The Dragon Savior - *Chapter 10 Added*

The Dragon Savior - Chapter 1


Master...what do you wish of me...

You will bear me a Child.... a Savior...

But Master...is this truly...what you wish?

My command has been spoken...




A gigantic roar echoed through the halls of the Chaotic Dragon guild castle. The stones among the walls trembled. Several footsteps sounded down the floor.

The giant wooden door which was once an always open entrance was closed and bolted. A huge metal bar fell to its holder and was locked and clamped shut.

Another roar shook the walls.


-

Outside, the sound of clashing metal could be heard. Grunts and growls sounded from the warriors battling on the field outside the guild castle. Several monsters surrounded the structure and more seemed to be charging their way in. Evil Eyes and Minotaur Minions ran in like a wall and trampled their way in to the center of the battle.

There was a loud cry, and suddenly a flash of light and metal before several of the monsters went groaned and went down.

"Take that!"

A female shura appeared above a minotaur, cutting it down with her giant sword. Her silver-white hair shone in the moonlight and her bi-colored eyes shone with fury before she landed on the ground. She felt her adrenaline pumping, her body and nerves on fire. There was mild pain from the scratches and bruises on her but she ignored them.

She turned around as another Minotaur suddenly ambushed her. The minotaur drove a punch to her abdomen and and she flew back into the ground. Gaining her bearings, she tried to stand but felt a sharp pain in her side.

Suddenly, she felt healing magic flow through her and she could no longer feel the pain from the minotaur's blow. She turned to see someone approach.

"Mjrn. Are you all right?" came the voice of a male sylph. He floated up to her, a giant green syringe floating beside him that was still glowing with magic.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit winded" Mjrn replied. She gave a soft smile to the sylph.

"Thanks, Jarod"

"No problem" he answered. The two gazed at each other almost lovingly a moment before they heard the minotaur roar and begin to approach them.

"Shall we take down this nuisance?" Jarod asked as a zither instrument appeared beside him and he prepared for attack.

"I thought you'd never ask" Mjrn said with a smirk as she lifted up her huge sword.

Jarod began to strum on the zither and musical magic flowed from it. The melody rang with strength and power and Mjrn felt the energy flowing through her. She closed her eyes a moment, concentrating her energy. Then she let out a cry and charged forward.

A roar echoed into the night.

-


No time...no time...I must hurry...


A soft rush of air swept up the spiral staircase to the empty attic tower. Gentle, labored breathing escaped the lips of a female sylph. She wore a dark cloak as she floated upward, finally coming to a door. She held out a sleeved hand toward the door handle, but didn't touch it.

Feeling with her aura, she felt that the door was locked. Directing her energy, she pushed through the door handle and lock, until it finally popped open. Then she made her way into the room, her energy slowly closing the door behind her.

The sylph's breathing became more labored as she sunk to the floor, her energy quickly draining.

No time...

Her arms gently wrapped around her large belly protruding from the several robes she wore.

She closed her eyes and a tear fell upon the burden.

I can't...do this...

----------


"Where is she??"

"I don't know!"

"We have to find her!"


Two girls ran down a hallway, one a shura, the other a human. They had searched the guild castle frantically, and had no idea where to look.

"Wait Liah, I think I heard something over here!"

"Wait up Sandry!" Liah called as she followed the blonde human girl.

The two ran into a huge room, which was the dining hall. A long table stretched out in the middle with several chairs around it. It was dark and quiet, and the two girls looked around cautiously.

"What was that?" Sandry asked softly as they heard a grunting sound.

As they moved closer, they saw two Evil Eyes. They heard a growl behind him and they turned around to come face to face with one of the monsters.

"AHHH!" the two girls screamed before they jumped back.

"TAKE THIS!" Liah cried as her muscles pumped and her power spiked.

She drew her fist back, all energy into her giant spiked glove as she hurled a massive punch at the Evil Eye, sending it flying back into the wall.

Sandry held up her syringe and cast a spell. Little orbs of mana formed around her and Liah, regenerating their energy and healing capability. Then holding out her hands toward Liah, she cast another spell to form a protective barrier around her friend.

The other Evil Eyes ran up behind Sandry, but Liah turned quickly and jumped toward them, crossing her arms up in front of her to block their attacks. Then she concentrated her power and threw several punches at one of the monsters.

The Evil Eye stumbled back and fell on the floor. The other two came running up and tried to gang up on Sandry.

"Liah!" Sandry cried as she backed away from the Evil Eyes. Liah turned around.

"Hey! You big bullies! Pick on someone your own size!" Liah called.

The Evil Eye turned to look at Liah. The shura girl made a face at them, and turned and shook her bum at them.

"Nyah nyah! Can't get me!" Liah mocked. This made the Evil Eyes angry and they began chasing after Liah. The shura ran a bit, a good distance ahead of them since she was faster than the lumbering Evil Eyes. Then she turned and threw two massive Far-Flung Fist at them. The Evil Eyes were knocked out cold.

"OH YEAH! LIAH SMASH!" Liah cried in victory.

"Liah look out!" Sandry called. Liah turned around to see a huge Minotaur behind her.

"OH SH*!" Liah cried as she stared up at the monster. The Minotaur roared and was about to pound Liah into the ground when there was a flash of metal. Liah lowered her arms and looked up. The Minotaur seemed frozen a moment. Then slowly fell toward her. Liah quickly ran out of its way and watched it fall to the floor with a big thud.

Sandry ran up to Liah. They both looked at the Minotaur before they looked up and saw a shadow of a figure leaving the room.

"Who was that?" Sandry asked.

"I don't know...I thought everyone else was outside.." Liah said.

"Well whoever it was, we should follow them and find out"

"But we have to find..."

"I know. Let's go. Whoever helped us, I'm sure it was another guild mate" Sandry said.

Liah nodded and started running. Sandry was close behind. Several thoughts flew through her mind.

Kazaa...everyone....I hope you're all right...

-------


Fire and lightning flew through the cold night air. Another Minotaur groaned and went down, but several more appeared in replacement.

A sprite breathed heavily, his brow soaked with sweat as he pulled out several more scrolls.

"Charm of Rolling Thunder!!" cried the sprite. A massive bolt of lightning struck down another monster. More minotaurs and evil eyes appeared and surrounded the sprite.

Kazaa shifted his eyes around at his opponents. His small but strong hand clenched around his wand. He held out his large glowing wand, concentrating all his power and mana. There was a trembling in the ground and suddenly a massive amount of mana shot out all around, throwing back all the monsters that surrounded Kazaa.

Several groans could be heard and all the minotaurs and evil eyes fell to the ground unmoving.

"How many more..." Kazaa breathed out. He couldn't stop to think. He ran to find his guild mates.


To be continued....

A rush of wind swept up the dead leaves upon the forest floor. Silently, a cloaked figure sped through the forest, the amount of trees slowly dwindling as it neared the guild castle up ahead.


-

Kazaa struck down another minotaur with his wand. He still breathed heavily, feeling his mana and energy draining. He fell to one knee, resting a moment. Then he heard someone shouting not too far off. Several minotaurs seemed to be surrounding something.

Thinking it was a guild mate in need of help, Kazaa sprung to his feet and rushed toward the mob. He held out some scrolls and was about to cast a spell until a giant shock wave blasted all the minotaurs away.

Kazaa stared in surprise and looked to where the blast came from.

A bright, shining platinum staff spun up in the air a moment before falling and being caught by a black gloved hand. There stood a young man with dark violet hair.

"Ha, can't touch me" the human said with a grin on his face. Hearing a sound behind him, he spun around and made an attack stance, holding his staff at his side.

"Zion, it's me" Kazaa said as he looked at the human.

"Oh, hey pops" Zion answered, happy and relieved that Kazaa wasn't another monster. Then again, he would have liked to take down another minotaur.

"You're alone? Where are the others?" Kazaa asked.

"I don't know. There were too many monsters and we got separated. I took down as many as I could" Zion replied.

"All right. Let's go find them"

Zion nodded and began running with Kazaa.

"So what's going on? Why are we being attacked?" Zion asked.

"I'm not sure. Somehow the monsters made it past our lookouts. I think maybe because there were too many of them to begin with. They all seem to want to get into the guild castle....like they are looking for something..." Kazaa explained. The two neared the outer entrance of the guild castle.

"Looking for something?" Zion wondered. He couldn't think about it much longer as he and Kazaa came across another group of monsters. It seemed they had broken through the outer entrance and were already making their way to the inner door.

"I'll take care of these guys" Zion said as he held out his staff.

"Think I'll let you have all the fun?" Kazaa said. The two smiled at each other a moment before they charged into battle.

-


Liah and Sandry were running down another hallway. They tried to see if they could find whoever had helped them earlier, but it seemed like they had simply disappeared.

A large minotaur suddenly stepped into the hallway out of another room. It turned and looked at the two girls, grunting.

Liah and Sandry stopped in their tracks. A few more minotaurs appeared and joined the first one.

"Oh great...not again..." Sandry said.

"I'll take care of these guys" Liah said, bumping her gloves together before she rushed forward to attack. The first minotaur roared and rushed toward Liah. Shura and monster swung at each other. Liah hit the minotaur first, sending it flying back. A second minotaur appeared just behind it and took Liah by surprise, hitting her and
sending her flying back to the floor.

"Liah!" Sandry cried. She looked at the shura worriedly a moment. Then she turned and looked at the minotaurs angrily. She was getting tired of all these monsters ambushing them.

Sandry ran toward the minotaurs. Holding out her syringe, she suddenly stuck the needle into the floor and vaulted her self up into the air. The second minotaur glanced up at the last moment to see Sandry coming toward it, barely having a second to think before it was kicked right down to the floor and knocked out cold.

Sandry landed, then looked at the other minotaur. It seemed a bit
frightened.

"Time for booster shot!" Sandry cried as she rushed toward the minotaur. The monster roared and ran toward her. Before it could land a punch, Sandry ducked down then jabbed her syringe upward, hitting the minotaur in the jaw and sending it stumbling back. Then she smacked it around a few times with her syringe. She rushed behind it.

The minotaur looked around a moment, dazed and confused. Sandry stood
behind it.

"A doctor a day keeps the monsters away!" Sandry said before she jabbed her syringe into the minotaur's behind. The minotaur roared in pain and ran off as fast as it could.

Sandry smiled as she watched the minotaur run off. Then she ran over to Liah. She cast a healing spell on the shura.

Liah opened her eyes and sat up.

"Ugh...what happened?" Liah said. She looked in shock at the minotaurs out cold on the floor.

"I...took care of things" Sandry replied. Liah blinked in surprise. Sandry helped her up to her feet.

"Wow. You did a number on these guys. Good job" Liah said.

"Thanks. All in a day's work" Sandry replied with a wink. Liah nodded. They looked up when they heard the sound of someone running. They saw what looked like a flash of a tail before it disappeared around a corner.

"Hey!" Liah cried as she started chasing the unknown person. Sandry followed.

-


The hunter found his target. Silently the string on a giant silver crossbow was drawn back.


Kazaa and Zion had been fighting the evil eyes and minotaurs trying to get in through the inner door. Several more had made their way into the open courtyard. The two fighters seemed to be getting overwhelmed. They stood back to back.

"Hey pops...you never told me that story about the birds and the bees..." Zion said.

"Really? You wanna talk about that NOW?" Kazaa replied, a bead of sweat forming on his head.

Before the two could say anything more, several arrows came out of the sky and struck down all the monsters that were surrounding them. Kazaa and Zion stared in surprise before they looked up.

"Seemed like you guys needed a little help!" a voice called.

"Zymes!" Zion called, finally seeing the familiar sylph waving back at them from a smaller tower up above.

"Are you the only one up there?" Kazaa asked.

"Yeah, I'm trying to keep the monsters from getting in, but I'm running low on arrows. I don't know how much longer I can keep them back" Zymes answered.

"Have you seen Mjrn and the others?"

"I can see them from here" Zymes said as he looked out into the distance.

"Where?"

"I'll send an arrow guide!" Zymes replied. He pulled out an arrow and poured his mana into it. Suddenly it began glowing a bright blue. Then the arrow floated over to the giant crossbow and pulled itself back onto the string. Zymes aimed for where he saw Mjrn and Jarod, making sure the arrow would fall in their general direction. The arrow shot out, making a blue streak across the sky.

"Thanks Zymes!" Zion said.

"No problem! Take care you guys!" Zymes replied. Zion waved before he and Kazaa followed the direction the blue arrow went in.

-


Heavy footsteps sounded down the dirt path leading toward the guild castle. There were a few monsters along the way, following where most of them had already made their way to the structure. There was the sound of metal slicing through wind and struck down the monsters.

A large shura looked up and saw the blue streak in the sky, seeing where a bright blue light had fallen. The shura headed toward the area.

I hope I'm not too late...

Back up in the attic tower, a loud cry of pain could be heard. The female sylph leaned over, breathing heavily. She groaned and grit her teeth, her hand tightly clenching the fabric of her robes. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she felt as if her body were on fire.

How much longer must I endure this...

Another wave of pain coursed through her and she cried out again. It felt like the pain was escalating each time. She tilted her head back, gazing up at the ceiling, into the darkness. Several thoughts and memories flashed through her mind, though one stuck out the most.

You will bear the Child...a Savior..

"So you were going to do this alone..." a soft voice said.

The sylph gasped slightly in surprise and she turned her head back toward the source of the voice. She saw a figure among the shadows near the door. She didn't even hear anyone come in, and she figured that her own screaming must have masked any other sounds in the room. There was a glint of metal from the side of a spear. Then she turned her head away and lowered it slightly as she glanced down at her womb.

"I have to...it was what the Master commanded..." she replied.

"You're going to endure the pain?" the voice asked.

"Yes...everything must be done with no disturbances. No numbing agent to dull the pain...I must bear it all..."

"Then I guess you don't want me here"

"I would, but it is not my decision..."

"All right. I will leave. But remember...I will be here if you need me. Also...others will be coming soon..." the voice replied.

The sylph heard the figure turn and leave the room, the sound of the door slowly closing shut.

"Thank you, Tika..."

-


Mjrn and Jarod had just finished off another wave of monsters when a glowing blue arrow suddenly struck the ground near them. It caught the shura's attention and she walked up to it. Gazing at it a moment, Mjrn then looked toward the guild castle. In the distance she saw Zion and Kazaa headed their way.


"More are coming..." Jarod announced softly as he looked at Mjrn.

The shura turned and looked to see another wave of monsters coming. Her hand clenched tightly around the hilt of her saber.

Zion and Kazaa had finally come within close range of Mjrn and Jarod, but they stopped when they saw another massive wave of monsters a short distance behind them. The two immediately prepared for attack.

Suddenly the monsters seemed to stop in their tracks. Then they turned around and ran back toward something else. The group watched this in awe, wondering what was going on. They heard what sounded like a loud, deep but rumbling laugh before a whirlwind appeared from the center of the mob of monsters and knocked them all down.

After a moment the wind and dust finally died down and a large figure approached Mjrn. The female shura smiled.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Vamp" Mjrn said.

"I hope I'm not too late for the party" Vamp replied, a very slight smirk on his face which revealed the glint of a fang.

"Not at all" Jarod added.

"Hey guys, glad we found ya" Zion said as he and Kazaa walked up.

"I'm glad you're both all right" Mjrn answered.

"Zymes led us to your position" Kazaa interjected.

"So I've noticed" Mjrn said as she glanced at the blue arrow.

"I followed the arrow as well. I'm glad I did, happened to find you all" Vamp added.

"There are still several more monsters around the perimeter. We need to get rid of them quickly, or they may break into the guild castle" Jarod explained.

"I think some of them already have" Kazaa said worriedly.

"That's why I left Liah and Sandry to patrol inside" Mjrn replied.

"I got separated from my team. We need to find them" Zion said. Mjrn nodded.

"Let's go"

Everyone else nodded and began to follow Mjrn. They were all headed back toward the entrance of the guild castle.

-


"Hello?" Liah called out as she opened the door to another room. She cautiously walked inside, looking around. Sandry walked up beside her.

"I was sure that person may have come through here" Liah said.

"Well I'm glad there aren't any more monsers in here...I don't know how they even got in here in the first place when the whole castle was shut down" Sandry added.

"Yeah...I think there were a lot more monsters that we thought there were...I just hope everyone else is okay" Liah said. "So now what do we do?"

"Maybe if we go all the way up these stairs..." Sandry replied. She looked up the spiralling staircase that seemed to go up forever.

"Looks scary...are you sure tha-" Liah began, but she and Sandry both froze when they heard a loud scream.

"Who's that??"

"I don't know, but whoever it is obviously needs help!" Sandry said as she began running up the stairs. Liah followed after her.The two made their way up the stairs as fast as they could, their hearts pounding, wondering who it could be and what could be going on.

-

As Mjrn and the others finally reached the inner courtyard, they realized more monsters had made their way in. Zymes had shot down more monsters but now he was completely out of arrows so he began using his own mana to create arrows to strike them down but he couldn't generate them fast enough.

Mjrn sliced her way through a few more monsters as she tried to head toward the entrance. Unfortunately, a small group of minotaurs seemed to already be pushing against the large wooden door. Before Mjrn could attack, a loud crunching could be heard as the door had broken in.

"Damn it!" Mjrn cursed. She quickly began attacking more quickly and furiously to try and stop any more monsters from going inside of the guild castle. Zion and Kazaa also saw this happen and like Mjrn tried to attack more feverishly.

"This is insane!" Zion cried as he struck down more evil eyes with his staff.

"Zion! I want you to go inside and look for Liah and Sandry!" Mjrn cried as she kicked back a few minotaurs.

"Got it!" Zion said as he whacked a few more monsters and tried to make it through the broken door.

"What about you guys?" Zion asked as he paused.

"Don't worry about us, we'll find the others!" Mjrn replied. Zion nodded then ran for the entrance. A large minotaur suddenly blocked his way. Before it could do anything, a bolt of lightning struck it down. Zion glanced back at Kazaa.

"Get going!" Kazaa said before he turned to fry another monster with a fire spell. Zion turned and ran inside.

Where could they be... he thought as he ran through the halls. He stopped at every room and tried to look inside. Just as he left another room and was about to head into the hall, he almost crashed into someone.

Zion cried out in surprise, but realized the other person cried out as well. He stared back at a white-haired human male.

"SEPH! What the hell are you doing here???" Zion exclaimed.

"Huh? Oh, it's you man..." Seph said with relief.

"I asked what you're doing in here!" Zion cried.

"Wha? Oh, me? Yeah I was uh...so I was helping the others but I got mobbed by a bunch of monsters so I ran away because someone told me to since there were too many and they pushed me back into this wall and then it crumbled and broke and they all ran over me and ran off and when I woke up they were gone and I ended up inside here" Seph explained.

"So you mean you lured a whole bunch of monsters in here!"

"No man, I didn't say that!"

"We're trying to keep them out of the castle, you idiot!"

"Hey don't blame me! What about you! What are YOU doing in here!"

"I'm here because Mjrn told me to look for Liah and Sandry!"

"Then stop yelling!" Seph shot back. Zion groaned under his breath and pressed his hand to his forehead a moment.

"Never mind. Just get back out there and help the others" Zion said.

"Can I stay with you?"

"No you cannot stay with me!"

"Pleeeeeeaaasseee!" Seph begged, making a puppy dog face.

"NO!"

Seph continued to plead and beg in an annoying manner, which began to get on Zion's nerves. He heaved a sigh.

"Fine! Just make sure you keep up" Zion mumbled as he began running.

"Yes!" Seph said in victory pumping his fist in the air but accidentally dropped his spear. He fumbled a moment to pick it up then looked to see Zion already all the way down the hall.

"Hey! Wait up!"

-

Liah and Sandry were breathing heavily as they finally made it to the top of the stairs. There was a short hallway, leading up to a door. The two girls cautiously walked down the hall to the door, pausing at it a moment. At this point they realized the screaming they heard on the way up had stopped.

"Do you think...that the person that was screaming is....dead?" Sandry asked, swallowing slightly.

"I...hope not..." Liah whispered. Neither of them wanted to open the door.

A soft light suddenly began to shine out from the bottom of the door.

"Look, a light..." Sandry said softly. She and Liah gazed it a moment before it suddenly disappeared.

"Open the door..." Liah said.

"You open it..." Sandry replied.

"No you open it"

"You open it"

"You!"

"No you!"

"Just open it!"

"Fine!" Sandry hissed, before she reached for the door handle. She hesitated a moment before she pushed the door open. The two girls stood back as the door slowly creaked and slid open to reveal who was inside. They both stared in surprise.

"Celica!"

Take care of that Child....never let any Evil come upon it...for the sake of our Clan...for the sake of my existence...

“Yes, Master...”

The sylph exhaled deeply. The light that appeared before her was gone, and the pain had subsided. She gazed down at the bundle wrapped up in her robes. She smiled gently, feeling all her energy drained. Then she slowly sank to the floor.

As she lay there on the brink of unconsciousness, she thought of several things. She began to hear voices and footsteps. The face of someone dear to her flashed in her mind.

If only you could be here...

She heard the door open. Then the sound of two familiar voices calling her name.

“Celica!”

Liah and Sandry went to the sylph lying on the floor, her cloak and robes strewn around her. She seemed to be holding something close to her.

“We've finally found you! Are you all right??” Liah asked as she looked at the sylph, kneeling beside her. Sandry immediately cast a regeneration spell on Celica, hoping it would help her.

Celica opened her eyes, fading back to consciousness. Her honey-colored eyes gazed up at Liah and Sandry.

“You....found me...Tika...said...you would...” she breathed out. Liah and Sandry glanced at each other a moment.

“Tika was here?” Liah asked. She began to wonder if Tika was the person that had helped them earlier and led them to Celica's location. The sylph turned her gaze down to what she had covered under her cloak.

“What's that?” Sandry asked as she leaned over to look.

“I....have to...” Celica mumbled.

“Have to what?” Liah asked. The sylph closed her eyes and didn't answer. She was too exhausted to speak.

“We have to get her out of here, quick” Sandry said. Liah nodded. The shura moved and slid her arms under Celica, trying to pick her up. As she lifted the sylph, something rolled out of the cloak.

Liah and Sandry stared in shock.

“An egg???”

-

Two flashes of light formed an 'X' and slashed through another minotaur. Mjrn landed on the ground, breathing heavily. She gripped her saber in front of her with both hands. She stared down at the endless waves of monsters that seemed to be coming their way.

Jarod was doing his best to keep Mjrn and Kazaa buffed and healed, however the strain was beginning to get to him as well.

“At this rate, I'll be out of scrolls...” Kazaa mumbled, a few more scrolls disintegrating as he cast an Explosive Runes spell.

Vamp had mocked as many monsters as he could toward him. However, having too many surrounding him limited his strike accuracy when he used his Wicked Windmill. Eventually he felt his mana draining, he knew he wouldn't be able to use his skills effectively. He held his ground as the monsters continuously barraged him with punches.

How long can we last...

-

“Soul Music....”

A wave of soft blue light surrounded a young human male with bright pink hair. He held a blue harp close to him. In front of him was a female sylph, who had absorbed the flow of mana that surrounded her.

“Thanks, Kaoru”

“You're welcome...it's what I do”

“Now how will we find the others?” the sylph asked.

Before Kaoru could say anything, they heard roaring off in the distance. Then they heard another grunting sound and looked behind them. A minotaur had found them and was approaching.

“Oh no...what should we do?”

“I got this...” Kaoru said, holding his harp. He felt the mana flowing in him and he gripped his harp, then with his other hand strummed across all the strings. The magical vibrations from the strings resonated and released a powerful sonic blast at the minotaur. The monster let out a loud cry as it flew back and onto the ground.

Kaoru smiled victoriously a moment but it faded when he saw the minotaur get up and shake its head. The minotaur glared at Kaoru then leaned back and let out a roar.

“Yikes! Let's get out of here Kooh!” Kaoru said as he turned and started running. The sylph girl floated quickly after him.

“Look what you did! You made it angry!” Kooh cried.

“I'm sorryyyy!” Kaoru exclaimed. He and Kooh kept running until they came upon another group of monsters, though they seemed concentrated on something else. They stopped in their tracks and heard a rumbling laugh.

As Kaoru turned back, he saw the minotaur that was chasing him stop then head in the direction of the laugh. Suddenly he could hear slicing through the wind and a huge whirlwind appeared and struck the monsters. Most of them went down, but a few of them were still standing.

Kooh looked past the mob of monsters and noticed a large male shura.

"Kao, look!" she said. Kaoru looked to where Kooh was pointing with her sleeved hand and saw the shura as well.

"It's Vamp! We have to help him!" Kaoru said as he ran over. As soon as he got close enough, he began to play his Mystic Mantra song. Waves of blue mana appeared and swirled around Vamp. The shura mercenary felt the mana flowing into him. Surprised, he paused and looked past the monsters to see Kaoru playing his harp. He smiled gratefully then raised up his spear. With a powerful slicing force he whipped his spear around and a whirlwind rushed around him and threw the rest of the monsters back.

As soon as Kooh felt the extra mana from Kaoru's mantra flow into her, she raised her up her arm and spun around slowly, casting a spell. Then she formed a protective barrier around Vamp. As soon as all the monsters were down, Vamp approached Kooh and Kaoru.

"Hey, thanks for the help. I'm glad you two are all right" Vamp said.

"We're grateful as well. A minotaur was chasing us, but you mocked it off of us" Kaoru replied.

"Thank you, Vamp. We were with Seph and Zion, but then a whole bunch of monsters came and we got separated. I don't know what happened to them" Kooh said.

"Zion is fine, I just saw him. Mjrn told him to go into the guild castle. As for Seph I don't know what happened to him either" Vamp answered.

"Then let's go look for him" Kaoru said.

"No, we have to help Mjrn and the others keep the monsters at bay. Some of then had already broken down the inner door. Although it seems like some of them may have already gotten inside"

Kaoru glanced down, a worried expression on his face.

"But we can't stop to wonder. We need to do what we can. You two stay close to me" Vamp directed as he started running back to where Mjrn and the others were. Kaoru and Kooh nodded and followed.

-

Lying on the stone floor was a dazzling, perfectly formed egg. It was smooth and shiny, seemingly white yet speckled with several colors of a rainbow spectrum. One could almost mistake it for a very large opal gem.

"It's so pretty..." Liah said as she gazed at the egg.

"I wonder where it came from..." Sandry said. As the two were still in awe of the egg, a sudden tremor shook the tower.

"What was that??" Liah cried.

"I think something is attacking the castle! We have to get out of here!" Sandry exclaimed.

"Right!" Liah said as she lifted Celica up onto her back. Making sure the sylph was secure, Liah looked at Sandry.

"I'll get the egg" Sandry said as she bent down to pick up the large, beautiful egg. She gazed at it a moment, suddenly feeling a calm warmth coming from within it.

"Let's go" Liah said as she headed out of the room. Sandry followed behind.

Liah and Sandry made their way down the spiralling staircase, trying to move fast but also moving carefully as they each had their own precious cargo to carry. They cried out in surprise when another tremor shook the tower. After pausing a moment, they worked their way down the stairs again.

-

Zion and Seph had just turned down another hallway. They had run into a few monsters along the way, but had easily taken care of them.

"Oh man, where do we look now" Seph groaned, getting tired of running around in circles.

"Damn it, I don't remember this place being so huge" Zion breathed out. He and Seph froze when they heard a noise. Jumping to action, they ran down the hall and searched for the source of the sound. As they got to the end of the hall, they heard a loud groan. They saw a minotaur fall to the floor, with someone standing by it, holding a platinum spear. Zion stopped and recognized the figure right away.

"Tika!"

The female shura turned to the two males.

"Lost?"

"Umm no we were just....looking for Liah and Sandry" Zion replied, not wanting to admit that he was really lost.

"You two are hopeless" Tika said.

"Hey! Seph might be, but I'm not!" Zion exclaimed.

"Hey! I'm not hopelesS! Well...maybe...but...no I'm not!" Seph cried.

"Whatever. This way" Tika said before turning and heading into another room. Zion and Seph glanced at each other a moment before following Tika.

After a while they made it into the tower. Zion and Seph looked around in awe, having not seen the place before.

"So Tika, where are w-" Zion began, but paused when he turned and noticed Tika wasn't with them anymore. "What the? Where the hell did she go?"

"I don't know, I didn't see either" Seph replied. They tensed when they felt a tremor shake the tower. It felt like something large and heavy was knocking against it, as if trying to take it down.

-

Outside, a group of large minotaurs were taking turns ramming into the side of the tower.

Mjrn and the other guildies were trying their best to fight off all the monsters surrounding the castle. Seeing all the monsters coming, she wondered if they would ever be able to defeat them all.

Out of nowhere, she saw a flash of light and several monsters went down. She heard metal slicing through air and a burst of lightning. Looking toward the source, she saw a cloaked figure, which appeared to be floating. The figure moved toward another group of monsters, and with another great force of elemental magic, struck them all down.

Mjrn took her attention off the figure a moment before striking down another minotaur that tried to attack her. Then she looked at the figure again, who seemed to be looking at her. She stared back a moment, unable to see the person's face. After a moment a burst of wind and light seemed to explode from beneath the floating figure, and with great speed, went off toward one of the towers.

Wondering if this figure was a threat despite it having defeated some monsters, Mjrn decided to follow. Concentrating her mana into her legs, she took off in a powerful burst of speed and followed the cloaked person.

-

"Aww why'd we have to follow Tika in here!" Seph cried.

Before Zion could say anything he felt the tower take another pounding. Just as it happened, Zion heard the sound of females crying out. He looked upward, suddenly seeing Liah and Sandry halfway up on the spiralling staircase.

"Hey! Liah! Sandry!" Zion called out. He caught the two females' attention.

"Look it's Zion and Seph!" Sandry said. "You guys stay down there! Don't come up!"

"Okay!" Zion shouted. He watched with bit of worry as Liah and Sandry made their way down the stairs. Though the stairs were made of stone, the wooden make-shift railings worried him. Liah and Sandry were close to the bottom until something especially forceful struck the tower and made them lose balance.

Sandry stumbled and suddenly lost grip of the egg. Her eyes widened in fear and she gasped, time going in slow-motion as she watched the egg slip from her arms and fall. Liah was shocked as well.

"CATCH THAT EGG!!!"

Zion heard the cry and rushed up, holding out his arms. He felt his heart pounding as he ran to catch the egg in time. Time seemed normal again as the egg landed safely in Zion's arms.

Both Liah and Sandry heaved a sigh of relief.

"Wow...good catch" Seph said. Zion eyed him flatly.

Once again something struck the tower and Sandry stumbled again, grasping the railing. Unfortunately it collapsed and she fell over the side.

"SANDRY!" Liah cried.

"I got her!" Seph shouted as he reached out to catch Sandry. Both of them toppled to the floor. Sandry landed safely on Seph, sitting on top of him.

"Phew, thanks Seph. Um...are you okay?" Sandry asked as she looked at the white-haired male.

"Y-yeah...no...problem..." Seph mumbled, giving a thumbs up before his hand fell back. Sandry stood up and helped Seph to his feet. Liah safely made it to the bottom of the stairs.

"Glad you guys are okay..." Zion said.

"Here, give me the egg" Sandry said as she went up to Zion and took the egg from him.

"Where did that come from?" Zion asked. He too was in awe of it from the moment he caught it.

"We're not sure. But Celica had it in her arms when we found her all the way up there" Liah said as she gazed up at the top of the tower.

"She...was up there?" Zion asked.

"Yeah. We were looking for her. Glad we found her in time, she seems exhausted like she had been through a lot of pain" Sandry said. Zion looked at Celica, seemingly unconscious upon Liah's back.

All of a sudden, a group of monsters appeared at the entrance of the tower. Everyone froze, staring, hearing the growls and grunts from the monsters.

"I'll take care of this" Seph said as he held out his spear.

"Here Zion, take Celica" Liah said as she moved next to him. Zion nodded, sliding his platinum staff into a holster on his back before Liah transferred the sylph to his arms.

"Sis..." he said softly, gazing down at the pink haired sylph.

"I'll help Seph with these guys" Liah said, bumping her fighting gloves together as she looked at the monsters.

"We'll hold them off, and you two make a run for it" Seph added. Zion and Sandry nodded. Seph let out a cry and charged forward. The monsters let out some roars and charged forward as well. Liah ran beside Seph, ready to attack. The two had engaged all the monsters in battle.


"Let's go!" Sandry said as she led the way. Zion followed after her. He glanced back at Seph valiantly trying to attack monsters with Liah.

He's not so hopeless after all...

-

Mjrn stopped when she saw the figure stop near the tower. There she saw several large minotaurs ramming against the side of the tower. She began to panic, wondering what they seemed to want inside the tower, and hoping no one was inside it should it collapse. She heard another slicing sound as a sparking green sword appeared and cut down some of the minotaurs near the tower.

Realizing that the figure was truly helping, Mjrn rushed up to take down some of the minotaurs as well. After a while they were successful in defeating all the monsters around the tower. She stood silently, looking at the cloaked person.

"Who are you..." she asked. An arm came out from beneath the cloak and a gloved hand pointed out into the distance. Mjrn turned around and saw several warriors rushing up toward the castle. She recognized most of them from other guilds. Then she realized they had come to help.

A wave of relief washed over her. She knew the battle would soon be over. She looked back toward the cloaked figure, who seemed to have moved a little closer toward her.

A little silver box floated out in front of Mjrn. She gazed it a moment, before looking at the person under the cloak.


Jarod had just arrived, looking for where Mjrn had gone. He paused at the bottom of the hill where he saw the cloaked figure give something to Mjrn. Staying where he was, he waited until the cloaked figure left Mjrn before he approached her.

"Who was that?" he asked. Mjrn closed her fingers over the silver box in her hand. She looked out into the disance.

"An old friend...."

“Looks like we're all done here. Good job, Seph” Liah said as she relaxed her muscles after the strain of fighting all those monsters.

“You're not so bad yourself” Seph replied.

“Let's find the others” Liah directed.

After running for a while, they had come across some other guild mates. Hearing that help had come and that the battle was over, Liah felt relieved.

“Liah! Over here!” Sandry called. Her ears perking, Liah looked and saw Sandry waving at her. She ran into the room. She saw Zion gently placing Celica down onto the infirmary bed. As he did, the sylph opened her eyes slightly and wandered until they came upon the egg. She reached out toward it.

“My...egg...” she whispered, before she passed out again. Liah looked in surprise.

“We should call Mjrn...”

-

“Thank you for all your help...” Mjrn announced gratefully as she looked at all the Mirror world's finest fighters from guilds near and far. Most of them were allied guilds, who somehow had been informed about the sudden onslaught upon the Chaotic Dragon's guild castle.

After all thanks had been said, some who had helped with the battle also stayed to reorganize and repair the damages done to the guild castle. Mjrn had been overlooking things until someone urgently called her inside.

“Jarod, please take care of things here” Mjrn said before she turned and ran into the castle.


It wasn't long before Mjrn found her way to the infirmary, where Liah and Seph were standing outside. Liah approached the shura first.

“Mjrn...I'm glad you're all right” Liah said.

“I'm glad you are too” Mjrn replied. Liah smiled at her lightly but it disappeared as she glanced behind her a moment.

“Most of us are, but...” Liah began.

“What's wrong?”

“We found Celica, but she's in serious condition. Sandry has done all she could for now...I think she just needs rest” Liah explained.

“Where did you find her?”

“At the top of the Northeast tower. She was alone when we found her. Except...”

“What is it?” Mjrn asked.

“She had something with her. An egg...”

“An egg?”

“We don't know where it came from...”

“I want to see her” Mjrn said. Liah nodded and led Mjrn The two shuras entered the room quietly. Zion and Sandry were still in the room next to the bed where Celica lay unconscious. Upon Mjrn's entrance, Zion stood immediately, lightly bowing to her out of respect. Mjrn glanced at him then looked at Sandry, who sat in a chair holding the egg.

“So there is an egg...” Mjrn said. She gazed at the sylph.

“I think we should wait until tomorrow to ask her about the egg. Until then...I think we all deserve a good night's rest...”

-

Dawn broke upon the hills, and the sunlight shone upon the Chaotic Dragon's guild castle. The early birds were up and about tending to their morning duties. Some of the guildies were tending to the damages to the castle that still needed fixing.

Mjrn stretched her arms out behind her and let out a cat-like yawn. She gazed out at the morning sun from her balcony. She had a lot on her mind. There were many things she had to take care of today.

After getting properly dressed, she left her room and headed for the infirmary. On the way, she came across a yawning, sleepy-eyed grandson Seph.

“Well good morning, Seph” Mjrn greeted.

“Huh? Oh g'morning G-ma” Seph replied, smiling brightly.

“I heard you helped out a lot last night. Liah said you were very brave” Mjrn said.

“Ehh? Oh..haha...yeah...just tryin' my best” Seph answered, putting his hand behind his head and blushing a little.

“Well you should go get some breakfast. I'll see you later” Mjrn said as she started walking past him.

“Okay! See ya!” Seph replied, waving before Mjrn was out of sight.

-

Mjrn walked on, greeting several other guild mates before she made it to the infirmary. She went into the room where Celica was resting. She saw Zion sitting asleep on a chair in the corner of the room. Thinking she had told the young man to go to bed late last night, she figured he must have come back again to check on his sister. She went over to Zion and put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly.

“Zion...” she called. The purple-haired man opened his eyes.

“Huh...? Oh....” Zion mumbled when he realized Mjrn was looking down at him.

“Zion, did you stay here all night?” Mjrn asked.

“Uhm...no I didn't...I got here....uhh a few minutes ago! I was just...y'know...resting my eyes...” Zion replied.

“Uh huh...well. Why don't you go get ready for breakfast. Also, a certain shura is looking for you....” Mjrn said.

“What? Oh...OH! Right. I'll be going then” Zion replied, suddenly remembering his special someone. He paused and glanced back at Celica a moment, then looked at Mjrn.

“Is she gonna be okay?”

“Of course...she has the heart of a Dragon...as we all do. We always pull through” Mjrn said with a smile. Zion smiled lightly back at her before he left. Mjrn watched him a moment before she looked at Celica. Then she looked next to the bed where a basket contained the egg. It was wrapped up in several blankets to keep it warm.

Mjrn walked up to the egg and placed her hand on it lightly. It felt cold and she felt it even shaking slightly, as if it were shivering. She began to worry a little, wondering what to do.

“M...Master...”

Mjrn looked at her side to see Celica stirring slightly. She watched as the sylph slowly opened her eyes.

“Celica....”

The pink-haired sylph slowly turned her head to gaze at Mjrn. Then her eyes came upon the egg. She reached out toward it.

“My....baby....” she said softly. Mjrn's eyes widened slightly.

This egg is.....her baby? she thought, astonished. She looked at the egg a moment, then back at Celica, who seemed to want the egg. Taking the egg out of its basket, she handed it to Celica, who wrapped her arms around it, pressing it close to her. The egg seemed to stop shaking.

“Celica, how are you feeling?” Mjrn asked.

“Mjrn...thank you so much...my child is safe...” Celica said as she glanced up at the shura.

“It wasn't all me. Liah and Sandry found you, Zion and Seph protected you all against the monsters that broke into the castle, Sandry healed you, and Zion stayed by your side all night” Mjrn said. Celica nodded, remembering how all those people found her and protected her and the egg. She felt very grateful.

“I must remember to thank them...” Celica said softly. She also remembered Tika who appeared that night.

“If you don't mind me asking....about the egg? You called it your baby...” Mjrn asked.

“Hm? Oh...yes...this egg is....my child...” Celica said as she glanced down at it.

“You mean...”

“Yes...I...gave birth to it....” Celica answered sheepishly, realizing it sounded a little bizarre.

“Well that explains a lot of things....” Mjrn said, remembering from the past few months how Celica would always run off looking nauseous, or having weird cravings and making Zion gather strange foods for her. Then she realized something else.

“But....how?”

“Well...you see, it was the Master's wish...” Celica replied. Mjrn was even more surprised. She had spoken with the Master before, but she wondered what the Master wanted with the young sylphess.

“I see, but...how did...you...an egg? I've always thought sylphs produced...you know...” Mjrn said awkwardly. Celica looked at her, blinking a bit. Then she realized what Mjrn was trying to figure out and she laughed lightly.

“Oh I'm sorry...yes, it is a little strange, isn't it. Well this is...a special case, you could say. I know not what kind of child will come out of this egg...but I just know that I must take care of it and keep it safe.” Celica said as she gazed down at the egg.

“As for how I did it, well....sylphs bear children in a....slightly different way than humans do. Using the energy that allows us to float, I simply had to pass the egg out of my womb. However, it does take up an extreme amount of energy, and this “passing” still causes me much pain, as if giving birth naturally. Luckily, since this is not a normal child there was no blood loss on my part...” Celica explained.

“So the Master chose your womb...to hold this child?” Mjrn asked.

“Yes...because I was “free of impurities,” and the composition of my body was the correct size for this child...” Celica replied. Mjrn nodded, imagining in her mind the silhouette of the sylph's body and how the egg could be passed through. It still seemed a little too strange for her.

“Well...I'm glad you came through. I'm sure you've been through a lot, so I'll leave for now while you rest” Mjrn said. Celica nodded. Mjrn paused as she remembered something. She pulled out the little silver box and walked back to Celica.

"This...I was told...to give to you..." Mjrn said as she presented the box to the sylph. Celica stared at it a moment, before she held out a hand. Mjrn let the box drop into Celica's hand, which immediately levitated above it. Without another word, Mjrn left the room.

Celica hesitated a moment before she used her sylph power to open up the box. Her eyes widened at what she saw inside. Tears immediately came to her eyes.

“Thank you, Mjrn...”

-

A rock was tossed into a large pile. The same rock was picked up by large shura hands and then gently placed upon a wall of other rocks. Vamp was working on a new wall for the area around the guild castle that had been demolished by the monsters last night.

Off a far distance to his right, Kazaa was working on putting up the new door to the outer gate. A stream of fire shot out from his hand and sealed up the metal siding of the new door. He paused to wipe the sweat from his brow before glancing up at the high noon sun. As he continued working, Sandry came up to meet with him. She was holding a basket with goodies inside.

“Working hard, I see” Sandry said as she watched Kazaa finish with the door.

“Nothing to it” the sprite answered.

“I brought you some lunch” Sandry said.

“Then I think it's time for a nice long break” Kazaa replied with a smile. He and Sandry walked off to rest under the shade of a tree to share their lunch. The two of them gazed up at the clear azure sky, a slight breeze blowing through the tree branches above them.

“So how is everything in the castle...” Kazaa said.

“A little chaotic...” Sandry answered, letting out a light giggle as she thought of the redundancy of her statement. It was always a little chaotic in the Dragon house.

“So you said there was an egg?” Kazaa asked.

“Yeah...it's a really beautiful egg. Who knows what could come out of it...”

“Maybe it's a Dragon...” Kazaa joked. Sandry laughed.

“You're silly...”

“Well that's what you're married to...a silly sprite” Kazaa answered. Sandry smiled and leaned in close to him. They stayed there comfortably with each other under the tree.

Before evening was about to fall, Mjrn had called a meeting with her elders, branch heads, and a few others into her office. She had things to sort through, and some information to give and receive. Among those at the meeting were Jarod, Liah, Vamp, Zion, Seph, Zymes, Sandry and Kazaa. The rest of the elders were off on other duties in other cities for the time being.

“As you all know, we were somehow ambushed by several monsters. We don't know how or why, or even who might have sent them. All we know is that we must prevent this from happening again. We must take all precautionary measures and get all the supplies we need. We will be receiving more supplies tomorrow, as promised” Mjrn explained.

“Then what do you propose?” Jarod asked.

“First off, Zymes, I want you to plan outposts around the area so that no monsters will get into our territory. Make sure all outposts are informed on how to send out distress signals” Mjrn directed. Zymes nodded.

“Liah, Vamp...ground battles. Make sure everyone who can tank be well-supplied with armor and weapons, as well as any potions and support they need”

“Got it” Liah said.

“Understood” Vamp added.

“Sandry, make sure all doctors have the supplies they need and that they were well-skilled to effectively heal fellow guild mates. Kazaa, the same thing goes for you only that to concentrate on magic attack power and I will make sure all the musicians will give you support”

“Right” Sandry and Kazaa said together.

“Good. Now as for the talk about the egg....I'm going to explain that now....” Mjrn said. She paused a moment before she carefully explained what Celica had told her. Everyone in the room had shocked expressions.

“I may not be sure of this now, but my hunch is that the monsters were after Celica and that egg. We need to do what we can to make sure they are safe....”

-

“So...the plan failed, did it...” a female voice said.

“Yes...it seems they had a lot of help...” a male voice answered.

“Because they were informed...”

“Correct...by an unknown source...”

“Then we must get rid of this....source....”

“Unfortunately this source is very cunning...”

“So now you mean to tell me that they will be aware of any more attacks that I send their way?”

“Yes...”

“RUBBISH!!” the female voice boomed.

“M-my lady...”

“It is crucial that I get a hold of that egg. Its existence could mean my own destruction....do you understand!?”

“Y-yes, my lady...”

“Then get out of my sight. Find a way to bring that source to my side...”

“Yes, my lady...” the male voice said. The sound of footsteps and a door closing marked the final leave.

“I will have that egg....”

-

Evening arrived, and darkness spread through the streets of Eversun city. There was still a bit of hustle and bustle as people headed into taverns or back to their homes. The street rats of the city began to come out of hiding for their nightly prowl.

Heavy breathing masked the sound of a door closing softly. A rush of wind passed over the stones of a dark hallway. A floating cloaked figure came to a door. The door hanger bolted upon the middle of the door moved then knocked on the door three times. Slowly, the door creaked open. The figure moved inside. After hearing the door creak shut, the figure moved toward the center of the room.

A flame light up a candle which appeared in the middle of a round wooden table in front of the cloaked figure. Another cloaked individual stood on the other side.

“Pharos....I see you've made it in one piece. What took you so long?” a deep, manly voice said.

“I ran into some trouble...but I had no problem evading them” the first cloaked figure replied.

“I see. So your message was relayed?”

“Yes.”

“So...did you see her?”

A long pause.

“No.”

“Is that so? You must be lying...”

The first cloaked figure removed the hood from his head. It revealed the strong, handsome face of a male sylph. Spiked raven black hair extended and fell just near his shoulders and one curled lock of fringe elegantly fell in front of the left of his fiery orange eyes.

“Does this look like the face of a man who would lie to you, Arc...”

Though still shrouded under his cloak and shadow, Arc gazed at the sylph across from him. He could see the strong look in Pharos' eyes.

“Of course. You would never lie to me, would you. However...you did tell me how desperately you wanted to see her...so I had pity on you and let you leave....”

“There was no time...” Pharos replied.

“Then you left for nothing. I went to great lengths to help you, and you did not even do what I allowed you to set out to do” Arc said.

“It would have gone against the prophecy...”

“Prophecy? What prophecy?”

“Something you wouldn't understand...”

“You dare to speak against me...” Arc growled lightly.

“No...but it is something even I still can not comprehend...” Pharos answered.

“Then comprehend this. He will learn of this eventually...if not through me...”

“I know....and I also know how much risk this causes you, Arc. But I will speak with him...when the time comes....” Pharos replied, his gaze lowering.

“Then this will be the last time I help you...” Arc mumbled. A small bag of gold suddenly appeared on the table before Pharos. The sylph received the bag of gold and tucked it away under his cloak. Then he bowed deeply.

“Thank you....Arc...” Pharos said before he turned and left. The other cloaked figure watched as Pharos left and the door closed shut. He gazed at the drops of blood on the floor that led toward the door. Then he looked down at the candle on the table. He watched the flame flicker a moment.

“Love-sick fool...”

The flame went out.

-

The full moon shone brightly in the late evening sky. A large wagon traveled down a dirt trail, pulled by two large floating Ruby cats. Two humans sat at the front of the wagon, one male and one female. The bronze-skinned male human held the reigns in his hands, keeping an eye on the path ahead while the female was asleep, her head on his shoulder.

One of the rubies stopped suddenly, pulling its ears back and making growling and hissing noises. The other ruby noticed this and stopped as well, doing the same thing. With the sudden stop, the female human woke up, rubbing her sleepy violet eyes. She saw the rubies and glanced at her male companion who suddenly jumped off the wagon to take a look.

“What's going on?” she asked. The male didn't respond at first. He was listening for a sound he had heard the moment the rubies stopped moving. He tensed lightly at the sudden howl of a wolf.

“Looks like we have company...” the male replied. He could feel the hairs on his bare arms standing, not because of the cold or fear, but because of the sudden adrenaline rush, knowing that they were going to be attacked. Fixing the camo cap on his head he ran toward the back of the wagon to pull out a weapon. The sound of howling came closer.

A pack of war wolves jumped into view. They growled and bared their teeth, slowly moving in toward the wagon and its occupants. The dark-haired female gasped in surprise at the sight of the wolves.

“Theia, catch!” the male said, tossing a sword to his companion. Theia caught the sword in her hands. Then she picked up the instrument near her feet before she looked back.

“Rafaelito!” she called, seeing a wolf suddenly jumped toward her male friend. Raf ducked down as the wolf jumped over him then tried to bite him. He hit it away with the large wand he held in his hand then quickly shot a burst of fire at it. The wolf let out a yelp then flew back. It got on its feet and shook its head a moment before it ran toward Raf again.

Theia jumped down from the wagon to help the rubies who were panicking and trying to protect themselves from the wolves in front of them. She slashed at the wolves, who jumped away. One of the rubies released a stream of fire toward the wolves. Some of them were singed by the fire, and ran off whimpering. Raf ran up beside Theia to help her.

Sticking her sword in the ground a moment, Theia pulled up her instrument and began to play a support song for Raf. Gathering up his mana, Raf released a stun spell to hold the wolves back a moment. Then he pulled up the syringe which he had strapped to his back and cast a few protective buffs for himself and Theia.

The wolves shook out of the stun spell, and charged toward the two humans. Theia and Raf continued to fight side by side, trying to take out the wolves. One of the war wolves lifted its head up and let out a long, loud howl. Theia and Raf were stunned by the loud howl, the both of them covering their ears a moment. This gave the wolves a better chance to attack. As they were about to jump toward the two humans, several small whirlwinds appeared and struck them, sending them flying back. Some of them ran off yelping, while the few left ran toward another opponent.

Raf and Theia shook out of their stun from the wolf's howl. They looked in the distance and saw a large, shadowed figure. A big shining spear appeared and slashed at the wolves. Raf ran forward and went to help strike down the rest. Theia followed a bit but paused to check on the rubies. She patted them gently to calm them before she looked back to see Raf and another person returning. She smiled when she recognized him.

“Vamp, aren't you a sight for sore eyes” Theia said.

“I was just out doing some gathering...but I knew you two would be arriving at the guild castle soon so I thought you might need an escort” Vamp replied.

“Thanks a lot for the help” Raf said.

“It's no problem”

“I'm really glad you did” Theia added, still smiling.

“Looks like there are still monsters lurking around...and we're pretty close to the outposts. Just don't want another battle at the castle” Vamp said.

“A battle?” Theia asked.

“Yeah....we were attacked” Vamp answered.

“What happened?” Raf asked.

“Tons of monsters ambushed the castle last night. I was out of the area when it happened but I got the signal. We managed to hold down the fort, though. Seems like a lot of strange things have been happening lately” Vamp explained.

“Guess we're a little late then” Raf said.

“It's fine. We knew it would take a while for you two to get back with the supplies. We're expecting more to come tomorrow” Vamp said.

“More? Why?” Theia asked.

“Mjrn requested it. In case of another attack like last night” Vamp replied.

“I understand. Well we should get going” Theia added. Raf nodded and jumped back up onto the wagon and took the reigns. Theia went back to the rubies, giving them a small treat and petted them both before going up on the wagon and sitting next to Raf. She looked at Vamp.

“Would you like a ride?” she asked.

“Sure” Vamp said as took Theia's hand to get up onto the wagon and sat beside her. After everyone was settled, Raf tugged on the reigns lightly and the rubies started forward again.

The guild castle soon came into view, silhouetted by the full moon.

Good Night, sweet child...the day has gone...the night brings whispers of dreams...the darkness comes yet don't you fear...your mother is right here...

Celica gazed down lovingly at the egg within her lap. She finished the song she was singing because the egg had stopped shivering. After drawing up more blankets around herself and the egg, Celica lay her head back and drifted deep into thought. She glanced to her right at the small silver box that laid on the small bedside table.

”I wish we could stay like this...forever...”

Celica snapped out of her flashback. She looked toward the window on her left, out into the darkness.

“Why....”

-

“I have a bad feeling...” Mjrn said softly.

“About what?” Jarod asked as she moved closer up beside her. They were on a balcony looking out toward the front gate of the guild castle.

“Everything...” Mjrn sighed.

“Thus is the burden of a great leader...” Jarod replied. He turned his head and looked at her, smiling gently. Mjrn gave him a look but couldn't help but smile a bit in return. Then she gently laid her head on his shoulder. Jarod lifted up his hand and placed his hand on Mjrn's head, stroking her hair softly.

Mjrn closed her eyes a moment, enjoying the touch and warmth.

“There they are...” Jarod announced suddenly, breaking the moment. Mjrn opened her eyes and pulled away from Jarod, gazing out at the wagon that was drawing near the gate.

“We should go meet them” the silver-haired shura said. She put on her strong, serious leader-face again and turned to head out. Jarod silently followed her.

-

“Thank you” Theia said, smiling at Vamp as he helped her down from the wagon. She moved toward the back where Rafaelito was already taking down some of the boxes of supplies.

“Welcome back” Mjrn greeted as she and Jarod appeared.

“Glad to see you all safe” Jarod added.

“Ran into some war wolves along the way...but they weren't much of a problem” Raf said as he walked up.

“Yes...thankfully Vamp arrived in time to help us” Theia added.

“Thank you for bringing the supplies” Mjrn said.

“You're welcome...always glad to help the guild” Theia replied. Raf nodded in agreement.

“I'll bring these into the supply room” Vamp said as he already began picking up some boxes. Raf went to help him.

“So they were attacked as well...someone must have known they were going to the castle...” Jarod whispered to Mjrn.

“Yes...sounds like we're being watched...”

“Well maybe it is to be expected when we own an ancient guild castle like this...” Jarod added as he glanced up at the castle. Mjrn followed his gaze. The full moon shone behind one of the towers. The Chaotic Dragons leader couldn't help but think about what Jarod said. However, being the smart cookie she was, she knew exactly who to ask to get information about their precious guild castle.

I just hope nothing bad happens to him...

-

Loud screams could be heard through the streets of Bigbeam City. Humans, sylphs, shuras and sprites alike went running as several Bow-Wow Thugs howled and went on a rampage. They broke into several buildings, destroying anything and anyone in their path as they sniffed and searched for something. When they couldn't find what they wanted, they left the building onto the next.

A larger Bow-Wow Raider barked at its minions and pointed toward one of the bigger buildings. It was Bigbeam's prestigious library. The dogs headed to the building.

-

Deep within the maze of shelves and shelves of books within the library, was a sylph. Golden eyes scanned the words upon an old, withered document. After reading through the document, the silver-haired sylph drew up another document from within the same box filled with other worn out papers. Stacks of several other boxes of documents surrounded the sylph. With much determination and patience, the sylph finally found what he wanted.

“This is it!!” cried the sylph victoriously. As the sylph gathered up the documents he wanted and put them into an envelope, a tremor shook the building.

“What the??”

Looking toward the door, the sylph saw the a Bow-Wow Raider crash through. It barked and growled, baring its teeth, its menacing eyes falling upon the silver-haired sylph. Letting out a bark of commands, it pointed at the sylph and the Bow-Wow's smaller minions rushed in to attack.

Narrowing his eyes, the sylph looked around as the Bow-Wows surrounded him.
“Looks like you picked the wrong day to mess with me...” the sylph scoffed. The Bow-Wows all growled and all ran toward the sylph.

A platinum harp appeared before the sylph.

“Supersonic Swipe!!”

A massive wave of sonic energy blasted forth from the sylph's harp, throwing all the Bow-Wows back and slamming them into the walls. All of them fell to the floor, knocked out.

“No one messes with Binks...” the sylph announced. The Bow-Wow Raider boss seemed shocked at what happened. Fearing another massive attack from the sylph, the Bow-Wow Raider turned tail and ran. Binks smirked as he watched the monster run off.

“Heh...fraidy cat...” Binks mused to himself, putting away his harp. Glancing down at the floor, he saw the envelope of documents he gathered. He used his sylph powers to pick it up and tucked it into the red and black striped jacket of his punk outfit.

“I can't let any of you get your dirty paws on these documents...”

All of a sudden, the Mayor of Bigbeam City along with several Royal Guards burst in through the broken opening of what was once the door to the inner vault of the library.

“W-what happened here!?” the Mayor asked.

“Just a few nuisances. I took care of them” Binks said as he dusted himself off nonchalantly.

“The library! It's ruined!”

“Well I'll let you worry about that. Thanks for letting me use your library...I got what I wanted” Binks said, smiling as he floated past the Mayor calmly. The Mayor only stood there still shocked and dumbfounded, wondering why Binks seemed like he had done nothing at all to dispose of the Bow-Wows which were causing so much havoc earlier.

“H-hey! You can't just leave! What about my beautiful city!?” the Mayor exclaimed as he turned to Binks.

“You're the Mayor, aren't you? Take care of it. It's not my responsibility...I'm just a simple civilian here...I'm sure you wouldn't want me to take this up with the Eversun Elders about how the Bigbeam City Mayor couldn't defend his own city, hmmm? Besides, I only have one leader that I take orders from....” Binks explained. The Mayor just stood there with his jaw open.

“T-t-the....E-Elders....” the Mayor mumbled, swallowing.

“Now if you don't mind. I'll be leaving now...” Binks said, slipping on his blue sunglasses before floating away.

The Mayor and his guards still all stood there, shocked.

-

Morning dawned upon the Chaotic Dragon's guild castle, and all seemed back to normal. The damages to the castle were almost complete and almost everyone had calmed down from the previous events. There was chatter of excitement floating through the halls about a guild festival coming up and everyone was planning and even preparing for the upcoming event.

However, the festival wasn't the only thing that a lot of the guild members were chattering about. Talk of Celica's new “baby” were floating around as well. Hearing about the egg had people wondering just what exactly would come out of it.

“Ummm....”

Celica looked nervously at all of her guild mates as she floating down the hall, her egg supported in front of her with a bunch of white sashes that she tied together to hold the egg against her body. After heading into the main living area where there was supposed to be a general meeting, Celica froze when she saw all her guild mates look at her. Then she was ambushed.

“Celica!! I can't believe you have a baby!!”

“I didn't know Sylphs laid eggs!”

“How'd you do it??”

“Can I hold it? Can I hold it?”

“I wanna seeeee!”

“Who's the father???”


“Uhhh...I don't...wait...I can't...” Celica mumbled, not knowing where to start. It had been the the first time she had been out of the infirmary after giving birth, and even though she had explained things to Mjrn, she didn't think of having to explain to so many other people.

“HEY! EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN!” came a booming voice. Everyone surrounding Celica immediately stopped and backed away. Celica had shut her eyes at the sound of the loud voice, but she opened her eyes and turned to see Mjrn standing at the door.

Everyone in the room bowed slightly in respect to their commander. Mjrn entered the room, her enormous, Nine Rings saber in her right hand.

“I want everyone not to pester Celica with such silly questions about her egg. What was done is done, and we should be happy for her..” Mjrn said sternly.

“T-thank you Mjrn...” Celica mumbled softly, blushing slightly before she moved off a bit to sit down. Zion, who was also in the room but did not join the crowd that “attacked” Celica, moved to stand beside her as they listened to more of what Mjrn had to say.

“Now I know that all of you are excited about the guild festival coming up. That is why I especially ordered for extra food and supplies which should be arriving soon. I want everyone to chip in and work together to make this event a success. I also want everyone to be on their best behavior as well, because we will be having guests from other guilds attending. But MOST of all....” Mjrn explained, but paused as she looked at everyone.

“Let's all have fun!!!”

Shouts of cheers and excitement echoed through the room. Celica looked around at all her happy guild mates and smiled lightly. She was glad that they had a chance to have fun for once, ever since they had all moved into the large guild castle, which wasn't too long ago. It was still a bit of getting used to.

“This festival sounds like a lot of fun, right sis?” Zion asked as he looked at the pink-haired sylph. Celica looked up at him.

“It sure does...” she replied. Then she looked at Mjrn, who seemed to be happy and smiling with Jarod floating next to her. Liah was smiling as well, chatting with Mjrn about all the stuff they would do for the festival.

“What's wrong, sis? You seem a little...down” Zion said.

“Hm? Oh...well..it's nothing, really...” Celica answered as she gazed down at her egg. A familiar face flashed into her mind.

Kara....

Tika landed gracefully on the stone floor of an empty room. The purple-haired shura gazed up from the ledge she had just come from.

Nothing up there... she thought silently.

Having found nothing of importance, Tika left the room within the empty tower she had just searched through. Ever since the guild had moved into the castle, Tika had made it her own personal project to search every inch and corner of it to find any type of hidden rooms, traps and any other secrets the structure held. As she turned the corner, she almost bumped into someone.

With quick reflexes and agility, Tika jumped back and held out her platinum spear, its point right up against the throat of a familiar white-haired human male.

“Gah! Tika!” Seph exclaimed in fear and surprise. He had his hands held up in front of him.

“Oh...it's just you” Tika said as she moved back and straightened to her regular standing position.

“Jeez...you almost sliced my Adam's apple” Seph breathed out, his right hand gently pressing against his throat.

“Maybe I should have if it would shut you up” Tika replied coldly.

“What's wrong with you? What are you doing wandering around here anyway?” Seph asked.

“That's none of your business...” Tika answered before walking past him.

“Hey! That's not fair! I have a right to know things too y'know!” the human male replied.

Tika didn't respond as she kept walking. She stopped and glanced back when she realized Seph had been following her.

“Stop following me” Tika mumbled.

“But...I'm bored! I wanna go exploring with you” Seph answered. Tika slowly turned toward him. Then she took a few steps forward.

“Really...you want to spend time....with...me?” Tika asked slowly, a menacing look on her face although there was no visible expression.

“Uh...well...” Seph swallowed, rethinking his answer.

“I'm doing something important...and I don't want anyone interfering” Tika said as she turned and was about to start walking away.

“Oh hey! How about we play hide and seek! I'll hide first!” Seph added randomly. Tika scoffed.

“I pretty much know every hiding spot in and outside of this castle. There's nowhere you can hide...”

“Wow...really? Then...no wonder you knew where aunt Liah, Sandry, and Celica was the night we were attacked!” Seph exclaimed, having somehow figured everything out. He felt proud of himself for a moment, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his chin and nodding, a smile on his face.

“Oh but wait a minute...when we got to the tower, where did you...” Seph began, but as he looked up he saw that Tika was gone. He blinked in surprise.

“....go?”

-

The afternoon sun was warm and bright as it hovered above the Chaotic Dragon guild castle. Everything was calm and peaceful, the sky was dotted with a few puffy clouds and a soft breeze rustled the treetops.

Out in the open field just outside of the inner gate, a female shura lay resting out in the sun. She wore a black and white goth cross outfit, which contrasted the deep, red color of her hair, which was tied back. Her arms were crossed under her head to hold it up as a black cowboy hat sat on her head but was pulled down to shield her face from the bright sun.

The shura lay there peacefully, until her ears twitched at the rustling sound of wind over the grass near her. Sitting up suddenly, the shura fixed the cowboy hat on her head and looked a short distance ahead to see a male sylph rushing down the main path out from the inner gate. She recognized him immediately.

“Zymes!!” the shura cried, trying to get the sylph's attention. She noticed that Zymes seemed focused on something as he floated further away. Jumping up to her feet, the red haired shura frowned and put her hands on her hips.

“Hmph...ignore me, will you...” she mumbled. With that, the shura ran after Zymes. She followed him until they were near the castle boundaries where the lookout posts and the outer gate were. The shura was almost out of breath as she finally caught up with Zymes, who had stopped.

“Zymes” the shura breathed out. The sylph turned toward her.

“Oh hey there Sun-Ce” Zymes replied. He smiled.

“Hey there?? I call you and you ignore me and don't say hi?? So I had to chase you all the way here” Sun-Ce replied.

“Just to say hi?” Zymes asked, blinking.

“No! To give you back your hat” Sun said as she pointed up at the black cowboy hat on her head.

“Oh! I wondered where that was. So you took it, eh” Zymes said.

“Yup yup! Ain't I sneaky” Sun answered with a cat-like smirk on her face. Zymes nodded.

“So what are you doing out here anyway?” Sun asked.

“There was an urgent signal...I came to check” Zymes said as he turned to look out into the distance.

“Urgent signal? What hap-” Sun started, but she paused when her ears started twitching as she heard something.

“What is it?” Zymes asked, glancing at his friend.

“Sounds like a stampede is coming...” Sun replied.

“A stampede?”

“Yeah....hey, look!” Sun said suddenly, pointing out. Zymes turned to look and with his keen eyesight, saw a silver-haired sylph rushing toward them.

“It's Binks!” Zymes said.

“Yeah, but what's that behind him??” Sun asked. The two focused their gaze and saw that behind Binks were a mob of war wolves and evil eyes chasing the sylph.

“More monsters!” Zymes exclaimed.

“Oh no! We have to help Binks!” Sun cried.

“I got it” Zymes said as he rushed forward a bit. Drawing out several arrows, he prepared them onto his crossbow. Focusing on his targets and concentrating his power, he released several arrows into the air. The arrows flew upward, then flew down like a deadly rain of iron and stuck down many of the monsters that were chasing Binks.

The silver-haired glanced back a moment, then back at his Zymes and Sun-Ce ahead. He was getting exhausted from having to use so much energy to run from the mob of monsters that somehow ambushed him.

Almost there... Binks thought.

“There's still more behind him!” Sun said after seeing Zymes' attack hit most of the monsters.

“I can't do a straight on attack if Binks is front of them” Zymes said.

“We'll have to wait until Binks gets in past the gate...” Sun added. They took stance in front of the gate, tensely anticipating the right moment to attack after Binks was safely out of the way.

I can't...make it... Binks thought, tiring quickly.

“Hurry Binks! You can make it!” Sun cried.

Binks pushed forward, feeling the monsters close at his back, but then some of them were struck down again by Zymes' arrows. The sylph saw the gate ahead and managed to rush in past Zymes and Sun-Ce.
As soon as Binks made it in, Zymes immediately fired several arrows in succession at the monsters. Most of the ones in front went down.

“I got the rest” Sun said, pulling out two large fans. She began a little dance, before spinning around.

“Ferocious Fandango!” the shura cried, releasing several powerful gusts of wind at the monsters. The monsters were all swept away, flying back. Sun jumped in victory.

“Great job, Sun” Zymes said.

“Yush! Now let's check on Binks” she said. Zymes nodded and they both went back into the gate.

Binks was catching his breath.

“Are you all right, Binks” Zymes asked.

“Yeah...thanks” Binks replied.

“What happened?”

“I don't know...all those monsters suddenly appeared once I got into territory...I tried to get them with a supersonic swipe but there were too many” Binks replied.

“Why were you alone? With all these monster attacks Mjrn says we can't go out anywhere by ourselves now” Sun said. Binks straightened up.

“There's no time to explain. I need to give something to her right away...”

-

After escaping Seph's annoying questions, Tika had found her way to the 'library' of the guild castle, where Binks' office was, or more commonly known as his little 'corner'. Tika didn't like to bother Binks often, since she knew the sylph was always busy with paperwork and the like, but after exploring the castle a bit Tika wanted to see if Binks had any specific information.

Walking up to the door of Binks' office, Tika knocked lightly. She glanced at the sign on the door that read, “Binks' Little Corner, DO NOT ENTER!”

After getting no answer, Tika figured Binks was not there and moved away from the door and went to explore the rest of the room. There were large, tall book shelves lined against the wall. Some old-fashioned furniture sat in the middle of the room with a few wooden tables and some lamps for reading. Tika knew this room already, but she hadn't really looked through it thoroughly. As she walked past the book shelves, she tapped the bottom of them gently with the end of her spear. Nothing seemed out of place, until she heard a hollow sound.

Tika got down on one knee and inspected the bottom of the shelf that gave a hollow sound. She pressed against it, and felt that it was somewhat flimsy. Then she realized it was like some kind of panel. She pressed her palm against it then slid the panel toward the left and it opened up. Realizing that the opening was big enough for someone about her size to crawl through, she made her way into the opening.

Thinking someone might see her, Tika shifted and closed the panel back behind her. Then she continued crawling through the tunnel that seemed to go onward. After moving through the secret tunnel and pushing away some dust and cobwebs, she came to a small door. Pushing the door open, Tika crawled out into a small closet-sized room. There wasn't anything in it, but she saw a metal ladder riveted against the stone wall. Moving to the ladder, Tika glanced up and saw a hatch opening above. Placing her spear against the wall, Tika climbed up the ladder and unhooked the lock from the hatch then pushed it open. Moving up, Tika looked around. She saw that she was on the “roof” of the castle. Climbing out of the opening, the purple haired shura walked toward the ledge, then looked out at the spectacular view.

After a moment of relaxation and meditation, Tika saw Binks, Zymes, and Sun-Ce heading toward the castle. She watched them a moment before she saw a circular ledge that protruded from the side of the roof. Upon closer inspection, Tika saw strange markings on the stone circular ledge. Turning around and looking back at the other side, was a similar ledge. She ran her hand over the markings.

There's a lot more to this castle than I thought...

-

Dusk was falling over Copperhorn Mountain as the sky turned a purplish orange upon the setting of the sun. The lidded lizards lazily shuffled through the sands as they tried to scrounge for food. A few lizards lingered near the crossroads on the way to Darkdale.

A sudden force shot through the path, throwing up waves of sand on either side. The lizards ran off in a panic, giving way to the great force that passed by, and another one behind it.

Two cloaked figures seemed locked in battle.

One of the figures threw out what looked like a bug, which landed on the ground near the floating figure. The bug exploded upon impact, throwing up a pillar of sand. The other figure had a green sword floating next to him and shot a burst of lighting at his attacker which threw the exploding bug.

Another bug appeared and clashed with the lightning attack and exploded. The cloaked figure with the sword turned and rushed off. The second figure quickly threw out another bug, which this time came in contact with its target. Feeling the instant poison effects from the bug attack, the first cloaked figure fell to the ground. The second figure moved in, but before it could do anything, a flash of bright light and power resonated from the other figure's sword. Shielding itself from the light, the second figure was phased and couldn't escape from the attack that came after it.

Falling back, the second figure regained itself and looked to see that the other figure was gone.

You've escaped....for now...

-

The cloaked floating figure slowly made his way to the Copperhorn mines. After distracting the guards, he sneaked inside and found a place to rest. Removing his hood, the figure revealed himself to be Pharos, the raven-haired sylph.

Pharos breathed heavily, knowing he had been poisoned from his pursuer's attack. He wasn't sure if there were going to be other effects if any, and how long it would last. All he knew was that he had to get to Darkdale, but he didn't want to risk running into his attacker again, especially in his poisoned state. He grit his teeth, feeling sick and his body burning from the sting of the poison. He felt himself fading in and out of consciousness.

For a moment he flashed back to how he had managed to come this far. He remembered paying to spend a night in Eversun Inn, then suddenly being attacked in his room by the other cloaked figure and being chased out of the city all the way out to Copperhorn mountain.

This will be the last time I help you...

Pharos remembered his comrade's words. He knew he was completely on his own now. No one was going to help him, not a stranger like him. He began to feel nauseous from the poison and he coughed up something he didn't want to know what it was. The pain made him begin to think that he might die.

No...I can't die...not now...not here... he thought desperately. He began to hear voices echoing through the mine, but by now he wasn't even sure if they were real voices or not. Then he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a silver ring, which floated in the palm of his hand. A gemstone was embedded in it, which looked like a diamond. His vision was blurring.

Celica...

Then he passed out.

“Hyaaaa!”

A Bandit Bow-Wow let out a yelp before it fell to the ground. Near it landed a small female sprite. Her bright pink hair was tied up in pigtails and curled cutely at the ends. She breathed heavily a moment before straightening up. She moved over to pick up the loot that the Bandit Bow-Wow took from her. As she was preoccupied, another dog ran up and tried to attack.

Spinning around quickly, the sprite jumped up high and did a roundhouse kick to the Bandit Bow-Wow's mug. The dog let out a yelp and stumbled back a moment, shaking its head before rushing toward the sprite again. With a small cry the sprite charged forward and with her giant spiked gloves, threw a massive uppercut at the Bandit Bow-Wow and sent it flying off into the distance.

“That'll teach 'em...” the female sprite mused to herself with a slight giggle. After she picked up her bag of loot, she summoned up an enormous black metal bear with giant jet packs on its back. The sprite then jumped up onto the seat attached to the metal bear's back.

“Time to head back, Super Mega Death Christ 5000” said the sprite, her bright blue eyes shining. The metal bear spun its head around in response before its jet packs powered up and boosted them both off into the distance.

-

“Ooohhh yeah, just like that....”

Mjrn purred, lying on her stomach on her bed with her eyes closed and an almost content look on her face as Liah massaged her back gently. The both of them were in Mjrn's room, having a rather...intimate time that morning before they both had to go off to their guild duties.

“So what are we going to tell everyone?” Liah asked as she continued to massage Mjrn.

“I don't think I should mention it until after the guild festival...” Mjrn replied.

“Are you sure we should still have the festival? I don't want to ruin everyone's fun and all, but....”

“I know...I'm worried about all the monster attacks too. Especially after what happened to Binks...” Mjrn answered as she moved to sit up on the edge of her bed. Liah took this as a signal to stop massaging. She gazed at Mjrn worriedly.

Mjrn took a deep breath. So much was bearing down on her right now. Before she could say something else, she felt two arms wrap around her from behind.

“We'll figure out a way...now stop looking so tense...” Liah said softly.

“How can I be with you here...” Mjrn purred as she turned her head back a little toward Liah. The two shuras smiled at each other, their faces moving closer.


“Hey G-Ma! Are you in there??” came a voice from outside the door. Before either Mjrn or Liah could reply, the door opened and there was Zion. The violet-haired human's eyes went wide as saucers as he saw the little scene.

“Uhh...I'm sorry...w-was I...interrupting...something....” Zion mumbled. Mjrn's expression darkened. Liah quickly but calmly moved away from Mjrn.

“Zion...” Mjrn said, slowly standing and moving toward the door. Zion swallowed, staring at Mjrn as she approached.

“S-sorry, I just wanted...t-to tell you...that...M-Mrs.Slog...is...back...” the human replied. Mjrn paused, then a smile slowly formed on her face...though a slightly creepy one.

“Thank you, Zion. Where did you see her?”

“In the...w-warehouse...”

“Ah yes. Oh and...could I ask you for a favor?” Mjrn asked.

“Uhh...sure...” Zion answered. He flinched when Mjrn's huge Nine Rings Saber suddenly popped up in front of his face. He opened his eyes and stared at it before it dropped and he caught it in his arms.

“Have my baby cleaned up and sharpened for me. Make sure its spotless. I don't want to see any scratches or dents in it...or else you'll be given double duties for a week...” Mjrn said before she walked past Zion and headed down the hall. Liah came out as well, closing the door and smiling apologetically at Zion before following Mjrn.

Zion only stared, dumbfounded. He figured at least he didn't get too bad of a punishment for walking in on his commander. Then he stared down at the huge saber in his arms.

“How am I...” he mumbled to himself.

“Oh and Zion...” Mjrn called as she paused to glance back. Zion straightened up like a soldier to attention.

“Y-yes?”

“Don't forget to knock, next time...” Mjrn said before walking away. Zion watched Mjrn and Liah disappear down the hall before he heaved a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall.

“Oh I'll never forget now...”

-

Darkdale was bustling with activity as people began to set up their stalls for the day. Some others were all running toward one particular spot, where a small crowd was formed around a bearded male sylph with a long staff floating next to him.

“Oh come on! Not this again!”
Sandry had just slipped out of the crowd, having just received a new Darkdale elder mission. She read it again and sighed before rolling up the scroll.

“What is it this time?” Kazaa asked as he moved up next to her.

“Looks like he wants me to find and get a print from that Demonic Daisy again...I thought I got rid of it the first hundred times...” Sandry replied.

“Well at least he doesn't make you collect a bunch of spatulas...those Bandit Chefs are so stubborn...I always have to pry them out of their cold, dead hands” Kazaa replied. Sandry giggled a little, which made her sprite husband smile.

The two were heading off to go find the Demonic Daisy until they caught a glimpse of some familiar faces just leaving the Drugstore. Sandry tried to call out to them, but they didn't seem to hear and soon disappeared from sight.

“I wonder where they're going in such a hurry...”

-

“Mrs.Slog....welcome back” Mjrn said as she and Liah entered the warehouse. They spotted the familiar sprite Martial Artist as she was just going to leave.

“Oh hey there” Mrs.Slog replied, smiling.

“Zion told us you were here. I asked him to keep a look out for when you would return” Mjrn said.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” Mrs.Slog asked. She was usually very quiet in the guild and would normally slip in and out of the guild unnoticed and she would go off and train or farm on her own.

“Well...I wanted to ask if you've seen that husband of yours...” Mjrn answered.

“Slog? Well....he's....”

-

“YEEEEEEEHAAAWWWWW!!!”

A giant green bird with a red and yellow feathered tail dashed over the sands of Copperhorn. Upon its back rode a human male with a black cowboy outfit and hat. A huge platinum wand was strapped to his back.

The sands of Copperhorn mountain suddenly faded away as more grass and plant life began to dot the hills and mountains ahead. Lifting up his hat a bit, the bright crimson-haired human gazed up into the distance where the Chaotic Dragon guild castle was. He tapped his heel against the giant bird's side a bit to make it run faster as he neared the territory.

As he did, there seemed to be some monsters that he knew weren't usually around the area. Then hearing some roars he glanced behind him and saw a few more monsters. A smirk formed on his face as he pulled out his wand with his right hand.

“Looks like I got me some company...”

-

Celica gazed up at the azure sky, a few clouds moving across the sun as a soft breeze pushed them by. She was floating in the open field just outside the inner gate. Her gaze showed loneliness and lament. She sighed before gazing down at the egg in its carrier tied around her.

“All this trouble because of you...no...its not your fault...its mine...” the sylph said softly. She was about to head back into the guild castle when she heard something. Turning, she saw a giant kuku bird in the distance. It quickly came closer and closer until she saw it flap its wings and its feet skidding to a stop right in front of her.

Celica had instinctively protected her egg, turning and moving back slightly, thinking the bird would almost crash into her. Then when nothing happened she opened her eyes and looked back and saw a familiar human sitting upon the kuku bird.

“Slog!”

“Hey there cutie” Slog greeted as he jumped off the bird. He had a grin on his face, his right hand still holding his platinum wand, which still seemed to be glowing slightly with power.

“Slog...where have you been?” Celica asked, still a bit surprised.

“Just been here and there...y'know...just a wanderin' wizard” Slog replied.

“Well it's about time you got back. You've been gone for weeks and you come back like nothing has happened! The guild has been in a lot of trouble” Celica said.

“Yeah? What happened? Oh hey what's that ya got there” Slog said as he saw the egg. He moved forward to grab it.

“Don't touch it! It's my baby” Celica shouted.

“Baby!? Is this how ya repay me after all I've done for ya...go and get pregnant and give birth to an egg?? How is that even possible!” Slog cried.

“What?? No! That's what I'm trying to tell you! The guild is in trouble because of this egg!” Celica exclaimed.

“Well then let's get rid of it. Make an omelet out of the lil guy”

“No!! You sicko!”

“Hahaha just kidding, cutie. So what were ya saying” Slog asked.

“I'm saying that the guild is trouble because we've been getting attacked by monsters. A lot of them have been surrounding and trying to get into the guild castle. Mjrn thinks its because they're after my egg” Celica explained.

“Really? Well I took care of a bunch of monsters just outside the territory. I was makin' my way in when I saw a bunch of 'em and some of 'em were even chasin' me so they all tried ta get a piece of the Slog but man I got 'em good” Slog replied as he mimicked some of his moves from earlier, waving around his wand.

Celica rolled her eyes and sighed. She watched Slog a while, listening to his story until she noticed something.

“Slog! What's that on your back??” Celica cried.

“Huh?”

“Right there! On your back! I-It's a spider!!”

“Where? I don't see anything” Slog said as he turned his head to glance back over his shoulder.

“Ugh I can't believe you can't see it. I'll get rid of it” Celica said. Holding her hands out in front of her, she let out a burst of flame and blasted the greenish spider that she saw on Slog's back. She watched the spider fly off Slog's back and land on the ground. It writhed and wriggled on its back.

“Whoa! What the hell??” Slog exclaimed as he turned and looked to see the spider. He and Celica watched it wriggle around before its body blackened and then crumbled into dust.

“Phew...that was a close one” Celica said.

“I swear I didn't see that thing on my back” Slog added.

“How can you be so blind....it was huge...but you saw it when it died” Celica replied.

“Well it's gone now. Thanks for getting rid of it for me..you're the best” Slog said as he gave the sylph a wink. Celica sighed.

“Let's just go inside...” Celica said as she turned and headed back to the guild castle. Slog followed her, and called his kuku bird as well and it followed behind him.

-

“That sylph girl....she has the Sight....”

“The Sight...?”

“She could see my puppet....very few have that ability...”

“Is that a problem?”

“It may be a minor inconvenience....she prevented my puppet from infiltrating the castle...but I will find other ways....”

Wake up....wake up....it's time to get up now....wake up, my love...

Pharos was slowly coming back to consciousness. He heard someone humming a soft tune. Gazing up through his blurred vision, he saw a female sylph. Her figure drew closer to him, and he felt like he was still in a dream. It felt so real he could swear it was her.

“Celi....” he mumbled, but as his vision cleared, he saw that the female sylph he was looking at wasn't who he thought it was.

“Oh, you're awake now...” the plum-haired female sylph replied. She smiled down at him, her ocean blue eyes gentle and caring.

“Where...” Pharos mumbled, still getting his bearings.

“Don't worry...you're safe...” the sylph replied softly. She was squeezing out a damp cloth and laid it upon Pharos' forehead.

“You gave us quite a scare....we thought you wouldn't make it through the night” the female sylph added as she began to tend to other things and not really looking at Pharos. The raven-haired sylph still couldn't believe he was alive either now that he realized it. He gazed around the small, cozy home a moment. It was quiet for a moment until someone entered.

“I'm back” said a dark-haired human male. He had a bow slung over his shoulder and he was holding a cloth sack in another before he set it down.

“Welcome back” the female sylph replied as she turned to the human. The male smiled at her and moved over to kiss her gently on the cheek before his gaze went to Pharos.

“Ah, it looks like our friend is awake...”

“Yes...it's a miracle”

“How are you feeling?” the human male asked as he moved over to Pharos who was lying on a cot in the corner of the room.

“Why...” Pharos asked. Both the human and sylph looked confused a moment.

“Why what?”

“Why....did you help me...” Pharos added.

“Why not?”

Pharos gazed back at the two. He didn't think anyone would have saved him. It was hard to believe a random stranger would be so kind to him. Then again, it wasn't impossible, just a very rare occurrence. He began to think that he knew these two individuals somehow. Then suddenly it came rushing back to him.

“Anyway, that was some nasty poison that was in your system. Fortunately we were able to find an antidote” the human male answered.

“Um...thank you...for your help...” Pharos mumbled.

“It's no problem, friend. By the way, what is your name?”

Pharos froze a moment. He stared back at the human and the sylph, wondering how they didn't know him right away, yet they still helped him. Pondering this a moment, he began to have ideas of why they didn't know who he was just by looking at him.

“My name....is...Pharos...” he replied. Although it wasn't his true name, he felt that he shouldn't give away his identity so quickly, even though he knew who these people were.

“Ah...nice to met you, Pharos. My name is Shin” the human male replied.

“And I am Kayou” the sylph added. Pharos couldn't help but stare at them, thinking about his encounters with them before and how long he had known them and yet they had no idea who he was.

“Nice...to meet you”

“Well now that you're all better. I think we should celebrate. Unless you need to go home or somewhere, how about you come with us to a guild festival?” Shin asked.

“A guild festival?”

“Yes, we were invited by our friends, and it's going to be a lot of fun” Kayou answered.

“I...don't think so...” Pharos replied.

“Aw come on, don't be like that. Isn't it the least you could do to repay us for helping you?” Shin asked. Pharos glanced at him a moment.

“I really am grateful, I just don't think I should”

“Why? Is someone after you or something?” Shin asked.

“You could say that”

“Man on the run, that's interesting” Shin mused, glancing at Kayou.

“Sorry about all the trouble, but I will repay you both someday” Pharos said as he moved to get up.

“It was no trouble at all...” Kayou answered. Pharos gazed at her, still thinking of what he dreamed about earlier. He bowed slightly to the two before he was about to head out.

“Well, all right then. Take care of yourself” Shin added. Pharos was just a little out the door when he realized something.

“By the way...what guild is having this festival?” he asked.

“Chaotic Dragons”

Pharos froze at the mention of the familiar name. He turned back to Shin and Kayou.

“Maybe...I will go with you after all...”

-

“So it's been settled. The guild festival will still take place. However, no guild member is to leave the premises at all before festival” Mjrn ordered. All the Elders and Branch Heads that were crowded around her office table nodded.

“We will also be taking a log of every single person that will be attending” Liah added.

Celica listened to the rest of the talk that went on. She agreed that the guild festival should still happen, but she was also still a little uneasy like most of the others about all the monster attacks that occurred recently. She glanced down at the egg that was nestled in her lap.

“Celica?”

“Err, yes?” Celica answered, looking into Mjrn's bi-colored eyes that gazed back at her.

“Do you have everything you need for your festival preparations?” Mjrn asked.

“Ah, yes...everything is good to go”

“Are you sure you still want to take care of the food? I don't want you to stress yourself out too much”

“No it's fine! Don't worry about it” Celica replied with a smile and waving her hand forward to show not to worry. Mjrn nodded then look back at the others to confirm their duties.

“Then we're all set. You all have your organized groups to help. Until then, let's make this festival a big success”

-

Tika had just exited from the panel that she found earlier that led her up to the castle roof. She went to check out the circular stone panels that were engraved with symbols. Knowing she would have to get some information on them, she left. She made sure everything was back and place then dusted herself off a bit. As she was about to head out of the library, someone entered.

“Oh, Tika...surprised to see you here” Binks said as the silver-haired sylph floated in. Tika said nothing, only silently hoping that Binks didn't just see her coming out of the panel below the bookcase. However it didn't seem the sylph noticed at all as he was gazing down at some documents floating in front of him. Binks floated toward his office door then paused and looked back at Tika.

“Was there something you needed?” Binks asked.

“I wanted to ask you something...” Tika answered.

“About what?”

“The guild castle...”

Binks gazed at Tika a moment. He glanced around as if to check if anyone were around and listening, though it was still only the two of them in the room.

“Hold on a moment...” Binks said as he went into his office. The door shut itself and everything was quiet for a while until Binks reappeared again. The sylph presented some documents to Tika.

“I found these very old blueprints and documents in Big Beam's library...Mjrn requested them. They are supposed to be confidential, but...since you're the only person who knows almost every part of this place, I figure it would be useful to you as well” Binks explained.

Tika took the floating documents into her hand and gazed at them a moment. She was surprised at some of the information, but no particular emotion showed on her face. Then she looked back at Binks.

“Do you mind if I borrow these?” Tika asked.

“Not at all. Use them to your benefit. I have my own copies. Just...don't show them to anyone else” Binks replied. Tika nodded before turning to leave. Binks watched the shura until she was gone.

Good luck, Tika...

-

The entire Chaotic Dragons castle was bustling with activity. Everyone was excited and was busy preparing for the festival. Decorations were being hung all around and chairs and tables were being set up. Within the main courtyard, a stage was being set for some entertainment. Lamps and colorful lights were being set up as well.

“Here's another one, Mama!” Kooh said happily as she handed Sandry another colored paper lamp to hang.

“Thanks” Sandry replied, smiling at her daughter before she hung the lamp.

“Everything okay here?” Kazaa asked as he came up.

“Yup, almost done” Sandry answered.

“I'm gonna get more tables” Kazaa said before he ran off again. As he passed by the stage, Kaoru was tuning his musical instrument.

“Hm, is this right?” Kao wondered aloud. He plucked the strings a few more times to make sure it was right. Then he looked around.

“Ah! I lost my music!” he exclaimed.

“Looking for this?” Kooh said as she floating in front of Kaoru, waving around some sheets of music.

“Hey, I need that!”

“Come and catch me!” Kooh cried before floating off. Kaoru chased after her. They almost crashed into a very stressed out Zion, who was carrying a bunch of boxes and were taking them into the castle.

“Hey! Watch it!” Zion cried, almost dropping everything. He made his way into the guild kitchen, where a lot of pots were bubbling and good smells were wafting through the air. After he put down the boxes, Zion looked up to see Celica floating back and forth from pot to pot, mixing, stirring and tasting. She wore a pink alice outfit and had an apron tied around her. Her egg was sitting comfortably in a basket near her.

“Wow sis, you're really cooking up a storm here” Zion said as he looked around. He moved toward one of the pots and was about to take the cover off of it when a wooden spoon suddenly smacked his hand. He quickly drew back his hand, shaking it.

“Yup, and don't touch anything. Did you get all the vegetables?” Celica asked, the wooden spoon she had suddenly floating to another pot and began stirring it.

“Yeah, they're over there. I almost broke my back carrying all that stuff you know” Zion said.

“Well, you didn't seem to be doing anything else so I figure I'd make you delivery boy. Besides, you agreed to help me after all” Celica replied.

“Yeah yeah...” Zion mumbled.

“Hm, needs more salt...” Celica mumbled to herself.

“Hey, did you see Seph around anywhere?” Zion asked.

“Not really, why?”

“Just haven't seen him for a while...” Zion answered.

“Well if you're worried, go look for him then. I need to take care of this” Celica said. Zion sighed before he turned to leave.

“Oh and Zion...”

“Huh?” Zion said, turning back. A wooden stick with some sweet dumplings on it appeared in front of him.

“Don't look so down, bro” Celica said, smiling as she handed Zion the dumplings. Zion smiled at her.

“Thanks”

-

The evening was clear and filled with stars as the guests of the festival began to pour into the castle. Since everyone was told to dress up, people wore some of their best outfits. Just to add for a bit of fun, the guests were given random masks to wear.

“The place looks great, Mjrn” Shin said as he and Kayou arrived.

“Thanks, everyone worked really hard” Mjrn said. She was wearing her elegant purple witch outfit. Jarod floated next to her as they greeted the guests.

“Despite the rumors of all the attacks a lot of people still showed up” Jarod said.

“Yeah, looks like it will be a big hit” Mjrn replied.

“Here you go” Liah said as she handed Shin and Kayou some masks.

“Thanks Liah” Kayou said.

“Oh we need one for our friend here too” Shin said as he gestured to Pharos. Liah smiled and handed the sylph a mask. Pharos glanced at her before he put it on.

“Refreshments are in the back” Liah said. Pharos said nothing as he passed her by, following Shin and Kayou a bit before he went off on his own. When he reached the inner courtyard he looked around at all the people there.

Where is she...

The stage was lit with colorful lights as a few musicians stood there. Kaoru was there, setting up his music. He looked at a taller, golden-haired human male with blue eyes.

“We're ready, Lucx”

“All right boys, time to start” Lucxene said as he lifted up his instrument. Then they began to play.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time, chatting, laughing, eating and drinking merrily. Celica floated around, passing out drinks and making sure everyone was having fun. After a while she went back to Sandry, who was watching the egg.

“Thanks for watching my egg” Celica said.

“It's no problem. I don't mind, it's just so cute” Sandry said as she glanced down at the egg.

“I can take it from here now” Celica said.

“No no, you should go and have some fun too. Go dance with someone or something” Sandry added.

“Are you sure?”

“Mmhm. I think you may have some admirers. I just saw someone looking at you”

“What?” Celica said, turning around. She saw a glimpse of someone looking at her before he disappeared in the crowd. Hesitating a moment, she followed the dark figure.

“Wait” she called. The dark-haired sylph paused, then turned back to look at her. She gazed at him a moment, unable to see his eyes behind the dark mask.

“Um...would you...like to dance?” she asked. The sylph was silent a moment, but then he moved toward her. He lifted up his hand, offering it to her. Celica slowly placed her right hand over his. Then they floated closer to each other until their hands moved up and their palms face each other, but still weren't touching. Then as they heard the music playing, they began to dance, moving around in a circle and staring at each other.

Even though they were a bit away from the larger crowd, some of the Dragon guild members were watching the pair. Some of them whispered to each other, wondering who was that mysterious stranger dancing with Celica.

After the song was done, Celica could only stop and stare at her partner.

“Have I....met you before?” she asked.

Pharos only stared back at the beautiful sylph in front of him. Without a word he grasped Celica's hand. Then he pulled her along with him gently, farther away from the big crowd. The music and lights grew fainter as soon they were completely alone.

Celica felt her heart beating faster, feeling nervous yet excited at the same time because the other sylph was holding her hand and how familiar it felt. Since sylphs rarely touched, it was a remarkable sensation, especially if they were in love.

The male sylph stopped and turned to face Celica. His hand still holding hers, he gently moved them up so their palms were touching each other. Then with his other hand he slowly removed his mask. Celica's eyes widened in surprise. Pharos seemed a bit surprised as well, wondering if Celica really recognized him, since Shin and Kayou failed to recognize him earlier.

“Celica....” he whispered softly. The pink-haired sylph could barely believe it. All that her heart wished and longed for was now standing in front of her. She spoke the name she never spoke aloud for the longest time.

“Karasukira...”