked your powers then if they could tempt you to follow them it would make you too great a threat," Barkeley replied. "Our grandparents made the right decision, even if it took us this long to find each other."<br><br>"The Seer and Meren know this tower's library better than anyone," Tea said, "and Imrik needs scouts he can be sure can get in and out of the enemy camps unseen. No offence to you two but you aren't trained in the kind of stealth he requires."<br><br>"You're right Tea," Muroe said. "But I agree with Aurora, I feel helpless sat here doing nothing. Although considering we could easily have been there when that attack occurred we should probably be glad we're alive and well."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 01:35:10 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I am glad we're alive and well. And thankful for it too," she said and stood and walked towards the window and looked out to see if she could see anything going on.<br><br>"I don't care if it's just helping someone or being a lookout. I just want to help, period," she sighed and leaned against the window as she looked over the land.<br><br>Aurora wrapped her arms around herself as she looked out over the plains and pursed her lips as she got lost in her thoughts.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 01:46:44 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kara and Stormrider returned, four older men in tow. Stormrider had one last quiet conversation before the other men left.<br><br>"We have a plan," Stormrider said. "But we need to hear what the others have found before we make it a definite plan. How are our two injured friends?" he asked Tea.<br><br>"They will live," Tea replied. "She owes her life to her brother, his magic protected her from the worst of the blast." Stormrider had put the armour they had returned to him on. He looked even more formidable with the armour on, leaning on a sword which looked like it had been forged for him even though it had been created long before his birth. "How do I look?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 01:55:57 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Like someone you don't wanna mess with," Aurora said, having been pulled from her thoughts by the return of Kara and Stormrider.<br><br>She'd watched silently as he spoke with the four older men then stepped away from the window and looked at him. <br><br>"What kinda plan is it? Is it going to include us being locked up here again or will we be able to help?" She asked, her eyes locked on his.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 02:02:24 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We will need all the help if Meren or Imrik find the information we fear they have," Stormrider replied. "Some of the elders have seen something like this before."<br><br>"We should wait till we're 100% sure what we're fighting before we start running out there to fight things," Kara said. "The biggest mistake we could make is charge in there if we don't know hat we're dealing with fully."<br><br>"There are other creatures aside from dragons and ogres who inhabit this mountain range," Stormrider said. "Would you like to see some while we wait for the Prince to return?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 02:06:52 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Kara. "I didn't mean just charge in all suicidal like," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I just meant I'd like to do something other than stay here and do nothing. Feel more than useless."<br><br>When Stormrider spoke again she nodded her head, curiosity getting the better of her. "Oh, I would love to see other creatures who live here," she said with a nod.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 02:20:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Kara," Stormrider said, "You are best off taking them. If anything does happen I need to be here to deal with it." Kara nodded, leading Muroe, Barkeley and Aurora towards the gate.<br><br>"Sarath," she said to one of the ogres stood by the gate. "We need a guard for a trip to the foothills, I'd rather not have to take my dragon form unless its absolutely necessary." The ogre nodded, following them down the path as the gates closed behind them.<br><br>The further they got away from the wall the wilder their surroundings seemed to become. Kara stopped them suddenly, a few feet from them was a big cat like a tiger, but with brown and blue stripes and even fiercer looking teeth. Sat on the rock above it was an eagle who was watching them closely.<br><br>"A lot of the animals here are simply animals you are used to but changed by the magic that surrounds the mountain," Kara said, glad to see the animals making no move to attack.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 02:34:03 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora walked passed the gates with the group and looked around, kind of just happy to be out of the room and under the sunlight again.<br><br>She slid her hands into her pockets and tilted her head up so the sun could shine on her face then bumped into Muroe when they stopped suddenly. "Sorry," she said quietly and peeked over his shoulder and stared at the tiger. "He's blue," she mumbled and raised a brow at his teeth. "And those teeth are just... unfriendly," she mumbled.<br><br>"Are they just scary looking or are they scary?" She asked quietly and glanced at the woman then looked to the tiger again.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 02:53:39 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sarath is probably putting off their attacks," Kara said. "There are ogres down here too, they aren't stupid enough to pick a fight against something like him."<br><br>There was a movement from just behind the creatures, at first it seemed something was moving in front of the trees, but it suddenly became clear it was one of the trees moving.<br><br>"Lower your weapon," Kara said to Sarath. "If that Dryad considers you a threat it will attack and its probably the one thing down here that could trouble even you." Sarath did as she said and the Dryad moved closer. It appeared to be a strange mix of a humanoid creature and a tree. "They are forest sprites," Kara said to the others. "It is said that wherever there is a forest you will find their kind there."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 03:49:50 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded her head slowly and continued to stare. "I wanna pet it. Can I pet it?" She asked and looked towards the eagle then back to the tiger.<br><br>Her eyes moved from the tiger to the movement behind the creatures and her eyes widened when she realized it was a tree. "Oh. Wow," she breathed out.<br><br>She took in a deep breath and listened to what Kara said and stood still as the Dryad came closer. "That is so amazing," she mumbled.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 03:56:24 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There is something in the forest," the Dryad said to Kara, seemingly ignoring the others. "Something that shouldn't be here."<br><br>"What is it?" Kara asked, grasping her sword as a grim look crossed her face.<br><br>"It is not a threat," the Dryad replied. "You should follow me, I will show you."<br><br>"Stay here Sarath," Kara said. "You'll never be able to traverse this forest. We'll be safe I promise you." She led the others after the dryad, who found passage through the trees far easier than they did. They finally reached a clearing, at who's centre lay a strange horse-like creature but with wings sprouting from its back. It was evidently hurt, shown by a gash on its leg. "A juvenile unicorn..." Kara said with surprise evident in her voice, walking over to it slowly so as not to panic it. "How on earth did it get here? Their homeland is far to the south of here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 04:15:15 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora couldn't help but swear under her breath when she saw the unicorn and froze in her tracks. "A unicorn. They're real," she breathed out and took a few steps closer.<br><br>She eyed the horse, not meeting it's eyes since that was shown as a threat to some animals and walked closer to it, holding her hand out so it would catch her scent and know there was no threat from her.<br><br>"Hey there, I'm not going to hurt you," she said quietly and let her fingers brush against the horses nose when she was close enough then smiled at it. "What happened to it?" She asked and looked down at the horses leg, frowning at the gash.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 23, 2011, 04:24:16 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I do not know," the Dryad replied. "It arrived here three days ago, we knew it was here but we assumed it was resting. It was only when it allowed me to approach it that I realised it was injured."<br><br>"Don't worry," Kara said, smiling to the unicorn. "I won't harm you, I want to help." She turned to the Dryad. "Go back to Sarath, tell him he needs to bring Tea here urgently. I'm not sure I can heal this kind of wound." The Dryad vanished back into the woods.<br><br>"Do you know what did this?" Muroe asked, holding back slightly.<br><br>"Not for certain," Kara replied as she ran a hand over the wound. "It was caused by a magical creature of some sort though, I can still feel the magical remnants of the attack on its wound. At the very least I can calm the creature." She stared into the unicorn's eyes, saying something under breath which, although the others couldn't understand, was evidently effective.<br><br>All around small sets of eyes could be seen visible between blades of grass, although they were too well hidden to reveal who was observing them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 04:39:12 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora wished there was something she could do for the unicorn but as it was, she'd only tried her hand at magic and it wasn't even real per say. And it had been aggressive, not healing. She didn't even know if she was capable of healing anyone or anything.<br><br>When she noticed the eyes she perked up and patted Kara's shoulder as she stared forward into the grass. "There's eyes in the grass," she whispered and glanced at Kara. "What are they?"<br><br>She didn't know if they were a threat or not but there was a lot of them and she really hoped they were nice and on their side or else they'd be severely outnumbered.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 04:51:47 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Kara," Muroe said as he saw the number of eyes around them increase. "I don't want to worry you but we appear to be surrounded."<br><br>"Show yourselves," Kara barked out without looking up. "Or I'll send a Dragon Ogre in after you." A small cat-like creature emerged from the grass, stopping a few paces from Kara and crouching down again. "They're harmless," she said with a smile, stroking the small creature. "They're called Panyar, they're normally harmless but if they think you're a threat to their young then you're well advised to get as far away from them as possible.<br><br>"They kind of remind me of a cat my sister had," Barkeley said, kneeling down and scratching the Panyar behind the ear. "I spose we should be glad only one of them wanted to say hello," he said with a laugh.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 05:21:48 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Panyar," Aurora repeated slowly and looked at the small cat-like creature and tilted her head at it. "I don't like cats that much. I'm allergic to them," she commented to no-one in particular and watched Barkeley scratch the cat's ear and looked at the unicorn again and reached up to caress her neck gently.<br><br>"Where to unicorns usually live?" Aurora asked to Kara and looked at the horse's face as she continued to stroke the animal's powerful neck, scratching her gently through the short hairs and focused her eyes back on Kara.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 05:29:39 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There's a small island chain off the coast of Africa which for some reason has never appeared on human maps," Kara replied. "That's where they're usually found, although they occasionally appear on the mainland too. Its rare for one to fly this far north though."<br><br>"Its a long time since I last treated a unicorn," Tea said as she landed in the clearing, the Dryad close behind her. "This is still a child," she said as she began to treat the wound. "I could believe an adult unicorn may come this far north but what is a baby unicorn doing here?"<br><br>"She may have been seperated from her parents when they were attacked," Kara said, keeping the unicorn calm as Tea worked. "If her leg was hurt she wouldn't be able to take off again, they need their legs to give themselves an initial launch into the air so if one is too painful to stand on they don't stand a chance."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 05:45:24 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You think she felt the magic surrounding this place and came here thinking her parents may have come this way?" She asked and continued to pet the unicorn.<br><br>"Can they understand us? Or, can she understand us?" She asked, glancing towards the unicorn's face before looking back down at Tea.<br><br>Aurora left the animal's side and moved to stand next to Tea to watch how she healed the gash in her leg. "Or maybe she was coming here to warn us of something, maybe her parents were killed or something happened on the island."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 05:53:27 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Dryad," Kara said, turning to the woodland figure. "There are Dryads on the island chain correct?" The Dryad nodded in response. "Contact them, find out what's happened and see if any young unicorns have gone missing." The Dryad nodded, vanishing into the treeline.<br><br>"I'm not sure I can do much else," Tea said, tying a bandage round the unicorn's leg covered in some of the herbs she had had in her pouch. "I've never seen a wound like that before, she must have flown a good distance before coming down if the Dryad didn't recognise the injuries."<br><br>"Her parents are safe," the Dryad said, catching them off guard by seeming to appear out of nowhere. "They returned to the island expecting her to return. Unicorn's have what...I suppose a human would call it a homing beacon, a way of finding the island again no matter how far away they've flown."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 06:02:00 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora jumped when the Dryad came out of nowhere and looked back to the unicorn. "If she was close by when the town was attacked maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Aurora asked.<br><br>"Maybe it wasn't even meant to hit her," she suggested. "You said the elementals were stronger than they should be, that could have something to do with that fact right?" she asked and looked down at Tea.<br><br>"If something is making them stronger, their magic could be different then what you're used to seeing."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 06:14:44 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Its possible," Kara replied. "Elemental magic and Elementals aren't neccessarily easy to tell apart unless you really know the differences."<br><br>"We should let her go," Tea said. "As nice as seeing a unicorn is she's a long way from home." She stood back slightly as the unicorn slowly got to its feet. "Besides they must be starting to wonder where we are."<br><br>"You're right," Muroe said with a sigh. "Plus they must've found something by now, feels like we've been gone for hours."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 06:45:49 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora stepped back as Tea did and watched the unicorn get to her feet and smiled as she saw her wings and body. "She's so beautiful," she whispered.<br><br>"Oh, yeah, we should be getting back," Aurora agreed, having forgot about why they'd left to only have a look around.<br><br>They'd been side-tracked because of the unicorn and lost track of time. "Are we ready to go back?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 07:00:34 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I think so," Kara said, making sure they hadn't dropped anything. "Thank you Dryad," she said to the sprite. "The unicorn probably owes you her life."<br><br>"I was merely doing my duty, the creature replied. "I will show you back to where the ogre is waiting." He led them back to the edge of the forest, where Sarath was stood waiting for them, but the animals that had been by the rock were long gone.<br><br>"Thank you for all..." Muroe started to say to the Dryad, only to realise it had vanished into the forest around them again. At that moment a huge winged shadow passed over their heads moving in the direction of the city. "What was that?" Muroe asked.<br><br>"There were rumoured to be other dragon cities besides Dragonblight," Kara replied. "By the looks of it one of them has sent Stormrider an envoy. We'd better get back and find out what's happening."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 24, 2011, 07:12:59 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked up when she saw the shadow and watched the receding envoy and nodded her head slowly as Kara spoke and began to head back to where they had been before.<br><br>"So this stuff, it's a lot bigger than what we thought," she said and looked at Kara as she walked along the grass and glanced around.<br><br>She wrapped her arms around herself and looked towards Barkeley. "I think you found that armour just in time."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 02:23:14 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				They re-entered the city, dodging between the suddenly excited dragons and heading for the tower. Tea noticed fae scattered among them, but dressed more like soldiers than she was.<br><br>"I think you might get to meet Elena sooner than I thought," she said to the others under her breath. "Very few of those fae look like the kind of scouts Imrik would have, they look more like bodyguards."<br><br>When they finally reached the throne room again there was a noticeable air of excitement. Imrik, Meren and the Seer were looking at a map laid out on the table, Imrik ponting at something on it, while Stormrider was deep in conversation with a man only slightly shorter than him but dressed in similar armour, who had a small, regally dressed, but fierce looking fairy perched on his shoulder.<br><br>"Welcome back," Stormrider said with a smile. "Meet Marash, ruler of the long lost dragon city of Hanash." The other man bowed slightly, giving them a flash of his red eyes. "And his friend is none other than the Queen of all fairies, Queen Elena."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 03:02:19 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked around when they entered the throne room again and took in all the events unfolding before her eyes. There was so much excitement she felt as though they'd missed out on something.<br><br>When Stormrider welcomed them back she returned his smile. "There was a unicorn!" She blurted out quickly then looked to Marash when he was introduced and gave him a shy smile and a little bow of her head.<br><br>She looked from Marash's red eyes to Queen Elena and stared at the fairy queen for a moment. "Imirk's mom is gorgeous," she whispered to Tea before looking back at the group and smiling a bit.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 03:08:47 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Us fae age in a much different way to humans," Tae replied with a smile. "Our females in particular can seem so young at even a great age you'd think we had stolen the fountain of youth or something,"<br><br>"Imrik and our two library searchers have discovered the same thing in slightly different ways," Stormrider said with a smile. "The enemy have gained access to a power source thought long since lost to history, its why the elementals seem so strong."<br><br>"And we know where it is too," Imrik said. "I didn't see it myself but a guard let it slip to one of my scouts and Meren found a scroll from a few centuries ago which confirmed its location."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 03:41:49 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked around, unsure if she should speak or not after Imrik spoke. "So, if you know where it is does that mean we can all go and," she paused as she tried to form the words in her mouth. "And put some sort of protection around it? Or destroy it?" She asked.<br><br>In her thinking, she assumed it would be better to be destroyed so the evil magic users wouldn't be able to use it against them and against innocent people, like the people of that town.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 03:52:37 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"In theory yes," Stormrider replied. "But the enemy are unlikely to have left it unguarded. That's where Elena and Marash come in handy. They can offer us forces better suited to this kind of attack."<br><br>"They'll undoubtedly have air defences," Marash said. "They may not have dragons on their side but there are plenty of other airbound magical creatures they can use, my dragons have become expert at fighting their airborne allies."<br><br>"Marash's dragons will lead the attack from the air and Elena and the rest of us will attack it from the gound," Stormrider continued. "They will have to fight us on two fronts or risk leaving one of our forces to destroy the power source unopposed."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 03:55:16 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded, looking between the two dragon leaders and the queen of the fairies. "When do we leave then?" She asked and looked between the three of them.<br><br>She was scared that they were going into a battle but she knew if she could just focus and be careful she'd be able to hold her own with what Meren had taught her in just their short time seeing if she did have magic powers or not.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 04:55:03 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"As soon as possible," Stormrider replied. "We can't guarantee there won't be another attack if we sit around twiddling our thumbs for hours. You need the least preparation so you may as well stay here and get to know Elena better if you want." He and Marash left the tower to prepare the dragon half of the force, Elena leaping off Marash's shoulder and landing delicately on the ground.<br><br>"A pleasure to meet you three," She said to Muroe, Barkeley and Aurora. "My son has told me all about you."<br><br>"All good I hope," Barkeley said with a slight laugh as he bowed to her. "He certainly had nothing bad to say about you."<br><br>"Well he knows I could kick his butt without even trying even at my age," she replied with a slight giggle.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:00:14 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora watched them leave to prepare before she turned her attention to Elena when she addressed them.<br><br>"It's an honour to meet you," she said, bowing her head slightly in greeting to the queen.<br><br>She smiled at Barkeley's comment and laughed at Elena's reply about her son. "He was very pleasant and spoke highly of you," she said with a smile.<br><br>"Boys know better than to talk ill of their mother's in every species it seems," she grinned.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:11:35 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I've beaten creatures twice my size before so someone Imrik's size is a walk in the park for me," she said, hearing a grown from where Imrik was sat. "You know I love you really."<br><br>"My sister Nara is out there somewhere," Imrik said. "She's a general in the fae army. Look for the female fairy carrying a shield and a particularly nasty looking spear with warpaint covering her face. She's easy to spot."<br><br>"I have four children," Elena said. "Imrik and Nara are the oldest though, the other two only join us in battle when we absolutely need them." The noise from outside seemed to be increasing. "Sounds like the army is nearly ready, either that or the dragons are bickering as usual."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:17:08 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked to Imrik and felt sorry that he seemed to be worried for his sister, she glanced towards the window then walked forward to see what was going on.<br><br>She peered outside, tilting her head as she observed the dragons preparing to go fight the evil magical users. <br><br>She frowned after a moment and turned to look at Imrik. "How often have you had to use your younger siblings in a battle?" She asked curiously.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:27:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Very rarely," Imrik replied. "Me and Nara are trained fighters so we can be used whenever we have to fight. One of my other siblings is a healer and the other can form incredibly strong forcefields. They're more useful if we have to defend something than if we're on the attack."<br><br>At that moment Muroe noticed five huge dragons hovering in the air. At first they looked the same as the other dragons around them, but they had more exotic markings across their scales. The one nearest the tower was the colour of sand but had unusual blue streaks running across some of its scales.<br><br>"With dragons like that you have to wonder how Marash's city remained hidden for so long," Muroe said, a note of awe in his voice.<br><br>"Most of the dragon cities were lost when Stormrider retreated from the human world," Kara said. "Some, like the Crystal Dragons, refused to desert humanity or any of the other races. Others either received the order too late to react or chose to stay in the cities they had established, like Marash did."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:38:44 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked up to notice the dragons and stared a moment. "You have to wonder what else is really out there," she mumbled to herself, since she was so new to all of this it was a lot to take in.<br><br>And she also didn't know what was a big deal to everyone since it was all so amazing to her.<br><br>She rested her head against the window then turned her gaze to Muroe. "Do you think anyone is gonna get hurt?" She asked quietly and kept her eyes focused on his face.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:47:57 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Its almost certain people will be," Elena said. "Stick with me, Imrik and Barkeley, there's enough fighting ability between us three to keep you safe. Even Meren and the Seer are coming."<br><br>"I'm a better fighter than I may appear," Meren said. "I carry many weapons hidden under my cloak, I rarely get to use them though."<br><br>"I think we're ready to go," Elena said, seeing the commotion outside die down. "You have two choices on how to get there, you can ride one of the dragons there or my fairies have an underground route there but it requires certain magical...tricks to take you through there. Its up to you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 05:55:41 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked to Meren. "I want to go with you. You can teach me how to control that stuff I did so I can put it to use," she said with a light smile.<br><br>"I'll go whichever way Meren's going," she said and looked back towards Elena then back to Meren.<br><br>"that is if you're willing to teach me on the way there," she said as she worried her bottom lip.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 06:03:55 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I can try my best," he said. "Just stick by me and Barkeley, you'll be safe by us."<br><br>"Imrik, go with the dragons," Elena said. "You know where they need to go better than we do." Imrik nodded, heading outside and to where Marash and Stormrider were waiting, followed closely by Kara who transformed into her own dragon form. "Our tunnels start from just outside the gate, we'll take a few of the ogres with us, that'll help us survive the fight."<br><br>They led them down towards where the tunnels were, various fairies and ogres joining their group as they reached it, Nara's recognisabe shape moving among the group, towering over the other fairies. They reached a tunnel entrance that seemed too small for anyone but a fairy to pass through.<br><br>"Anyone who doesn't want to join this fight turn back now," Elena said. "Because the spell I'm about to cast isn't being dispelled till we've reached our destination."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 06:11:17 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora smiled at him. "Thank you," she said with a nod of her head.<br><br>When the group began to move she kept close to Meren, wanting to learn what she could from him before they reached their destination. She glanced around for Barkeley then reached back and grabbed his hand so she didn't get separated from him.<br><br>She was tempted to grab Meren's hand to make sure she didn't loose him either but she really didn't think he was the type that enjoyed holding hands, much less with a human like her.<br><br>When they stopped at the entrance she glanced to Elena as she spoke then turned around and looked to see if anyone stepped out of line.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 06:16:39 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Are you sure about this mother?" asked a tall fairy who was stood next to Aurora, one look at the camoflage on her face revealed it to be Nara.<br><br>"I'm the only one who knows how to cast this spell properly," Elena replied, "so we have no choice."<br><br>She raised her ahnds and began saying something under her breath. Her hands started to glow and within an instant everyone but the fairies blacked out. When they came around Barkeley realised that they had been shrunk to the size of the fairies, even the Ogres had shrunk.<br><br>"Woah," Muroe said as he stood up slowly. "That has to be one of the weirdest experiences of my life."<br><br>"Now, follow me," Elena said, heading down through the tunnel entrance in front of them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 06:40:42 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Once the fairies blacked out she looked around and frowned when she realized she was so small. "I'm short...er," she mumbled and looked up.<br><br>"A lot shorter," she pouted and kept a firm hold of Barkeley's hand as they began to head through the tunnel entrance.<br><br>"Meren, what other tips can you give me about controlling my power?" She asked. "Should I do that thing I did with the rock to the things there that will be attacking us?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 25, 2011, 06:50:53 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"That should work," he said as they entered the tunnels which were lit by a string of torches on either wall. "Don't try killing anything though, I'm not sure you're prepared for that quite yet." Fairies were all around them, some armed with sword, some armed with spears and the occasional bow-armed fae moving among them.<br><br>"There are portals ahead of us," Barkeley said, falling back to where they were after speaking to Elena and Nara. "That way our journey to the site takes less time than it ordinarly would. They all lead to the same place so don't worry about which one you take."<br><br>On the other side of the portals was a large flat plain which led up to a deep chasm where the fountain the power was being drawn from was hidden. The dragons hadn't arrived yet but the fairies and ogres were already forming up into a battleline. Nara and Elena at the front with Barkeley and the Seer.<br><br>"Come on," Meren said, leading her through the crowd of fairies to where the others were waiting when the spell suddenly wore off, the ogres returning to towering over the fairies. "Something tells me these fairies are stronger than their size implies," he said, smiling at the site of Barkeley gripping the hilt of his sword tightly in anticipation. "You can borrow one of my weapons if you want," he said to Aurora. "I've got plenty to go around."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 26, 2011, 01:02:54 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She shook her head quickly then though better of it and held her hand out. "just a knife or dagger or something to defend myself with," she said.<br><br>She didn't like the thought of having to get that up close and personal with whatever was going to be coming at them.<br><br>She looked to Meren, a little scared. "If I were to focus on these things and thought of knocking them out, just leaving them unconscious, would that work?" She asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 26, 2011, 02:37:23 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sure," he replied. "You've got me and Barkeley to guard you so don't worry. Ah, I think the rest have arrived." He saw the small but determined shape of Imrik land beside followed closely by the huge shapes of the dragons, Stormrider, Kara and Marash leading them.<br><br>"The dragons will start the attack," Imrik said. "Although they can attack the fountain if they need to its easier to attack it from the ground. When you hear Kara's roar that's our signal to go." The dragons moved, heading over the hill in front of them and within moments the sounds of battle beyond their sight. After a few minutes there was a loud roar.The ogres moved first, fairies parting to allow the immense creatures easy passage as Meren threw Aurora a small knife covered in intricate runs.<br><br>"That will protect you," Meren said. "Now we had better get going." The army moved, the sound of Nara and Elena drawing their weapons audible above the sound of marching feet. They stopped at the top of the hill to see an impressive sight: the dragons were dealing with the few bits of airborne resistance with ease, while the Ogres seemed to be cutting through the ground forces with ease.<br><br>"Nara," Elena said, "take the main force and help the ogres. Barkeley, Meren, Aurora, you and I will take my Royal Guards and head for the fountain." Suddenly it became obvious that around Elena were a small group of golden armoured fairies armed with deadly looking longswords. "Get ready for my signal," the Queen said as Nara lead the rest of the fairies headed down the hill in front of them, some launching into the air to get around their height disadvantage.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 26, 2011, 10:55:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"thank you," Aurora said to Meren when he threw her the dagger and held it tightly in her hand. She kept looking towards the sounds of the battle and chewed her bottom lip, praying none of the dragons or fairies would get hurt or worse today.<br><br>She looked towards Elena when she heard her name and gave a nod, she watched Nara lead the rest of the fairies down the hill in front of them and clenched her jaw.<br><br>She had to resist the urge to run after them, her fingers flexed on the knife in her hand and she looked back to Elena, urging the woman to give the signal soon so they weren't just standing there.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 27, 2011, 02:28:28 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"What are we waiting for?" Barkeley asked as he watched Elena survey the fight without moving, almost seeming to ignore those around her. Suddenly a smile played across her lips as there's was a sudden flash of light followed by an explosion.<br><br>"There was a magical barrier between us and the fountain," she said with an air of quiet determination in her voice. "I sent a third force of fairies to deal with that and make our path to the fountain a little easier. Stay with me, Meren and the Royal Guard should be able to deal with any threats who come near us."<br><br>She started heading down the hill, the guards and the others following her down. From where they were they could see Nara and one of the ogres easily dispatching anything that came into range of them, clearing the path to the fountain and forming a formidable blockade to any enemy forces that attempted to approach.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 27, 2011, 02:12:59 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Elena when Barkeley asked her the question and then looked back towards the fights, hoping to see something she'd been missing as they stood back and continued to survey the battle.<br><br>When there was a sudden flash and an explosion she flinched and stared then smiled a bit at Elena's words and gave a nod as she explained what she'd done. Her eyes moved to Meren when they were about to go down the hill then headed down, keeping close to him as she glanced to Barkeley to make sure he was still close as well.<br><br>As they neared the fountain she felt as though this whole ordeal was going to be a piece of cake. With Nara and the ogres forming a blockade between the enemy and them and with Elena, Meren and the Royal Guard it appeared it was going to be a walk in the park.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 27, 2011, 02:27:26 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Just as they were within sight of the fountain the ground suddenly shook as a huge reptile place itself between them and the fountain.<br><br>"Giant Basilisks," Barkeley said with a grimace. "If there was one thing we DIDN'T need right now it was one of them."<br><br>"Leave this to me," Stormrider said as he landed in his human form, his sword gripped tightly in his hand. "I can deal with this easily, you worry about getting to the target."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 27, 2011, 09:58:23 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When the ground began to shake Aurora slowed down and looked around to see what could be causing it then fell back when the huge snake appeared in front of them.<br><br>She picked herself up quickly and dusted her self off, still gripping the dagger tightly in her hand.<br><br>After Stormrider said he'd handle it she looked to Meren and Barkeley and watched the Basilisk as it's attention was focused on Stormrider now. "Come on!" She said and took off again, she kept a wary watch on the Basilisk as she ran past it, making sure she didn't draw it's attention from Stormrider to her. Once she was past the Basilisk she saw the fountain and continued to sprint towards it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 28, 2011, 03:02:11 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As they dodged round the basilisk they found the enemies in front of them were slowly thinning, the dragons now turning their attention to the battle on the ground as the few airborne threats they hadn't killed fled the battle at great speed. They finally reached the middle of the crater where the fountain was, which gave off enough energy to make everyone's hair stand on end.<br><br>"Leave the fountain to me," Meren said. "This is well beyond any of your powers to destroy. Just make sure nothing interrupts me," he said as he stepped towards the fountain and began the spell.<br><br>"Form a cricle around him," Elena called to the others. "Anything bigger than an oridnary foot soldier leave it to the royal guard or the dragons, I don't want anyone taking on something they can't handle."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 29, 2011, 02:14:55 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora gave a nod and moved so her back was to Meren and faced towards the direction of the battle, she watched to make sure nothing came towards her to get to Meren as he worked to destroy the fountain.<br><br>She listened, her ears focusing on the spell he was performing, the words he was uttering. She didn't understand what he was saying but still she listened closely while her scanned ahead.<br><br>A soldier of the enemy focused it's attention on her, sensing her to be the weakest with no magical power at all. Aurora knew it was focused on her as it began to run towards her and she gripped her knife tightly and focused on it. She closed her eyes, envisioned the solider laying down, sleeping, alive. She focused hard and when she felt the power course through her body she opened her eyes and saw the solider laying on the ground, it's chest moving as it slept deeply. A small smile played at the corners of her lips.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 29, 2011, 04:05:29 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Barkeley was cutting through the enemies with ease, impressed that the Royal Guard were taking out enemies considerably larger than themselves with incredible ease, Tea stood next to her queen and launching off arrows at anything that got too close.<br><br>"How long will this take," Elena said, not taking her eye off the battle for even a moment. "I don't fancy our chances if reinforcements arrive."<br><br>"I'm nearly done," Meren replied. "But you need to withdraw, the shockwave this will create will flatten anything for a good distance around. I can survive it but I don't know if any of you can."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 29, 2011, 04:31:28 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked over and saw how many others were cutting down, some much, most, much larger than the one she'd knocked out. She looked forward again and focused her eyes on a mass of them approaching.<br><br>She closed her eyes and again, envisioned them laying on the ground, sleeping. She didn't want to kill and didn't think she'd actually be able too.<br><br>She focused harder and harder and felt blood beginning to drip from her nose as the power coursed through her body and fell to her knees as the mass of enemies approaching dropped to the ground. She put her hand against her head as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand holding the dagger.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 29, 2011, 04:39:45 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Stormrider landed next to Aurora in time to decapitate the orc swinging a fearsome looking sword at her head with one easy swing of his blade.<br><br>"Stormrider," Elena said. "You get Aurora, Barkeley, Muroe and your dragons out of here now. We can escape through the tunnel my third team took but we need to keep Meren safe for as long as possible."<br><br>"Yes M'lady," Stormider replied, returning to his dragon form as five more dragons landed around them. "Take a dragon each, hold on tight and you'll be fine." Barkeley and Muroe jumped on two of the younger dragons without a second thought. "You can come with me if you want Aurora," Stormrider said to her. "I feel like I owe it to your grandmother to keep you safe."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>November 29, 2011, 05:50:47 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora noticed the orcs feet as she remained on her knees then ducked her head and flinched when she heard the sound of it's head hitting the ground and looked back at Stormrider.<br><br>She nodded her head, at his question since she'd heard Elena tell him to her as well and she didn't want to upset a queen.<br><br>She pushed herself to her feet and climbed onto Stormrider's back, her head was pounding now and her vision was swimming, making her dizzy and a little nauseous. She felt like she had a concussion truth be told. "Thank you," she said as she held onto his scales and laid her head against his powerful neck.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>November 29, 2011, 05:57:53 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We head straight for Dragonblight," Stormrider said with a growl to the other dragons. "If any enemies get between us and it leave them to me."<br><br>They launched into the air, joining Kara and the other dragons who swept up above the cloudline. They flew as quickly as they could without their passengers falling off.<br><br>"One of the dragons is missing," Barkeley said to Aurora, moving closely enough that most couldn't hear over the noise of the rushing air. "The one with the blue markings on his scales, he definitely joined the battle but I can't see him anywhere." It was only on closer inspection that a gash on Stormrider's front left limb could be seen, although he seemed unconcerned at the injury.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 01, 2011, 09:16:29 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Barkeley when he spoke then turned her head a bit to look back over her shoulder then looked over the other and continued looking around before she focused her gaze back on Barkeley. "Did he take off with us?" She asked, unsure of whether the blue dragon had survived the battle or not.<br><br>She laid her head against Stormrider's neck again, her grip loosening on his scales since now all she felt she had the energy to do was fall asleep.<br><br>It would be a bad idea to fall asleep and she knew it so she forced her eyes to stay open though it was growing to be more and more difficult.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 02, 2011, 02:31:37 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I don't know," Barkeley replied. "I was so worried about taking off I wasn't paying attention. Maybe we should ask Stormrider when we get back."<br><br>They finally arrived back in Dragonblight, Stormrider landing with a wince as he let Aurora jump off, Kara and Stormrider both returning to their human forms as she ran over, wincing at the injury on his arm.<br><br>"You just had to fight one of the few things that could bypass your father's armour didn't you?" she asked with a mixture of concern and amusement. "Luckily for you I can heal this injury easily."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 02, 2011, 06:54:16 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She nodded her head and closed her eyes during the rest of the flight back to Dragonblight, resting the side of her face against Stormrider's scales.<br><br>As he began to land she gripped onto his scales tighter then slid off of him carefully and rubbed her temples as everyone else landed.<br><br>Aurora looked at Kara as she ran over and looked at his arm, she smiled a bit when Kara did and said she could heal him easily. "What can get through the armour?" She asked a bit curiously.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 03, 2011, 02:43:32 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There are a few things," Kara said as she began to bandage the wound. "If there wasn't it'd be near impossible to kill a dragon."<br><br>"It was a Dark Firebird," Stormrider said. "Like the thing that attacked me the day I met your grandmother. It wasn't the same one though."<br><br>"He owes me and Marash his life," Kara said. "Our combined strength managed to bring the thing down with ease, although its disintegrated before its body actually hit the ground."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 03, 2011, 03:46:59 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora nodded her head slowly as they spoke then looked to Barkeley and walked over to him.<br><br>"Now that that's all over, what do we do?" She asked curiously and wrapped her arms around herself as she studied his face.<br><br>"The things that attacked you will be back to normal and you've returned the armour," she said quietly and worried her lower lip.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 03, 2011, 03:59:14 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The war isn't over," a voice said from behind them, as they turned to see an exhausted looking Meren followed by a ragged but largely intact fairy army. "Even without that power source the elementals are still a threat and its only a matter of time before the enemy makes their next move."<br><br>"Right now I think more than a few of us are in need of medical attention," Elena said, nodding to Barkeley who Muroe and Kara suddenly realised had a cut running across his left leg, which had been hidden by his cloak. "We should help our wounded before we plan our next move."<br><br>"And mourn our dead," Stormrider said. "How many did we lose?"<br><br>"Scar sacrificed himself to protect the ground forces," Marash said with a grimace. "I know one of the Ogres died too and looking at the fairies we're missing at least twenty."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 04, 2011, 07:46:12 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora listened quietly as they spoke and let out a quiet sigh as Meren said the war was not over. <br><br>She looked around towards the people to see who needed medical attention and though she wanted to help she knew the fairies and dragons could probably do better at getting them all patched up then she could and she'd probably only get in the way.<br><br>The numbers didn't seem that horrible considering how many of the enemies they'd probably cut down. She rubbed her eye a bit as she stepped back and wandered away from the group.<br><br>Upon finding a nice little pond she sat at the edge and dipped her hand in the water to wipe the blood from her face and her hands.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 05, 2011, 03:15:28 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Nara walked over to where Aurora was sat, sitting down with a sigh. She was one of the few fairies to have escaped the battle unharmed so felt she was a bit useless just standing around while the healers set to work.<br><br>"This was the first battle you've had to fight wasn't it?" she asked Aurora. "I've fought more than I can remember, and got a few scars to show for it too."<br><br>It was only on closer viewing that it became clear that Nara's right eye was closed, a nasty, but old, scar running straight across it.<br><br>"Don't worry, we have reinforcements," Nara said. "Once we have recovered my mother and Stormrider are going to call the Magyar council, a gathering of magic users not seen in millenia and which is only called upon in the darkest hour. There are more than just dragons and fairies we can call to our aid."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 05, 2011, 10:55:27 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked over as Nara joined and her and looked away for a moment as the fairy sighed and rinsed the blood off of her hands while she waited for the other to speak.<br><br>When she did, Aurora nodded as an answer. "Yeah. It was my first day finding out I have magical powers too," she said quietly, unsure why she was feeling a bit embarrassed at admitting it.<br><br>She looked the female in the eye and nodded her head as she continued to speak.<br><br>"I'm not worried, I have a headache," she said quietly and looked down at the water. "I'm not scared either. If I'm going to die at least I know a bit about more about my family's past now," she said with a bit of a shrug.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 06, 2011, 03:04:58 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I don't think Stormrider has any intention of us dying quite yet," Nara said with a smile. "He only calls the Magyar Council when he needs to bring the really big guns in."<br><br>She paused for a moment, looking over to where the last of the wounded were being treated before turning back.<br><br>"The council isn't merely dragons and fae," she said. "It is every magical race that has ever stood against the forces of darkness. Its name after the dragon king who first brought the armies together, long before human civilization existed."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 07, 2011, 07:53:14 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Just because he has no intention of us dying doesn't mean it's not going to happen," she pointed out and looked back over at the woman.<br><br>She too looked towards where the last of the wounded were being treated then looked back down towards the water and ran her finger over the surface.<br><br>As the other spoke again, she only nodded her head slowly before she looked back towards the group to see if she could see Barkeley or Meren and see what they were up to.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 08, 2011, 03:20:28 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Imrik flew over, landing on Aurora's shoulder and smiling at her and his sister.<br><br>"We have a job for you," he said. "My mother and Stormrider have decided the council is our only option in the circumstances. But, while we have ways of gathering the other dragons and fae, and we can even gather what human allies we have, there is one ally who may prove a little...difficult."<br><br>"The Elves," Nara said, a smile crossing her face. "They want us to travel to Sylvan, the great elven city."<br><br>"You remember your history lessons well then Nara," Imrik said, laughing. "We would like you two, Muroe and Barkeley to travel there and see if you can persuade them to help."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 08, 2011, 12:09:30 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked over at Imrik when he landed on her shoulder and offered a smile in return of his.<br><br>"A job?" She asked curiously then looked to Nara before returning her gaze to Imirk as he continued to speak about an ally that may prove to be difficult. "The elves?" She said, looking between the two of them.<br><br>"Why would the elves be difficult?" She asked and shifted a bit to get more comfortable on the hard ground. "What are we supposed to do to persuade them?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 08, 2011, 12:30:21 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The Elves are a very isolationist society," Imrik replied. "Their previous involvement in the council has come when Sylvan itself has come under direct threat. The original council was formed when Magyar saved Sylvan from a demonic incursion."<br><br>"Then why would we have more luck than you and Stormrider might have with them?" Nara asked.<br><br>"You have two things at your advantage," Imrik replied. "The Elves are a curious race, they have had little or no experience with humans so they may agree&nbsp; to help if only to learn more about your kind. Failing that, whatever else they may be, they are a race of honour. Tell them Sarna has asked them to help, it won't mean anything to you but the Elves should be unable to refuse the request if you tell them that. Just be careful, if the Elves believe you a threat you will not reach Sylvan alive."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 08, 2011, 01:48:59 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora listened as he spoke and looked at him. "A threat? I can see why they'd think the others were a threat but I..." she trailed off as she remembered she did have magical powers but didn't know how to use them very effectively.<br><br>"Okay, I guess it's worth a shot," she said with a nod of her head. "How are we supposed to get there?" She asked and looked to Imrik. "If we ride the dragons wouldn't they see that as a threat?" She questioned, looking towards the others before focusing on Imrik again.<br><br>"Or would they be expecting that and just ask us what our business is? Are there customs we're supposed to follow or do you think they'd let it slide since we're mostly humans and don't know anything about them?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 08, 2011, 01:55:43 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There is one way non-Elves can reach Sylvan, at least reach it safely anyway," Imrik replied. "It lies at the centre of an immense forest, my mother cannot teleport you to right outside the city but she can get you into the forest. I'm afraid from there it will be up to you."<br><br>"Well I'll happily go," Nara replied. "It'll be more fun than sitting here watching the others do all the work."<br><br>"Plus if the legends of Sylvan are true," Barkeley said, walking over to them, "its beauty its unmatched by almost anything else in the world. It is said its beauty is matched only by that of the elves themselves."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 08, 2011, 07:44:44 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well aren't you just poetic?" Aurora asked Barkeley, teasing him as she got to her feet slowly and brushed off her pants a bit.<br><br>"Alright, let's go then. Can't be worse then anything else we've done today," she said rubbed at her nose gingerly. "But after we get back I'm going to sleep. It's been too long of a day and I'm pooched," she mumbled.<br><br>She wrapped her arm around herself as she waited for everyone who would be joining them to do so and for them to be taken to the forest.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 09, 2011, 02:20:44 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Elena walked over as the other messengers began to set off for their destinations, a smile crossing her face as she saw the group who'd be visiting the Elves.<br><br>"I'd do this myself but there is an old friend I must visit," she said. "Hold hands, but I should warn you this may feel a little strange."<br><br>Muroe and Barkeley took one of Aurora's hands each, closing their eyes out of fear of what they might see. When they opened them again they were no longer in Dragonblight but were now in the centre of a forest of immense trees whose tops were barely visible above them. Just visible in the distance were the gleaming white walls of a city, half hidden by the foliage between it and the observer.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 12, 2011, 10:01:50 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at Elena as she walked over to them, she figured the queen wouldn't send them all to their deaths so she felt a bit more comfortable going on this little mission.<br><br>She looked between Muroe and Barkeley as they took her hands then closed her eyes quickly when she realized they had and squeezed them tightly.<br><br>After a few moments she opened her eyes and looked around, loosening the grip she'd had on Muroe and Barkeley's hands. "Wow," she mumbled quietly and looked towards the white walls of what she assumed to be the elven city they'd be heading to. "So, do we wait here for the elves to come to us or do we go to them?" She asked and looked around.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 13, 2011, 03:01:25 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We walk towards the city," Nara replied. "If there are Elves out here they'll spot us soon enough."<br><br>"I don't see anyone else here aside from us," Muroe said as they started walking. "Are we sure the Elves are here?"<br><br>"I guarantee they are," Nara replied. "My mother once told me its not when you can see the Elves you should be worried, its when you can't." There was a slight movement somewhere ahead of them although they couldn't tell from here who or what it was. "Be on your guard," she said under her breath. "Remember they know this forest better than we do."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>December 15, 2011, 09:13:31 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora saw the movement ahead as well and glanced towards Nara as she spoke quietly. "They probably know we're here and are just watching to make sure we're not a threat," she pointed out.<br><br>"If we asked like we're here to fight then they won't be overly welcoming," she said and stepped through the group and began to make her way towards the city.<br><br>She took her time, keeping her hands by her sides so if there were any elves out and about they wouldn't view her as a threat.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>December 15, 2011, 10:19:36 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We've definitely got company," Muroe said. "I have extra-sensitive hearing because of my animagus powers, I can hear them from here. I couldn't tell you how many of them there are though."<br><br>There was a noise from above them and before any of them could respond they found themselves surrounded by ten tall figures, each with a green feathered arrow knocked to a bow pointing at them. At their centre was a figure dressed as if he was their leader, his arm wrapped around Aurora holding her in a vice-like grip, Barkeley pointing his sword at the figure's throat.<br><br>"Drop the sword Barkeley," Nara growled at him. "They could riddle you with arrows before you so much as scratched him, and that's assuming there aren't more of them watching us." Barkeley slowly lowered the sword, the elf loosening his grip on Aurora although the bow-armed Elves remained cautious. "We wish to speak to the Prince of Sylvan, we have been sent at the request of the Magyar council."<br><br>The elf seemed uncertain for a moment, turning to one of the other soldiers to have a whispered conversation.<br><br>"For our sakes I hope they believe us," Nara said. "We're all dead if they don't."<br><br>Strange lettering which seemed to give off a faint glow were just visible on each elf's cloak, although what they were was unclear.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 04, 2012, 10:55:30 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When the noise was heard from above Aurora began to look upwards but was pulled against a tall man before she could even let out a noise. She took a moment to figure out what was happening when she saw the sword by her head. She was about to struggle against the man holding her but stopped as she followed the blade and realized it was Barkeley's.<br><br>She looked past them and saw the elves with the arrows pointing at everyone then tilted her head a bit to try and get a look at the one who was holding onto her. She was half tempted to bite him, figuring it would startle him and he'd let her go but the others surrounding them would probably kill the lot of her group for it so she just stood still.<br><br>As Nara spoke and Barkeley lowered his blade she felt the grip loosening but didn't know if she should step away or not.<br><br>As the elves spoke to each other Aurora noticed the strange lettering and though she couldn't read it, something about it seemed familiar. She looked it over on the lead elf's cloak then instinctively reached out to hold the garment and looked closer at it. As she tried to read another headache began to form and she squinted at the lettering, trying to interpret the lettering. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 05, 2012, 02:45:02 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"What's the lettering on their cloaks?" Muroe asked Nara, noticing Aurora's curiosity and wondering himself.<br><br>"Elven invisibility runes," Nara replied. "Every cloak their warriors use is covered in them. While the runes are active you could look straight at an elf and it would be like they weren't there."<br><br>"Hence why they could get so close to us without us knowing about it," Barkeley said with a grimace. "Well at least they'll be a potent ally if they decide to help us."<br><br>The elves conversation finally ended, the elf the leader had been talking to seemed to vanish again as he turned to face them, a smile on his face.<br><br>"My apologies," he said, bowing. "We have had intruders attempting to enter the forest to discover our secrets so the Elven Sentinels have been on especially high alert. My name is Sangar, captain of the Sylvan Sentinels, some of whom you can see here," he said as the bow-armed elves finally lowered their weapons. "Who do I have the honour of welcoming to our forest?" he asked, kissing Aurora's hand in apology and revealing a pair of astoundingly blue eyes.<br><br>"I am Nara, daughter of Queen Elena of Shadow Glade," she said, bowing. "This is Muroe, Barkeley and Aurora, three young human wizards who have earnt the respect of the lord of Dragonblight himself so I'd like to think youcan trust them," she said, smiling slightly.<br><br>"My apologies Aurora," Sangar said, bowing to her. "If it is any consolation I went after you because I thought you were the biggest threat. I get the impression you are more powerful than you might realise."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:05:35 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora let out a hum of consideration when Nara replied what the markings were on the Elves' cloaks. She looked away and looked at the elf leader as he faced them with a smile on his face.<br><br>"Well he's smiling, that's good," she mumbled to Barkeley then watched him as he kissed her hand and blushed again. "Men in my world really need to take a page of chivalry from these guys," she whispered with a bit of a smile and kept her eyes on the elf leader.<br><br>Aurora gave a bow, the way Nara did as she did and shook her head at Sangar when he apologized to her. "No need to apologize. If someone tried to break into my home I'd swing a bat at them," she offered with a smile.<br><br>When he said he got the impression she was the biggest threat she glanced at Nara then looked at Barkeley. "How can I be seen as a bigger threat than her?" She whispered.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:12:13 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Elven and fae magic has much in common," Nara whispered the reply. "Elves have had little experience of human magic, if any at all. Evidently your aura is even stronger than we first realised."<br><br>"I will take you to the Prince," Sangar said as the other Elves dispersed back into the tree line. "If the council has been called then he will want to know." He led them off through the tall trees, the occasional flicker of movement visible among them as they headed towards the white walled city.<br><br>"There are more than just Elves in this forest aren't there?" Barkeley asked.<br><br>"Some of the most powerful Dryads in the world are said to live within the boundaries of Sylvan," Nara replied. "Treekin live here too, and there are rumours that there are creatures more ancient than the forest itself that hide somewhere within its canopy."<br><br>"I can sense dragons," Muroe said, a note of confusion in his voice. "But...these are different, either that or they're disguising themselves in some way that even my heightened senses are unable to bypass."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:18:42 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"So that's good then? Or is that bad?" She asked, looking towards Nara and falling into step beside her as they walked.<br><br>"I don't know how to use it very well. I don't want something to come and try to kill me because they can sense my aura is strong and I have no way of defending myself," she mumbled, feeling a bit deflated now.<br><br>The last thing she wanted was to become a target with no way to defend herself on her own. She didn't like the idea of someone else stepping into danger because of her.<br><br>As they continued on nearing the city and the movement through the trees caught her attention every time.<br><br>Her head moved from side to side as she watched the movement but she listened to their conversation.<br><br>"Are there dragons here?" She asked Sangar after hearing Muroe's comment about sensing the dragons.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:30:15 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sangar merely smiled in reply, Nara laughing as she watched him. Although she had no experience of Elves herself she had heard the stories enough to know what to expect.<br><br>"Something tells me we'll find out the answer within the city," Nara replied. "They must be fairly extraordinary creatures to be able to hide in a forest though.<br><br>As they reached the walls a huge gate opened without Sangar even needing to signal to anyone, reavealing a city that, while not as tall as Dragonblight, felt equally huge. Elves walked through the streets, some dressed in armour, others dressed in more ordinary clothes, some deep in conversation with Dryads who watched curiously as Sangar lead them to the huge courtyard at the centre of the city. They were faced with a fearsome sight: Lining it were at least a hundred elves, each stood silently, leaning on immense spears with nasty looking swords tucked in the belts that circled their golden armour. Stood on the steps of the palace at the courtyard's furthest edge were two figures. One an elf dressed in similar armour to the other guards, the other was a Dryad, but impossibly ancient in appearance.<br><br>"Rakeil," Sangar said, indicating the elf, "head of Sylvan's Royal Guard, a small sample of which you can see here. His companion is..."<br><br>"Starthorn," Nara said, finishing his sentence, a note of awe in her voice. "All fae are taught stories about him but I though he was little more than a legend. If the Dryad's have a king or a leader than Starthorn is as close as they get," she said to Aurora. "It is said even the Dryad's themselves are unsure of his true age."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:37:42 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked up at the ancient looking Dryad then to Nara as she spoke and nodded her head. Though she'd never heard of their history or anything she knew he was obviously important so she just stood beside the others and looked at the two.<br><br>After a moment she glanced back towards the hundred elves who stood silently and pursed her lips. "They're a bit spooky," she mumbled and took in a deep breath. "They're standing so still it doesn't look like they're even breathing," she whispered to Nara and chewed her lower lip gently as she continued to watched them.<br><br>She turned her head again and looked around the courtyard a bit more before looking back to Sangar. "How are we supposed to go about asking them to join us?" She asked, looking back to Nara.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:49:49 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I know how," Nara said. "Something I should've realised when my mother sent us on this mission, and which even Sangar knew when I said why we were here."<br><br>"I don't..." Muroe said, looking perplexed at the smiles that crossed both Nara and Sangar's faces.<br><br>"Magyar isn't the name of a dragon king," Nara said. "Magyar is the Elven word for dragon, I should've remembered since all fae children are taught Elvish from a young age. Remember that name Elena said to tell them if they were reluctant?"<br><br>"Sarna?" Muroe replied. "What's that got to do with it?"<br><br>"Sarna was the dragon who saved Sylvan all those millenia ago wasn't he?" she asked Sangar who merely nodded. "Elves and dragons are fierce believers in honour. The day Sarna saved this city the rulers of Sylvan swore that if the Magyar requested their aid the army of Sylvan would answer. Plus with the strength of dragons alone they could be sure their aid would not be sought unless the threat was something the dragons could not fight alone. Sorry, that's probably a lot to take in at once," she said, laughing slightly at the confusion on Muroe's face.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 01:56:15 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"But still reasonable and understandable," Aurora said and looked at Nara. "You should go up and tell them that then,' she said with a nod of her head and clasped her hands together in front of herself as she looked at the other woman. <br><br>She sidestepped to stand next to Barkeley and glanced at him. "Considering we're family and all. Do you have any idea how I'm supposed to figure out this magic stuff?" She asked and glanced at him. Hoping they'd get a few minutes to talk while Nara delivered the message to the elvish leader.<br><br>She glanced towards Muroe, figuring he'd be too busy trying to figure out what was going on with the whole history of Sarna and the rulers of Sylvan. She looked again at her cousin and hoped he'd be willing to help.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 02:09:53 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I can do my best," he said as Sangar led them up the steps, the two figures parting to allow them within the palace.<br><br>Its huge central room contained only two figures. The prince, even without a crown, was easily identifiable. Even among a race which towered over most humans, and even sat down, he was impressively tall, an imposing prescence that seemed to match Stormrider himself. The other was a tall, older woman dressed in a long green dress, her eyes the same colour and an unusually coloured ring on one finger. Sangar walked over to the Prince to speak to him, leaving the others waiting alone.<br><br>"You said there were dragons here Muroe," Nara said. "I think we may have found one of them. Look at the woman's eyes, remind you of anyone's?"<br><br>"They're like Kara's," Barkeley replied. "But there's something...different."<br><br>"She's a descendant of Sarna himself," Nara replied. "They represent the last remnants of when dragons were powerful enough that, had they chosen to, they could have dominated all other life on Earth."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 02:26:42 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked at the woman then to Nara as she spoke. "I don't understand why they wouldn't have done that. I like being a human and all that but humans aren't exactly the best race to be running the Earth," she mumbled quietly.<br><br>She stood silent as she observed the exchange between the prince and Sangar.<br><br>"Why is she here?" She asked after a moment, her eyes remained focused on the female who stood by the prince. "Why isn't she with Stormrider and the other dragons?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 02:36:58 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sarna's kind were one of the groups who refused the order to return to Dragonblight," Nara replied. "My guess is they've been living in this forest ever since."<br><br>"It would explain why they're here and I can't sense them," Muroe said. "If they've been here millenia they'd know all the tricks to hide.<br><br>"Now they simply number too few to dominate life on Earth," Nara said. "At least, Sarna's kind too. I think they are now more interested in protecting nature from any threat that faces them."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 09, 2012, 07:19:54 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well you must know about the recent news of the environment because of all the huge corporations and global warming and all that jazz," she said with a wave of her hand.<br><br>"Pretty soon, there might not be any nature to protect the way people are tearing forests down to build new suburbs or malls," she sighed and pursed her lips.<br><br>She looked towards Nara. "So, what do you think the chances are that they'll help? Do you think they'll honour their pledge to help from so long ago?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 10, 2012, 02:19:13 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We can't be absolutely sure," Nara replied. "But if Sarna's descendants really are still hiding in this forest then they should be more willing to listen."<br><br>Eventually Sangar returned to where they were stood, a smile on his face.<br><br>"Return to Dragonblight," he said. "We will join you shortly, but we have not gathered the army of Sylvan fully in a very long time. Plus there are other allies we must call upon who can help you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 11, 2012, 10:49:31 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora did a double take at Sangar when he said they could return to Dragonblight. "Whoa, it was that easy?" she asked and gave a bit of a shrug.<br><br>"Well I'm not gonna complain," she smiled and held her hand out to Sangar. "Thank you so much for your help."<br><br>She felt so relieved now that the elves had agreed to help them, it kind of felt as though they were going to war, it would be an easy win for them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 11, 2012, 10:53:01 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Venn can take them back," the female dragon said. "But they had best have elves take them to Venn, we all know what lies between here and Venn's roost."<br><br>"I'll gather a few Sentinels and Dryads to escort us," Sangar said, bowing to the Prince and leading them out into the courtyard again.<br><br>"Why do we need an escort Muroe asked. "Point us in the right direction and I'm sure we'll find it."<br><br>"Its not that simple," Sangar replied. "Venn rules a mountain in the deepest reaches of the forest, surrounded by Dryads, Treekin and far worse. If you have Elves with you then we can deal with any problems we may come across on the way there."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 11, 2012, 05:00:09 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora followed Sangar out to the courtyard after he'd bowed to the Prince and nodded her head as Muroe asked the question since she'd been wondering it herself.<br><br>As Sangar spoke she pursed her lips, not really liking the sound of what they were about to face.<br><br>"If we mind our own business then they should leave us alone right?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.<br><br>"And who is this Venn?" She asked curiously.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 11, 2012, 05:10:37 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Venn is one of Sarna's descendants," Sangar replied. "The first of his descendants to have been born outside of Dragonblight. Its said that he waits there for the time to come when he can, as he sees it, he can return home."<br><br>When they reached the area outside the gate again two Dryads and three Sentinels, who had their hoods pulled up to hide all but the twinkle of their eyes, were waiting for them.<br><br>"Something about that mountain makes the creatures around it far more hostile," Sangar continued. "Even if Starthorn could convince the Dryads and Treekin to leave us alone there are creatures in this wood who can be hostile to any creature who isn't there own. With us there to protect you they're less likely to risk attacking you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>January 11, 2012, 09:44:06 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Aurora looked towards the mountain then back to Sangar. "Is there something up there?" She asked and wrapped her arms around herself.<br><br>"Is it normal for those creatures to be so hostile?" She questioned and glanced around the group then let her eyes linger on the Dryads and the three Sentinels who would be accompanying them to Venn.<br><br>"Well, we might as well get going then," she commented and stepped away from the gate, waiting for the others to get going and followed whoever took the lead since she didn't know where they were heading.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>January 12, 2012, 02:52:34 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It is said all of nature is joined somehow," Sangar replied. "Some think the creatures of the darker areas of this wood are angry because they've seen what has happened to nature in the rest of the world."<br><br>"You mean what humans have done?" Barkeley said with a grimace.<br><br>"Not just humans," Sangar replied. "There are many other threats to nature and woods in particular than humans. Plus some creatures, like the centaurs, believe most races are inferior to them but number too few to pose a realistic threat to even Sylvan. Unfortunately the fact they number so few just seems to make them angrier."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>February 04, 2012, 09:46:32 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her eyes opened wide when she heard Sangar talk about centaurs and turned her head to stare at him. "Centaurs? Like the half horse half man? They're real? Like really real?" She asked quickly and moved closer to him.<br><br>"Not all of them can be mean though, right?" She asked, a hint of hopefulness in her tone.<br><br>"Is there any chance we can go and see them? I just wanna see one? They were always my favourite mythological creature as I was growning," she said, speaking quickly like an excited child.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>February 05, 2012, 03:04:58 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm not sure seeing the centaurs is a smart idea," Sangar replied. "Although since we have to pass through their lands we-"<br><br>His comment was cut short as an arrow missed his ear by a matter of inches and embedded itself in a tree behind him. It only took a glance to realise this was no elven arrow, it was far too big.<br><br>"Get behind the trees," Sangar growled under his breath. "The next arrow might not be so innaccurate." As they dodged behind the trees the Sentinels knocked arrows to their bows, waiting for orders from Sangar. "Pelik," he called to one of the Sentinels, "what do you see?"<br><br>"Two centaurs on a ridge just beyond the treeline," the Sentinel replied. "There's no way of advancing without them seeing us."<br><br>"Don't worry," Sangar replied. "This is where bringing Dryads with us comes in handy." It was only then the others realised the two Dryad guards had vanished, without seemingly waiting for an order or making a sound.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>February 20, 2012, 12:07:43 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When Sangar was beginning to put her idea of seeing the centaurs down she frowned, knowing it was a long shot but at least she'd tried. Though she did hope they'd be able to at least catch a glimpse of one.<br><br>When the arrow hit the tree Aurora jumped a bit, staring at the large arrow and how close it was to Sangar's head.<br><br>At his order, she moved behind the tree and slid down so she was sitting on her butt and glanced over towards the other elves to see what they were saying and doing.<br><br>When Pelik said he could see two centaurs on a ridge beyond the treeline she peeked around the tree but couldn't see what Pelik saw. She let out a slow breath before she looked around again. She was the only one behind this tree and there was lots of brush. She was sure nobody would notice if she went missing for a moment to try and get a peek at the centaurs.<br><br>Aurora slid around the tree silently then began to crawl through the brush quietly and slowly. She wasn't going to jump out and try to surprise the centaurs, she just wanted to see them, even if from a distance.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>February 20, 2012, 02:39:46 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Dryads reappeared, two centaurs between them who evidently were angry at being captured but unwilling to try fighting three Dryads and the group of Sentinels.<br><br>"You dare invade the lands of Breivik?" one of the centaurs growled. "We could have you surrounded long before any reinforcements could arrive from Sylvan."<br><br>"We had no choice but to enter his lands," Sangar replied. "We seek passage to Venn the forest-weaver, we cannot reach his mountain without passing through your territory."<br><br>"What could you possibly want with the dragon?" the centaur asked, the anger dissipating slightly to be replaced by a note of curiosity in his voice.<br><br>"The Magyar Council has been called," Sangar replied. "But to reach Dragonblight we require a dragon to fly us there. There is a place at the council for your kind if you wish, you fought alongside the dragons in ages past, and I'm sure the Prince of Sylvan would fight alongside you with a sense of pride."<br><br>It suddenly became obvious that Sangar was no longer speaking to the centaurs in front of them, but had fixed his eyes on the same ridge the arrows had come from, where a pair of bright red eyes were just visible between the trees,<br><br>"So be it," a voice called out from the ridge. "You can pass through our lands. Tell your prince we will meet him at the rendezvous point". Sangar bowed, the centaurs who had now been released by the Dryads quickly vanishing back into the treeline.<br><br>"I could sense Breivik was there," Sangar said as he saw the surprise on the other's face. "He was evidently curious why we were here, otherwise we'd have been dead before we could get more than three words out of our mouths."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>albatross</strong> on <strong>April 19, 2012, 08:32:57 pm</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When the Dryads reappeared with two of the centaurs captured between them she let out an excited, surprised squeak, which she'd never admit had ever come from her mouth.<br><br>Her eyes stayed focused on the centaurs, roaming over every inch of their magnificent bodies. "Wow," she mumbled. It may be rude to stare but growing up centaurs had always been her favourite creatures, along with unicorns of course.<br><br>Once they were gone she stood from the bushes and smiled. "Those were so awesome," she beamed and looked around. <br><br>She'd heard the conversation but only took away they'd be able to cross through the forest. <br><br>"Well we should be on the way then," she said and walked over to Barkeley. "Did you see them? They were so amazing," she grinned, skipping a bit. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The dark side of magic</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lady Jenn</strong> on <strong>April 20, 2012, 02:27:56 am</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Be careful," Sangar said as they set off again. "There are all sorts of stories about what creatures live around the mountain and none of them are good believe me."<br><br>They headed through the forest, beginning to see the mountain looming in the distance but unable to see the peak.<br><br>"Venn must be up there somewhere," Muroe asked sounding slightly nervous as they entered a darker part of the forest. "We need to-"<br><br>"Muroe, what's wrong..." Sangar froze as he saw what had happened. All of them were slowly being trapped by vines which seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "Don't struggle," he said. "They're Firebreath vines, the more you fight the stronger their grip becomes." As he turned around again they found they were surrounded. Some were creatures they couldn't recognise but among them were nastier looking versions of creatures they knew. At their centre was a figure who looked like a fairy but with pale skin and bright red eyes. "Well, I don't think we need to ask if Venn knows we're here, that's Myska, queen of the forest sprites. She's as close to a second in command as Venn gets."
			</dd>
		</dl>
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