Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Actually Lyra is 21 o.o)


Shavas fingered the mark burned into her neck. The blasted collar was off at least, and the troublesome demon lords tendrils out of her thoughts, but to be quite honest there was something dangerously familiar about the rune that she just couldn't put a finger on. Silently commending Vermillion on his knowledge and abilities, she leaned up against the wass across him, and traced her fingers up the fluted marble pillars supporting a towering archway.
" Forgive my arrogance earlier My Lord (since technically Vermillion is a higher rank than even the master of the dark mage tower), It seems that even after death I still do not know when to hold my tongue." She smiled sheepishly "Tsuki and Mizu often repremanded me for my towering pride. I'm afraid I should have listened a bit closer to their constant nattering..."
Shavas glanced across the hall to where the tall, pale woman stood. Nadira if she recalled correctly.
Her pale skin and startling green eyes were eerie and though she seemed intelligent for her years, when it came to weilding a sword it was all to obvious that she was all thumbs.
She averted her gaze, and resumed her study of the curious Dragon. "What is this?" She pointed at her neck, "I can't seem to recall, I guess my mind is still a bit foggy. Not to mention I've been dead for the last few decades. You tend not to concern yourself with magic in the spirit realms."

Vermillion looked up from his book; "I was once arrogant like you, my arrogance cost me my family, my wife, my station, dishonorment, and damn near exile. Lord Toleranth, rest his soul, must have seen something in me, destroyed as I was, without family or home, honor, or station. Living off the programs of the poor. Others jeered him for taking me, but his only reply to them was simple. "Those who dwell in the past are dead, he has his regrets, and will regain what he has lost knowing what now the cost is." Go ahead and laugh Shavas, i laughed too, and what Tolly..I mean Lord Toleranth told me was quick and sobering." Vermillion put down his book and it vanished from sight. "You share in my name, what you do refelcts upon me no matter how small an action, and I would rather kill you mercifully then you let you ruin me the same way." Vermillion stood up rather quickily; "I learned the hard way what arrogance does, and frankly you should listen to Tsuki."

Vermillion looked rather pained emotionally, but he quickly buried it and the stone face took over. "As to your second question, that is a killing mark, had I missed the collar, or the collar been of a weak caliber. The symbol would have killed you, you would have slowly burned from the inside out. Lucky for you all it done was leave a mark, and my hand...hand was steady to not miss."

Vermillion began to pace, but showed no other emotion or sign of discomfort.

Vermillion boiled over the top, although he didn't mean to, especially to someone like Shavas, but his emotions were running exceptionaly high at the moment.

HE'S DEAD, THERE ALL DEAD, NOTHING WAS LEFT ALIVE OF DOMACHI!

Vermillion stabbed his pointing finger at the room. "If I could go in there I would, but the minute I do I'll revert back to normal form and bring the celing down."

Vermillion shook his head trying like hell to put his emotions back into the box they exploded from. "Just go in there, the empress has only two options, help, or Die. I'm sure the rest of you now how to prove that."

Vermillion had enough of showing weakness, he grabbed the nearst Hokua gaurd, and half dragged him along as escort to the chamber he came from. He just sat down against the wall and let himself cry for once.

Vermillion noticed Nadira, and began to clear his face up, using the sleeve of his robe to dry his eyes. "I apologize for exploding like that, it was not very nice of me, but its just hard knowing the truth of the matter. Everything I worked so hard to get back is gone, my family came to Domachi, and they got killed when the city was destroyed. Now i'm all alone expecting the worse, and all I have is the assurance of words from a dead king that he'll return."

Vermillion just sighed staring trying to think of something to explain his actions better then that.

-----------------------

"Nadira, will you please smack him, he's embarassing himself, and doubting my choice."

The voice was unmistaken to be Tolly's, Vermillion looked at Nadira; "Nadira did you hear that?"

Shavas smiled, and winked good naturedly at the Empress before following her out into the hall. She slapped the two on the back fondly, "They're big boys aren't you, besides they should know better than to get in the way of a sorceress who's in a hurry."

Shavas gazed at Tsuki, and Ankhe with an expression of intense pain. nobody knows.... the words seared through her mind like a blaze, and seemed to cut off all thought. Her smile wilted in the wake of that storm.

It seemed Vermillion had not yet returned, and Nadira must have gone after him. She was so young, maybe 19 at the most, but the flicker of intelligence was unmistakable in those piercing green eyes. Her pale, almost ivory skin chilled Shavas to the bone, and to be honest Nadira seemed disgusted with herself. The poor girl had a lot to learn.

The young berserker... Kado was his name, had not yet returned from his patrol, everything was a little too quiet. A crash from somewhere deep within the palace caught her attention. "Damn, two attacks in one day? Never bored around here are you?"
She peered out the window, the sun was just brushing the horizon, setting the sky afire with color, High up in the sky the first stars were winking into life, wisps of dark smoke still curled from the ruins of the chamber downstairs. Her nose wrinkled at the intermingling stench of smoke, and blood. People had gathered in the courtyard to clean off the worst of the blood staining the walkways, and were scrubbing the white panels with large stiff brushes. A few scattered pockets of people mourned the loss of their loved ones, their wails ringing through the air, like a chorus of doomed souls, a mob was gathered just outside of the wall, being held back by a determined squad of battered soldiers, the men bore pitchforks and other assorted weapons and screamed for the blood of the perpetrators.
Her gaze drifted West, towards Esperanza where the enemy lay in wait. Something strange was happening back there, a feeling of foreboding welled up in the back of her mind.
" I fear I must apologize empress for recent events. They were out of my control, but it was still my hands that performed the deeds and for that I must ask for your forgiveness."

"I don't know Nadira, either were both mildly unstalbe to start hearing thigns, or what he thought came true. I won't know for sure, since I'm obviously distrubed myself from outflowing emotions, but why you heard it escapes my logic. Nor why he would ask you to smack me for that matter."

Your being senseless foolish, you just blew off a queen to go cry your eyes out, and that leaves a bad taste in some women. Death is a part of life, not all are destined to be reborn, and explaining to you both is wearing me out. I've a little further to go to reach my objective, i promised my return, and when have I not failed in my promises?

Vermillion started laughing; "This is great, i've finally lost my head to hearing voices, i fought a powerful sorceress, and now i'm hearing things. I've cracked, i'm crazy beyond belief, but since i'm here I might as well go see the queen before the voice starts hitting with some kind of inviisble force." Vermillion stood up. "We'll go speak to her, present our options together, and from the crucible of her mind will come the finial decision."

Vermillion offered his hand to help her up. "I do believe we will represent Esperanza's finiest people."

Ayame looked over to Rae, and whispered to her, "Any ideas?" Then, at the entrance of the ones they were expected, she bowed, but otherwise stayed quiet. She merely listened the whole time, for her mind was elsewhere.

[[and my mind is elsewhere as well. sorry. sweatdrop ]]