General Art Guild on Wheels

[*M i d n a*]

Seeing how dead this zone in ZD was, I said I would not post my stories here any more, but oh well, there are a few readers who still read. This story will probably branch out to two different paths after the Introduction concludes, and that is only because this story is dedicated to Magatha. It's sort of like her character's story, so after this introduction her character will be taking over; mine is part of the story, but it's Magatha's character who should be considered the main character for this. As to my character, well, you'll understand later in time. All you need to know is that his story will branch out from this.

Magatha's first story won't be that long, but I hope I can continue to expand on it by adding more content to it with sequels and stuff, or at least extra chapters or something. You will also see several guest characters from other stories, such as HoT's Damera, vatti's Sammy, Mandy's Emilyann, Linknerd's Starly, Violet's new character (if she submits it) Rainy's Abigale, and Myriad's new evil character, who will appear soon enough but not during the Intro. (The intro is 4 separate parts, so this is part 1)

I also have no map as of yet, so just follow as good as you can. Anyway, I've said enough. To those of you who follow my stories, thanks for reading. Enjoy them. :nod:

To Magatha

Metal rang against metal and loud booms echoed in the middle of the night under a full moon that was hidden behind dark, creepy clouds. Grunts and shrieks filled the air as well as fireballs and arrows as the opposing fighters battled and killed each other without regard for life.

“There are too many of these damn things, Artemys,” a desperate cry of a female warrior filled the air. “We won’t be able to hold them back if they keep coming.”

Artemys, who was the leader of the group of mercenaries that had been hired by the princess to investigate a huge, odd-looking, glowing magical door that had appeared at the base of one of the mountains in the central region of Ilitia, knew well that the tall, buffed-up warrioress spoke truthfully.

“Just keep fighting, Kalindra,” Artemys shouted back at the warrioress, who just like him, was a Dragir. They resembled humans but were actually dragon folk. The dark, spiraling horns on their heads and the random scales on parts of their bodies was what differentiated them from humans, not to mention the dragon blood within them, which allowed Dragirs to live up to ten centuries. Artemys had not been made tall or short, he believed that he had been born the right size at five-ten. He was owner of a decent, scrawny body and was actually tougher than he looked. His hair was short and of two colors, mostly brown with silvery bangs at the front. His skin was a light tan, and he had a noble, kind stare despite many saying that he actually appeared to be angry at all times due to an angry scar that ran perpendicular on his left cheek. He wore silver, regal armor with a cape attached to it, black pants and even darker boots.

“Behind you, Captain!” Kalindra shouted with her face deformed in fear as she noticed that one of the ugly creatures was coming up fast behind Artemys. But the guild leader was no newbie to battle. Artemys, who had been a little distracted talking to Kalindra, had known of the creature’s intent, and so he was quick to turn around and insert one of his two blades deep in the creature’s gut. The creature looked hatefully at him with unbelieving eyes and then dropped a black, old axe that it had been carrying overhead to kill the distracted foe. Artemys, with the blade still stuck in the creature’s belly, pulled it out and kicked the creature away and watched as it hit the ground hard.

“Don’t worry about me,” he told Kalindra with a light smile. “I can hold my own.”

The beautiful Dragir knew that he could hold his own out there. Many had been the battle fields and fights that she had shared wit him, but she would always watch over him, for Kalindra was his girlfriend, and perhaps soon-to-be new wife. The female Dragir nodded at him and then turned her attention to the battlefield. She found a creature nearby to strike and went to do that while Artemys kept his attention on her as well. Just as Kalindra protected him, so too, did Artemys protect the Dragir he had come to like over the past six months.

Artemys and his group had been battling and killing hordes of dark creatures that had all of a sudden come out from within the magical circle as they had been inspecting it; it appeared that there would be no end to their pouring numbers, for the more they had killed, the more creatures had come out. The hardened ground underneath and all around them was a witness to that and was already filled with so many fallen bodies, mostly of these mysterious, dark-skinned, horned creatures, which Artemys suspected were demon kind or something, for they resembled other creatures that he had seen before known as Gargoyles. These weren’t those creatures, though, they did not have the wings or the sturdy body and ram-like horns that Gargoyles had. To the sadness and anger of the guild master, there also lay seven elite fallen warriors from his guild, warriors who had seen so many battles with him and had followed him to the very end. The death of those warriors had enraged the Dragir so much that he had gone into a frenzy and had dispatched so many monsters with his magical blades and his own magical abilities before Kalindra had disrupted him with her words.

Artemys saw as Kalindra delivered a quick death blow to the creature with her own sword. He killed a pair of the monsters, who’d been coming in against him, and later Kalindra rushed to his side and the two of them engaged a group of four enemies. They fought those creatures off successfully, and around them, three other warriors that belonged to Artemys’s guild fought off their own foes. Only the quintet remained of twelve that had answered the queen’s call.

After Artemys dropped one of their final foes, he and Kalindra came face to face. They understood that no more living enemies shared the battleground with them, so they relaxed from their battle stance.

“I hope this was the last of them,” Kalindra said as she stared at her fiancé.

“I hope so too,” Artemys replied as his brown-toned eyes landed on the magical door in the distance. The door glowed in a bluish hue and had many rare symbols on it. The other three warriors, having finished their foes off, began to head toward Artemys and Kalindra.

“This bodes ill, Captain,” cried one of the warriors, this one being a tall, blonde man who had several scars on his face and a long, reddish beard. He held a huge double headed axe over his shoulder and appeared to have been enjoying the battle so far. His mercenary garments were tattered with blood and grime, and he appeared a little tired before the guild master, but he was smiling as he usually did on a daily basis. “I don’t think we are done here. More of those ugly things might be coming out soon, but you know what? That’s actually good.” He brought his axe about and gave it a kiss. “It just means more enemies for the Mattman to put down to the ground.”

“Just keep your guard up, Starbanger,” Artemys shouted. “More creatures might pop out at any time. I don’t want them taking a stab at you.”

“You know what?” Mattman spoke, and he started walking bravely toward the magical circle. “Maybe it is time for us to go in there and see what’s within. Maybe that door’ll lead us to the creatures’ nest or home or something.”

There came a loud shout from behind the tall man.

“Going into a magical door that we know nothing about unprepared...are you nuts, Mattman?”

The female who had spoken was actually a human witch, a practitioner of the dark arts. The woman was tall, had a sturdy bodily frame, and had curly, short reddish hair underneath a pointy black hat that she wore. She wore a black dress which had spider webs designs on it, and black knee-high boots. Mattman stopped in his walk and turned back around to stare at the witch, who was two inches taller than him.

“No, but maybe you are, Jzak,” grinned the bearded man at the witch. Next to the captain, Kalindra chuckled.

Jzak ignored the remark knowing that Mattman was just joking with her, just as he usually did at the guild or during missions. She arrived to stand in front of the captain and let him know, “We can’t go in there unprepared, Captain Primrose. I perceive a strong aura within that portal yet.”

“I know,” declared Artemys with a low murmur. The Dragir knew several types of magic, and so he felt the aura, too. “I feel it too, Jzak.”

Artemys had read a malignant aura emanating from within the portal, something that he knew was stronger than those monsters that they had been fighting so far.

“What could it be?” Kalindra’s voice sounded shaky, and she even gulped lightly. Behind her approached the other warrioress, the final of the five that remained. She was a short girl who had long, dark hair and slanted, dreamy eyes. Pandora was her name, and she had been supporting the group from a distance with her bow. With that weapon she was as deadly as she was beautiful.

“Whatever it is, are we going to find out, Captain?” asked Pandora, her tone obviously nervous that it was picked up by the four remaining warriors.

“Haha,” laughed Mattman. “I had never seen fear on an Asakian’s face before, until now. Are you scared, Pandora?”

Pandora just glared at him, but when she noticed that Artemys was about to talk, she gave him her attention.

“Her highness Princess Sammy O’Hera hired us to look into the matter,” Artemys replied coolly. “So yes, we’ll investigate the matter until we conclude with it.”

There was a long silence, and tension crept up on all other warriors, save for Artemys, who went walking toward the magical door slowly but unafraid. Where had he felt that same aura before? He did not know, but he was sure that he had felt it before in the past...

“Careful, Heart,” Kalindra called from her place. “Are you sure you want to be approaching that thing?”

Artemys just rose his hand up in a signal that it was alright and kept advancing. He stopped right in front of the glowing door and stared it carefully, his eyes trying to decipher the meaning of the symbols. He could not make them out; they were from an idiom unknown to him.

The Dragir did not know what would happen if he went through the door, but he would probably be taken to some other plane of existence. Besides the earthly realm that humans shared with other creatures, there were several other planes, or realms, if you will, where other types of creatures resided. Artemys, who was four hundred and thirty one years old, knew about several different planes of existence and had seen many creatures during his lifetime, but none like the ones they had been battling that night, and so that made him consider his options. His bravado would have made him walk into the portal that night and find out what lurked within, except that there was something else that stopped him: Magatha, his seventy five year old daughter. He had promised her back at the guild that he would be returning to her before the dawn came.

As he thought about his dear daughter, Artemys was suddenly startled when he thought he heard a voice whispering his name, “Ar...te...mys.”

The dragir blanched, and he felt a shiver running through his back when he thought he recognized the voice. But there was no time to dwell on it, as then, when the whisper died down, a gust of wind suddenly blew out of nowhere, like from within the magical door, and blew him back a step. The others were scared out of their socks since with the sudden gust had also come an evil, hair-rising, bone-chilling wail.

“What the fu...” Artemys was surprised, but not at the sudden howling wind, rather at the whisper that he had heard. The Dragir’s mind was suddenly flooded with past memories.

Shawthia Gigas, was that you, my love? Artemys thought. He received no answer, but his eyes were glued on the magical door, and Artemys, who appeared to have fallen in a trance, nearly walked into the portal, his heart dictating to him that he should do that. More than his heart and mind, it was the love that he once had shared with Shawthia Gigas, who happened to be Magatha’s mother, what nearly made him enter the portal, except that Kalindra also called out, “Arty, are you alright?”

Kalindra’s worried voice somehow brought back the Dragir from his daze, and Artemys shook his head as if to shake that feeling off. Feeling a little weak, he turned around and eyed the witch.

“Jzak,” called Artemys, his voice and stare as serious as never the group had seen it.

“Yes, Captain?” Jzak the witch wasn’t late in arriving next to him.

“Work your magic on the door and make sure it’s safe for us to go in there. Be quick about it...”

“Aye,” Jzak nodded and quickly went to work. Artemys, with so much on his mind from his past life, turned his attention to the rest of the team, but he avoided Kalindra’s stare.

“Pandora and Kalindra, you two come here and watch over her as she works,” Artemys ordered. The Dragir and Pandora were quick to station themselves close to the door, Pandora stringing an arrow to her bow, and Kalindra holding that two-handed sword tightly as if they could expect enemies to pour out any moment. As to the witch, she was very grateful of the captain for protecting her like that.

“Artemys,” Kalindra spoke. “You are so pale. Are you alright?”

The guild master regarded her almost blankly, and Kalindra really felt his stare empty upon her.

“I’m fine,” Artemys told her. “Please look after Jzak, we cannot afford mistakes.”

Kalindra nodded and then turned her attention to the magical door, and her fiancé swallowed hard but turned his attention upon the bearded human, who was staring curiously at him.

“Come,” Artemys then told Mattman. “Let us revise these bodies and make sure they are all dead. We don’t want for one or two of them to still be drawing breath and get us from the back.”

The six-foot-two-inch warrior lifted his axe, smiled, and said, “My pleasure, Boss.”

*****

 

[Myriadviper42]

So far, very interesting. I'll be looking forward to the next part.

 

[*M i d n a*]

You said you might come later tonight, Vipee. Well, here's the next part as promised. It's part 2/4. Short, I know, but if I add part 3 it's gonna be looooooooooooong. Anyway...



Knowing she had caught the Dragir’s attention out on the surface world, the evil deity believed that having him come to her was only minutes away from happening. He could not ignore the call of her beloved wife, whom he had lost long ago. The queen of the Succubae and incubi smiled placidly knowing that her beloved prize was at hand.

Standing beside the She-demon stood a cadaverous-looking tall Dragir warrioress. Shawthia Gigas had died long ago, but she was alive then and there, only that her flesh and bone body was corrupted, though Queen Ashki had done a good job in rebuilding her to what she once used to look like. Still, much of her skin remained corrupted, but little by little and bit by bit, the Dragir was regenerating back to her mortal body.

“Even in death you creatures serve a purpose,” the deity sneered at the corrupted Dragir. “But once I get your husband here, you’re going back to the pits of torture where you came from, so don't get your hopes up; you're only a bartering tool.”

The revived Dragir said nothing, though she understood the words perfectly and could talk if she wanted to. She did not talk, though, for within, she was feeling so worthless and miserable knowing that even in death she would continue hurting Artemys, who had been at one point in time the love of her life. With her death long ago, she knew that she had terribly hurt him, had left him in shambles and suffering badly for her passing. Had he been strong enough and moved on with life? Had he forgotten about her? Shawthia knew not the answers to those questions, all she knew was that she had been reawakened back to her own flesh and bone body by consent of the ruling Mistress of Yfrit to serve a purpose. Yfrit was home to Queen Ashki as well as many of the worse demons in existence. It was there that all dead beings arrived after dying in whatever world they had lived in. They were judged there and given a new life, but one of pure torture and pain as a result of their committed evil deeds. As to those souls who hadn’t sinned as much during their lived lives, those were spared and actually went to reside in Elysia. They were taken by the Valkyries to a paradisic world in the heavens, realm with which the majority of the evil planes were ever at war with.

What Shawthia wondered as she stood beside the tall, white haired deity was what could an evil being possibly want with her husband. She had no idea, but she had been used to lure him in with her voice. If anything, Shawthia felt a small wave of happiness knowing that at least she’d get to see him once again after having spent an eternity in total torment and agony, and to her that meant a lot even when she knew that she was destined to return to the horrible, dark place where she had been enduring torment day and night and without rest. But the Dragir was painfully worried for Artemys’s life. She had endangered him, but she’d had no choice but to obey the wish of the ruler of Yfrit. Still, she was pained, and in her anguish she hoped that nothing bad came to happen to Artemys.

“Do away with any of the others who come in with Artemys,” the Succubus queen ordered in her demon tongue so that the Dragir could not understand a single word. “They don’t matter, but leave Artemys unspoiled.”

Shawthia wondered what those words had meant.

A group of ten elite incubuses who hid in the shadows of the underground temple grinned maliciously after hearing their leader’s words. They started counting the seconds for the arrival of the mortals so that they could put their weapons to good use.

*****

 

[*M i d n a*]

Part 3/4 of Introduction. The last part is the longest. Btw, I edited part 2 and changed the evil queen's name. She is now known as Queen Ashki instead of Ginevrina. A friend of mine wanted that role, so I gave it to her.


“Master, I believe we can proceed,” Jzak revealed. “I am sure this door holds no traps, but I do advise we use caution if we really are going in there. Something powerful lurks within.”

“None of you are going in,” Artemys told them, and all eyes went to him. He stared back at them and said, “I am going in alone.”

“What?” Kalindra was the first one to ask. “Dear, what are you saying? There’s no way you’re going in there alone.”

“That’s right,” Pandora said from her standing spot. “We came here as a group, and as a group we will continue until we return to the guild.”

But Artemys was not having any of that. He shook his head and told them with stern words as he raised his hands in calming gesture, “I already lost seven of you. Seven! When we left the guild I was sure that we would come here and cruise toward our goal, but so many have fallen. I don’t know what’s in there, but I know it’s nothing good, and it surely is stronger than what we’ve faced so far. I don’t want any of you to die. I don’t doubt your ability and skill, my friends. You have all served me greatly over the years, but only until this day. I will find out what lies within that door, not any of you.”

“What?” Kalindra, very confused, shouted. “Artemys, what’s gotten into you? Dammit, we serve you. We swore to go with you to the very depths of hell if need be.”

Artemys gave her a wild stare. If only she knew what he had heard earlier, and if only she knew of the feelings that were stored in his heart for his deceased wife perhaps she’d understand. But she did not know any of that, and he was not about to explain to her the whisper he had heard and that he still had much love for Shawthia Gigas, the Dragir warrioress whom he had loved many years before she ever had appeared in his life.

“If you’ll go in there, you will die,” Artemys told them. “I wish I could explain why, but I can’t.” He stared at the ground, not knowing whether that was true or not. But he knew that he could not afford to lose more of his warriors and leave his guild crippled. These four warriors were actually the very last elites he had remaining. Back in the guild only five other warriors had remained behind taking care of his daughter and the guild, but those were not elites. The moment he had heard Shawthia’s whisper, the matter had become personal. He would go into the portal alone and face whatever was in there. The Dragir really wanted to see the warrioress that had stolen his heart so many years ago, and mostly because she had been taken away from him unexpectedly during a raid back in the village where they had lived in their own homeland of Dragiria.

Decision made, Kalindra walked up to him and grabbed him by the arm. “I’m not letting you go in there alone, Artemys. Either we follow you in, or none of us, counting you, enters.”

“That’s right,” the Asakian had Kalindra’s back. “We are a team, remember, Boss?”

Artemys just regarded the short archer, and then his eyes glanced upon the witch.

“I agree with them, Captain,” Jzak said from her place near the portal. “With much respect to you, of course.”

“I am with them as well,” Mattman produced courage when the leader’s eyes sought him. “There’s some more skulls to bash within, so don’t hold us back, Boss.”

But Artemys had made up his mind when he had heard the whisper coming from the portal. He would go in there alone.

“You all signed contracts when you joined my guild,” he reminded them, and when they all heard those words, they knew they were doomed to obey his wishes. They had indeed signed scrolls of obedience under their own word and code of honor, which meant that if they broke their promise, they would be considered worthless, dishonorable, and not apt to join another guild. They all lowered their heads feeling sad and even sick at the contract that they had signed that day long ago. This night, Artemys had them in his tighten fist.

“Your new orders are now to return to the guild and wait for my return,” said Artemys, solidly. “So get moving.”

None made a move to leave, but Artemys shouted, “You’re all going to disobey my command now? You all know that to disobey an order from the leader means that I can fire your butt right here and right now, right?”

They all just looked at him; Mattman even turned his stare to the ground when Artemys’s tough stare fell upon him.

“Fine, it seems I will start by firing you, Pan—”

“Alright,” Kalindra shouted, interrupting him. “Alright, that’s enough. We understand. We’ll go, but you have to promise me that you won’t be doing anything stupid while in there. If you see that things are too tough to deal with, you have to promise me that you’ll back out.”

“I can’t promise you anything,” Artemys sharply replied, and with his words he hurt Kalindra’s feelings. He noticed that, but he knew that it was too late to ask for forgiveness. “I have to get to the bottom of this,” he added. “But I certainly will not expose your lives doing it. So go, wait for me at the guild.”

Kalindra walked up to him and hugged him. Artemys hugged her back, but barely, the image of his deceased wife came to his mind then and did not allow him to secure her tightly. Kalindra felt the weak hug but said nothing, but she then slowly leaned her head down and kissed him. Artemys savored the kiss but he felt it empty, somehow. When they let go, he nodded at her, caressed her chin with his own hand, and told her that everything would be fine.

“I’m just worried for you, that’s all,” Kalindra stared aside quite sadly.

“You don’t believe in me?” Artemys felt hurt. “You don’t believe that I can go in there and take care of business?”

“I have never doubted you, Artemys,” Kalindra quickly told him, her stare coming back to him. “You know that to me you’re the best swordsmen in the entire world.”

“So stop feeling so negative about this,” Artemys pat her shoulder. “I will be alright. I am going to get to the bottom of this, and then I will return to the guild to you, to everyone, and my daughter, who surely is sick worried about me and you all.”

Kalindra sighed loudly. She remembered about Magatha then, and knew that indeed the young dragir had to be sick worried.

“I will look after her while you are out here,” Kalindra promised. “You have my word, Artemys.”

“I know. And should I not return by the morrow,” he added, “then you’re in charge of the guild in my stead, Kalindra.”

The warrioress did not like those words, and she hesitated in nodding, but she did when Artemys added, “Got it?”

The others joined Kalindra and they regrouped. A few seconds later, after saying their good byes to Artemys, they started walking back to where they had left their horses upon arrival. Mattman, upset that he had been dispatched back to the guild, even kicked several corpses as he walked with the trio of females. The witch had to calm the tall warrior.

Artemys kept his stare on the retreating group until they mounted their horses and rode away to the west. Kalindra never stopped looking at him until they rode away, but even as they were riding she stared at him through the darkness and could see him well thanks to the light afforded by the glow of the huge portal. How her heart trembled when she saw him standing there by himself.

“Be safe, my love,” was what she prayed for with all her heart and might. “And please return to us soon.”

The Dragir had to wait more than five long minutes before he finally turned his attention to the glowing portal. He felt bad having dispatched the group back to the guild, but he knew that he had done the right thing; too many of his faithful soldiers had already died out here trying to figure out why this portal had appeared.

Artemys took a deep breath to steady himself, then, remembering the past, although it was mostly the image of Shawthia Gigas what was burning his mind, he walked forward toward the portal. Yearning to see her, the Dragir never hesitated in walking in, though his swords were in his hands.

*****

 

[Myriadviper42]

You do have a tendency for long intros. I'm enjoying this so far, hopefully that will only increase.

 

[*M i d n a*]

You do have a tendency for long intros. I'm enjoying this so far, hopefully that will only increase.

I know. lol. I am sorry for this next one, but I did warn you before that this final part would be the longest. Read it at your own pace, you'll be fine.

Alright, I have some words to say before I post the final part. The story branches out from here, which means the next update (Chapter 1) will introduce Magatha, and her story just goes on to the end of (perhaps) her first tale. I dunno how long it will be, but it is not very long. And as to Artemys...(Let us just say that I may not write his story, but we'll see, I might and only because he's part of this story. )

Part 4/4 of Introduction


Just as he had feared, the portal had sucked him in and had taken him to a distant plane. While traveling through time, Artemys felt queasy and a little disoriented, but since it was not his first time traveling through a magical portal, the Dragir endured the funny feeling. To him, it simply felt as if he was falling through an endless hole.

Soon he saw a bright light ahead, and he advanced to it knowing that it was the other end of the portal. When he stepped out of the door he noticed that he had come to the inside of some sturdy temple or building. It was dark within the temple, but thanks to the light afforded by the glowing portal, the Dragir could see high, dark walls rising on both sides. There was also a high ceiling and a floor of the same color. He was in some long corridor with little for the eye to see. Everything was quiet as well, and there was a musty smell about the air.

Knowing that the answers perhaps lay deeper inside this place, Artemys began walking forward, the Dragir ever at the ready, his heart yearning to come upon sight of Shawthia Gigas.

The Dragir traversed through the long corridor at normal pace, and soon he came upon a wide room that contained many rising pillars and low walls that ran perpendicular and horizontally, as if they had been built to make of the room a large maze. The pillars, he noticed, were there for support of perhaps another top floor of the building.

It was darker here now that the Portal had remained behind in the previous corridor, but Artemys’s eyes had somewhat adapted to the place. He could see the walls and pillars well, but he had no idea that behind some of those walls lurked incubuses ready to kill.

Only until he rounded one of the walls did Artemys make out one of the horny foes hidden deep in the shadows, and believing that he probably had walked into an ambush, he instantly went to work. Artemys rushed at the figure.

The incubus tried to defend himself from the oncoming Dragir, who had somehow seen him. But Artemys was a master with the blades, and before the poor devil could even begin to bring up a blade to block, one of his blades had already cut his neck open. The incubus gurgled his last words and slid down the wall quite dead.

Then the other incubuses were upon the intruder. They surrounded Artemys and easily subdued him. Several of the demons removed the blades from his hands before he could react to their appearance. One of the incubuses, a tall, broad shouldered one, hit Artemys on the back with his strong forearm, sending the Dragir to the ground easily. When he fell, several of the demons laughed and began to kick him hard. The tall incubus, wanting some more action, merely tossed some of his kin away in order to clear space. He wanted to kill this intruder himself! When the Dragir was all his, the incubus drew a dark axe from his back, raised it up overhead, and he would have gladly gone on to kill the Dragir, but a loud shout stopped him from doing that.

“Noooo! That’s Artemys, fools!”

The Succubus queen left her hiding place and came forth to where the demons had put Artemys to the ground, and in her anger grabbed the nearest incubus and chocked the life out of him. Angrily, she tossed that one away and her mighty hand came forth seeking another of the incubuses, but the group had retreated far away when they had seen her approaching, and so they all slipped away from her reaching grasp.

Queen Ashki cast them all a nasty look and they all cowered before her menacing glare.

The queen let her anger reside. She looked down at the fallen Dragir, who was on all fours but beginning to rise up, his eyes on her. As he was rising up, Artemys easily made out the powerful aura of the figure that had just arrived to his aid. Artemys knew that it was the aura that he had registered outside, and he felt doomed.

“Are you alright?” the figure asked him, and those words surprised the Dragir, but more surprised was he when the figure called forth magic and illuminated the wide room with a ball of light, which she tossed up high in the air. Artemys—and the Incubuses as well—closed his eyes as the rays of light stung him badly, but after a few seconds, he opened them again and was able to see clearly. His dark brown eyes fell upon the gigantic being standing close to him.

“Sorry for hurting your eyes,” said the horned figure. “But it had to be done.”

“W-Who are you?” Artemys asked, surely not wanting to waste a dialogue. Before the tall figure he felt so vulnerable without his swords, and he even looked around for them with the movement of his eyes, but the demons that had disarmed him still had the weapons with them. And the demon that the She-devil had chocked to death had landed far away close to a pillar, so Artemys knew there was no chance he could attempt to get to the fallen body and retrieve a weapon from it, though he considered it and knew that if it came to that action he’d have no choice but to attempt it.

“A friend to you, perhaps, and perhaps not,” replied Ashki, her eyes on the Dragir. “But I just saved your life, and before you go getting crazy ideas, you have no need of fear. I have little desire in killing you; quite the contrary, really.”

The Dragir stared at the tall being in silence. With light now lighting the room he saw the horns and the white, long hair on her. Her face was thin and beautiful, her skin a light grayish color, and her body slim yet sturdy-looking.

“Are you...a demon?” Artemys asked casually.

Ashki chuckled. “Good guess. Yes, I am a demon.”

With the clarification, Artemys nodded lightly and laid eyes on her once again. The Dragir noticed that she was taller than him by a lot; at least she measured six-eight, Artemys estimated.


“In fact,” Ashki added. “Let me make it clear for you. I am actually Ashki, Queen of the demons and ruler of this place.”

“Queen of the demons?” Artemys breathed heavy, surely surprised. “Then that means I am stepping on ground of one of the five demon worlds? Shekktol, perhaps?”

“Hardly,” Ashki felt sick to her stomach. This was due to the Dragir having believed that he was in one of the realms of Inferno. The demons that inhabited those planes were believed by Ashki to be weaker than her own incubuses and succubae, thus the Succubus Queen had felt sick and a little upset, and besides, she had other reasons. “You are in Yfrit, Master Artemys,” she added proudly. “The realm of eternal torments and pains.”

Artemys was shocked to hear the name of the place where he apparently was, but more shocked was he at the mere fact that the Demoness knew his name.

“How do you know my name?”

“How I know your name matters not,” Ashki told him. The goddess crossed her slender arms over her busty chest. “What I want from you is, though. That is why you have been brought here.”

Artemys remained quiet and just thinking about what she had said. He looked around just to have a better understanding of his surroundings; the Dragir even glanced over his shoulder to where the incubuses stood in wait. He saw the two that held his weapons and wished he could have them back. Then the thought of his daughter crossed his mind, and the guilders that he had sent back to the guild not too long ago.

“Wait,” Artemys said, his stare returned to the tall demoness. “You...have a need of me?”

Ashki merely nodded.

“Tell me then,” Artemys went on. “Is that why the portal appeared out there? Because you have need of my services?”

“I created that gateway,” Ashki explained in all calmness, she even rolled her eyes. “It was intended to draw you here, Master Artemys. Your reputation as Guild Master and warrior precedes you.”

“Why all the monsters, then?” Artemys asked, and just then did he realize that those that he and his group had killed out there looked like the ones standing behind him.

“Well, we had to grab your attention,” chuckled the queen of the succubae. “That was fodder, though, the lowest of the lowest here, so don’t think that my hordes aren’t worth a damn, you’d be surprised if you saw what else we have in store in our ranks.”

“Your hordes killed seven of my men out there!”

“Casualties of battle,” Ashki felt the anger residing within the Dragir. She could tell that he was very angry at the loss of his friends. At their place, the incubuses also felt the anger of the Dragir, and so they began to line up behind him, weapons at the ready; they would defend their leader if the Dragir did something stupid, like rush her in an attempt to kill her. Artemys turned his head over his shoulder when he heard their movement behind him, but his eyes quickly returned to the beautiful giantess. He caught her shaking her head at the group behind him, probably letting them know that it was alright.

“Those were good men,” Artemys declared then. “They were not only my soldiers, my servants, they were my friends.”

Ashki did not like the angry glow behind the Dragir’s eyes. She even shifted in her place and brought her hand down to clutch the hilt of one of her scepters. Again, Artemys did not miss a beat, he noticed her defensive movements.

“I had to bring you here since I do have an offer for you,” Ashki spoke when she felt safe from the threat of the Dragir. “And I am sorry about your friends,” she lied, and she actually could have won an Oscar for her good act, for she even shook her head and then lowered it sadly. “I thought that you and your men would be able to deal with my fodder.”

“Too many to handle,” Artemys spat. “But my men were no cowards. They died on the battlefield bravely.”

Yes, and some of them are minutes away from being judged and then tortured, Silly, thought the queen, the giantess hiding a grin.

“As I said, I am deeply sorry for that,” Ashki said. “Will you not hear my offer, good Master Artemys? Believe me, you really want to, and I think we both know why, eh?”

Artemys was angry, but he was surrounded, but with the sly smile that the queen was giving him, he understood that she had somehow played a role in the whisper that he had heard out there.

The queen went on, knowing that time was of the essence. “She’s here, Artemys. Your wife Shawthia, I mean. If you are thinking that it was all a trick from my part, I assure you that it was not. She's here.”

Artemys straighten up, and his eyes fell on the queen, the dangerous glow had faded from his eyes and now he seemed eager to learn more about his past wife.

“Where?”

Ashki smiled lightly; she had him.

“Hidden from your eyes at the moment,” the Succubus Queen told. “But I brought her here for a reason.”

“To lure me in, no doubt,” accused Artemys.

“Well there is that,” Ashki admitted. “But no, she’s here for another reason.”

“What other reason?” demanded Artemys.

“Just hear me out, Master Artemys,” Ashki spoke up. “Time is of the essence here, and I’ve wasted too much of it trying to lure you in. I will be brief, so pay close attention to what I am going to reveal.”

The Dragir remained quiet but listening and staring at the tall demon.

“My realm is unjustly threatened,” began Ashki, her voice serious. “Many are the enemies we've made over the passing of the centuries, most recently the five ruling lords of Inferno. They betrayed and killed my brother when he attended a meeting that they called. It was all a setup to get rid of him, he was lured in with talk of the lower realms uniting under one banner in order to amass enough force to go challenge the heavenly realm of Celestia. As I said, it was just a setup to get rid of him. They weakened our realm with his fall, and now I am next on their list. All they want is our territory and the service of those who bend their knee to their will. Their hordes are battling my own even as we speak, but we are losing the war, their numbers outnumber our own by three to one.”

The queen paused, and Artemys thought that she needed that pause, for she looked tensed now. The queen of Yfrit continued soon enough, though. “Now, you may be wondering what you have to do with all this. Well it is simple, Master Artemys. You are a mercenary, you lead a guild of excellent warriors on earth, but it is your skill with the blades that I am most interested in. You are said to be the best out there, and thus I have a contract to offer you, or a job, if you want to call it that.”

She paused and checked him over. Artemys nodded at her and even told her, “I am listening. Please go on.”

“Our realm has never attacked another realm,” the queen told the truth. “At least not deliberately. Ever since this realm was established, all we’ve done here is continue the legacy that was left to us by our forefathers and foremothers, but we’ve never had intentions of going to war with other realms, no matter if they were less powerful than us. But now, it seems, fate has it that we will be conquered by those who once swore allegiance to us. That is, unless I do something about it. And I am, and thus I have brought you here.”

Artemys nodded, the Dragir wanting to hear the queen’s offer, which he knew was coming.

“I intend to go out of Yfrit and to the realms of Inferno,” she said at length. “Not with a big party that would gather so much attention, just me—and you.”

Artemys slightly raised his eyebrows at that.

“Should you accept my offer, your job would be to come with me and help me get rid of the five lords, Artemys. If they fall, their realms will be crippled, and my realm will be spared, saved from destruction.”

“But I thought you said their numbers outweigh your own?” Artemys was confused. “What good does it do to kill the leaders if—”

“Down here we have codes of honor as well, Master Dragir,” the Succubus Queen said proudly. “If leaders fall, their hordes offer their loyalty and service to whoever killed them. In my case, my brother is dead, but I am still alive, thus those who serve this realm are still mine to guide. But if I fall, well...you can probably picture the outcome.”

“I understand now,” Artemys licked his lips. The Dragir lowered his head down and began to ponder about it all. It was simple really, and he could already see the design of the Succubus Queen’s plans: go out there, avoid attention, and get to the ruling lords undetected and kill them. Thus their soldiers would have no alternative but to bend knee to the Succubus Queen and the war would be over, her realm spared from ruin, and she would become more powerful without a doubt.

“Think about this well, Artemys,” Queen Ashki brought the Dragir back to reality. “For I have a good payment in store for you if you decide to lend me your aid. And I think you know what that payment is, right?”

The Dragir’s heart began to beat just a little faster with anticipation.

“Enlighten me,” Artemys told her, and only because he was not sure what she meant. He knew that Shawthia Gigas was involved, but he did not know how exactly.

At that, the Queen extended her arm out and called forth her magic once again. In the distance, there suddenly appeared a flash of light, and then there appeared the form of a figure whom Artemys knew so well.

“Shawthia!” Artemys shouted and even rushed towards her. The queen did not stop him, for her plan had been this all along: to get them together. Ashki followed him, but she was in no hurry to disrupt their reunion after so many years, so she actually walked there. The eight incubuses followed along.

The two Dragir embraced tightly. Artemys had not even cared that Shawthia looked different, part of her skin was still corrupted and he had seen that—and how had that hurt his heart—as he got closer, but he’d known right away that it was her. And Shawthia, oh, she had dreamt of this reunion for a long time. Artemys was part of what she used to help her deal with the torment she had to endure down here, to make the agonizing hours a little less painful.

“I’m so sorry,” Artemys whimpered in tears as he kept the tall Dragir hugged tightly. “I shouldn’t have left you by yourself in that monastery...I should have stayed with you...perhaps we both...”

“Artemys,” Shawthia felt his pain and the guilt that had been eating him inside all those years ever since she had departed from his side. She hugged him so tight that she never wanted to let go. “It’s alright, my love. What happened had to happen. It was not your fault, you fought bravely. You and the others were trying so hard to deal with the orcs outside. I was weak, I let my guard down. I let you down, and all those defenseless Dragir that I was looking after. I am the one who’s sorry. I have given you so much pain and suffering.”

They remained hugged and exchanging words, but then, Artemys even kissed her. So much was the love between them that the Dragir did not care that her beloved was still not entirely regenerated fully.

“Don’t worry, Shawthia. It will all be over soon.”

They both turned to regard the demon horde, particularly their tall leader.

“She’s my payment,” Artemys declared. “But how so?”

Ashki nodded at him. “Quite simple, really. Help me get rid of the threat to my realm and I will mitigate both of your suffering by letting her go back to the mortal world. I actually had in mind sending her back to her place of torment once I dragged you in here...but alas, I can spare her soul.”

“Are you serious?” Artemys asked, surely shocked at the offer. Shawthia, too, couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The deity had told her otherwise not so long ago. Had she had a change of heart, then, she wondered.

“Serious is the threat that my realm is facing,” said Ashki. “So yes, I am serious about it. She’ll be allowed to leave through that same portal that you used to come here, Artemys, and she’ll be able to live her life as if she’d never lost it. I can’t, however, guarantee that you will see her alive should you return from your mission, for you know damn well the dangers of your own world, Dragir.”

Artemys nodded at her words. Yes, the surface realm was a mess as well; danger lurked everywhere. But Shawthia was getting her life back, and that’s all he wanted at the moment. If the demon queen had somehow decided to send her back to her place of torment, Artemys, of course, would have fought her and her party of demons before he let that happen. The Dragir, though, was grateful that the dark deity had allowed Shawthia to return to the mortal world.

“You know that she could die out there even before you and I complete our work,” continued Ashki, the deity moving to the side and then back again to her spot. “If she dies again, I will not give her back to you again. Do you understand?”

Artemys looked upon his beloved, and Shawthia looked at him. With his eyes he let her know that she better take care of herself, because he did not want to lose her again. Shawthia understood the meaning behind his stare, and so she nodded at him whilst she grabbed his hand. She would not die again! Satisfied, Artemys gave the demon queen a nod.

“Good. As to you, Artemys,” Ashki crossed her arms over her chest, the deity enjoying the discourse she was giving. “You will be free to return to your world once you help me deal with the threat. If you fall, though, if somehow you and I fail, I won’t be able to guarantee you that, though. So what say you? Will you accept my deal?”

Nodding quickly, Artemys said, “I accept.”

“As I knew you would,” Ashki seemed pleased. She turned around and spoke to the leader of the incubuses, who happened to be the broad shouldered one that had almost killed Artemys earlier. She gave instructions to him to see to it that Shawthia got out through that portal once she was her own self, and she used the common tongue so as not to have Artemys and Shawthia doubt or suspect of her. “The portal will lose its power and close when Shawthia goes through it,” she explained to him. “You bring Artemys to my chamber as soon as possible after she leaves.”

“It will be done, My Queen,” bowed the strong demon.

Moments later, the queen of the succubae and the Incubi left to prepare what she and Artemys would need in their upcoming trip.

*****

Artemys and Shawthia were given an hour of self time. Before that time ended, Shawthia had fully recovered her beautiful semblance. In addition to hugging and kissing her so many times during their allotted time, Artemys spoke to her about their daughter and about how he had lived his life ever since he had lost her to the orc raid. The guild master had not even hid from Shawthia the feelings that he’d had for another Dragir that he had met. Shawthia understood that it might have been hard for him losing her, and recently he had only begun to open his heart to a new Dragir. She felt a wave of jealousy, but only briefly because she quickly put herself in his place and knew that she probably would have done the same over a period of time if she had lost him.

“Do you love her?” Shawthia had asked, a little too casual, though, as if it was just a simple question to test Artemys’s feelings.

“I sincerely can tell you that Kalindra and I were barely beginning to spin our romance,” replied Artemys. “So no, I didn’t get to the point where I came to love her. I cared for her, and still do, but I don’t love her like I do you.”

Shawthia nodded at him and within, her heart even accelerated a bit: he still loved her like the final day that they had been separated with her passing. She loved him the same.

“She will have to understand one day that what we had going was not meant to be,” added Artemys. “And you, Shawthia, I hope that you can forgive me for not being faithful to you. I—”

At that moment, Shawthia put a finger to his mouth, as if letting him know that there was no need for explanation. “I have nothing to forgive, Artemys. I understand. But come, tell me about our daughter. Tell me how she’s grown up. I am surprised she survived the raid.”

“I was barely able to return to the monastery before the orcs that killed you did away with her as well,” Artemys explained. “I was able to save her and the other young ones from a certain death.”

“I see,” Shawthia felt glad at that revelation.

“Magatha is waiting for me at my guild in Ilitia,” Artemys went on to reveal, and the guild master felt a wave of sadness knowing that Magatha would be so hurt when she learned that he was not coming back for a long while. “You should see what beauty she turned out to be. She has your face and grace, her grandfather’s golden hair, and her grandmother’s blue eyes. From me she only inherited my short height, my magical abilities, and perhaps my courage. Do look after her while I am gone.”

“You know...I certainly will,” Shawthia said in all seriousness. “That is, if I can manage to convince her that I am her mother...”

“I know it will be so tough for you and her, and all the others that surround her, but they will understand what’s come to happen, these turn of events, I am sure of it. I wish I could be there with you when you arrive; explaining everything would be much simpler. But heck, what can we do, Shawthia? I am just glad that you’ve been granted your life back. This is truly like a dream to me—a sweet dream from which I don’t want to wake up.”

“All will be well in time, my love,” Shawthia soothed his anguish. “You just concentrate on what you have to do now. I bet it won’t be an easy task, but I have all my faith in you and know that you won’t fail.”

Artemys nodded at that, but he did not care about what he had to do, or about how hard this task could be. All that mattered to him was that Shawthia would be going back to the surface world and get another chance at life. He’d do everything in his power to be successful in his mission so that he would return to her and their daughter, and all of those who he knew were awaiting his return.

A few moments later, it was Ik’Nen, the broad shouldered demon, who told them that time was up. Artemys and Shawthia shared the longest hug ever, and they kissed again, and Artemys promised her that he would return to her and their daughter.

Minutes later, with several tears falling from his eyes, he was witness to Shawthia exiting the realm of Yfrit through the portal. Crying is how Shawthia had entered the portal, and crying is how she had abandon it knowing that her love remained inside in that dark realm of torment and pain. Under a starry sky, she turned around and noticed how the glow on the portal was dying. Would she ever see Artemys again? If so, how soon? Part of her life, she knew, was still in there, and only until Artemys came back safe to her, she’d be complete and truly happy, just as they had been before the orc raid.

And as to Artemys, when Shawthia had left and the portal had finally vanished thanks to the magical work of Queen Ashki, he collected himself and then turned around and faced the incubus, who had been staring at him.

The Dragir was escorted directly to the queen’s chambers, just as she had ordered. And once inside her private quarters, Artemys told her, “I’m all yours, Lady Ashki. I’m ready to serve you in order to fulfill my contract.”

Holding a serious face across the room in her spot, Ashki nodded at him and replied, “Let us haste, then. We have not a moment to lose.”

*****

Thanks for reading the Introduction. :yes:

 

[Violet Link]

This is a really nice intro, Ats. Seriously, overall, I'm starting to enjoy it.

 

[*M i d n a*]

This is a really nice intro, Ats. Seriously, overall, I'm starting to enjoy it.

Thanks a lot, Violet. I am glad you're enjoying it.

And for those of you who are reading this and think you need a map, if you do, just let me know and I will make it. But for now there is no map, I will just speak of realms and locations through the story.

I hope this update is not too long. I will try to keep updates as short as this one, or perhaps shorter if I can help it. ~Atsuma

Chapter 1: The Bad News​

Southern country side, Ilitia, Year 1234​

She had a beautiful face, and a few dark grayish scales on it enhanced it even further. The young Dragir had lively, blue eyes and long blonde hair that she had always kept tied in a fat braid. Magatha Primrose was her name, and she was the only daughter of Artemys Primrose, a wealthy and powerful guild master.

Who would have known that such beauty would be ruined with simple news? From the moment that the Dragir had been told the news that her father had not come back with some of the members of the group that had gone out with him on a mission, Magatha Primrose had burst into tears. She had asked Lakindra and those that had come back with her for an explanation, and the tough female Dragir had told her over and over that it had been her father’s decision to enter the portal alone.

“We tried to convince him otherwise, Maggie, we all did,” had explained Lakindra on that night that they had arrived from the long trip. “He refused. He even threatened to fire us all on the spot if we didn’t do as he said. He used our damned contracts against us, the wily son of...”

Magatha could not believe it.

“We had no choice but to obey, dear,” Lakindra had added before Magatha’s serious, yet tearful stare.

The others had nodded at that, and Jzak the witch had confirmed it by adding, “He just didn’t want to lose more of us in there.”

Having felt so bad at the fact that her father had not returned and that many of the warriors who had gone out with him on that mission had died that night, Magatha had shaken her head and had kept crying in silence in front of the warriors—those that had come back and those that had been there with her. But Magatha had felt so sad that she soon had left the main hall running toward her private room. Often when she was hurt or upset, she had sought solitude in that same way: her room. How many times had her father come to console or cheer her up in that room? Many times! But as she ran away, Magatha had this weird feeling that he wouldn't be showing up to do that this time around. Lakindra was not her father, of course, but she had called out her name and had even gone after her in an attempt to comfort her and make her feel better, but Jzak Eilowen had grabbed her by the arm and had told her that Magatha needed to be alone at that moment.

“She needs me,” Lakindra had protested. “Artemys told me that I should take care of her and—”

“And you’re going to make her feel better by doing what? By being at her side?” had asked the witch. “Let her be alone for a while, Lakindra. Sometimes we need to be alone in order to sort out our feelings or problems.”

“I agree,” Mattman had given his opinion and had caused Lakindra to regard him.

“She must have support,” Lakindra had gone on to say and had later gone to Magatha’s room, however, the Dragir had not opened the door to her and had told her to leave her alone.

But Lakindra had not given up so easily. She had remained there trying to convince Magatha to open the door for her for several hours, but then she had given up when she believed Magatha had probably fallen asleep in her sadness and worry. The young Dragir, though, had not fallen asleep. She had remained awake the entire night greatly hoping that her father appeared.

The guild master did not appear, and that only made her feel worse, so worse, in fact, that Magatha did not come out to eat the next morning, nor at noon, or at night. Awaiting the return of her father, the Dragir remained in her room in total solitude three long days and nights that to her seemed like an eternity.

But Magatha was not the only one who had become sick with worry, the rest of the guild members also became worried when the days went passing by and there was no sign of their leader. Lakindra had kept everyone’s hopes high when she kept telling them that they mustn’t lose faith in the guild master so easily, that he would arrive any given moment. However, when the days had gone by, she could not believe that Artemys had not returned. After the first day she had become the head of the guild, just as Artemys had mentioned it to her, however, that important position didn’t even last long in the Dragir’s head, for she was worried for the guild master, more than she already had been since that night that he had not allowed them to go into the portal. The third day spurred her to action.

Lakindra and all the other members of the guild, including Magatha, who had rapidly come out of her room when Lakindra had told her that they were going out to search for her father, had returned to the site where the portal had appeared. They rode on horses and a big wagon. When they got to the site close to nightfall, there remained no signs of the portal, though the field was strewn with corpses that already smelt so bad. The air stunk of death and the sick smell of rotting flesh; vultures were already hard at work on the bodies. Magatha’s sad and worried condition only worsened from that moment on when she imagined that her father had probably died and was amongst the corpses. New tears fell from her beautiful bluish eyes, and she screamed in pain, “Father!” The dragir proceeded to run toward the bodies in search for him.

Knowing that the young pup was now thinking that the worse had come to happen to her father, Lakindra knew she had to comfort her and maintain her hopes alive. She caught up to Magatha and told her that her father was not amongst the dead. The tears on the Dragir’s eyes forced Lakindra to approach her and console her, but Magatha swat her hand away and reproached in tears, “My father’s probably dead, and it’s your fault! You all abandoned him! I will never forgive you all for this!”

She then took off running and mounted her horse and rode away to wherever the horse took her. Lakindra quickly ordered several of the guild members to ride after her, and she would have gone after Magatha herself, but she had fallen to one knee, surely hurt at the truthful accusation and due to the fact that there was no sign of the guild master.

“Abigale! Garry! Go after her!” Lakindra had shouted seconds after Magatha had taken off. “Catch her and just wait for us at the guild.”

“Yes, Madam,” said a red haired woman who had long hair kept in a neat braid. She turned to face a young warrior and added, “Come on, Garry. Let’s move!”

Garry, a lad who had short, messy hair with two huge bangs falling to the sides of his face was quick to go after the braided girl. They mounted their own horses and sped off after her. Lakindra followed their movements with her eyes and knew well that they would catch up to the fleeing Dragir, for Magatha wasn't riding fast; she had merely run away in all her desperation, pain, and sorrow.

Mattman Starbanger, Jzak Eilowen, Pandora Koeki, and three other warriors—one being a tall, handsome young man, and the other two being females—came walking toward the kneeling Kalindra, all of them looking kind of solemn as well for all that was going on.

“I fear for our master,” croaked Mattman, his voice not his own, rather there was a very deep sadness in it. “All these days that have passed I’ve kept my hopes up that he’d return. But he hasn’t, and now with this here... no portal to be seen, I just...don’t know what to think anymore.”

Near him, the witch nodded in agreement, for she felt the same way.

“Just give me a moment here,” Lakindra plead. Her eyes were tearful, but she was thinking about how she and all the others should proceed with this matter. Their guild master was gone, and Lakindra did not know what to do to bring him back. She was hurt.

After clearing her tears and sighing loudly, she finally stood up, the others knowing that she was hurting worse than all of them, more so because she was the one who had to make all these decisions in regards to the matter; all the weight was on her like a big boulder.

“Well, what are we going to do now, Lakindra?” asked an Asakian girl. “Where do we go from here?”

The girl was actually an archer in the guild. She measured five feet and six inches, had a slim bod, and short, black hair and grayish eyes. She wore black boots, white-colored pants, and a dark sleeveless blouse. A diadem that held several gems on the front adorned her head. Foxy Ei was her name. The other girl was Asakian also, and she was Foxy’s cousin. She looked like Foxy, but her eyes were brownish and her hair long and dark. Alecia Xandria was her name. Just like Foxy and Pandora, she too, was short in stature and an archer, perhaps the deadliest of the three with the bow. Unlike the other two Asakians, though, Alecia had a nasty scar running over her right cheek, and that made her look the meanest of the three.

As to the young man, he was confused and even shocked that the guild was going through this. He just stood there hoping that this turned out to be a horrible nightmare from which he would awake soon enough. But he knew it was no dream or nightmare, this was reality, and that had turned him sour. He had known the guild master only for a year, but during that span of time, he had come to love him because he had taught him so many things. Damera Tomahawk was the young man's name. Just like the others, he turned to regard Kalindra after the Asakian had asked the question.

“We ride back to the guild,” Lakindra said with a dry voice, noticing that they were all staring at her and awaiting her response. “I am afraid there is nothing else we can do here.”

“But Master Artemys...” Pandora sounded sad.

Kalindra shook her head at her. “There is nothing we can do for him except wait and keep hope that he’s fine, Pandy.”

“What if something happened to him, though?” Foxy mentioned. All eyes landed on her, Kalindra's almost wanting to eat her for having said that.

“Well it’s a possibility, aint it?” Foxy said when she felt accused. At that moment, the beautiful Asakian wished that the earth would open up and just swallow her whole.

“We don’t know if he’s alive or dead,” clarified Kalindra, the Dragir touching the bridge of her nose and feeling very bad within after Foxy's comment. “All we can do is wait. But even so, we have to move on and not despair while we do that. You all know that master Artemys is a great warrior; we must not lose hope on him so easily.”

That was more easily said than done. They all respected their leader and knew what he was capable of, but reality was that he was nowhere to be found, the portal which he had entered was gone. What hope could they cling to?

At Lakindra’s orders, the group of seven returned to the guild that day, but not before giving their fallen comrades a proper burial. As to the other corpses, Lakindra and the rest piled them and then burned them.

Late at night at the guild, Kalindra had a lot on her mind. There was Artemys, mostly, but there was also Magatha, whom she had to take care of. Moreover, she also knew that she had to go and deliver word to Princess Sammy about the situation. She had hired their services after all and was probably awaiting word on the matter ever since the first day that Artemys had accepted the contract from her.

Because she knew that Magatha was her priority, the Dragir sent Mattman and Jzak to take care of relaying the news to the princess early the very next day. Maybe Mattman was a rough looking fellow, but Jzak would take care of the talking, Mattman would just go along in case muscle was needed. Just as the country side was filled with danger, so too, were the streets of the big cities and towns; mostly assassins, thieves, and desperados looking to make a quick buck. The Primrose guilders had dealt with several problems of that sort before, thus Mattman's company would serve the witch well.

After the two warriors left, Lakindra had gone to Magatha’s room to check up on her. Last night she had refused to eat, and that had Lakindra worried. Believing that she would not allow her to enter, Lakindra knocked lightly on the wooden door and called out her name softly. “Magatha?”

To the new guild leader’s surprise, Magatha, with a soft, broken voice, told her to come in. And Lakindra, just by hearing how broken and sad the young Dragir’s voice had sounded, cleared her throat, twisted the knob on the door, and proceeded in.

*End of C1*

 

[Myriadviper42]

So far, so good my friend. This chapter introduced a lot of characters and I liked the developments. Keep it up.

 

[*M i d n a*]

So far, so good my friend. This chapter introduced a lot of characters and I liked the developments. Keep it up.

Gracias, Vipee. I mean, thank you. I shall, and soon enough your character will show up, you know how that goes. But yeah, very soon.

Anyway, a shorty chapter for you peeps. Enjoy; I hope to update again tomorrow if I can help it. I love where this is going.

-Edit--Btw, in the previous chapter I used Lakindra for Kalindra, so it's the same, but the real one is Kalindra.

Chapter 2: A New Life​

Human Realm of Ilitia​

The night that she had come out of the portal, Shawthia Gigas had left the scene after about an hour that she had spent just thinking deeply about what she would do now that she had been granted a new shot at life. Wearing only but rags that covered her feminine parts well, she had touched her arms, legs, and face, and had understood that it was her, the same Shawthia Gigas in flesh and bone as before. Everything was back to normal for her, just as it had been long ago.

She had been mostly in tears, ignoring her surroundings, the fallen corpses, and the foul smell. She was lamenting the loss of her loved one to pay any attention to that. Life was not fair, she had thought, for she had received her life back but at the cost of her husband having to do something risky in return for it. Oh my Artemys, Shawthia had thought kindly of him. Indeed you have kept your word when you said that you’d do anything for me.

She was saddened at that and knew that Artemys was not going on a pic-nic with that dark deity; their task was a dangerous one. She could either lose him or get him back, but how would she become aware if the former came to happen? Surely the Succubus queen wouldn’t be coming out to the surface realm just to let her know what had happened to Artemys, and truly, the tall Dragir wished to never see that dark goddess ever again; enough she had seen of Yfrit during her long stay there.

Knowing that there was a chance that she could lose Artemys and she would probably not know of it had made her feel so bad that she decided then to abandon the death camp. Shawthia bent to her knees to retrieve a long sword from a corpse before she left, though, for she knew that she could probably come to need it.

Luckily, she did not run into trouble that night, and she was thankful to the gods above for that and for the splendid starry night. The stars brought a light smile to her face as she had continued on. She had spent that night in some forest that she happened upon on her way east—east, yes, the direction which led to her beloved homeland. With sadness she had put aside her daughter at the moment, the Dragir knew it was too soon to simply go looking for her and letting her know that she was her mother come back from the dead. How did one who had just come back from the dead do that, anyway? It was not easily done. And so Shawthia knew that she would need to come up with a good plan to facilitate things for the both of them: she for revealing it so, and Magatha for understanding all of it.

And so tall, observable mountains to the east had started her in the direction of her homeland; Shawthia had shivered after laying eyes on those tall peaks when she remembered so many things from the past, particularly good memories about her and Artemys when both used to explore their homeland together when they had become lovers. Oh yes, Shawthia knew those mountains well. It was actually that way how the young Dragir had won her love, by taking her out to see the world; those mountains had been the very first place where Artemys had taken her, and mostly because Shawthia had been afraid to set foot there.

In that forest that she had come upon, survival forced her to climb up to a high, coniferous tree which had big, green leafs and very fat branches, wide enough to cover her body two times if the Dragir laid down. There, feeling safe despite the weird noises that came with the forest, Shawthia Gigas had lain down with the sword close by and had thought of many things before finally giving in to sleep.

The next day came too soon, but Shawthia embraced the dawn as never she had before and thanked the gods above for the new day of life that they gave to her and everything else that breathed. The Dragir knew that there was much to do, and that sort of excited her, but the thought of Artemys being away just dragged her down in sadness again.

With birds chirping all around, and other forest creatures making their own noises, she climbed down from the tree, and once on the ground again, Shawthia scratched her head feeling confused, but she soon understood that she had made a promise to her husband. Maybe not a promise, but she had agreed to look after their daughter. With her mind more at ease now, that soon became her priority. She knew Artemys deserved that, and besides, it was her own daughter who was in the middle of all this.

“I must present myself to her,” Shawthia spoke to herself as her eyes followed an eagle that flew by high above. The wind was hardly blowing, and white, puffy clouds were scattered under the blue sky, just a wonderful new day. “I must go to the guild and be near her at the very least if I am to not reveal I am her mother.”

An idea quickly invaded her mind. “I could pose as some mercenary looking for a job,” she smiled, but then she frowned. “But...how am I to find this guild? Artemys only mentioned that it was in Ilitia, and Ilitia...is this whole human realm.”

The Dragir was not stupid, though, and so she knew that by asking around she would gather the answers she sought. Something frightened her, though, and that was the mere thought that she was in human lands. Back then, when she had lived in Dragiria, humans and Dragir did not see too well. Were things still the same? Shawthia did not know fully, but she relaxed knowing that Artemys's guild had the service of humans. Those, at least, would probably welcome her with a smile on their face.

And so the thought of returning to her homeland vanished that day, heavily outweighed by the promise and her loving daughter. Shawthia would seek Magatha, and when she found her, she would look after her, just as she had told Artemys that she would do.

*End of C2*

 

[*M i d n a*]

Ok, here's the next update.

Chapter 3: Tensioned Princess

Ilitia Castle​

Princess Sammy O’Hera was young and beautiful. She was dressed in a royal blue dress that had a wide, white belt in the middle, and short, puffed sleeves. To add to her beauty and grace, she carried several costly and eye-catching jewels on her arms and around her neck, not to mention a golden crown with red diamonds on the front on her head above her long, well-groomed black hair. Her kind smile had always graced the people of her realm, but that day she was scared as she had never been before in her entire life. Princess Sammy O’Hera paced within her private room with her clutched hands near her belly and just thinking about the message that had been brought to her earlier that day.

“What am I going to do with you, Serevos Aldrahn?” she asked herself with a grimace. “All you’ve been to me and the realm is trouble.”

The message that the princess had received earlier during that morning had been directed personally at her and had been signed by that subject. More than a message it was a simple note that carried a threat. Signed by Severos Aldrahn, the note said that he would get around the heavy security and kill her for having thrown him in prison all those years.

Serevos Aldrahn had been the most notorious outlaw in the entire world. His bad fame was known not only in Ilitia, but several neighboring realms as well. Serevos and his gang of devotees were mostly known to worship the lower realm dark deities and offer sacrifices to them in return for power, but the criminal had several dirty businesses going as well, and was also believed to be in league with the Citadel of Assassins, a powerful group that was growing its influence all over the world.

After he had committed a series of atrocious murders that he had even displayed for the public to see, the princess became infuriated at that and had ordered that the entire knight corps look and capture him. Back in the day when she had inherited the throne from her deceased mother when she was only seven years old, the realm had been going through a wave of killings and violence. It continued like that for five years, with guilds, firms, and other dirty establishments battling it out for territory and power, and not only in the thriving realm of Ilitia, but the neighboring realms as well. The princess, who at that time had grown to be twelve years of age, had wanted to put everything back in line and order. And so after word came to her about the atrocious acts from a certain, well known individual, the princess decided to take action against him, and only because Serevos had left a message on those corpses that he was the law in Ilitia. The message was a high offense to the young princess, and after meeting with her council to discuss the matter, she had ordered his capture days later. With thousands of soldiers mobilizing all over the realm after the order, Severos had been brought before the princess the very next day. Though he’d had plenty of places to hide and the help of many devoted followers, Severos had been betrayed by someone and had been captured.

Princess Sammy could have ended with a nightmare that had been stealing the realm’s peace for a while, but she was young and kind, perhaps a little stupid too, and so she’d had mercy of the criminal and had just ordered him to be thrown into prison instead of having him executed at the gallows, just as her council had thought it wise to do.

Severos had been treated badly by the soldiers during the time of his capture and after it in prison. He never forgot about the ill treatment and just took the pain knowing that his day of vengeance would come. After having spent seven years and two months in a stinky, cold cell somewhere in the lower levels of the Ilitian prison system, he had escaped thanks to the help of his servants. And now, it appeared, he was out to get the newly turned nineteen year old princess, for she was the top culprit.

A knock at the door startled the beautiful young woman.

“Y-Yes?” Sammy’s crispy voice cried and she turned around to face the door.

“My liege, may I come in?” A recognizable voice of one of her servants was heard behind the nicely-finished wooden door. “I bring important tidings.”

Sammy granted the servant permission to enter, but she crossed her arms, and only because of the dagger that she carried concealed under the dress’s waist belt. Knowing she could really trust no one, she had hidden that dagger earlier that morning, and she would be carrying it henceforth.

A short, skinny man with a brown moustache who was lacking hair on top of his head came in, smiled at her briefly before bowing before her, and then he spoke.

“Pardon the interruption, My Liege, but you have a pair of visitors.”

“Who are they? What do they want?”

“It’s people from the Primrose Guild, Highness. They say it’s urgent.”

Sammy calmed at that revelation and swallowed lightly, and only because the messenger had revealed that it was people from Artemys Primrose’s guild. She expected to see Artemys Primrose after a few days had gone by, and just by remembering the tough Dragir, her anguish and fear vanished momentarily and she relaxed.

“Let them in right away,” she ordered.

“As you wish, Milady,” the man bowed, turned around, and was off.

And moments later, Princess Sammy laid eyes on two familiar faces. The princess was very surprised when she did not see the face of Artemys Primrose, the guild’s leader. She had been expecting to see him...

“Welcome,” Sammy welcomed them, regardless. “Please...sit down.”

Knowing that they would be before the princess, the witch had already entered the room with her pointy hat removed, and Mattman bowed and then followed his colleague to a long sofa. They sat on it, and the princess sat on another one right in front of them, only separated by a rectangular table that was covered with a white cloth and held some ornaments.

“Where is your leader?” The princess asked at length. “Wait, don’t tell me; he sent you two to relay the news about the portal since he’s busy as always, eh?”

Mattman and the witch shared a quick glance. The tall brute began to stroke his heavily bearded chin, and he let Jzak take over.

“With respect, My Liege,” Jzak Eilowen said. “We bring word about the matter, yes, but...”

“Do go on,” bade Sammy. “I’ve been waiting to hear what happened out there.”

“The portal is gone,” Jzak explained, her tone shifting to a saddened one, and that, the princess noted. “We killed many monsters that came out through it,” the witch went on. “But then, Master Artemys ordered us to return to the guild, and he alone entered the portal.”

“What?” asked the princess, surely shocked to hear that. “Are you serious?”

“I am, Your Majesty,” said Jzak with a nod.

“Well why did he do that?” Princess Sammy rose from her sofa, and she was flabbergasted at the news. “Is he alright?”

Jzak lowered her head, and the bearded giant just lowered his stare to the floor.

“We have no idea, Your Majesty,” Jzak was quick to straighten herself. “We believe he did not exit the portal, for he swore to return as soon as he could. He has not returned, and it’s been more than five days now. Thus, we even believe that he could have died in there.”

Sammy had already been feeling bad, and now this... She covered her mouth with both hands, surely not wanting to believe what had been revealed to her.

“Like I told you earlier, Milady,” Jzak stood up, followed by Mattman. “The portal is gone, and we’ve already taken care of burning all the monsters that we killed on that night. We even buried our fallen comrades, but as to why the portal appeared in the first place, I cannot tell you, nor could anyone else from the guild. We don't know the answer to that.”

“Oh,” Princess Sammy lamented. “I’m sorry to hear about your friends. How many good men died out there?”

Mattman, just by observing the princess’s reaction and behavior, knew that she was pained as they were. And why not? Artemys had served her well several times, had even trained her in the art of the blade because there was no one else as good as him, and the princess had wanted the best to train her. So Sammy’s sorrow was pure and genuine.

“Seven,” cried Jzak, hurt because those that had died had been her friends. “Eight, if our leader fell in there, gods forbid.”

The princess remained just staring sadly at them.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” said Jzak with a bow. “I wish I had more words to share with you, but that is all I was told to relate to you. There is nothing more, but our new leader told me to tell you that the guild's doors remain open for now, so you are always welcomed there, Your Excellency.”

“Who is your new leader?” The Princess, in her sadness, surely wanted to know that.

“Another Dragir by the name of Kalindra, Your Highness. She was appointed leader by Artemys himself, who told her that she would take over if he did not return to the guild by the morrow.”

“I know Kalindra,” Sammy’s face brightened only somewhat, for she was still too sad about Artemys and the possibility that he was dead. “Tell her that I am deeply sorry. And...”

The witch shifted in her place, and Mattman bit her lips as he waited for the princess to continue.

The Princess had paused only because the note that she had received earlier had come to mind. “And tell her that I might be calling for help soon enough.”

Jzak Eilowen shivered. Not another portal, she thought but didn’t say. “Do you require of our assistance, Your Highness?”

“I...I...” Sammy trembled. She walked away, feeling embarrassed at her own stutter and the tension she was showing before them. “I actually do, and it’s another urgent matter. In fact... How much would it cost me to keep a few soldiers from your guild here, acting as guards?”

“Here? As in the castle, Your Highness?” Jzak paled, wondering what problems the princess was going through.

“In this very room with me,” Sammy looked the witch straight in the eye. “I have a huge problem to deal with, and so I need help Pronto. And best if from the best guild out there, wouldn’t you think?”

“I could stay,” Mattman volunteered right away, the big fellow crossing his arms just to show off his muscles. Jzak looked at him in shock, and he looked back at her calmly. The princess stared at them both.

“You can return to the guild and let Kalindra know what’s happened,” Mattman offered. "I will remain here looking after our beloved princess."

Sammy did not show a smile, but her heart glowed with the bearded man's words.

“I...could surely do that,” Jzak hesitated, yet only because she did not like the idea of going back to the guild without Mattman to look out after her. Their guild was hated by so many other guilds, establishments, and people; those that the Primrose guild had run out of business during its climb to success, or those that they had hunted and chased down, or relatives from the ones who had died at their hands.

“Is that what you want, Your Majesty?” Jzak looked at her, and Sammy was quick to nod.

“I will pay anything,” she said. “But you must get Kalindra out here as well. I wish to speak to her personally about this matter.”

“Then I will go right away,” Jzak said. “With your permission, Your Highness.”

“Be careful out there, Jzak,” Sammy walked up to her and pat the witch on her sturdy shoulder. “And please, do hurry up.”

Jzak nodded at the princess, then she bowed, and lastly, she gave Mattman a serene glance and a nod, as if letting him know that he better protect the princess well. He understood that and nodded at her. Then, satisfied, the witch exited the room in a hurry.

*End of C3*

For the next chapter's At a Glance, click the spoiler. *Be warned though, it contains spoilers that maybe you don't wish to know about. ~Gobli

Spoiler

Kalindra and Magatha share a conversation; Kalindra hands over the guild power to Artemys's daughter

 

[Myriadviper42]

Nice work. I'm currently really enjoying this, and now I see what you mean by "sort of" introducing my character.

 

[*M i d n a*]

Nice work. I'm currently really enjoying this, and now I see what you mean by "sort of" introducing my character.

Yeah. Introducing characters is not easily done sometimes. But if you are introducing someone who is really not talking during the chapter, or present, you have to give details about that character so that peeps get a good understanding of who he is, etc. They don't know him much in looks yet because I didn't introduce that, but soon. XD And well here is another longee chapter. I will break it down in three parts, so just read it at your pace.

Chapter 4: A New Leader

Ilitia​

Kalindra found Magatha in bed, covers up to the chin. And she had been crying, and Kalindra had known why. Her missing father was the cause for those tears and sadness.

Kalindra walked slowly to the side of the bed, thinking how she should handle this. She then sat right beside the bed, with Magatha turning her head slightly to regard her.

“How are you holding up, Maggie?” Kalindra asked, and she reached with her hand to touch the young Dragir’s forehead and front hair in a soothing way.

Magatha did not reply for several seconds, but then she finally spoke, “Been thinking lately.”

“About what exactly?”

“My father,” Magatha replied quickly. “But also other stuff.”

“Such as?”

“What I said to you yesterday. I’m sorry for having accused you and all the others. I didn’t know what I was saying and—”

“Oh,” Kalindra soothed. “You don’t have to say you’re sorry. I perfectly understand what you are going through, Maggie. We all are deeply moved and saddened at what is going on, but we must have faith that your father is alright and move on with our lives. Here’s the truth of the matter, hon. We don’t know if he’s alive, but we don’t know for sure that he’s died in there, and that’s hope we can hold on to, no matter how small it seems.”

Magatha nodded grimly at that.

“All we can do at the moment is wait for him to return to us,” Kalindra looked across the room. “That’s hope that has kept me and the others going.”

Magatha’s room wasn’t small, but neither was it big. There was ample room, though. She had a queen size bed in there, a round table with four chairs, book shelves, several chests where she kept stuff, and even a large closet where she kept her clothing. The paved ground was covered with royal carpet, and other than that, the walls held weapons and shields that belonged to her and her father, and also several paintings that Alecia Xandria had made especially for the Dragir child. In one of the paintings she was with her father, the both of them hugging each other. Then there was another one where she was up front in the middle and all the guild members surrounding her, with her father right beside her. Then there was Magatha’s favorite painting: one where she was standing face to face with her father and holding swords, as if they were ready to battle it out. Alecia Xandria had painted them while they had been getting ready to practice one day.

“I just hope he’s alive,” Magatha said. “That is all I want. I want to see him again. Last time I saw him I didn’t know that I wasn’t going to see him again.”

“We all want what you want,” Kalindra caressed the Dragir’s hair. “But while we hold on to that hope, Magatha, we must not despair. You have been doing yourself a bad thing by not eating. You’re weak at the moment and later will get ill. I don’t want this for you, you know that. I don’t want to see you suffering as you are, and you know damn well that neither do the rest of the guilders. I know you miss your father greatly, but you can’t punish yourself this way, Maggie. This is not what he’d want, you know? He raised you well and taught you many principles. He’d want for you to be strong in times of adversity.”

Magatha nodded at that, and then she brought out her arms from within the covers and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry if I troubled you so, Kalindra,” she apologized. “I was a dupe.”

“No, no, no,” Kalindra relaxed her. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything, dear. I understand why you did it, Maggie. But you’re only hurting yourself if you continue like this. So please tell me that you will start eating once again. That would put a smile on my face and would calm me greatly. You don’t know how worried I’ve been about you.”

“I will eat again,” Magatha’s sad tone shifted to a determined one. “And again, please forgive me, Kalindra.”

Kalindra smiled at her, the Dragir feeling her heart warming up.

“I have nothing to forgive.” She stood up from bed. “Do go eat something and regain your energy, for I want to have a chat with you still, but not here.”

“Then where?” Magatha was puzzled.

“Out by the forest,” Kalindra mentioned as she walked away toward the door. “It’s a beautiful day outside. We might as well enjoy it and talk out in the open.”

Magatha nodded at that. After Kalindra left her room a minute later, Magatha got up from bed. Her father was still deep in her mind, but she knew that Kalindra was right: they had to keep faith that he was alive and move on with life while they did that.

*****

The two Dragir went to a nearby forest that also was home to a very wide river that came running south from the north. The Yucratees River it was called; members from the guild had often gone to it to bath. As to the rest of the forest, Magatha had had her share of training there with her father. So being there brought back memories to her, however, she was strong and did not fall back to the saddened state in which she had found herself ever since that night when she’d been told that her father had not returned.

Magatha had donned a long, white dress which had pink lines with curls as design. When she had seen her dressed like that, Kalindra had even whistled, and Magatha's cheek had turned red when the tall Dragir had added, "You look sharp and beautiful."

Now that they were out there, Magatha did not waste time.

“So,” she asked Kalindra once they were all by themselves. “What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?”

Large trees surrounded them, and there were large boulders here and there, and precisely near a large boulder is where they were reclined, one next to the other.

“About the guild, Magatha,” Kalindra was not wasting any time. Over the past several nights she had been doing some thinking. Artemys was gone, and she had been left in charge, but really, Magatha was Artemys’s seed, his daughter, and therefore Kalindra knew that it was she who should be in charge of the guild.

“What about it?” Magatha did not seem to understand.

Kalindra crossed her arms and just kept staring ahead to the beautiful scenery offered by the forest. “Your father left me in charge of it, but I’ve been thinking lately that the guild really belongs to you, what with you being his daughter and all.”

“But I...”

“Hold tight, Magatha,” Kalindra regarded her. “Just listen to me, alright?”

Magatha quieted down and nodded.

“I don’t only wish to hand the power to you merely for being Artemys’s daughter, but because I think that if you took over, it would be a great distraction to you.”

Magatha’s stare upon her was a blank one.

“It would help you forget about what’s going on,” Kalindra explained. “It would put your mind to work on other things other than your father’s disappearance.”

“But aren’t I too young to be taking over?”

“You’re just at the right age, Maggie. Trust me, will you? I know a good leader when I see one.”

Magatha liked her words, but she had really not been expecting something like this. It was too much responsibility, she thought. Still, she knew what Kalindra was really up to, and she thanked her in silence for wanting to mollify her from all the troubles she was going through at that time.

“And so at this very hour,” stated Kalindra. “You’ve become the new guild master. My sword and my service I offer to you, Magatha Primrose. Please accept me as once your father did.”

Magatha remained still and quiet, and she felt a wave of excitement washing over her. But she nodded at Kalindra.

“T-Thank you, Kalindra. I accept.”

Kalindra smiled and hugged her tightly. “You won’t be facing the challenge alone, dear Magatha. I will guide you as best as I can.”

“And the others,” Magatha suddenly asked and seemed concerned. “Do they know of this? Will they be alright with a little pup, as you call me, leading the way?”

“We’ll reveal the news to them as soon as we get back there,” Kalindra told. “Come on, leader. Give me the first order, which should be returning to the guild.”

“Alright,” Magatha felt a little weird within, but she was also excited and enjoyed saying the words, “Let us return to the guild, good warrior Kalindra.”

“That’s my girl,” Kalindra smiled grandly, and then the two started on their way, with Kalindra hugging the younger Dragir.

*****

Not far from where the two female Dragir had been having their conversation, Shawthia Gigas, with a new, short-haired haircut, remained in silence, awe, and well hidden behind a large tree that had several big bushes around it. She had been coming from the north, sent south to that forest after she had asked the people of a nearby village about the Primrose guild. Upon having seen the two Dragir approaching the area, she had remained hidden behind the tall tree. And she had heard what the two of them had spoken about and had learned much; too much, in fact.

“So that’s my precious daughter and...Kalindra,” Shawthia told herself as her tearful eyes observed the two Dragir as they walked away. She had been crying in silence when she had learned that the blonde, young Dragir was her daughter Magatha; the tall warrior had yearned to rush out to her. She had stayed glued to her place, though, knowing now was not the time for that. And as to the other tall Dragir, Shawthia had had to admit to herself that she was beautiful. It was no wonder that Artemys had begun to fall for her. A wave of jealousy had crossed her, but she had killed it right away knowing that Artemys had spoken sincerely to her about his feelings for Kalindra.

Shawthia waited there for a while, letting her daughter and Kalindra walk out of her view. She had come down with hopes of doing what she had thought in previous nights, to join the guild and be near her daughter. It sounded easy enough, but something bothered the giantess, and that was the mere thought of what she would do when she had her daughter standing before her. Would she be able to contain herself and not give herself away? Or would she burst out crying and reveal everything to her?

Shawthia felt nervous and even a little scared, but she knew she had to do this regardless. She walked to the boulder where her daughter had shared the conversation with Lakindra and waited there to gather herself fully.

*End of C4*

Chapter 5 at a glance:

Spoiler

Jzak Eilowen returns and gives Kalindra the message from the princess. Kalindra reveals to the warriors that Magatha is now leader. Some of the warriors take these news well, but the majority...

Magatha and Kalindra go to the royal castle before the princess.

 

[Violet Link]

I love it so much, really. I love this chapter. I think this chapter is the best one I've read so far.

 

[*M i d n a*]

Vio, thanks for reading. I know you haven't read much about your character, but soon enough you'll see it. It's just how this tale goes.

Chapter 5: Taking Leave​

When Kalindra and the new guild leader made it back to the guild, Jzak the witch was already waiting for them.

The three of them entered the main office, a room big enough that held a nice oaken desk in place, several book shelves, and benches on the walls where clients sat. Kalindra had only sat behind that desk several days, but on that day, she told Magatha to have a seat behind the desk and to get used to things.

The young Dragir did as told, and Jzak the witch was surprised at that. Never, in all her life, had she seen Magatha Primrose sit behind the desk’s chair.

“I will explain momentarily,” Kalindra recognized the surprise on Jzak’s face after Magatha’s action. “For now, how did it go with the princess? And where’s Mattman?”

The witch and Kalindra remained standing in front of the desk; they had not sat down as Magatha had. From her place, Magatha just remained hearing them out.

“It went well, but the princess has a problem on her hands, it seems. Mattman remained at the princess’s side at the castle.”

“Explain,” Kalindra bade.

“Princess Sammy said she needed of our help urgently, and from what I could gather from my own intuition, I think Princess Sammy is being haunted by someone. She looked nervous and even a little frightened. Mattman must have thought similar, because he volunteered to stay behind. Her Highness is sorry about Master Artemys's disappearance, and she wants help from this guild once again, but she told me that she wants you to go there because she wants to speak to you personally about the matter.”

Kalindra was no longer leader. “Well,” she glanced over at Magatha. “I am no longer leader of this fine guild. Magatha there is, so she will decide if she takes the princess's new offer.”

“What happened?” Jzak asked, giving Magatha a glance before returning her stare to Kalindra.

And Kalindra put her up to speed, told her everything that had happened lately, mostly the part about how she had handed over the reins of power to Magatha.

“She will lead us while her father remains gone,” Kalindra stated. “It will help clear her mind from those troubles and will serve her as experience, anyway. She’ll be alright, Jzak, and I am fine with the decision myself. As ex-guild leader, I had the power to hand her the reins. The question now would be... Are you alright with this decision?”

To be honest, the witch had felt that the guild would soon go down if the Grand Master Artemys Primrose did not return shortly. Without his guidance, the guild would plummet down like a bird that’s lost a wing to a shot. The witch had based those thoughts on some rumors that she had heard amongst the other members of the guild. Artemys’s disappearance had hurt and affected them all in some way, and some had been talking about taking leave if he did not show up soon. And now the witch had been told that a young Dragir was taking over. She did not see anything wrong with Magatha taking over, she rightfully deserved it for being daughter to Artemys, but she was young and lacked leadership. Did Kalindra really believe that she would be able to handle the pressure and guide them to success?

“Actually,” the witch spoke with her head lowered. “Days back I was thinking about just asking for my contract to be terminated.”

Kalindra paled before that. “What? Why, Jzaky?”

“Artemys is gone,” Jzak lifted her stare and looked at the Dragir in a serious way. “This guild will surely go to the mud without his guidance, even you might know that."

Kalindra's face hardened.

"It’s not only me who has been thinking this, Kalindra, the other members believe this to be the case too; they just have been keeping a little quiet about it.”

At her seat, Magatha was so saddened to hear the witch’s words. Back in the forest when she and Kalindra had been making their way back to the guild, she had thought that everything would be alright, that everyone within the guild would give her the chance to lead them instead of her father.

Kalindra was also saddened that the witch would just like that want to end her service to the guild that had housed her and fed her for so long. She was also upset, but till, she knew she had no right telling the human female to change her mind or think things over, and she did not feel like begging.

“You really want to go?” The tall Dragir asked the witch. Jzak lowered her head at the weighty question. Her heart hurt, but yes, she wanted to leave a guild that was destined to failure in the upcoming months.

“I do,” again the witch raised her head and stared at the Dragir. “I’ve served this guild for the last time this day, and you, nor Magatha, can stop me. Since Artemys Primrose is gone, my contract has become void. But please allow me to go back with you to the castle. I wish to say my good byes to Mattman.”

Kalindra crossed her arms and looked away to some wall, feeling a rather sour taste in her mouth.

“Fine. I will help Magatha terminate your contract in a few seconds, as soon as I tell the news to the other guilders. I do want to find out who else is leaving and who’s willing to stay.”

Jzak the witch, feeling sorry to have put the Dragir to that action, just nodded.

Kalindra, a little upset at what was going on, told Magatha to remain seated in that chair. Then she stormed out of the room and went to find the other members of the guild. And she brought them back to the office, but the Dragir had already told them all what was going on.

The three deadly Asakian archers had decided to leave, with pain in their hearts, but they had told Kalindra that they couldn’t remain on a boat that was slowly sinking. As to Damera, Abigale and Garry, they were the only ones that decided to remain in the guild, and Jzak knew that their decision, at least Abigale’s and Garry’s, was heavily based on the fact that Magatha, who in her own right was probably the same age as them if compared, had taken over the guild. They were good friends with her, had been with her in the good and bad times, and so they had decided to stay merely to see where she went as guild leader, and also because of the huge amount of respect that they’d had for Artemys Primrose, who had taken them both out of the misery and had given them a new chance at life. Damera had stayed due to the great respect he’d had for the missing leader. He had looked up to him as a child to his father, and at that time, he was still hurting that he wasn't among them.

“So it’s four to three at the moment,” Kalindra spoke within the office, scrolls which represented contracts already approved for termination. “With still Mattman to be given the chance to stay or leave.”

The Dragir actually felt glad that those three humans had decided to stay. They were young ones, perhaps, but they were alright as fighters, especially Damera, who was good with the sword and a shield.

"Stamp them, Guild Master Magatha," Kalindra urged. "And grant these fine warriors their release from the guild."

With sadness, Magatha did as told. She stamped the contracts and then handed them to Kalindra, who went on to pass them out to those who had decided to leave. She also thanked them all for the fine service they had offered the guild and even gave them a bonus of gems that she had extracted from some chest that stood against the wall behind the chair where Magatha sat.

"Jzak," Kalindra spoke to the witch, and this one gave the Dragir her undivided attention. "We'll be leaving for the castle in a few minutes, so you are welcomed to come with me and Magatha as you requested."

Jzak nodded, and then the tall Dragir turned to face the archers and smiled lightly at them, "As to you, you are free to go anytime."

The archers wished them all luck, and then, with their heavy hearts within, they exited the guild and were soon on their way to freedom, Pandora, though, was crying as she went.

"Maggie," Kalindra stared at her boss.

"Yes?" Magatha asked.

"You'll need to leave someone in charge while we are away," Kalindra let her know. "I'd recommend Damera."

Magatha regarded the handsome warrior, and he straightened in his place. "Would you do me the honor of taking over the guild while Kalindra and I take leave?"

"Mistress Magatha, I'd be honored," Damera said after taking an exaggerated bow. Magatha smiled at him and then looked upon Kalindra, who despite not being in control of the guild, was still somewhat leading the way.

"Keep these two close at all times," Kalindra told Damera. "Don't worry too much, this zone is safe, the Ilitian armada has several holds nearby."

The six-foot tall Damera nodded, knowing that fully well. "Go at ease, Lady Kalindra and Lady Magatha," he said in his noble voice. "We'll take care of the guild while you're away."

Kalindra pat his shoulder, and then she pat Abigale's and Garry's as well and thanked them for having remained behind.

Ten minutes later, the two Dragir and the witch left for the Ilitia royal castle on a wagon pulled by a team of four horses.

*End of C5*

I have no Chapter 6 at a glance ready, so you will just have to wait and see what I come up with. ~Gobli