Dragons of Gralfor

[cats]

Amber

IC: "Well a good plan today is easily better then the perfect plan tomorrow." I did a number of hand geastures and then said the draconic word for horse, which was also the draconic word for a good meal, I summoned a horse. "Atherron, god speed to you and know we'll be in front of the army by the time you get there."

I smiled warmly doing my best to put paranoia out of my mind. "Oh and when you get there can you unsummon the horse. You never know if I'll need that magical energy else where."

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn looked intrigued at the spell and nodded slowly. “Interesting technique you have there, I’ll have to remember that one and maybe try it myself. Though in the meantime, have fun.” Malyn winked and spoke a word under his breath and he and Skie disappeared from sight. When he spoke, his voice was carried on the air so that it wouldn’t betray his location as he flew.

“So have I rider, I’ve had many years to hone my craft as well. You’ve caused enough hassle for both of us. So tell me human, how do you plan to deal with the six riders and their dragons?”

 

[Kalika84]

Cherise opened her eyes and lifted her gaze to Alezals. How on earth did he know something was wrong I was blockingshe thought to herself. Smiling slightly she placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "It is nothing, truly. A small headache but I shall be fine."

She was however slightly worried about the power behind the attacks as it had not felt like Nicolas. Unwilling to speak on it at this point however she brushed her hair out of her eyes and contemplated tying it back again as it blew around her head in long silky waves. More to Alezal than the others she stated, "We really should get moving, before more people get hurt."

Shar nuzzled her shoulder in comfort. Cherise wanted nothing more than to kiss Alezal before the battle incase...well just incase. She did not really want to think about that. Aware she could not as the other Knights were around she lightly squeezed his shoulder before turning to her dragon and readying to mount.

Oh she would relish wiping masses of orcs from existance. She may even explode a few just to relieve frustration.

 

[Wolfsister]

Ari leaned back against Rhea's hot scales. It was true - they needed to come up with a plan, and soon, before Kergal was surely lost. How much time they had already wasted was hard to calculate as it was. Closing her eyes for a moment, she comtemplated what to say. She had thought of something some time before, but had been hesitant in bringing it up - Alezal had fallen in once again as the de facto leader of the group, and something had always unnerved her about him. His easy leadership was something she had had to try so hard to get - and when he was around. Well... comfort wasn't a strong suit around him.

Shifting and making up her mind, she opened her mouth to speak. Then Alezal started and outlined the plan. Arianna blinked - it was her plan! Well - actually if anybody had paused long enough to think about it, they would have come up with it too - but he had had the guts to speak up first.

Ari shifted her mangled arm slightly - a half shrug. As the horse was summoned and Atherron prepared, she walked over to him and whispered an incantation. She didn't imbue it with power, rather she was teaching it to the other Knight so he could use it when he needed it.

"It will keep you invisible - more so if you stand still. Your shadow will still be seen - and if anybody looks any closer, they'll see the ripples in the air. It takes energy too - not so much you won't handle it, but I don't suggest using it for too long."

(Note: The incantation is: A' anan Atherron cas tell a' anan )

"Keep the incantation running through your mind - if you lose it, then the spell will dissipate."

Once the instruction was complete and once Ari was satisfied with Atherron's memory, she allowed the Knight and his Dragon some time alone. Mounting Rhea, she looked over at Alezal, pulling up her courage, "If Shela is going to fly with us - will the Orcs realise that she has no Knight?"

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: "It is possible but if I saw five dragons coming at me I would need discipline to see if there were four riders instead of five. If we keep them busy and do our job they won't have time to count." Of coarse despite what I had said I probably would count the riders. Counting was an old trade habit, and I have long been over my fear of dragons. Of coarse I doubted any orc would share these traits.

 

[Angelus]

Alezal could not help but let a smile come to his face as soon as the horse appeared near Atherron. After all the discussions that had been going on he was afraid that nothing was going to happen and that Kergal would be destroyed before they had gotten there. He turned to Atherron, "Ride as fast as you can. I know that the horse will not be as fast as Shela but try to get there as fast as you can."

He hoped that his words did not sound too harsh to his fellow Knight but he was worried that they were already too late. He looked once more at Cherise and wanted to ask her if she was alright but when she told him that it was a headache he felt another smile come to his face. He knew that he could ask Atherron to heal her, to take the headache away but he also knew that it would be a stupid waste of energy, energy that could be used at a time when he most needed it. He felt her squeeze his shoulder and knew more than anything that he wanted to kiss her. He missed the feel of her lips on his and would have done anything to feel it again.

He moved closer to her to whisper in her air, "I love you Cherise. Please, take care in Kergal. I don't want to-" he turned on his heels and looked away. He did not want to finish that sentence.

When he turned back to look at her he saw her getting ready to get up onto Shar. That brought another smile to his face as he knew that no more words had to be spoken; everyone was getting ready.

It was then that Ari's words came to him as well as Amber's response. He looked at the two of them before he looked over at Atherron. As he looked at him an idea came to mind; a spell he knew would be perfect for such an occasion such as this. He walked up to Atherron, placed one hand on his shoulder and said to him, "I know of a way to trick the orcs into thinking every rider is on their dragon; just incase they are not as stupid as we hope they are. I can make a copy of you. It will look like you and move slightly; for what it has to do that is but other than that it cannot do a thing. It is just for show."

He then looked at Shela, "I am sorry to ask this of you but I need a little bit of your energy to keep this spell running. It will be so small an amount that you will not even notice it."

 

[Angelus]

The rider looked in the direction the elven knight had been in. The spell the knight had just used was a pretty good one and the rider knew that he would have to learn it someday. He knew though that now was not the time to congratulate the knight. He looked around him, trying to figure out where the elf was and just as he turned his head to look in another direction the elf's voice came to him. A smile came to his face when he heard what the elf said and stopped looking long enough to answer.

"I know of these so called Dragon Knights. They do seem to be powerful but if they are so powerful why have they not found me yet. I have been in this kingdom for years. Do you think that if they knew about me they would have stopped me by now. What makes you think I am not being helped by them; what makes you think I am not one of them."

With a thought the rider sent the copies in all directions. He gave each of them enough power that if they hit something they could damage it. He just hoped they would find something before his luck or energy ran out.

 

[Angelus]

As he ran along Rorg kept glancing into the sky. Everytime he did not see a dragon he counted it as a small victory. He knew that they were up there, knew they would still be watching him but the last thing he wanted was to be reminded of that fact. He looked back at the warriors that were with him and could tell by the look on their faces they were eager to get back to the city and rest. The deal with the dragons and the flight from their lands had put a strain on all of them, Rorg especially.

As he neared the bottom of the mountains the first thing he saw was the battle that was being waged outside of his city walls. As he looked down on it he let out a curse to the humans that were fighting his warriors to take the city back. He knew that his warriors would not let the humans take the city back; that they would stain the ground with blood before they would ever let that happen. He then raised his head to the sky and let out another curse, this one aimed at the dragons. He knew they were still up there but he did not know why they weren't helping his warriors.

He knew though that it would be useless to ask questions and curse everything in sight. Instead he just turned to the warriors with him and shouted at them to start running to the city. As soon as they did he joined them.

 

[Bladesman]

“Well for one thing, rider I rather doubt those knights would be using goblins or I suspect orc’s to attack humans or to attack dwarves.” He chuckled as the rider mentioned about their power. “I suppose that I could agree with you on that, they have been unaware of me until now.”

Malyn guided Skie higher till he was skimming just below the clouds and began to envoke an ancient spell that he had only ever used twice before this. The spell was a vampiric spell that would allow him to draw energy from whatever source he directed the spell towards. He uttered the last word of the spell in draconic and began to leach energy from both the images of the other dragon and rider as well as the true rider and his dragon. The spell had been one that he had created and as such he knew that the leach of energy could not be traced to his exact location but would booster the energy that he had used in the spell casting.

((OCC, My apologies for drunken postings.))

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Atherron and Shela

After their argument, Atherron and Shela did their level best to avoid looking at each other while at the same time trying to catch the other looking at them. Both of them have had years of practice with this little game, so needless to say, they were very good at it.

For the majority of the discussion between the other Knights, Atherron was focusing most of attention on the “game” he and Shela were playing, nodding occasionally when he had the feeling that he should. Of course, when the horse showed up out of nowhere right next to him, Atherron’s attention was quickly drawn back to the conversation at hand…and the horse.

When Ari walked up and whispered the incantation to make him invisible, he did his best to remember it. Once he was satisfied, he nodded to Ari and she walked away to prepare for the coming battle.

“I know of a way to trick the orcs into thinking every rider is on their dragon; just in case they are not as stupid as we hope they are. I can make a copy of you. It will look like you and move slightly; for what it has to do that is but other than that it cannot do a thing. It is just for show."

“Go right ahead, Alezal,” replied Atherron. “I’ve got no problem with a copy of myself riding on Shela. It’s blockhead here that you need to be asking.”

"I am sorry to ask this of you but I need a little bit of your energy to keep this spell running. It will be so small an amount that you will not even notice it."

I will not allow anyone or anything on my back that is not Atherron, nor will I allow him to demean himself by riding that animal, replied an unhappy Shela, indicating the horse that was quickly getting scared of the dragon. She didn’t know who or what to glare at, especially with Atherron calling her a blockhead, the horse for simply being there, and Alezal suggesting that a copy of her Knight ride her instead of the actual knight, so she instead released a puff of smoke to show her displeasure.

“She’s stubborn, what can I tell ya?” said Atherron, shrugging. “Shela, for the sake of Kergal, will you please not be a hard-headed lizard and cooperate just this once?”

Shela was silent for awhile, pawing at the ground, blowing puffs of smoke out of her nose, and shifting her glare back and forth between Atherron, the horse, and Alezal. This went on for nearly a full minute, and then…

Fine. Do what you need to. But I still don’t like the idea of you riding that animal or going into that city alone.

“Don’t worry, Shela, I’ll be fine. Just keep yourself out of reach of anything sharp, okay?” said Atherron with a small smile, as he mounted the horse.

“See you guys in Kergal,” said Atherron to the group before kicking the horse into a gallop and taking off towards Kergal.

 

[cats]

Amber

IC: I considered summoning some shears and asking Shela if she wanted to run with them, what with the ball and chain gone. Then I decided it was a stupid joke and finally knew why Opal had never tried to seduce Shela. Actually the only knights dragon he had ever tried to seduce was Rhea and that was only in the last decade or two. Not to say he hadn't flirted and even seduced dragons before but often they were younger and very much aware of his social status.

 

[Wolfsister]

Arianna finished resaddling Rhea and soothing the great Dragons scales. They spoke quietly to themselves, planning as well as reassuring, but kept their words and their minds shielded. It was clear that it was a private moment for them alone. But soon she was mounting the crimson dragon and impatiently gripping the loops that held her in the saddle while Rhea twisted and turned in mid-air.

She watched Atherron as he galloped off and wished him a silent farewell. She prayed to those little known gods she knew that he would have a safe journey. Then she peered down at the rest of the Knights while they milled around.

"Well, if I know Atherron, he will likely push that horse to death to reach Kergal in time. I suggest we start moving - we don't want a horse to beat us there, do we?" she arched and eyebrow, cool and collected once again.

Then Rhea added her bit by giving an almighty roar and shooting into the sky with a massive swoop of her wings, heedless of the dust cloud she created on the ground. While they hovered above the other Knights, Ari's mental sending was loud and clear, Well, are you coming?

 

[cats]

Amber and Opal

IC: No, I think I'll sit this one out. I answered sarcastically. Opal on the other hand imedatly took to the sky and with a great show of dexterity and agility picked me up by the shoulder and tossed me into the saddle. A skill perfected threw years of boredom.

Oh Amber and I are coming alright. I smiled. "Well if your going to twist my arm I can do my sworn duty."

 

[Wolfsister]

The Past Revealed....

And here begins the recounting of the First Dragon Knight,
hidden amongst the Elven peoples and seen by no human eye.
Here is his beginning and perhaps the way to his end.​

Aringial slipped through the forest easily, her long flowing raven dark hair shifting in the breeze that wafted lazily through the trees. Her laughter was music as her smile was the sun. As she stepped along the ground, her feet barely touching soil, she sang and laughed, dancing and skipping, whirling at moments to catch sight of those that followed her. Males and females alike tried to catch up to her, her laughter and bare glimpses of her raven hair their only clue to where she was. It was a popular game, one that she rarely lost in. Her prowess within the trees equalled any Hunter's, but her path lay somewhere else.

"Come catch me!" she called back and heard the answering laughter. No-one begrudged her position - they truly did not mind that they most likely would fail at this task, but the hope that one day she would slip up and allow their arms to encircle her waist was enough for them to try. It was a challenge that she could never back down from. It was strange because her mother always expressed disappointment when she played, saying that her pride was too much for her. Aringial did not understand, it was not pride that made her uncatchable, it was her skill.

A roar sounded close by, cutting through her song and she skidded to a stop. Flame arched through the trees nearby, hurting none of the trees but snaking its way through none the less. She blinked and looked around, in her enjoyment she had wandered into the Forbidden Trees. Forbidden only because it was dangerous to be here.

The roar sounded again and this time the fire that accompanied it was stronger, larger. It snaked its way towards her, funnelling through the trees, aimed directly at her. Staring at the orange ball of light, Aringial did not move and only the arms circling her waist jolted her back to the world around her. She gasped and was moved bodily to the side, well away from the path of the fire.

Turning, she looked up into the liquid brown eyes of the elf that held her. Her smiled was grateful, but some confusion still remained. Before she spoke his voice drifted to her, lyrical but concerned, "Did you not hear our calls, sister? We tried to get you to stop... but I do not think you knew where you were until now."

Aringial frowned and clucked her tongue, her brother's tone quickly sobering her confusion and daze, "Brother - Rykial - I have no need to be afraid here. You know what I am to Malyn."

Rykial twisted his lips into a sneer, "But what of his tame dragon?"

Aringial shook her head. Some elves did not like the fact that a dragon had bonded itself to Malyn. Some elves thought that the mighty beasts were only mere animals that could not be 'tamed', however much they got to know Skie. She herself wondered sometimes just how much control Malyn had over the youngling - but she astutely kept her observations to herself.

"Nonsense! Skie would never hurt me." She barely suppressed a shudder as a memory rose of the large dragon pinning her to the ground before it realised that she was Malyn's friend. More than a friend, but the dragon could not understand - despite its gender it acted as a mate would and could be.... over protective, at the least.

Aringial secretly ached to touch Malyn again, no matter how young he was. But he spent most of his time working with Skie - not even their previous spellworking together took much of his time anymore.

Her brother finally let her go after her third request and she straightened, standing and brushing off her skirt before she realised that they were no longer alone in the clearing. Malyn was there - with Skie looming beside him and she couldn't help but smile. She didn't approach Malyn, but her smile reached deep into her eyes and she hoped he could see the feeling welling up inside her.

The Dragon's rumble in her head could be heard by every one, You are not hurt? You should not have run into my flame.

Aringial just blinked. How did it manage to make her feel like a mere child like that? It was true she wasn't paying much attention to where she ran, but it didn't have to point it out. Instead of letting her irritation show, she put on a carefully neutral tone, "And how are you this day?" She directed the question to both Skie and Malyn.

Skie just rumbled some sort of reply, but he swung his large head down to stare at Malyn with one eye.

 

[Bladesman]

"Are you alright?" Malyn shook his head as Skie looked at him and the other elves behind Aringial came to a stop. He looked extremely happy to see her but at the same time a bit annoyed that her and the elves with her had entered the Forbidden Trees. "Aringial, I've told you about coming here. You know its dangerous to show up here without a word of warning. What would happen if Skie and I were in the middle of a complex spell and you were to break the concentration, it could injure us or worse yet you."

He spun on his heel and turned to look at Rykial. "As for you, if I ever hear you refer to Skie as a tame dragon, you'll be dealing with me on the field. This time I won't hold back on you like I did the last time. Now, you and the others are going back to the city and leaving this part of the woods. Aringial, I want you to stay for a while, its been a long time since I've seen you."

 

[Angelus]

As he watched the others take to the sky Alezal could not help but smile. With all the talking and planning that had been going on he did not think that they would ever take to the air and get to the city before it truly fell. He knew that all it would have taken was for one of the them to take to the air. He did not want to be that one though. With everyone looking to him as the leader of them all it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Very slowly he walked over to where Anoth stood and looked into his eyes,
What say we join the others and make our way to Kergal?
I say that is the best thing I have heard. All this discussion has been boring me. I'll have you know that Shar and I were discussing a way to end it quickly.
Alezal looked over to where Shar stood and turned back to look at Anoth, I believe the two of you would have done something like that. You know that you are going to be a bad influence on her. What would happen if the two of you ever decide to have children.
Now that you mention it.

Alezal's eyes went wide until he heard the draconic version of a laugh inside his head. He shook it and looked at his friend once more, You have truly the worst sense of humor in the world.
Now it was time for Anoth's eyes to go wide and Alezal laughed at him. He then moved and jumped up onto his saddle. Once he was sitting in it he took a deep breath; it was always good to be sitting in this saddle. He looked at the others, in the air and on the ground and knew that there was no place he would rather be.

It was then that Anoth took to the sky with a flap of his wings to join the others in the sky. As soon as he was gliding on the air with Ari and Amber Alezal looked at them and said, So, who's ready to free a city?

 

[Angelus]

The rider could feel the drain on his energy and wondered at first what was doing it. He knew that the spell could be causing it but not to the extent that it was now. It was then that his lips peeled back in a sneer before he closed his eyes and willed up even more power within himself; thinking of a spell that would work. He knew that there was no way he would be able to find the elven rider before the spell he was employing drained all of his energy so at the same instant he threw a shield around himself wiped the copies of himself from existence, using their energy to bring his back up.

He then looked around him but knowing there was no way he would be able to find the elven knight thought of another spell and projected his thoughts all around him.
That was a very good try. Once I have beaten you you can teach me that spell but until that inevitable point you can see that there is no way that spell is going to continue working. Now, why don't you be a good elf and come out where I can see you so we can finish this.

As soon as he shut off that spell he raised his hand and willed several dark fireballs around it. As he threw them he knew that even if they did not reach or even hit the elven knight that they would cause him to come out of hiding.

 

[Kalika84]

Cherise stroked Shar's neck scales while talking to her. You ready for this Shar? I think its going to get very dirty very quickly. Regardless of what the others seem to think is going to happen. Shar turned her massive head and gently picking her Rider up in one claw deposited her on her back. Now now my sweet, don't be bitter. We dragons had to sit here for that interminable amount of time while you all over discussed things. Anoth and I had considered breathing fire on you all to get your attention.

Cherise burst out into laughter. That certainly would have done it dear heart. Lets get going shall we? With a couple of beats from her massive wings Shar launched them into the air after the others. Hearing Alezal in her head speaking to her and the others questioned who was ready to kill some orcs a blood thirsty grin played over her face.

Ooo Pick me, Pick me! With a mental laugh she added, Maybe we should take a wager on who will get the most kills. With that she urged Shar on, who at her Riders call tore across the sky towards the orcs.

 

[Angelus]

Alezal could not help but smiled at what Cherise has said. He knew that without her sense of humor at times like this that he would feel a sense of dread at what was going to happen. He shook his head though to clear his thoughts and looked at her as she flew closer to him.

I think I will make that wager with you but I have a larger question for you. What are you going to give me when I win the wager?

With that he sat back as Anoth flapped his wings, sending the two of them ahead of the others. He then looked down at the ground and hoped that Atherron would be able to make it to the city before them. He knew there was no way he would though and thought that the plan he had come up with would not work. It was then that he thought about it and laughed. Even if they got there ahead of Atherron the orcs that had taken the city would be far too distracted to notice anything out of the ordinary. He just hoped everything was going to go according to plan.

 

[Kalika84]

As Alezal's question floated through her mind Cherise gripped Shar tighter and wooped with laughter. Well how about this, seeing as you are not going to win this wager, I'll offer you a blind forfeit. You can ask for whatever you like *after* you win. But as I fully intend to win, I am not really that worried.

Urging Shar faster they flew on, wanting to get to the city as soon as possible. Those filthy orcs would pay. Shar, I need you to fly as fast as you can dear one. We must get to that city as soon as possible. While conserving your strength of course, Cherise lovingly stroked the dragons scales. I could not bear it if anything happen to you my sweet.

 

[Wolfsister]

Aringial and Malyn

Aringial felt her cheeks heat when Malyn delivered his little speech, but even more so after she realised he had been concerned for her. Luckily she was turned away from her brother, and he could not see, but she felt his eyes on the back of her head and wished that she were alone with Malyn, even for just a short while. When he requested that she stay, however, she turned to look at Rykial. Sure enough, there was a sneer on his face. He gave her one look and wiped it away, but the mockery remained in his eyes.

He gave a sketchy bow, to both Malyn and Skie and barely nodded his head at his sister before gathering up the rest of the elves and running lightly into the trees. Seconds later, laughter and music tinkled through the forest to their ears though it sounded slightly forced. Aringial resisted the urge to sigh.

When she turned back to Malyn, her cheeks rosed yet again and she had to force herself to speak her words, "How do you fare, my.... Malyn?"

Skie snorted and shifted his haunches to better settle closer to the ground. His massive head swung from one speaker to another, his golden eyes staring deeply into them as they uttered their little words. He knew that Malyn did seek his own kind now and then and it didn't really bother the Dragon, but still - females were usually a useless lot, no matter their species.

 

[Wolfsister]

Ari was in the sky, hovering over them as they mounted and joined her in the air. She only nodded and allowed Rhea to take off in the direction of the city. She did not go at a fast pace, only allowing Rhea to really glide forward. The occassional flap of her leathery wings were very occassional and soon Cherise and Alezal were shooting ahead of her. She let them, they could play their game if they wished.

Though it wasn't hard to see they were communicating, they flew too close not to have been, they were guarding their thoughts. Ari wouldn't have listened anyway, but still for a weird reason, it irked her. Perhaps it was just Alezal and him taking over everything. She had been the first off the ground - setting the pace, and Alezal just shot ahead of her. Well, she wasn't going to hurry.

She wasn't going to risk Rhea's health before Atherron got to where he was supposed to be. Casting her mind out, she called to the Knight, "I know its not been long, but how do you fare my friend? We are just beginning to move now, ourselves. It seems Alezal's decided to get us there quickly, though I don't know the wisdom of that."

 

[Bladesman]

Malyn looked over at Skie and arched his eyebrow in a very spock like manner. Thanks to the bond Malyn could see some of Skie's thoughts and vice versa, Skie returned his look as only a dragon could and Malyn chuckled in his mind at Skie's expression and thoughts.

"I am well Arin'. " He shortened her name like was done with most elves that bore great affection for one another like they had. "I admit the bond takes some getting used to seeing as how I'm no longer alone in what I do. Everything I do is complimented by Skie. My magic is much stronger with the bond, I'm far more agile then I ever was. My senses are heightened through the bond, so much more is possible through the bond."

He reached out and brushed his hand against her cheek. "I do get a bit lonely out here though. Skie is a fine companion but for somethings it is nice to have another elf around. How have you faired Arin'?"

 

[Wolfsister]

Malyn and Arin

Aringial smiled, she loved it when he used her name like that, it made her feel even more at ease with him than usual. She folded herself gracefully into a sitting position in front of him, even more aware of the dragon now looming that much more over her, but she forced her eyes to stay on Malyn's, "I am doing well, considering the work the Elders have put me to. Spell Casting has never been easy - Mal - but it is even harder now that you have your bond. People are getting bolder, but they want someone strong to try out their ideas."

She sighed, "I miss having you around. Someone who knows exactly what I'm doing, or what I should do. Half the time I feel like I'm going to far, pushing myself too far." She smiled sadly, "You were always the only one that could hold me back."

Then she frowned, "More and more destructive spells are being constructed now too. I'm not sure... how.. to take it."

 

[Bladesman]

"Sadly Arin, it is necessary. Part of the bond allows me to see the future and I have seen what the astrologers have fortold for many years. I have dicussed it at length with the Seers and with the King. Soon we will be encompassed by Humans and Orcs. The king thinks the humans can be trusted, I disagree. I do not trust them and spoke against giving them a bond with the dragons, Skie shares my belief about the humans. You wouldn't catch a elf killing another elf over something trivial, humans dont even need to think about that. I've seen them kill each other for nothing more then a spilled drink in a tavern.

They are no better then the Orc's, I do not understand why the king proposed a bond between human and dragon when we could have allied with them and wiped the humans and orcs from the continent. The dwarves I have no problems with, we trade peacefully with them and they with us. They are content to be in their mines and leave us to our forests except to trade and on occasion to feast with us. I am afraid to say, I fear for our future. What have seen is great danger to us for the orcs will rise in great numbers and so shall their allies and do battle against us, the dwarves and the humans as well. When it is done, we will be a lesser people then we were and will fade into nothingness." He looked away from her for a moment, looking up to Skie who lowered his head in a nod to Malyn. A moment later Skie took to the air and Malyn gestured with a single word and a canopy of leaves stretched over Arin and himself. The leaves in the canopy allowed small rays of sunlight to pass through and made patterns in Arin's hair and on the grass.