Mount Temza

[A New Familiar]

There was a massive boom of rolling thunder, as the sky lit up with cascading bolts of ungodly lightning. In the pouring rains blanketing the massive Mount Temza, a single figure stood at the base. In the center of a great battle scare left upon the land by the Great War, a silver haired man stood silent amongst the chaos of nature. In his hand, he held a small but glistening object. He clenched it in his hand, as it slowly faded away into little bits of aer.

The man balled his hand into a fist, as it slowly started to shake. His body began to shake, as if a tremor went through his being. He fell to his knees, as there was another calamitous flash of light in the sky. He slammed his fists into the wet dirt, repeatedly as a mighty thunderclap sound overhead. He would pound his fists one more time, before throwing his head back and screaming to the heavens. As he did, a pair of massive wings would sprout from his back. His screams were drowned out into another set of rolling thunder, as if the very weather itself were responding to the mans anguish.

Slowly, he opened his eyes with some difficulty. He winced a bit from the light shining in the distance. It took him a moment to adjust to it, rubbing his eyes lightly. He stretched a little, and felt he was laying against something. Looking around, his light blue eyes could barely understand what he saw. He was laying against a curled up and massive monster. It was covered in a beautiful black fur with golden bands around it's ears, neck, tail, and ankles. It seemed somewhat of a mix of a feline and a wolf, with a long tail that ended in a bushy poof. It had long, somewhat fox like ears.

He blinked a bit, thinking about what had happened the night before. He remembered the incident with Pondera, his sword. Afterwards, everything went blank, as if there was a literal gap in his memory.

'You passed out in the rain, young one...'

Blinking a bit, he looked around, before his gaze finally met the creatures head. It turns out, the creature was wide awake and looking directly at him. It's eyes were a deep red, a stark contrast to the gold markings it had.

'I brought you into the safety of this cave... I knew you wouldn't last long out there, in the rain with all those monsters.'

He looked at the creature for a moment, before nodding lightly. Taking a few moments to absorb all of this, he felt a large and searing pain in his forehead. He held it lightly, as the creature curled up more around him.

'You've lost someone dear to you, I assume? You were mumbling in your sleep...'

"Y-Yeah..." The mans voice was light, almost, lacking any form of energy to it. The creature looked at him, and sighed lightly. It got up from around him, using it's tail to keep him sitting up. The man would lay himself down on the floor, curling up.

' I suggest getting out of those clothes, and letting them dry in the sun. You'll get sick if you sit in them all wet like that. Now, you stay here, I'll go get us some food.'

The creature left the cave, leaving the man all by himself. He looked at the entrance for a while, and sighed. He took off his jacket, his shirt, his shoes and pants. It left him wearing only a pair of undershorts. He made his way out of the cave, and set all of his clothes on rocks for them to dry. He spread his wings a bit, catching the sun on his somewhat wet feathers.

His wings were tattered, dirty, and ruffled like all hell from the fight the day before. He glanced at the ground for a bit, before heading back into the cave. Normally, he would probably be asking why a monster was helping him out, let alone able to talk to him telepathically. For now, though, he was more concerned with what had happened the day before. He succeeded in keeping a great threat from arising, but also failed his promise to Pondera.

Tears welled up in his eyes in which he did not bother to wipe away. His hands began to shake a bit, as he clenched one into a fist. Screaming, he slammed it into the wall of the cave. To his surprise, his hand didn't really hurt. In fact, he made a sizable dent in the rock. He blinked a bit, looking at his hand, which was barely starting to bruise.

'I see that you're gonna be a bit of a hassle...'

Startled, he stepped back and looked at the cave entrance. The creature was back, with what seemed to be a type of massive dragon-lizard in it's mouth. It dropped it on the ground, and made it's way into the cave.

'Tell me, what may I call you?'

He looked at the creature for a moment, before sighing lightly and rubbing his bruised hand.

"You can call me Kyro. What may I call you?"\

The creature looked at him for a moment, before leaning over the dragon-lizard. It opened it's mouth, and breathed a small burst of flame over it.

'You may call me Kokabiel. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kyro. Now, eat up.'

Kyro looked at the lizard for a moment, before nodding. He made his way over, and sat next to it. Kokabiel put it's paw down on it, and tore off one of the legs with another. It nudged it towards him, to which he picked it up. He looked at the meat for a moment, before biting into it. Despite it being barely heated whatsoever, he found it to be decent. Edible, but raw. He was a little confused as to why he could even stomach something that was raw.

'I figured, since you smell somewhat like a monster... you might be able to eat what one can. Did I assume correctly?'

Kyro nodded slowly, continuing to eat the leg he had been given. He knew he was not a normal being, as this had been evident since birth. Even so, he didn't know how far he could even push himself. He had never tried, nor ever wanted to try. Even so, this small but significant discovery was slightly piquing his curiosity.

[A New Familiar]

It wasn't long before all that would be left of the meal was bones an undesirable pieces. Kyro felt his strength slowly start to return to him, but he also felt odd. He no longer felt any aer in the area whatsoever. It almost felt like aer didn't exist anymore.

He lifted his hand a bit, flexing it. His skin was tingling a little, and he wondered if it was a reaction to the lack of aer around him. He then looked over at Kokabiel, who was resting on the other side of the cave. He looked the creature over, and found that Kokabiel was oddly majestic for a 'monster'. The question was poking around the back of his head, and he figured he would ask. Not like the man had anything better to do.

"Kokabiel... if you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you?"

Kokabiel opened a single eye, looking at the little silver haired man. It took a moment, seeming to think on a response for his question. Kyro could hear a light sigh in his mind, before words slowly came forth.

' I am nothing all that extraordinary...now, what I should be asking, is what are YOU, Kyro. You smell of a mix of monster, man, and something off. You have too many feral features to be a normal human, especially the wings. Most odd of all, you seem to suck in aer.'

Kyro blinked a bit, looking at Kokabiel only once those last words were uttered. Most of what it told him he had already observed himself, but...sucking in aer? That made no sense to him, especially considering that no creature on the planet could really do such a thing. At least, to his knowledge.

'See, when I found you, aer was flowing in and out of your body. That is, till it all disappeared.'

Kyro now cocked an eyebrow, feeling like there was something more to this whole 'aer' situation.

"What do you mean, 'disappeared'? Aer's been around for as long as I can remember...for as long as anyone can remember."

Kokabiel shrugged lightly, turning it's head to look at the man with both eyes.

' It's as I told you. Recently, all the aer just started rapidly disappearing. It seems, something has been left in it's place.'

Kyro's gaze drifted to the floor for a moment, as he wondered what could have possibly happened. Remembering the mentioning of 'sucking in aer', as well as his ability to sense it, Kyro closed his eyes. With a few steady breaths, he calmed himself enough to focus on the immediate area. It took a few seconds, but he felt something...odd. No, not exactly odd, but new. It was a new kind of sensation. It felt more solid and uniform the aer. Something had indeed replaced the aer in the area.

'See, you're doing it right now...'

Kyro opened his eyes, and looked at himself. All over his chest and arms, glowing black markings had formed. It looked like they were sucking in little blue orbs of light. He tried to touch the ones on his chest, but quickly they faded away. The blue lights did so to, and his eyes widened slightly.

"I've...never noticed that, ever. I've always used Blastia, even..." He stopped for a moment, as again the thoughts of Pondera appeared. He remembered something when he wielded Pondera. He never had a Blastia, and assumed the eyeball like core was a twisted kind of Blastia in and of itself. What if he had instead been directly taking in the aer necessary for Artes, bu himself?

'The one thing that bothers me, Kyro, is that you seem to suffer no negative side effects from the direct intake of aer. That's not natural, as even monsters surrounded by dense aer go wild and crazy.'

Kyro was for sure now concerned about the aer and this new energy in the area. It didn't seem natural for him to be able to do this, and suffer no ill side effects. On top of that, the aer going missing was troublesome to him too. It took him a few moments, before he looked over at Kokabiel.

"I think, Kokabiel, I'll be sticking with you for a while...that is, if you don't mind?"

Kokabiel simply gave a light nod, before resting it's head. The creature was also curious as to who and what this young man was. All of these happenings in the past day, were beginning to make Kokabiel wonder if all of this wasn't fated to happen.

Kyro, on the otherhand, was beginning to think on what could cause this passive energy drain. He knew what the answer more then likely was, especially since the markings on his body reminded him of a event not too long ago. It was more then likely, that his Grandfather was to blame for the markings and his ability to suck energy out of the air. It seemed reasonable, given that his current physical state was also his Grandfathers doing.

[A New Familiar]

Kyro sat on the edge of a cliff while looking out at the rest of the mountain range. He had put his clothes back on, as they were now dry enough to wear without him getting sick. His wings were spread to his sides, but rested somewhat on the rocks around him. He looked out at the horizon, wondering what he was to do now. He honestly had no idea what to do with himself. He had broken his promise, had no more family, no friends, nothing. He had no job, no goal in life. He was a soul adrift in the ocean of life. His ears twitched a little, as he heard something approach him.

Turning his head, he saw the oddity he had come to know as Kokabiel. Folding his wings to his back, the large creature would sit beside him on the cliff.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed lost..."

Kyro looked at the creature for a moment, before sighing lightly.

"I'll be honest with you. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I have no friends or family to return to. I've no job, no home...nothing but the clothes on my back. So, what, would you suggest I do?"

Kyro sat there for a moment, realizing that he was essentially asking a 'monster' for life advice. Even so, it was the only person he was even relatively close to at this point. So, go for broke, right?

Kokabiel thought for a few moments, trying to put the proper words together in their head. Slowly, Kokabiel would close their eyes.

'Well, Kyro, in all honesty, I would start searching. What for, only you will know when you find it. Even so, I wouldn't want you to go on your own. That would just be too cruel, even for someone like myself.'

Suddenly, Kokabiel began to glow a light blue color. Kyro blinked a bit, and quickly stood. Kokabiel held up one of their paws, and shook their head.

'The time of my race, is at an end... What I give to you, is a gift of friendship. Whenever you feel you truly need my aid, just call for me, and I will give you my strength.'

There was a massive flash of light, that blinded Kyro's sensitive eyes. He covered his eyes, but felt the light dim down. Before he could open them, he felt something enter his body. It wasn't a forced entry, like a wound. More so that it was like something was joining to him. Once he finally opened his eyes, he saw that Kokabiel was gone.

Suddenly, Kyro felt a rapid rush of aer flood through his body. It was revitalizing him, making him feel energetic and focused. Even so, he had no idea where it was coming from. The air was drained of aer, as was the surrounding rocks and mountain. It was as if he was producing it himself. Either that, or Kokabiel had done something to him to give him aer. Either way, he was grateful that he could now use Artes once again.

Sighing lightly, he started making his way down the trail. It would take him a while to get off the mountain, but he had no idea where to go from here. Maybe he could start a guild, or try to rejoin the nights, or...something. He didn't know, but, he figured what Kokabiel said would come to light. When he found what he wanted to do, he'd know.

[Daisuke]

"Y'know," began a female voice, from the far off areas that were riddled with high rocks, "You shouldn't talk to yourself in the middle'a nowhere."

A girl was hanging from the cliff, visibly by spikes from her elbows, blades on her feet, and axe shaped blades from her shoulders. She looked like she was lying down, yet she was clearly at a vertical. Disengaging from the cliff was an awkward process, as she began literally WALKING down it. It either took very strange magic, or blades just appropriately placed to do so. One thing was for sure though; it took some serious gall to come out here alone at all.

She gave the same credit to this new guy.

"Y'here for the party? Sorry friend, 'bit late there. We just got done."

By that, she meant she just got done with the monsters around the area, as if one checked the path she took, it would be littered with monster corpses. This was not the case, however; There was only three of them. Still, she took them down herself without any weapons except the ones she was producing. She gave the stranger a look over, spending extra time noting his muscular build and his overall posture. She deemed him a possible threat, so she should stay on guard.

Deemed does not mean she did so, though. She immediately leaned against one of the higher rocks, sliding down slowly to a relaxed, half sitting position.

"What's got ya all the way out 'ere, friend?"

By this point, her thick accent would be noted. She wasn't from around this area, and possibly not this world. In all honesty, she pretty much didn't care. What was important to her was the present, not the past. And in the present, there was a man who was talking to himself, or so it seemed, right in front of her.

[A New Familiar]

Kyro stopped in his tracks, wings spread and fists raised. That was, until he saw the girl hanging from the cliff. She had blades and spikes literally coming out of her body. Granted it was strange, he himself had seen stranger. Sentient swords, human experiments, talking monsters. Just another day in the life of Kyro. He slowly let his guard down, his wings folding to his back as she began walking down the side of the cliff. As she spoke, he cocked an eyebrow. He wondered what she meant, until he saw the monsters down the path. The girl herself seemed to be well at ease, but given how she came out of nowhere, he figured it might be a ruse. After all, people don't just fall from the sky for no reason. Or, more so, appear out of nowhere for no reason, as she didn't fall. When she asked him what brought him out here, he began to get a better understanding of her accent. She wasn't from around here. He knew accents fairly well from around the world, and hers was foreign. Sighing lightly, he looked off to the side.

"Just some...personal business. I was just about to leave this monster ridden wasteland. What brings someone as...interesting, as yourself, all the way out here to Mount Temza?"

[Daisuke]

"Oh me?" She turned quickly, allowing her back to face the man, which would give him a clear view of the axe heads and the elbow spikes returning to within her body. It seemed they were literally part of her skeleton; specifically, her shoulder joints and elbow joints. This was her weakness, which she willingly exposed.

Actually, she just didn't give a damn if he knew or not.

"I suppose y'could say the same. I was late t'a party, but I got 'ere jus' in time to catch th'end."

A reference to something, surely. Either that, or she was really just attending a party. Unlikely, in this wilderness. Thankfully it was an obvious metaphor for an even more obvious action, and there wouldn't be speculations. She really, really didn't like being direct; metaphors made everything more fun. And since she had no idea of this guy's background, she hoped he didn't know hers either; That she was used as a weapon by the Empire until she managed to escape-daringly and dramatically, she would tell you-to live a normal life.

A normal, runaway life.

"I feel safer 'ere than down below. How you locals say... Hidden?"

That was about all he would get about her past.

"You can imagine I'm not th'most welcomed down below. I drift from town t'town, avoiding th'Empire naturally. How you locals say... Bard?"

That was her hobby, sure enough, and it's also how she made money. But it was nice to get away sometimes, and just hide out in the mountains. After all, she could cling to the sides of them like a spider, and it was really fun to mess with travelers.

[A New Familiar]

Okay, so Kyro was having a hard time telling whether she was being serious or just messing with him. She deliberately showed him a possible weak point to her, but at the same time her speech made her sound less serious. He simply watched her, as she explained her case. She liked moving from place to place and keeping a low profile. Understandable, he much had to do the same thing for a while. She also wasn't a fan of the Empire. Fair enough, as Kyro himself had seen what the Empire had done to people first hand. After a few moments thinking to himself, he slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Not a fan of the Empire, huh? Neither am I..."

It was then that Kyro got an idea. It was a little risky, given that this was a total stranger. Even so, he felt is was a good idea for the two of them.

"Ya know, you could form a Guild. A group of people that all abide by their own set of rules, independent and separate from the Empire. You could roam around freely, and do whatever you like."

[Daisuke]

A guild, huh? Sounded interesting enough, but there was a bit to consider. For one, she was a legitimate fujitive; a guild would put her on the map, and she'd be found easier. On the other hand, she could live her way and nobody could say a damned thing about it. Both sounded like good arguments, but it seemed more and more likely that it was a big risk factor to put herself out there like that, mainly because she had no idea how the guilds worked, or if she would be considered a fujitive still if she formed one.

"S'risky for a girl like me to be known at all. I am DJ at clubs under false names. The Empire and I have bad ground, friend."

Of course, it wasn't like it was their fault she was so unbelievably useful to them; She was the last remnant of Dr. Vladimir's work, and she held the knowledge to make more people just like her. This was why she ran; she wouldn't have cared about fighting for them; if she was the only freakshow who did it.

"I would need t'know more about this guild to be sure. I should not start a party if the guests are friends I do not want to see."

[A New Familiar]

Kyro nodded slightly, as he was beginning to understand her position a little more and more. It wasn't just that she didn't like the Empire, they also didn't like her. He thought this over for a moment, and nodded lightly.

"Well, for starters, if you make a guild, your guild can be part of what's called the Union. A country run by guilds, with five guilds being at the head of it all. Also, so long as you're in a Guild, the Empire doesn't really have any rights to mess with you. Thing is, if you break any Guild rules, the only ones who can really punish you are your own Guild members, or the Master Guilds in the Union. As well, should the Empire pick a fight with you, you'd more then likely have the Union to back you up. On the other hand, unless you directly contact them, you usually don't get involved with other Guilds. So, it's private when you want it to be, and you have help when you most need it."

Kyro himself liked the concept of the Guilds and the Union, but due to his former work in the Empire had not really made much effort to learn more. After all, he had gotten so used to living under the Empire's rule. He couldn't even fathom what it would feel like to live by his own rules. It was a nice idea, after all.

"As well, if need be, you can live under a different name and appearance. So long as you're trustworthy otherwise, the Guilds won't mind it. Anything to cause less trouble with the Empire."

[Daisuke]

False names was something she knew very well. She had an endless list of them. What was her real name, anyway? She honestly didn't know; not because she had so many fake ones, but because her current "real" name was her project codename. She would have no trouble living under false names at all, and Hell,if she liked one enough, she might adopt it to be her "real" name. Of course, that was all speculation.

"I have what you say, orphaned? I do not even know m'birth name. Dr. Vladimir called me "Oruzhie". It means weapon in my country."

It was clear to tell, she was by no means even remotely normal. Her weaponized body by her name alone would give her away as being unnatural. Dr. Vladimir's secrets rested with her, and she wasn't about to give them away under any circumstance, even if it came to death. Of course, nobody could stop this party, right?

"I like this guild idea. S'all making sense t'me now. But what form of guild could a foreigner make?"

She thought for a moment, and decided that she should make a new identity as well, and especially never show her weaponized body to the general public.

"A guild of musicians. I will need a new name also, friend. Much work t'be done in a very short time."

[A New Familiar]

Kyro's ear twitched a bit when she mentioned a 'doctor'. He sighed lightly, as his wings twitched a little. He understood know. She probably went through a similar experimentation that he did. After all, if you looked closely, you could see many subtle differences between him and a normal person. His slit pupils, his clawed nails, his ridiculous height. Not to mention the blaringly obvious wings. When he heard her mention a guild of musicians, he figured that would work. After all, she did say she was a 'Bard' of sorts. Clearing his throat, Kyro took a step forward.

"I know we don't know each other, but, I was wondering...if I may join this guild you're going to make?"

((Ugh, small post is small.))

[Daisuke]

"S'okay with me. It seems like a good option to keep one who knows m'secrets like that nearby."

Her biggest ones being her blades and her being on the run from the Empire. If she held any more on a regular basis she might go insane. It was humorous to think that she was allying herself with a total stranger, but at the same time it seemed to be the better option of the two; allying with a stranger or someone who knew who she was. Mainly because the only other people who know her are Empire knights and others who want to use her for war.

"It shall need a name, friend. So do I. So, from 'ere on out, y'can call me..."

A moment of thought. Naming herself after her native country's normal female names may be problematic. She needs to adopt a new name for the new culture she was attempting to blend into.

"Yvette. Any idea on a name for th'guild?"

[A New Familiar]

When she marked how it was okay, and how he was someone who knew her secrets, he felt a lot better. Despite her not knowing him, she was willing to trust him enough to be in her guild. When she mentioned it needing a name, he nodded lightly. He began thinking of a name. Well, if it was to be a Bards guild, it would need to symbolize what they did. He wanted it to be classy, but not too straight forward. He would want people to not say 'Oh, they must be bards!' but instead ask 'Are they musically involed?' It was at that moment she gave him a name to call her by. Yvette. He nodded lightly, and thought for a moment longer.

"Well, for future reference, my name is Kyro. As for the guild...how does 'Symphonic Soul' sound to you?"

[Daisuke]

"S'good to me, friend."

She started walking herself up another high rock, followed by gently sitting down at the top of it, a few feet above the man she was speaking to, and waited there to see if anything was coming or not. She never really could tell, and honestly, that's what bothered her about being on the run.

"Then we should go to th'guild center of this world and become official, yes? Where is th'place?"

She started to realize she would need work on her accent, or to just resort to mannerisms when in general public. Since the latter seemed easier, she decided on that, making her entire idea more effective as she needed to blend in, so speaking rarely would help with that. So, she was making a life for herself now, huh?

Let's get the party started, then.

[A New Familiar]

"Well, it's in Dahngrest. I know the fastest way from here, and it's very discreet. Few monsters, and few cities or towns."

Thing was, this was the truth. Kyro had been to Dahngrest once. Granted, that was on Knightly business. He would just fly there and cut his time in half, but he now had a 'partner in crime'. So, he would have to show her the way on foot. Not like it even would be dangerous, as he had his ability to use Artes again. He was going to figure out how that all worked, but once he had some time to himself and away from Yvette. Making his way a bit further down the path, he looked back at his fellow guild member to be.

"Come on. We need to discuss what the rules of the guild will be. We'll have plenty of time to do that on the trip there. After all, it'll take a while."