Thanatos decided it best to take a break as he realized it was pretty dark and by now the Chit’vani Chief was probably asleep, so he took a seat and dug himself a small pit, grabbing some stray branches and logs to start a fire. He sat, blinking a second or two before he realized what he felt he just sat on, sliding his claw into his pocket and pulling out Arakah’s journal, the dragon remembering that he had found it when he was being chased by Nelvona. He took a sigh of contemplation, his mind still racing quite a bit as the events that had unfolded were not ones he had wished to happen, the sight of Arakah’s body slightly twitching, draining of blood and life, reaching out his hand for help. That image was forever engraved into the man's mind, Thanatos groaning as he lied back and decided to open the journal. “Dammit you old bastard, why did you have to go and do something like this? How did you not anticipate this would happen? And what is this nonsense about a queen anyways?” He asked flipping to the first page, noticing it was split up by daily entries. His eyes wandered as he started reading, skimming some of it as it was a lot of introduction. Thanatos realized that there were different mentions of people like Marie and the King of Elderitch, and he started to piece together that Arakah was quite knowledgeable, albeit foolish. He then got to a part that caught him off guard, a quote from the journal, crossed out and barely visible, but Thanatos pieced it together, reading it out loud. “‘The World is cruel, the world is hateful… the world deserves to die?’. What the hell?” Thanatos thought to himself noticing how crudely it was written and scribbled out, like it was someone entirely different.
“Seems Arakah had some unwanted guests?” He wondered as he read, thinking it through some. “Or maybe not, he even addresses how odd this is. But then…?” his thoughts trailed as he sighed and closed the journal, realizing he should only go so much at a time, due to having an odd feeling this would drive even the sanest man to the brink of insanity. “This is all that man's writing, but the fact it changes tone and even style randomly is odd. Was the man suffering from a split personality? Maybe he just wanted to use this as some sort of code. But if that were the case, a code for what?” He wondered as he started thinking, gathering some nearby things to try and put together a meal for himself, since he was too far out of town to turn back and get a decent meal before shops closed for the night, the dragon looking up at the clear starry night, now thinking about what Nelvona said. “Heh, making threats that try to scare me into running. I sure as hell don’t intend to run now that I have an enemy on my hands, but I should also watch my step. I could easily wipe them out if they tried anything but if the royal family plans to take her on also, it might end up as a three way battle, and I am alone in the matter, because that damned old man sure won’t back me up if there is a fight going on. Well, whatever, I have seen Maxwell, Inferno and Marz in action, and they are three of the toughest warriors his majesty has at his disposal, I could probably take them down blindly if I needed to. Either way, rambling to myself won’t solve anything, I should just get some rest before my body realizes how little it ate and keeps me up, at least let me get some rest in before I return to the village with my update.”
Thanatos sighed softly as he lied back on the dirt, looking up and thinking. The man was used to being outside so the ground wasn’t anything bad for him, he did however enjoy a bed when he got the chance. Thanatos soon let sleep take him, his eyes growing heavy as he shut them, soon, the world around him was blank, his mind asleep.
-
Maxwell made his way to the throne room with a sigh as he looked at the door with a wondering look, he was trying to think of the best way to tell his father that he had failed to capture the demon, and that she had escaped no less. He took a deep breath in, slowly releasing it as he slowly pushed the chamber door open, seeing Drax and Nomad talking with Lynx and Verius, Maxwell noticing that they were apparently there for a visit, but they were discussing something that sounded important. “Verius, are you sure what you said is reality and not some crazy dream? Your entire domain was up in flames?” Nomad asked, concern in her voice as the golden furred panther nodded softly, his mind wandering and his eyes showing unrest, Lynx standing beside his father and looking up at the royal family. “He is telling the truth, we wouldn’t just up and burden you with survivors like this had we not be honest. We are unsure what happened, but before we knew it, the land was on fire, and these demon looking things were attacking civilians and causing chaos. We do not know what it means, but we might be in danger. But unfortunately, our land is indefinitely taken over and we have nowhere to go.” Lynx said on behalf of his father, the nobleman at a loss for words for what to tell his closest friends, especially when they trusted him to watch the domain, only to see it go up in smoke like that, Nomad walking down to him, lightly placing a hand on his chin and pushing his head up slightly to stare in his eyes, she was clearly a good bit taller than him which made him blush faintly but he looked, Maxwell watching as it reminded him of how his father had treated Kenta when he was uneasy when they met, it was no question Nomad and Drax were a pair, and a great one at that.
“Verius, you go to your survivors and troops and tell them they are welcome to stay. We will reclaim your land on your behalf, and ours. I feel I know what had caused it also.” She said gently, but firmly as he gaze gently went to her eldest son, who tensed up. “You two are dismissed, we will make accommodations once we are done here.” She said smiling, Lynx and Verius bowing to their king and queen. Despite being friends since childhood, Verius still treated them with the utmost respect, as he was one of the few who urged Drax to be king when the kingdom lost their High Lord Amadeus. The two panthers left, Maxwell walking over as he saw his parents gazes both meet him, neither seemed upset or unhappy, they seemed relieved. Once he was in range, both of the royal parents grabbed their son and pulled him close, hugging him tightly as Drax gently whispered. “We are sorry son. We realized what that demon was too late and sent you to face it head on, we were foolish. That woman should not be fought by our child. We have requested your siblings to join us here, we will explain momentarily, but please, rest easy, and do not fret that you had lost her. It is better and safer this way.” Drax said gently, holding his son tightly, the door opening as the royal siblings slowly made their way in, followed by their guards and retainers. Silcia and Wesker looked as they were uncertain as to why they were summoned, but did not argue or protest knowing that their guardians had reason. Drax signalled them all over as he sat on the throne with Nomad joining on hers.
“You are all probably confused on why you were all gathered here, but the time for us to explain something is here. We have gathered around the retainers and head knights as well to give them an idea of what they need to watch for, since they will be the ones on high alert through this. As you have probably gathered, and I know Saria and Silcia both have noticed most likely. Arakah, the one Silcia called the Man of Blood and Shadow… Well, he has passed on, but not naturally. The mage had been planning something for a good while and has now finalized his plan, using a group of students and guests as sacrifices, he awoken an ancient demon that my father Amadeus Adams the first had once sealed away. We do not know the details yet, but we do know she is deadly, dangerous, and as Maxwell saw with the damage to the academy of the Dark Arts, will not hesitate to get what she wants even if she has to take an entire town with her. Maxwell, that is why you saw Lord Verius and young Lynx here moments ago. Nelvona, the demon queen of the dream world, has returned and used his home as a start, turning it into her base. She drove any mortal out, if she was even momentarily wicked enough not to put them out of their misery. I have sent a letter to my younger brother, we call him junior, he was named after my father.” Drax explained, Silcia and Saria, despite their antagonistic attitude towards one another, both seemed to have a knowing look to one another, Silcia speaking up. “So, my suspicions were correct. Forgive my insolence uncle Drax, I had felt he might do something like this, but I was unsure if I should act on impulse. Hearing that this demon bitch leveled a town for her own purpose just infuriates me because if I had just said something I might have been able to stop it.” She groaned, angry at what happened, both Inferno and Saria putting their hands on her shoulders to kind of ease her mind, the woman sighing gently as she hugged her little brother, but oddly didn’t shove away Saria’s hand, she seemed to accept it for now.
“This is no one's fault Silcia, like mom and dad said, she is a demon queen, so of course she’s going to be a tougher enemy. But to think we would have witnessed such a travesty right under our own noses. Poor uncle Verius must be devastated having to see his town and his people in such a state, even seeing a lot of them die.” Marz sighed softly, Mar looking up at Nomad and Drax as he approached, Maxwell glancing over curiously. “This may sound odd, but I feel I have heard the name Nelvona once before, when I was under an unknown forces control. When I was your enemy, I heard a voice but vaguely remember a name. I feel this demon might be the same one that used my power to hurt Maxwell. It is just a hunch but as Maxwell once said, we can’t ignore the possibilities, everything has a chance of happening.” Mar explained, the jackal looking at Maxwell apologetically as he did genuinely feel sorry for it, even if he wasn’t himself when it happened. Maxwell smiled gently as he walked over and placed a paw on the jackal teens shoulder, showing he held no resentment or anger towards him, Maxwell had since proven instead that he cared for Mar, as if he was one of his own siblings, which did help put the jackal at ease.
“It is a possibility we will not ignore but we will put it aside for now in hopes that it is not the case. For now, all of you guards, especially Ornstein, Lyle and Scathatch, watch your charges, watch your surroundings and keep the royal family safe. And Ornstein, send your troops on heavier patrols, don’t leave it to a couple guards at a time. We can not risk anyone else getting hurt, and we can’t risk the dangers that she might attack at any time. It might not help a whole lot, but a lot of troops are better then two not standing a chance against someone like Nelvona. Everyone stay on the lookout, and be safe. You are all dismissed, we will talk to you again if we feel you may need to know something for an upcoming plan.” Drax said, looking at his kids and their knights, a small smile on his face as he saw how close they all were. Almost a year ago, they were split half and half as two different armies thanks to Drazernon, and now he saw his kids, nephew, niece and their allies all together as one, and it warmed his heart to know that they would watch one another and protect each other as they needed.
As they left, Inferno went off on his own, Ornstein looking skeptical at his husband suddenly heading off and was about to follow, before Scath and Lyle stopped him, getting a shocked look from the man. “Shouldn’t we follow him?” He asked them as he just remembered Drax’s words, but they smiled and shook their head, Lyle looking down the hall. “He will be fine, I think he is going to talk to Draga and Lynx, and if anyone can protect him in our stead, it's him. And besides, Maxwell thinks we should all head to the training grounds anyways, apparently Bael wants to put us through a tougher practice to see if we are able to handle this task. Personally, I think it is better this way to let him handle things his way, and if Inferno needs us, you know deep down we will be the first to know. Because you are his husband, she is his wife. And me, well, I am his retainer after all, we are the first three people he’d go to if he needed help. Now let's stop this chatting and get going before Maxwell has our asses for being late.” Lyle laughed as he walked with the two, heading towards the arena, Ornstein sighing but nodding as he walked as well, but couldn’t help himself from looking back with a slight worry, since he did always worry and care for Inferno. “I sure hope you are right Lyle, you haven’t lied to use yet, but even Inferno is just one person, so there is no telling what could happen. I will trust you for now but I won’t stop worrying, no matter what happens.” Ornstein was lost in his own thoughts, the man felt he should follow, but he listened to Lyle for now.
-
Inferno made his way to the courtyard, seeing Lynx sitting silently under a tree, Draga standing nearby. He wasn’t going to approach Lynx just yet, but wanted to keep an eye on him still just in case. Draga could send a lot of emotions built up in Lynx, mostly pain and suffering, so he wanted to be present to kind of help his friend, just in case he couldn’t control them himself. Draga looked and saw Inferno, smiling a bit as he waved, walking over to the crown prince and bowing. “Hello your majesty. How did your meeting go?” he asked, looking as Inferno chuckled a bit at the bow, he always said he didn’t have to but Draga always found himself doing it out of respect. “It went well. We were informed of a demon queen being reawoken, and it definitely wasn’t a laughing matter. The entire town is in smoke, she made her base there.” Inferno explained, sighing as Draga nodded, understanding that.
“Poor Lynx.” Draga said softly, as he went and sat nearby him, taking his swords off his back, watching as they formed into their two dragon states once again. Eeyruuad looked at his master. “Master, it is quite rare for you to put us out of our sword forms, is there something wrong?” he asked, but Camilimara however didn’t make any such comments, her wings stretching as she figured it was more just because there was peace and they never needed to fight, at least for now. The two however did have a strange feeling about Nelvona, one they didn’t want to share with their master just yet, they glanced at one another, Camilimara shaking her head softly as if to tell Eeyruuad that it was not the time. “I just figured you two could use the time to relax and just unwind and stretch, truthfully I don’t like keeping you guys like that all the time, but sometimes it just has to happen because there are instances where we have no idea what might attack us. And I don’t really want to risk the chance we get attacked and I have to wait for you to transform. It does only take a couple seconds but even that is enough time for an attacker to kill me.” He sighed, the two nodding in understanding.
Lynx looked up and saw the four all relaxing nearby, getting up and slowly walking over, his movement and himself in general was sloppy right now, but no one blamed the young assassin, after losing everything he probably wasn’t in the right mindset. Inferno moved aside a bit for Lynx, and the panther took the open spot, leaning a bit towards Inferno, just because he felt he could trust him most, for some reason it just felt right to him. Inferno didn’t seem to mind as he gently wrapped an arm around him and rubbed his shoulder to kind of comfort him. “I’m sorry Lynx. I can’t imagine how much it hurts. Just know that you are not alone, and that I am here to listen if you need it.” Inferno said with a very caring and soft voice, trying his best to be a comforting presence for the teen. Lynx chuckled gently, weakly even as he rested against him, he was a bit older than Inferno so it felt weird to be treated like this but he wasn’t complaining, Infernos comfort felt right. “Thank you Inferno. Heh, it is kind of weird, the roles are reversed here. When we fought to get you out of that castle, I was the one holding you up to help you escape. Now you are here taking care of me, it just feels wrong for some reason. Let’s make a promise, use three.” Lynx said suddenly, both Inferno and Draga surprised but listening to him, curious to what the panther teen had in mind. “I want us to promise to one another, that no matter what, we will do our best to protect one another, as a group. No more of anyone feeling alone, or outcast. All three of us should have each other back, and be ready to aid them no matter what their issue is.” Lynx said softly, sitting up finally and looking at the two, Eeyruuad and Camilimara listening as they watched their master carefully.
“I like that.” Inferno smiled, nodding in agreement to his proposition, as Draga gave a nod as well, his cooperation going without say. Lynx gave a soft sigh, this time it wasn’t a depressed or thought filled sigh, this was a sigh of content, of ease. Lynx felt his mind and soul relax, as if a burden was lifted off of them, he felt like having a promise like that in place will help each of them remember that they aren’t alone in their efforts, they can fall on someone else and get help if it was needed. “Then it’s a deal, if we ever need one another, do not hesitate to ask. I think that sounds reasonable and like it could work well.” Lynx said, a smile appearing finally, the first time since the incident. He felt things could potentially turn around from this, if he just pushed.
Inferno_The_Dragon_wolf
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