((OOC: This thread is set a bit in the future for AD’s storyline, after she has at least the fourth level of Shadowdancer, if not all five levels. I will treat it as four levels if it comes up though… I’m only 3 more posts away from buying level four anyways.))


The woods seemed so bright and alive compared to the unknown amount of time she spent in Gloomwood. Birds could be heard singing and squirrels rushed about in the shady braches above her. The only real lights had been those that gave the City of Lanterns its name. Part of her missed Balefire. It seemed so comforting there. She had left for a good reason though, or at least she thought so. She was heading back to Cascadia in hopes of finding a Celestial. She had a feeling it would be a fruitless attempt and that she would likely have to seek out someone else to teach her what she wanted to know. She wanted, no… needed, to speak with Raven and one of the two half-celestials she had met in and around Cascadia were the only ones she had met here in Imythess. Was she finally backtracking? If so she would undoubtedly end up back in the busy city of Taras.

Balefire, with its lack of daylight, and the perception of timelessness she got from that, had given her more then enough unrushed time to think about her situation and what she really could do about it. The biggest question on her mind, especially after accepting her dark side and learning to master it instead of letting it master her, was why? Why had Raven taken care of her, teaching her as if she was only of Celestial decent and ignoring the Demonic side of her? Seele had been right about that being a deadly risk. The two sides of her had been at war, determined to kill each other. That would of course kill her no matter which side won. Shadowdancing had balanced her out some, enough to stop the battle, but now that she had control of herself she wondered… Had Raven known that her two sides would try to kill each other after he left? His Holy Aura had suppressed the dark side of her when she was with him, so perhaps he didn’t know its strength. Either that or she had grown darker still. Perhaps her demonic side had always been stronger and now that it was being actively used…

Aether Draka, dressed in dark colors more suitable to Gloomwood then here, continued through the woods in the general direction of Cascadia. She was nearly lost in thought. She wasn’t following any path, just the memory of about where the city should be compared to where else she had been. The shadows seemed to follow her, pooling at her feet as she walked along. Absently she pushed a low-hanging branch to the side and ducked under. She didn’t know she was being followed though. The thin stray she had come across in the city of Balefire was trailing behind her, still watching her with cautious interest. The small creature faded in and out of the shadows, it’s dark coat made it hard to see its outline in the shade. Quite suddenly she felt her unholy aura burn to life, as it always seemed to do when something demonic or angelic came near enough. She paused, waiting and not about to call out to whoever it was. Her only hope was that she already had met whoever it was.

Gregory softly hummed a tune as he trekked his way through a slender deer-trail. The day was bright and fitting for the tune in his head. The song was a slow but happy song, one he had heard in a tavern on his way out a few days past, and he found it to be quite an enjoyable tune to hum. The birds fluttered overhead, whistling stridently as they fluttered about, each free and blissful, whipping through the warm air, singing to each other. Gregory wondered what it would be like to have a pair of wings. He had met a quarter celestials a while back that were afforded a pair, and he had heard many stories of partial celestials that were given the endowment of flight, but he himself was not one of them. He was not spiteful of those with wings, but he could not say he was not envious.

His feet were sore from countless hours of walking, and his neck ached from cold, near-sleepless nights outdoors. As he made his way down the path, the sweet smell of the forest was the only thing that kept him going, as of late he had run out of water, and none moving had graced him with it's presence. Only stagnant insect breeding grounds had been around, and the thought of runny bowels or worse kept him from even a drop out of those, not to mention the green slime that always caked on the surface. He craved cool, fresh, moving water, and he had yet to have any water for at-least a day, including his time spent sleeping.

As he walked, he came to a fork in the path. The left was thick and green, while the other was brown and open. His father had always said that the longest and hardest path held the greatest rewards, and deciding he would take his chances with the lush forest, he meandered on down the path. As he walked, he came upon another sharp turn, and as he followed it the figure of a girl on the path made him jump back and grasp for the spear at his back. This action of fear was quickly replaced and made into a flourishing bow before his fear had become blatant, and his aura pulsed as his lifted his head to look upon the girl.

He had seen her before, that was certain, but it took him a few minutes to remember where. "Y-You! I remember you.. Although, I seem to have forgotten your name." As he looked at her he seemed to notice a forgotten incorruptibility, yet, still unforgotten and more overlooked or pushed aside. He was beginning to remember the girl he had talked to in a tavern -he could not remember which one- and she had been at a feud at that time, yet the light was winning then. Now it appeared as though she had taken the other path. A path of shadow and treachery. Although her light aura had been molested by the dark, it still existed as a flickering candle lighting a dark hallway, and for this reason he harbored no hate or urge to fight, he simply now supposed it was time to be a bit more frank in his workings.

"I see that my convincing has perhaps helped you choose a side. Although it is not the side I would prefer, you seem to have put yourself in my position... The shadows pool at your feet, and your face is paler then it was before. Tell me, was the path you chose a difficult one?" He threw formalities to the wind and confronted her with an air of poise and confidence. He was comfortable, he felt that his model of good kept him safe as she may picture him something of a mentor, and as long as that candle of good was burning, he knew as an acquaintance, he would be saved.

Aether Draka nearly laughed at the irony. Perhaps she still had a chance at heaven then... however unlikely that was. She recognized her darkness now. That meant she knew what to do about it, or at least she could do something about it. She still hated talking about it, but it was part of her.

But to be found instead of finding whom you were looking for… Irony at its best. She forced herself to relax some and her unholy aura actually listened to her now. It faded away, as if it had never been there. AD shook her head, a smile on her face. “I never told you my name. That never once came up in our conversation. Not that I mind. I haven’t decided if I really like my name or not yet.

“And I’ve decided to not pick a side again. At least not yet or perhaps never. I did fight for good once though, in ignorance perhaps. I hope it wasn’t ignorance. I want to know for sure though and was seeking help for that. I want to talk to the angel I mentioned in our first meeting…”

She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting her thought and attempting to pull herself away from her own doubts. It was harder now though, harder to believe that people really were good. She then opened her eyes to look at the half-celestial before her. She felt the power of his holy aura and was once more reminded of her childhood. The past was such a tangled web. How much could she really trust? She wanted to trust in it, but why did it all have to be so complicated?

She found a smile then. She knew this man was good, she could feel it couldn’t she? Just like part of her was still good, she couldn’t loose that any more then she could loose her demonic side. “As for the path I’ve chosen, it hasn’t been any harder then the rest of my life. In fact I think I may have found someone I can call a friend, though I doubt you would agree. You would probably judge him simply by the way he looks.” There was a bit of spite in the last part of her statement and she closed her mouth. The shadows at her feet stirred some, as if they wanted to spring up off the ground. People did fear her friend from looks alone. She knew that and had used it to frighten others away. She had a feeling Lynthaer wouldn’t mind though. It would probably please him actually. He was used to taking the blame and seemed to expect it. She wouldn’t do that to him, and she shouldn’t do it to the man before her either. Aether Draka looked down with a sigh, “Now I’m judging you… Sorry.”

Gregory nodded as she tried to explain where she was, caught between two alignments, denying that she had chosen any while one was blatantly dominant. She may not have chosen the dark side, but she acknowledged its presence, and thus it would consume her. Yet, even with all of his doubts, he nodded as she spoke, soaking in bits and pieces as she continued speaking. He would hunt her when the time came, but as long as that candle of light resided within' her, he would do nothing but offer his words of wisdom. When she mentioned an angel, his eyes widened and he snapped back into reality. She wanted to speak to this angel, this "Raven" as he remembered her calling it. This was quite the quandary, and he was unsure of how any angel would tolerate her presence.

The angels he had known throughout his life were caring, but intolerant of indecision and evil. He doubted this angel much different, but he supposed there were exceptions to every rule. Even Tyrandil, his old angel ally, would reject to follow an order if it were not given clearly or if Gregory could not decide what he wanted done. As she continued to speak to him she moved to the subject of her elected path, and fueled by her own uncertainty her speech escaladed in momentum and severity until she hissed out the last statement on him judging her friend's by their appearance. His hand tensed and he felt for his spear as her dark aura fluctuated, his own cranking up several notches until it threatened to swallow Gregory in light, but he quickly took reign of it and snapped it back to where it was before. Catching herself getting reproachful as well, the girl drew her eyes to the ground and apologized.

"The angel you spoke of before... What is to say he will not be spiteful of your...Development? In addition, I cannot merely call upon any angel of choice; I need artifacts of their existence. My family blood is an article of my own angel's existence, and thus we would need an item containing their origin. In addition, for what reason do I have to call a celestial to meet you? They may not be happy with my rude abduction, and I may be putting myself in jeopardy, I must know for what." He would not usually be so belligerent about such a thing, but this would be the business of calling an angel to a girl, who's mind is clouded by a shadow of mystification.

"Also... This friend you speak of... What does he look like?"

Feeling better by the fact he hadn’t just said no and what was needed besides the spell… That was easy enough. She had a feather from his wing, over a foot long. She was about to shrug her bag off her shoulder to retrieve the feather when Gregory asked a question.

"Also... This friend you speak of... What does he look like?"

She looked the half-angel in the eyes, anger flashing in her own emerald eye momentarily. “I’m not going to tell you what he looks like. Then not only will you misjudge him, you will do the same to me for being his friend. I doubt you would have even bothered talking to me when we first met if my mother had been anything else but half succubus. Someone so clearly of celestial decent wouldn’t dare speak to someone who looked even slightly demonic in public.” AD closed her eyes, she knew better the to speak out in anger. Her voice was softer, hushed when she spoke next, her eyes still closed. “Don’t mention him again, please. I could possibly tell you what he is like, but I’m upset about it right now and don’t want to snap at you. It’s not your fault.” She paused and thought to herself, ‘It’s my fault…’

She opened her eyes once more regaining her composure and smiling slightly. The topic of Raven was always better. She had been happy then, if not ignorant.

“If Raven had any spite I would be surprised. Spite is a form of wrath and wrath is a sin. Raven is a full blood angel and just like you can see both my good and evil, I have no doubt that he knew. My only hope is that he doesn’t kill me on sight. That would send me straight into my demonic grandmother’s grasp and, as she has the capability to cross to and from this world and the Abyss, I may well come back beyond all hope…”

She shrugged both that thought and her bag off and retrieved the long black feather from within her green backpack. While the feather itself was black, as soon as the light touched it rainbows shimmered just under the surface. It was as if it was about to burst into pure and blinding light on command. Touching it also sent a pulse of pain up her arm, as if her blood was on fire. As always though, the pain never reached her heart. The holy aura it contained, while painful to touch, never hurt to her core. She wasn’t completely evil after all…

“He gave me this. Will it work?” She offered the holy feather for Gregory’s opinion. Then she told of her own thoughts and her reason for seeking out a way to contact Raven “I want to know why. I want to know why he took me under his wing. There had to be a reason, and a reason he never told me of my demonic side. I want to know if I’m missing something, perhaps a way to do things right. I’ve fought alongside angels and I’ve been wandering, aimless, since he left. I tried to keep that fight, but it was harder to do when I found out I share blood with the foe… when the enemy is family and the only family I know of. I left them though. I don’t want what they offer, but it seems to want me…” She had not really thought as far as that last statement, but now that she had said it… It was true, wasn’t it? Absently she grasped the ring around her neck, the promise of safety offered with it was an empty promise. She had accepted it anyways and it still represented a false hope, the promise of safety, to her. The silver demonic ring eased her emotional pain and anger, feeding off it.

Gregory frowned at her allegation of him judging her friends and herself by his appearance, but he also accepted that though he may deny it, it would most likely be true, if not to the level that this girl anticipated. As she offered him the long, black feather he carefully reached out and gently picked it up by the root. instantly a wave of good flowed over him, followed yet again by a waver of fear and a slight indication of sorrow. This was no run of the mill angel. His mother spoke of these angels with reverence out of fear.

"If you would have me summon you a herald of fatality, I have yet one favor more to ask... If all fails, you must slay me swiftly..." He paused at this dark thought. He inhaled a long, chilly breath before leisurely loosening his spear and pulling it in front of him, the butt end resting on the ground. "This is a little soon for this... However, I see no better time. My death may come about, and I only pray that the gods comprehend my attempt at good in aiding you, a fractional demon. Hold no feelings of loathing for my classification, you know it is true. If I survive, and this does not strengthen your resolve for good, then our paths will part, and you will no longer be recognized."

In a slow, yet fluid motion he drug his staff butt through the soil, a pale line of blue light following closely, and with every action precise he carefully lifted the spear from the sign, a sigil burning good into the cold earth. "Remember... Kill me swiftly if it fails. Lunacy is not something I yearn for." He slowly approached her, coming within 2 metric inches of her face before taking her cold hand in his own. He stared into her eyes as he slowly brought the spear upwards, carefully and quickly swiping the blade across her palm before turning her hand over and allowing the blood to drip onto the feather. "That scar will never leave you. Even in my death, even in yours. Your spirit body will be reborn, that scar a mark still boldly portrayed. This is the price you pay."

He closed his eyes momentarily, still close to the girl, before breathing in another great swallow of fresh air to calm his nerves. He opened his eyes again staring into hers with a hint of lament shattering his cold facade. "You owe me." He placed his hand over her fresh wound and focused mana into his hand, closing the wound and leaving nothing but a few smears of blood and a clean, thin scar. Gregory nodded once and spun on his heels, making his way back to the sigil and placing the Black, bloodied feather into the center. The sigil's light glowed slightly stronger as the feather seemed to rest in place. Gregory closed his eyes, focusing his mana, blazing his great aura as powerful as possible, and using just enough mana to avoid death if not serious exhaustion. No second-guesses here.

He uttered the words that would seal his fate, and complete silence entered the world. Unless, of course, you were partial angel. The great chorus of the angel song devastated Gregory's consciousness as it roared throughout the forest. His hand remained imprinted upon the sigil, burning with holy power as his body spasm uselessly on the ground, being tossed about like a blanket on a clothesline. Light enveloped the two, light enveloped the surrounding forest. Light was all that existed for 10 miles. Then the light flicked out.

((OOC: >.< Here's the part where I enter my lil' world. Muahahaa... BTW, hope you do not mind the scar >.> I kind of power-played it, but I figured it would not hurt considering this will be a life changing even for the both of us. At least you are not having your hand BBQed like poor 'lil Gregory. Oops, just reread my inbox and saw that you wanted to do his entrance :( Erm... Hope I did not go to far, you are still left to pop him up, after the light turns off, or I could simply redo some of it if you want. :P))

((OOC: I like! *nods happily* I don't mind the scar, it works well actually. Thank you! I shall back up a bit though…))

When he told her that should this fail to kill him her hand went instantly to her dagger, the one she had first learned to use and the one she was the most skilled with. She nodded slightly, afraid that speaking herself may disrupt the magic involved some how. AD had gone still when Gregory went into action. Her hand slipping from the demonic ring to rest at her side as he drew the circle upon the ground. She simply watched, attempting to understand this in its entirety. At this moment she was incredibly grateful, relived, and more then willing to have this work. His comment about being a “fractional demon” was now easily accepted. She knew it well enough. She had only hoped at getting to even talk about summoning an angel, but he had set things in motion...

He finished the marking upon the earth and approached her, reminding her once more to kill him if he failed. Once more she nodded, her one hand tightening on her blade. Then, before she could even react, as she hadn’t expected it, he cut her hand… His touch was actually more painful then the cut and she blinked in surprise. Her blade was unsheathed in that same moment, but she hesitated. Aether Draka didn’t want to retaliate for this… She was getting what she wanted. Seeing his eyes were closed, AD silently sheathed the blade once more, her grip tightening slightly when he opened his eyes once more.

Resolve settled into her soul, she would indeed owe him. One way or the other, success or failure she would owe him. She knew what she owed him in failure. He wanted his death, preferable to insanity and AD would do that if need be. For success... an unknown. Like many debts she owed, an unknown debt was one she would answer to if she could.

Silence descended as he started the spell, and then she felt it, as there is no sound... the shadows about her started to cry out, the scream rising higher and higher, clinging to her as the light grew. Tears filled her eyes and Aether Draka had to close her eyes and lift her arm to protect her gaze. She heard a sound then, though like the shadows it wasn’t a real sound. It rose over that of her accompanying shadows cries, the few shadows that remained… Music... something so pure it hurt.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The screams, the music... but not the pain. Liquid fire raced though her veins as a powerful holy aura washed over her. It hurt more then she remembered. Carefully, cautiously, she lowered her arm. Her first concern was for Gregory. If this had really failed then she owed him a swift death... There was no Gregory...

Instead a lone figure stood before her and fresh tears sprang to her eyes... "Raven." she breathed the name, afraid for a moment that it wasn't real. Her first step forward was difficult, the second less so. Next thing she knew she was rushing forward.

((OOC: Sorry I took so long. I had at one point done a bunch of work, and I was on like, the last few paragraphs and I went downstairs to get a drink, and my mom's all: "Ooh, Tanner left windows open... *Close*Close*Close*" and I'm all: "T.T” And I suppose after that I just didn't have motivation for a while. But, here it is.))

((OOC: I've had that happen to me. You sit there thinking 'But wait, I just typed all of that and now I have nothing?!' and you could get mad, but it wasn't really their fault... and you really don't feel like writing it all again, so you leave it for a bit 'til you feel better about everything going *poof* on you before actually typing it again... Then I started typing stuff in Word and saving it just in case. :) ))

The dark winged angel before her didn't move, standing just under nine feet tall with huge ebony black wings shimmering over with an ethereal light, as if they would suddenly turn, not white, but into a blinding light at any moment. His long black hair is pulled back in a loose braid tied off about mid back, revealing a perfected and nearly expressionless face with eyes so dark blue that they are almost back. Those who look in those eyes only get a tiny glimpse of his reason for being, and many wish they had never seen his gaze. AD was one of few who didn’t fear that gaze… she had never been given any reason to fear him. He had managed to remove that by his mere presence in her childhood. By simply existing near her he had forever marked her, betrayed her… She didn't notice the look of sorrow in his eyes.

Aether Draka couldn't make it to him though, the pain was too much, swirling around her core; the part of her left in the care of her angelic blood was her heart, her center. The pain burned more around her core then straight through her… Still, she fell to her knees before the angel, unable to stand in his presence even though she had once before. Sweat beaded on her brow and she took deep breaths. Her lungs didn’t burn, but the purity of the air made her head spin. She couldn’t reach him… Sorrow filled her, and fear. Fear that all she would have was a place in the Abyss, even after all of this… She wrapped her arms about herself then and hot tears ran down her cheeks.

Raven… he was bound to no longer interfere with her. He had done too much already; interfered in her life for too long. Her state, her shroud of shadows… would she have chosen that path if he hadn’t interfered? No. She would have died in that wood after being chased out of the town for her demonic blood. At only 13 she had still been an innocent, dedicated to the side of Good. She would have had forgiveness. He should have let the others take care of it, but he had said she would live through her childhood. Now… now he should kill her. It wasn’t his place though. More interference would only force her choice and make it no longer her own. He had done that once, an error. She had to do this on her own now. A gentle sigh escaped his lips. There was only one thing he could do, one thing he was allowed to do. He knew the answer, but he asked anyway, dampening his holy aura to ease the pain he was inflicting while he spoke.

“Aether Draka. Why have I been called here, and by whom?”

AD was almost afraid to look up when she heard her name, but deep down she still trusted Raven more then any other being in existence. There was still hope… there had to be… she didn’t get this far to give up now. Wiping the tears from her face she looked up at him, sitting on her heels with one arm still wrapped around herself. Raven was surprised she wasn't shielding herself with anything more. She did have that power.

“I had a half-angel… Gregory… help me summon you. With your feather. He doesn’t know my name. He knew my heritage though. Don’t let him loose his mind please…” Raven smiled weakly, both saddened and pleased with her. She was simply, lost. He offered no answer though. The boy was not his job. The others had that under control.

“Raven,” she said meekly, looking back to the ground, “Please tell me why. Why did you do what you did?”

The silence that fallowed was almost deafening. Her breath was too loud and her heartbeat seemed to thump in her ears like a war drum… fear started to take a grasp again but relaxed some as Raven began to speak softly.

“Aether, I once promised a dead soul I would take care of a child for her. It was perhaps a foolish promise, but you know the value I put on my word.” AD didn’t say a thing, but nodded nonetheless. He continued. “The reason for that woman’s death was none of the child’s doing and the child was the only one to survive. The place the woman had died in was only rubble and death, the fragile remains of what had once been a powerful stronghold at the edge of a cursed land overrun with demons and hell spawn. The humans who lived in that land were damned, taken in by the false promises of these monsters. They even crowned a demon as their Queen and pledged their allegiance to the Lord of the Abyss. This single Keep had survived the unholy infestation and kept pure three elven villages hidden in the ancient forest under it’s guard. Wave after wave of damned attacked, and each was thrown back. The Mountains proved to be a powerful defense and no monster the damned could conjure was getting though.

“The demon Queen had another plan and had one of her sisters create the perfect assassin, a creature a shadow and void from the human stock. She was a strikingly beautiful creature and it was her beauty that fooled the winged Aasimar elves that held the keep. How could something that seemed to fragile and lovely be anything then a blessed creation? The half-fiend was sent to kill the Lord of the Keep, but she had a flaw, her humanity was too weak and the kindness shown her broke her resolve. Almost as if in defiance, she wed the Lord. The ceremony was a thing of beauty and the demonic woman felt as if she had been granted forgiveness, as she never succeeded in her malicious purpose of creation. Never committing the evil deed came back on them though.

“Their love was never meant to be. The demon Queen herself, along with five other siblings, and nearly all the army attacked the Keep while they were in the mists of celebrating a birth. The Keep finally, and tragically fell. Draka Keep was nothing more then rubble under the crumbling remains of the mountainside that once offered it so much protection.

“Three entire elven villages fell to the demon Queen in short succession after the Keep fell. The traitorous half-fiend was taken back to the pits. The child left forever forgotten and bound to certain death. I had made a promise though and was bound by my word. So after the souls were taken care of, I took the child to a safe temple. That was where I had hoped to leave you.”

Aether Draka looked up at him then, her curiosity and a desperation in her searching eyes. She needed more then that, but wasn’t going to ask for more then he would tell her. The story had more, more that he needed to tell.

grooming his hair, he proceeded to take his soft washcloth to his face and horns, cleaning them up with a aromatic soap before drying up and smiling at the thought of the coming day. His face had changed from the boyish appearance it first held. It was much more shaped, his eyes darker and his skin darker, but his face was not what he was most proud of.

A team of angels designed the outfit he wore for him. It was made to fit perfectly while giving freedom to his large wings. The wings were his favorite addition, his lower back had gotten stronger to support them, and they were no longer grossly heavy and uncomfortable. They were completely white now, and his family name had struck true in his blood, as in the past six months they had grown vastly in size, now longer than his body span, but only by about half, and he still managed to move about gracefully with them. Today they would shine on, as hundreds of angels came to say farewell. His entire neighborhood had known him and taken care of him in this new world, and he knew that even with them gone, they would still be there for him. It was comforting.

As he fitted the odd sleeves on the back of his shirt to his wings, he stood back and admired himself. He had grown now, phenomenally. His mother had said that being on the celestial plane had drawn out the deepest heritages in his blood, but she still would not explain the odd horns. As he left his balcony and glided northward, his mind crept to her last words before she left. She would not be saying goodbye to him, she had other things to do. However, before she had left she told him one thing. "Search for the one named Lynthear Golthry, and you will find answers." These words burned into his memory as he flew, almost causing him to hit a nearby tower mid-flight before he got to his destination, an altar in which Glaive would open the portal to send him home.

Everyone was there, more than just his neighbor. It was almost a party, hundreds of angels stood by the altar talking, laughing amongst themselves until one of them pointed Gregory out, and they all started cheering. Being the modest person that he was he offered a wave to the roaring ground before slowly circling down to the ground. He had not perfected his landings yet, but Glaive said that it would come with time, so he was not worried. His spear shined in the light of all the celestials as he stood before the altar, and just as he turned to wave one more time, a burst of light erupted from behind as a portal opened up, sucked him in, and closed in a matter of seconds, leaving the crowd in a sort of shocked sense of confusion. Glaive scratched his head as he looked at the burnt spot on the altar. He could have sworn he held the portal open longer the last time. No matter, Gregory was now in his world. The crowd departed slowly.

Gregory’s vision blurred and his hands shot up to cradle his aching head. His wings automatically enrapt around him as a shield and he fought tooth and nail to conscious. The harsh contrasts from moving to standing on solid ground threw him to his feet, and the dirt under his hands began to appear as the nausea and disorientation dissipated. The dirt felt rough and real, both things drawing a joy from him he had not experienced in the celestial plane. He finally felt at home, comfortable. As he tried to push himself to the ground, his wings slightly opened at the sides to help him achieve his balance, and when he finally stood, he wiped sweat from his brow and looked down an empty trail. His mother said that the girl he left would be there to greet him, and it took him a moment to realize that he should turn.

The sun seemed to hurt his eyes in its harsh light as he covered his eyes with his hand to try to focus on the figure. The figure did not appear to move, and in an attempt to be sure of his reality, he staggered ahead to the girl. Grabbing her hand, he looked towards a thin scar and he smiled. Lost in the joy of being home he grabbed the girl at the shoulders roughly and hugged her in joy. Letting go after a moment to twirl around shout at the skies towards the heavens. He had made it, and he felt it best to try to tell them, although he imagined they already knew. The smell of the woods around him was ecstasy, and he was quick to discover why he had missed this world so much while in the other.

His next words were fairly harsh. “Don’t look at me like that child. The rest of my story you already know. If you wish to know more you will have to seek out the other side of the story, the demonic side. Time is an interesting thing and you must realize that you have both more and less of it then you know. Use it well, make a goal and seek out what you want instead of always running. You are going to have to make your own place in this world if you really want to have one.

“Your summoner friend, or perhaps only ally, will not be the same as you knew him, but he won’t be here to harm you.” He paused as she nodded, accepting his words with an innocence he was surprised she could still foster. It was almost awe inspiring the trust she still had for him and his word. His tone calmed, back to one she remembered when he had taught her to first fight with her dagger. “Aether Draka, use my other feather well.”

With that there was another blinding light and she turned away from it, closing her eyes as the pain lashed through her, though it didn’t harm her core and she still found it oddly comforting… When she first saw him she didn’t know what to think. She saw he seemed in shock and wondered why Raven hadn’t seemed that way for only a moment before staggering back to her feet, just barely starting to recover from such a powerful presence. Raven seemed more powerful and more painful now, or perhaps it was because she had slipped into darker realms, into shadow…

The next thing she knew, the figure that Raven had clamed was Greagory, though she had no real reason to doubt it, had come over to her and grabbed her hand. Looking at the still new scar he abruptly hugged her. The shadows screamed at her again and gathered to lash out at this weaker power, weaker then Raven had been at least. Just as quickly she was let go and staggered slightly to recover once more from the power of a holy aura. She was starting to feel like she was getting an overdose of holiness and the shadows didn’t like it…

When she saw his next action she began to wonder. She drew both her daggers, the scar feeling odd, cool and tight, against the green hilt of her elven blade. Her off hand had been catching up in strength and ability, making it so she was almost able to duel weld easily, but now she would have to build the skill back up. Her mind didn’t linger on that thought for long though. It had quickly turned to her debt, and if she would pay it now or if it would hang forever in the air. He didn’t seem at all sane right now, he had hugged her and was now prancing about in a manner that would only be suitable if there was music and festivities. She would ask though, always best to ask. If he was sane enough to know, then he hadn’t lost his mind when Raven had been summoned, if not… she had promised. He would die and die swiftly. Readying herself the words came forth sharp and clear, almost as if it was an order.

“Are you sane Gregory?”

Gregory was shuffling about in an odd manner, overjoyed with being back and still having his wings. He, for some reason, had doubted that he would have them when he returned. He imagined that they would simply disappear as a non-reality. Back on this plane, they were no different, long and white, Gregory's holy aura flowed even around them. Yet, something had still changed. As Gregory danced, he went to wipe the sweat of the hot sun with the added physical activity from his brow and to his horror cold steel rubbed on his head, causing him to immediately stop and star at his hand.

His left hand seemed to be operational, but it was not a flesh hand. In fact, the hand was black steel, obsidian, and it was carved with harsh inset runes. Runes he recognized not as the celestials, but as their polar opposite. This frightened him quite a bit, but before he let that ruin his fun he simply shrugged it off and proceeded to follow through some basic dances without a partner, enjoying this feeling of being at home while still thinking on this dark attribute. As he dance and laugh with joy, the sweet sounds of the woods were blocked out by the voice of an elvin girl. A simple voice that he longed to hear, even if it was asking him if he was sane.

He stopped dancing and quizzically turned his head, his right eyebrow raised in an expression of confusion. "Sane... Of course, I am sane... What does that have to do with anything?" Gregory pondered for a moment before shrugging and almost starting up in dance again. Just as he was about to lay his right foot down in motion he realized that he was dancing alone, and although it may be a joyous occasion for him, for this girl it was probably just a regular day. "Oh, yes... The dancing... Well, it has been a while since I have been on this plane of existence... So I suppose I got all worked up over it. Forgive me, but I seem to have forgotten your name." He turned to face the girl, opening his wings wide and flourishing a bow in the direction of the girl.

As he got up from his bow, he seemed to have a memory relapse of his last time here and his mother’s words. He recalled his mother’s last words and how dire she had sounded. In addition, with this new obsidian hand it became direr to him as well. “Pardon me for asking,” Well, he had to start looking somewhere, “But do you know of a person named Lynthear Golthry… It is most dire that I find him.” He flexed his let hand, still curious about the feeling of it. As if it was a glove. A glove with feeling.

When he clamed to be sane she relaxed some. Further explanation eased her sense of duty in paying her debt to him with his death. It was then to be paid a different way. She sheathed both blades and flexed her hand some, finding the scar odd but not regretting it. She started to answer the fist question as before, with once more stating that she had never told him her name, ever… Those words never made it out of her mouth. Instead she pressed her lips closed and her eyes flashed with anger. How dare he ask her that, here he has gone off on some strange time loop and she spent only moments here with an angle she had expected to kill her and now this sort of question, and he wanted to be pardoned for asking!

Quite abruptly her dark powers seemed to flood back to her with this anger and her own dark aura soon surrounded her, pushing back against Gregory’s holy aura. Lynthaer was her friend, the only one she felt she could actually count as a friend in Imythess at least. Even Raven had seemed to abandon her. Lynth had also gone through too much as far as she was concerned and she felt she was still indebted to him somehow, though she couldn’t quite place why or how she felt like that. She also had a strong desire to protect him from beings like Greagory. Once more she could not say exactly why she felt that way, part of it was probably guilt. She felt responsible for his drowning, though she wasn’t the one who caused it, and the following change into an undead vampire, though she hadn’t even been there for that. She wasn’t able to explain herself and perhaps if she had grown up a bit differently she would be able to name her feelings. Right now she only felt pain and anger though and she wanted to let it out.

AD was clearly angry and after what she had found out from Raven she bordered once more on breaking down. “What would someone like you want with Lynthaer and how do you even know his name?” The words were shouted much louder then she had intended and doing as much as she had lately against the holy auras, the wave of weakness that washed over her shouldn’t have been any surprise. It wasn’t anything actually dangerous, more of a system shock. She had essentially been purified by Raven’s presence and all her dark powers flooding back to her like that, especially as she was stronger with them then her light powers, caused her physical body to overload and go into shock, her breath caught, her heart skipped a beat and she nearly blacked out. She staggered and after a moment’s pause, fell. Her dark aura cooled some, to more directly around her. Aether Draka curled up slightly, sitting up some as the dizziness started to fade. She didn’t stop at trying to sit up though. She attempted to get back to her feet on legs that didn’t seem to be able to hold her. She would have cursed them if she had the will, but she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to be part of the war…

Gregory's eyes widened in surprise, his obsidian hand closing into a fist as the girl changed before his eyes. Gone was the girl whom questioned his sanity, replaced by the girl whose sanity Gregory questioned. A flash of rage took her, a dark, evil aura exploding around her, threatening to swallow Gregory's undying holy aura. Although he may have been quite surprised at this he sensed her motives, he knew her desires. He knew she would not attack him. She would not be able to attack him. As quickly as the amazing burst of dark energy appeared, so it disappeared into the girl's own shadow as she fell limp to the floor.

He remembered clearly now. He remembered why he helped this girl. He remembered how he had ended up on the celestial plane. He remembered his pity for this girl and how she was forced into a war that, in the end, would be the death of her, and in his pity, a flash of anger crept upon him. Evil turns upon evil. As she shuttered and fell to the ground in weakness, he stood paralyzed in remembrance. The real reason he had helped the girl, his mother's last words, Glaive's training. All of it melded into one bundle of brain use that nearly floored Gregory himself. As he stood frozen he watched the girl crawl to her knees, then he watched as she fought on to stand on legs that refused her. He watched her fight her weakness and he knew she would fight it to the death.

Feeling a stronger pang of pity as she made a second attempt to stand his wings acted before him, springing him forward to the girl, dragging hi feet across the ground while moving swiftly enough to catch her before she fell again. He held both his arms around her, supporting her with his own balance as he felt her regain her own. Then, slowly, he began to loosen off until he supported her only with his left arm under her right, his obsidian hand resting on her back, his other hand brushing the hair from her face. He felt little emotion. He felt small and weak. He felt pity before all else. Pity at watching this girl fight a losing battle, but he would help her fight it. He would help her out of a need for good to win.

"I now see as Ashriel saw. You need help so that you may attain a balance. Whether you are good or evil, you can never be more of one than the other, or the one you are more of will turn upon itself. You're only means of survival are to remain neutral... Girl, I take pity in your wretched, brave soul. You're life will never, ever, be easy." With that he filled himself with his holy aura, transferring it to his hand were he performed a basic healing spell, ridding the girl of her exhaustion mentally, only to knowledgeably weaken her physically. She would need rest, and Gregory would need answers. His mother had not told him enough about this Lynthear.

"My friend. I must know all you know of Lynthear. I must know for my own reasons."

She was surprised to be caught and helped, though it took her a moment to realize that was what was happening. She felt a bit sick, chilled though the cold didn’t normally bother her, and disoriented. Raven’s words echoed in her mind for a moment, that Gregory was not here to hurt her. In fact he had helped her, more then once now, with her barely asking for a thing. She soon felt better, at least enough that she was able to balance on her own two feet again. She almost laughed at his statement, though it would have been a harsh and mirthless laugh. Instead she gave a weak and momentary sneer, and her voice wavered and broke when she spoke.

“Life has never been easy, I doubt such a thing exists. I don’t even have a family or a place to call home, nor do I have one to even remember. I have no place to go and I’ve been caught up in a war not only outside of me but inside me as well.” She weakly pulled away from him and sought the comfort and support of a tree. The forest was a place she had always sought safety in, any forest would do. The trees didn’t judge her as harshly as animate beings, and this wasn’t just a feeling. She had taken the time to learn the language of the forest and knew what they said. She turned to face Gregory and leaned her back against the straight trunk of the tree. She let her emerald eyes, still a bit clouded with emotion, look at the half-celestial’s face in an attempt to study it. Slowly she felt her power shifting its self, her control over the shadows weakening to feed the physical drain, causing what remained of her dark aura to dissolve. The transfer took energy too and she knew she was now more evenly weakened instead of any stronger. She knew she couldn’t fight Gregory even if she wanted to. Her tone was softer, less broken, and there was more thought to her words now that she had a moment to reflect on the situation.

“I wish you would stop trying to help me like that. I don’t think you know how. I can take mental and even magical drain much better then physical. It’s because I don’t sleep and physical exhaustion will no doubt kill me if I don’t get to eat something and soon.

“If you do consider me a friend, I will tell you what I can about Lynthear Golthry, but I will have to count it as equal payment for summoning Raven. Especially if you can’t tell me why you want to know about him. He is my friend, a true friend and someone I would defend to my death, even though I know I would belong to the demons then... I don’t wish to put his life…” she paused there for just a single moment and quickly replaced the word, “his existence at risk. A creature, a shadow, like me needs real and true friend like that and they are very few and far between. That, and I really don’t think you would like him very much.”

Gregory took his arm away as he watched the girl's energy return and her shadow cower. As she took hold of a tree he took his left hand in his right and felt along the harshly scratched scriptures along the fingers and the back of his hand. His left hand was the only one that had not experienced the burning sensation the rest of his body had. It was not a painful one, almost more like the warm sensation of having a hot bath. A comfortable heat, yet one that worried him most since this odd hand had not felt it while it still felt the other temperatures.

"Hmm?" Fair trade for my summoning. Hardly... This girl has no idea how much I risked. I had no idea. However, I suppose she does not have much else to offer... Still, she owes me more. Much more. "Girl. You are blinded by your own naivety. Right now, I could kill you, yet I have continued to help you selflessly. Although I may appear some amazing holy figure that demands nothing in return for their actions, I need to know just as well as you. I need to know about Lynthear because he has answers. Answers to my questions and questions of my family's. I do not know whether Lynthear is a rock or a demon and it matters not to me. Now, I suggest you give me an answer fairly quickly as my patience draws thin." he acknowledged his anger. Glaive had taught him that even angels have right to be angry.

His spear loosened from his back, but he knew if things got out of hand, the girl was too weak for him to need it. His holy aura burned and his blue skin curled at the brow in anger. Three and one half years in there only to come out and find this plane forged in insolence and selfishness. "Who is Lynthear. Answer wisely or you may indeed pay your life to protect his own. Moreover, from what I know, you will not be going to a very nice afterworld. I can be a true friend to you, but you have to be less of a selfish little girl to me."

Aether Draka didn’t speak as she leaned against the tree, her gaze, locked on his, slowly shifted from emotional to cold steel. All the tension in her body dissolved and her mind became distant, unreadable as she withdrew into the recesses of her chaotic mind (shadowdancer power!). When she finally spoke the words were cold and held no emotion in them what so ever. “You really are something, you know. I don’t fear my death and if you really feel it is you who should kill me, then by all means do. This world, this life, has caused me enough pain.” She closed her eyes and reached for the shadows, pulling them forth into a pool between her and Gregory. It was only a shadow illusion, but it was able to form solidly enough. The figure that rose before her was very familiar, standing 7’5” with huge wings and a wicked demonic grin. Pausing there for only a moment, it shifted into a full demonic form rising up to nine feet tall, looking for all the world like a demon had just sprung forth from hell itself. AD smiled to herself and let the shadow illusion collapse back to the height it held before, slimming out into a figure dressed in a cloak with a wickedly grinning mask covering his face. Just as quickly as they had come, the shadows left.

Smilling with what was a stray bit of joy brought on by the satisfaction that she had managed to pull that off, perhaps at the cost of her mind as her hunger rose, and then turned her gaze to the half-angel once more. “That was Lynthaer, at least a few images of him. Before I tell you anything else I will let you know that if I find out that by my doing this leads to his harm by your hand or by your means I will void my debt to you. I do find it interesting that you have gone so low as to offer to spar my life for such information when I could have died just as easily as you with that summoning, and you seemed to have gotten the better part of the deal in the end. I find out I need to contact my grandmother, also known as a demon of the abyss who wants my immortal soul, to find out the rest of what I need to know and you, you become more powerful.” A bit of emotion crept into her statement near the end, a sharpness she had not planned on being there. Catching it she paused and forced herself to relax again, to reserve her energy for finding food after this encounter.

“As if you couldn’t have noticed, he is in fact very much demonic. I will not go into strengths or weaknesses, but for your own safety I suggest you only approach him during the day, after a meal if you can. I haven’t seen him in some time, though I met him first in Taras and saw him last in the Village of Kellen. I was planning on heading back to Taras to finish up some unfinished things there. If you head south to Kellen I can send my fly dragon there should I find Lynthear in or around Taras. I really can’t keep track of him, nor do I try. You really have a better chance as you can fly now.”

Gregory stood rigid as black shadows collected between him and the girl. Physically he showed no change, but psychologically he was being torn to shreds. The shadow image of a demon sprouted between the two, a very tall, hostile demon. His worst fears were realized. His greatest enemy was the answer to his questions. His greatest enemy was the reason for his obsidian hands and his odd antlers. His mother knew of this, yet she did not tell him, and he was completely unprepared for such an overdose on information so soon. Focusing on keeping his face like ice kept him tranquil and composed. Now all he had to do was find a demon.

"Girl, I thank you for this piece of information. Although in the other plane I may have become stronger, I have lost three years of my life. I have lost a friend of long bloodline into my own soul, I have lost my left hand and I have lost my purity of blood. I have foreseen the outcome of learning of this Lynthear, and yet I have denied my revelation. For three years, I have not known the feeling of being awake. I have not felt reality. Those years were like years in a dream. Each sensation drifting like sand from my hand. In those years, I have changed, and such a sanctified place seems such a hellish place for the living to stay. I have missed being awake, and I have lost three years for my deciding to help you."

He stretched his wings wide and flexed his metallic hand. "Your dragon, superfluous," His holy aura dimmed to a thin line around his body, "I apologize, but I may never get along with you. Your trust is often misplaced if even used. Sure, trusting too many people can and will hurt you, but when the right people come along to trust, you fear the thought of being associated to them. You fear the feeling of people knowing your secrets, and your fear will be your defeat.' He flapped his wings experimentally, sending knee-high billows of dirt up around the two.

"Girl... I bid you farewell, and I know we will meet again in the future. I only hope it is under less, catalytic, means." Gregory smiled crookedly and bowed yet again to the girl. "Now then. I am to meet Lynthear, bearer of the answers to my questions. Before I go, I think it is about time I learn your name. The last few words were a dieing murmur as he flapped his giant wings three times to lift himself from the ground, flapping only a few more times before he achieved a steady rhythm of flight and hover a few feet above the girl's head in waiting for a reply.

He was still sour over his Mother's not informing him more on Lynthear. Perhaps he was made to learn it alone. Perhaps he was meant to learn it from this girl. The thought picked at his brain as the wind whipped through his long hair. His obsidian left hand remained at his side, rubbing its fingers comfortingly. He would hear the girl's name, and he would go.

She could almost feel her energies starting to shift again, an odd feeling she wished she could control. She had eaten just that morning but now she was starving. She had done too much… the need for self-preservation was about to take over, undoing the help Gregory had given her mind and turning all her energy to her physical body and raw instincts. She was now regretting the shadows she used to show him what Lynthaer looked like, though he held more color than black shadows could convey. It was an indescribable feeling, like the world was both closing in on her and opening wide at the same time. She had never had it happen so fast before. Perhaps it would have been kinder for Gregory to have killed her, or even Raven.

Aether’s gaze was locked on him, she had to focus on him or she would loose him in the hallucinations that were creeping into her mind. What he was saying wasn’t really registering anymore, but she had the feeling that the shadows were laughing at her in an I-told-you-so manner. They liked it when she lost control, something she didn’t want to think about. She did catch him asking about her name once more as she looked up at him. A longing for wings, or simply flight slashed through her for a moment, not jealousy, but more that she wanted to fly too…

Her voice sounded strange in her ears, as if it was coming from far away. “AD. I’m AD, for Aether Draka.” She kept her gaze locked on him, waiting for him to go, needing him to go and not look back. She needed food, needed to hunt, and if raw instinct took over it may view him as food even though she didn’t. She couldn’t yell at it not too and still keep him separate from the hallucinations though.

"Aether Draka..." Gregory took in the name, as sputtered as it was, from the girl who appeared to be losing herself. He could only imagine how much had happened in the moments he was gone. It had taken him three years to process his little rendezvous completely, and this girl had hardly three minutes. "Sounds, draconic. Keep the name with you AD, and keep the scar. In the darkest hours they will guide you, and when a blanket of evil wraps itself about you they will become the soft wind beneath it, keeping it from resting upon your mind."

She probably had not registered anything he had said, as an odd derangement seemed to overwhelm her, but she would remember. She would know, and that was all that mattered. Gregory hated to sound preachy, but he was sure every word he spoke was true. He had not thought up the words himself; they had come from another soul. Another soul lodged within his own. That soul had so far been the most trusted of them all. With a farewell nod, Gregory beat his large wings in one powerful stroke, spinning and launching himself into the air and over the roof of trees. The sky was clear, and the forest below was darker than the sky. The first place he would look for Lynthear would be Kellen.

She watched him leave and as soon as he had left she closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground at the base of the tree. She shivered violently for a moment and was still. In her mind’s eye she saw Gregory once more. It was a replay of what she had just happened. This time though, the shadows weren’t real shadows. It was Lynthaer and he grinned down at Gregory who just stood there for a moment, just like he had before. The demon bent over and promptly ripped open the half-angel’s throat.

“NO!” She was suddenly aware again, but the clearing was gone. She stood alone in the woods with blood on her chin and hands. She looked around for the thing she had killed as her senses returned to her. Slowly she realized that she recognized the taste. It was human blood. She had killed someone… Fear grabed hold of her as a storm thundered above. Aether Draka ran, fleeing the area in a panic. She didn’t want to be there, she didn’t want to know what she had done. She was going to let that memory stay lost in her mind. The sky above then let down a torrent of rain. It soaked the world and seemed to cleanse her even as it brought her sadness. She ignored it and continued to run, as if to run away from herself.