It was getting dark and mist was begining to swirl left and right. Maktesh was a bit uneasy, maybe he should have waited until morning to take a look at the small swamp that the people of the near by village were complaining about so much. They claimed that the swamp harbored many an unholy tenent and that they were getting bolder, moving past the boundaries of the swamp. Already at least one child was taken according to the villagers. Maktesh didn't know how much to believe them, but they seemed sincere enough.

Either way, Maktesh was beginning to regret his good will as he ventured deaper into the dark bog. Odd squeaks and groans rand out all around him. He tried to tell himself that were just the wind passing through the trees but he had no way of knowing for sure, his vision was too impaired. His nerves finally getting to him he drew his holy broad sword and brandished it at the ready.

Suddenly with a crash a moderately sized zombie crashed through the thick undergrowth and out of the fog. He grunted and moaned as he approached Maktesh. The holy broadsword erupted into flames as the evil creature approached him. Maktesh very soon began to regret his offer to help, he knew next to nothing of zombies. The zombie lunged forward, swinging it's own arm as if it were a club. Maktesh stepped back and easily dodged the slow attack and responded with his own. As the holy blade bit into the decayed flesh of the zombie's arm it cryed out with a repulsive, disgusting, roar. The holy fire seared the flesh and wound it's way up the thing's arm. maktesh drew back and swung again, this time cleaving the arm from the body. the zombie continued forward, disregarding the fallen arm. In a last ditch effort to stop it Maktesh lunged forward driving the large sword through the zombie's decayed chest. He connected with the heart causeing the zombie's whole chest cavity to ignite into holy flames as it fell to the ground convulsing. Soon it quit twitching and Maktesh presumed it was dead. All about him the squeaks and groans about him had become low growls and wails. This night was not going to be fun.

Xoco sat on a log inside of the Swamp of Shadows. His hands were cupped together, with his thumbs underneath his chin and his index fingers extending up the bridge of his nose. He was thinking hard, trying to contemplate his next move. As a Wraith, he had a certain reputation with other evil spirits, especially those of an undead nature. Ghosts and whisps were wary of him, but other undead were often easily frightened into assisting him.

Earlier, Xoco had been making his way through the Misty Forest, wandering aimlessly about. He had nothing to do on this world except to wander, and deal with whatever befell him on the way. As he was making his way through the swirling mists of the forest, he had come upon a small village, one of many semi-nomadic tribes that made their home in this dangerous place. He had stopped inside the village, introducing himself by one of his many aliases, and not choosing to reveal himself as a spirit. He had spent only a day among the humans, seeking simply rest. These tribes held little valuable items for him, but this village was different. A mysterious shaman stayed with them, and when Xoco got too close, he was recognized as an evil spirit. The villagers had then chased Xoco out of the village. One of his hips still smarted slightly from where it had been cut by a crude obsidian sword.

Now, he sought vengeance. Xoco had collected himself a small army of the unholy beasts that roamed the darker regions of this forest. The Swamp of Shadows, with it’s disorienting gasses and deadly underflows, held many creatures that he could harness for his own personal uses. He had begun to send his newfound beasts into the village, mostly on small raiding missions meant to terrorize the villagers. Several night before, they had taken a child, which Xoco had allowed the zombies to eat. They complained that he was not enough food, but Xoco had put them straight with a few well-chosen words. A

But now, his vampiric scouts were reporting that a human warrior wielding a blessed sword had entered the Swamp, seeking out whatever was terrorizing the village. Xoco smiled, enjoying the idea of a more challenging opponent than the forest-dwelling simpletons from the village. Xoco had sent out but a single zombie, as a test of the warrior’s skill. The scouts had reported him as a significantly talented bladesman, but they had also described him as looking slightly unnerved and rather lost. A wry smile came to Xoco’s lips.

With a single hand motion, he brought a finger into the air, pointing at one of his many undead minions. “You,” he said, “Take three others and find the human. Bring him to me. And you,” he continued, pointing another finger, “Scout behind them. Report back once the mission is complete. Oh, and I’m sure he will taste excellent.” Xoco’s smile widened slightly as hungry chuckles of anticipation arose from the zombies. Without further ado, they exited the tiny clearing, setting off to find the warrior. Xoco knew that their mission was mostly a hopeless venture, but he didn’t care at this point.

After the scout left, Xoco stood and followed ten paces behind him. He moved with all the cunning and stealth of an experienced warrior, slipping easily between trees and into shadows. Xoco’s hand slipped around his sword’s hilt as he eagerly awaited witnessing his opponent first-hand.

Shiro was lost.

No amount of denial on his part would change that simple fact. He was lost.

The young wanderer had stumbled upon a village during his wanderings. That village had been very near to the woods called the Misty Forest. As he was resting at that village, regaining his strength, he heard news about several dark creatures convening inside a swamp in the forest known as the Swamp of Shadows. The creatures had taken a child just a few days ago, and after speaking with the young boy’s parents, Shiro had decided to go to the forest.

However, he hadn’t counted on the Misty Forest being so…well, misty.

The fog pressed in on him on all sides, until he could no longer see the nose on his face. Not even his Infravision was helping him now. It wasn’t the dark that was bothering him, it was the fog. The young human had been wandering about this forest for an hour, no doubt walking around in circles.

Then, suddenly, the fog began to thin. Shiro looked around him. It was dark, but since he had Infravision, he could still see, and right now he wished he didn’t.

Dark creatures lurked in the shadows, watching him cautiously. He placed a hand on the hilt of his katana, continuing to walk forward. Low growls and wails surrounded him.

In front of him, he saw a man. The man’s back was turned to him, and Shiro noted that he had wings.

An angel? thought Shiro, Or maybe a half-angel…

Either way, he was confident that this wasn’t one of the dark creatures lurking in the shadows. Shiro walked up to him.

“Hey,” he said, “I guess you’re here because of these things too?”

Shiro gestured at the dark shapes around him. Suddenly, without warning, one of them charged forward. Shiro drew his katana, wishing that he couldn’t see the thing. It was a hideous creature, grunting and moaning as it approached.

Most people in Arda has been within the Misty Forest at one point in their lives, but deep in said forest lay a much worse place. Yes the Swamp of Shadows, this land did not have many people living within it, yet a lot of the un-dead seemed to roam these swamps. It was rather strange would, even thought there was a sheer lack of life, so many had infact been killed here. It was an amazingly dangerous place, but then again some beings in Arda fed off of danger, and the Chaos Phoenix was one of those rare beings!

Alba Meria, the Chaos Phoenix, had come into the Swamp of Shadows for one main reason. He had heard of a spirit called Xoco, who Alba knew well now, and the fact that this being was making up his own army. This Alba did not like one bit, he felt as though Xoco may be trying to overthrow his power as the Leader of the Brotherhood of Chaos, and that was one thing that Alba would never stand for. If someone wanted to face him for leadership then the Chaos Phoenix would rip that person limb from limb. He would really do anything at that exact moment in time just for the actual scent of blood to grace his nose. Alba was going to hunt down Xoco and let the foolish Wraith explain himself, if he did not then Alba would fight him and make him spiral back to the Underworld once more.

But the Phoenix was smarter than to go into the Swamp of Shadows on his own, after all he had Xoco and his army to face. Of course the only two beings that Alba had taken with him into the Swamp were his Lupine, Zaraku, and his black Greater Cerberus Arc, which Alba was mounted on for easy travel. The Lupines large feet slipping into the swamp and lifting back out with ease as it walked on through the swamp like forest. Soon, ahead of the Phoenix, three figures came into view and Alba instantly knew whom one of the figures was. It was the Spirit he was searching for, it was Xoco. Such an easy find, having Arc by his side always made tracking people down so much quicker and that was one thing Alba was always happy with.

But still Alba had not said anything, he just kept on tracking both Xoco and what appeared to be two Zombie followers walking on ahead a little. It was then that the usual dark smirk of Alba formed along his lips. He knew that Xoco had some power, and some basic training from the Goddess of Chaos, but the Phoenix also knew that his power would outmatch that of the Wraith. Infact even Alba was somewhat shocked at the level his power had reached as of late.

Dressed fully in his dark Bloodshed Armour, with the shield upon his back and large red cloak covering his form, Alba kept on tracking Xoco. He had only taken two of his weapons with him this day to the Swamp and those were his Katar, which was in a sheath upon his right leg. The other weapon of choice that Alba had brought with him was his mighty Dark Death Scythe. This weapon was the one that Alba used most in battles, and it was not just a normal scythe, this mighty weapon was infact a reforged Dark Blade and Alba had gotten it reforged to better suit his style of battle. Yes in the eyes of Alba, this was his ultimate weapon!

The scythe was held in a death grip within the right hand of Alba, and slowly the Phoenix raised it so that the blade was pointed out towards Xoco and his two Zombies. Alba then smirked more as a blast of dark energy shot from the blade and ripped through the neck of one of the Zombies making its head fall onto the floor with a thud.

Seeing this made the Phoenix let out an evil and dark laugh as his Cerberus picked up speed, with Zaraku running at its side. It was then that the Phoenix said; “Xoco you fool. I hope this army of yours is not to try and attack the Brotherhood. You know I have sent you back to the Underworld once, and I can do it again!” But it was after this that Alba seeing some white flames just ahead of him, so there was some kind of Holy Warrior here as well? Oh the day was just getting better by the second. If Xoco was setting an attack on this Holy fool then Alba would help, after this angel like being had been taken care of then Alba would continue his questioning of Xoco. For now the blood of the Holy called out to the Phoenix and Alba could not wait but to rip into this mans neck!

But before Alba had gotten a chance to attack he saw another blade wielding figure appear next to the angelic being. Yes this was just getting even better. Now Alba had two beings to slay in cold blood. Sure the un-dead creatures would also attack, but these beings before Alba and Xoco would have their work cut out against two members of the Brotherhood. Sure Alba still thought that Xoco was planning to stab him in the back, but for now he would have to deal with that. The Phoenix would hear Xoco out in time and sort this out, if it turned out he was infact going to attack Alba then the Phoenix would battle him, if not then the un-dead army Xoco had collected would be a nice addition to the Brotherhood.

Since the fun had already started Alba seen no reason to now hold back. He kicked his foot into the side of his Cerberus causing the beast to charge forward towards the angelic being and the human. His scythes blade was ringing through the air as Alba and Arc drew closer, soon of course also followed by Zaraku. Alba made a strike with his scythe towards the torso of the human male while at the same time his Lupine leaped through the air towards the angel. The battle may have only begun but Alba could not wait until it heated up further!

Shiro was faster than most humans. He had better reflexes than most humans as well. Both of these were gifts that he found very useful in his day-to-day life. These gifts had saved his life on many occasions.

But he wasn’t prepared for the scythe-wielding man on board what appeared to be a Greater Cerberus. The blade of the scythe rang through the air as it came towards him, aiming for his torso area. Shiro jumped quickly to the side, wincing as his landing was rather rough. He hit the ground, rolling over a couple of times before getting to his feet. He stood up, ready to attack with his katana.

“Hah, you missed…” began Shiro, but his confident words were cut off by a stinging pain coming from his chest. Shiro raised his hand to his chest, puzzled. He was sure he had gotten away in time.

“…me?” he finished, rather lamely, seeing his own blood on his hands. The cut was not that deep—not deep enough to be lethal, or even to impair fighting significantly, but it was still there. He forced himself not to think of what it would have been had he not moved away in time.

Shiro put the thought out of his mind. Now was not the time to think of such things. Now was the time to fight. He could see in the dark. This person, he hoped, could not. That, at least, gave him some sort of advantage.

He charged forward, katana poised for a strike at the man with the scythe. Once he got near enough, he jumped, attempting a downward strike at the man.

Xoco stepped back several paces from the warrior as another joined him. Xoco noted that he had wings; the scouts had been wrong. This was an angel, or possibly a half-angel, but no human. He noted mentally to make them pay for this misinformation. The angel wielded a Holy Broadsword, a powerful weapon with arcane properties. He backed away some more, only slightly obscuring his vision. The last thing Xoco needed was for the sword to burst into flames, signaling his presence. He kept one watchful, unseen eye on the two travelers. The fog was thick, but he was not too far away, and could still see fairly well.

Then he felt something. At first, it was nearly indistinguishable. But then, it got stronger. The ground was vibrating slightly. Pebbles moved underfoot as the vibrations became greater and greater. Xoco’s hand flew to the hilt of Ice, his trusty blade. These footsteps were made by something huge; and, judging by the force, it was coming this way. The heavy footsteps continued, soon followed by a second, lighter pair. He wondered what could possibly be approaching.

“Xoco you fool. I hope this army of yours is not to try and attack the Brotherhood. You know I have sent you back to the Underworld once, and I can do it again!” came a familiar voice. Xoco was half-relieved, knowing that the newcomer was not necessarily an enemy. Yet he did not consider Alba Meria to be a friend either; he was an ally, but Xoco remained wary of him. Xoco was always wary of beings with more power than he, no matter what the circumstances.

He watched as Alba made a quick strike with his scythe, but the second warrior was quick to react and was able to dodge. Xoco noticed that the warrior’s fingers had blood on them; perhaps the Phoenix’s strike was not as inaccurate as he had thought. Shrugging, Xoco began to creep forward, interested in seeing a little action himself. He looked around, cursing his tiny band of undead warriors. They had all run off at the sight of the Greater Cerebus, and now Xoco knew he would have to personally carry out his vengeance on the village that had wronged him.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite mortal. How are things with my old mate, Alba?” he asked. Xoco stepped out of the trees and into the fore, eyeing the Chaos Phoenix’s beasts warily. One was a chaotic lupine, much like the one he had only recently acquired. The Greater Cerebus stood next to it, watching it’s master intently. Xoco thought that it was probably hoping to get a nice snack after Alba had dealt with the holy warriors.

Deciding not to let Alba have all the fun, Xoco turned to strike at the human warrior that Alba had just nearly missed. He was wary of the Holy Broadsword that the angel carried, and decided to let Alba deal with him. Ice cut through the air, headed straight for the slightly wounded human warrior.

Shiro saw the longsword heading at him midway through his strike. The warrior raised his katana to block it, but his movement was rather awkward, since he had to change positions in midair. The impact from the longsword threw him back.

Shiro landed on the ground, wincing as he slid back, small stones digging into his flesh. He slid backward through the dirt, finally coming to a halt. The young human got to his feet, panting slightly as he looked around for this new opponent. This one had long, white hair and cold, piercing, blue eyes. Shiro shivered slightly under that gaze.

He looked around, eyes passing briefly between the two of them. Two to one. He didn’t have that much of a chance with one, let alone two. He turned to the half-angel.

“Hey! A little help!” he called to the half-angel, as he ran forward, attempting a strike at the man who had thrust at him with the longsword.

((Forgive the shortness! Have writer's block right now. ^__^))

((Hi))

"This was definately not a good idea at all." Nadine muttered to herself.

She walked carefully along the forest grounds. Her first walk was all safe and easy but as the fog came in, her vision was blurred. She felt a bit scared especially since she was the only one there or was she? It was nice that she had found her way to that small village. The people were very friendly and she was welcomed with open arms but...how come she didn't listen to what they said.

"Young girl, no one ever goes to the misty forest especially at these times." said an old man, "We lost a child recently...we don't want to lose another person. Please, do not wander there. It is not safe for us mortals."

Sometimes she wished that for once, she would stop being stubborn and listen to wise people but well...her curiosity was stronger. Aside from what she had been told, another thing that pushed her to go was when she heard that a few people was seen to have entered that forest. She decided to check it out herself and maybe...she can find these people...or so she hoped.

"It's getting much colder out here..." she said, "Hello! Is anyone here? Hello?!"

Slowly, she took out her bow just to be sure. She saw a glimpse of what seemed to be a shape of a human--it was just standing still. As she went nearer, she was dumbfounded to see a zombie!!?? She forced to hold a scream and decided to silently move out of the area.

As she ran away, the zombie had vanished in the fog. Just when she thought she was safe, she arrived in a fighting scene. The fog was so thick and she couldn't see well but she was very certain that three guys were fighting. She quickly hid behind a dead tree and peeked to see the fight. Another surprise came to her when she saw that the person holding a katana and who seemed to be injured was the one who helped her during the rainy night at the inn.

"Oh no...What can I do?" she whispered.

The rage within Alba flared further as he felt his scythe cut into the man he had attacked. It had been a small cut but it still restored some of Albas Mana thanks to his blades effect. The Phoenix then quickly turned round to see that the man he had attacked was now coming back for a second go. His form was soaring through the air but was then soon thrown off course by an attack by Xoco. Seeing this Alba let out a small roar and thought to himself, “Damn Wraiths. Always stealing my kill. I will make him pay for it soon enough…” If there was one thing the Phoenix really hated was people that went after the same person he was after, more so when the plan was to get rid of every Holy being here. Infact the only people Alba did not mind helping him kill the same person was his Elite, of which Xoco was not one of yet, although the Phoenix was giving it thought. Yes the last place in the Elite of the Brotherhood of Chaos would be selected soon enough.

Alba was then about to charge forward to the half angel when he felt another energy draw in, that of a woman. Feeling this Alba formed a smirk along his lips as the thought of another kill ran through his veins. Oh the Chaos that could be had on this day, Alba could not wait until the fun started. Yes he had already started the battle, but there was oh so much chaotic fun to be had in fighting those weaker than your self, to rip them apart without having to even try hard.

But the question was, who to attack? He had the new entry, the man with the Katana, or the half angel. Oh the sheer choices. However Alba seen the half angel and his blade to pose the most trouble. Of course just because Alba was attacking someone did not mean the others could not get some attention as well. Letting out a twisted laugh into the night air of the swamp Alba turned to face the half angel and his raging white flames covered blade. It was now time to start the attack, and in turn begin the real fun.

Pushing off the ground Alba ran towards the half angel, but soon his movements became nothing more than a blur and his speed increased further. This was thanks to the Blur spell of Alba taking effect. He loved this spell so much since it made his movements hard to follow. Once drawing in closer to this angel Alba ran his scythes blade through the air with great force towards the shoulder of the arm this being was holding his blade in. If Alba could damage the wielding hand enough then the battle would be so much quicker thus letting the Phoenix attack the others for some extra fun.

However as this attack was going on Alba made sure the arrival of this new woman would infact be noticed by the others as well. The way he would do this was rather simple. The Chaos Phoenix had sent his Lupine, Zaraku for the woman. The beasts steps where both fast and powerful as it made it’s was towards the human female. Soon the beast jumped into the air drawing a Katana from its side to further its attack more. As it leaped through the air Zaraku aimed a strike from his Katana towards not the woman, but her bow!

Maktesh was dumbfounded. He had hardly entered thee swamp before he was engaged by zombies. They were not much trouble, the white hot flames of his holy weapon easily cutting through their decayed flesh. But the thing he had not expected were all of the new arrivals. One appeared to be some sort of a spirit and made his spine tingle, Maktesh assumed this was some part of his angelic heritage but was not sure, he knew very little of angels and his father was killed before he was even born. The other clearly unfriendly being rode high upon a cerebus, a creature Maktesh had only heard of, and had no desire to ever see in person. There were two other entities nearby, both apparently human, not that Maktesh had possed enough time to look closely.

The cerberus rider had said something to the wraith, but it had been uninteligable from where Maktesh was standing. He had proceeded to assault the human with some sort of energy from his large red scythe. Suddenly everything went to hell. With the wraith moving towards the first human and a lupine beast towards the third from out of nowhere, Maktesh quickly turned to aid the young girl confronted by the lupine. Out of the corner of his eye the was a blur and a deep growl. Fearing the worst Maktesh turned and indeed, the worst it was. The cerberus was charging him and moving fast enough that Maktesh was almost unable to react save for his reflexes honed by combat. Flapping his large wings he shot upwards into the air only to swerve and tumble as his shin was clipped by one of the cerberus's speeding heads. A sharp pain shot through his leg as he lost grip of his sword and crashed down onto the wet earth. Luckily it was spongey enough to cushion his fall a bit. Maktesh quickly got up and began to run towards his fallen weapon, still blazing in the mud.

Nadine continued watching the battle taking place in front of her. She guessed that they were the people that were spotted going inside the Misty Forest. She turned to the man whom she knew as Shiro. He was injured and she really wanted to help him.

She held a grip on the tree, waiting. She made sure she wasn't seen. But...she guessed wrong. Out of the corner, A Lupine was charging straight towards her. She moved back in surprise, panicked at this sight.

The beast jumped through the air, holding a Katana, preparing for a strike. He wasn't aiming at her though...but for the bow she was holding.

"Shoot!" she muttered.

Focusing her mind, Nadine quickly turned and jumped forward. As the Lupine landed heavily, she stumbled on the forest ground. The beast had failed to destroy her bow but it did succeed on something. Nadine felt a stinging pain in her back. She placed her hand on it and felt something gushing out--it was blood.

As quick as she could, she stood up, pulled out an arrow from her belt quiver, placed it on her bow and aimed at the Lupine. She had to defeat that beast. She released the arrow, directly at it.

The battle was really starting to heat up now. The man that Alba had charged towards in a blur had taken to the air, but with luck the Phoenix had been able to catch his leg with the large and impressive scythe of his. He felt even more mana pouring into his body; it was such a great effect of the weapon. Albas' mana was now fully restored once more making it easy for him to cast his spells. The Chaos Phoenix looked with a sadistic grin kissing along his lips as the angelic being fell back down onto the earth below, his sword cast aside by the impact of the fall.

Now was Albas chance, he knew that if he attacked quick then this angel would not be able to use the sheer power of his Holy Weapon on Alba. Sure he had on a full set of Bloodshed Armour, but this armour lacked two things, upper leg protection and there were also some gaps on the arms. In time Alba would purchase some armour for these areas, but of course for now they served as a weakness which Alba seemed to like. Yes having a clear weakness in your armour could always play into your favour since others would aim for that area in particular. Whenever this had happened to Alba in battles before he would strike back against his opponent with a Katar he would have waiting in his left hand for a surprise attack.

But this was not one of those days, no; Alba wanted to test out of his new found fire abilities on this angelic fool that lay on the ground before him as if he was a soul less doll, dead to the world. However the angel then got back to his feet, his leg still cut from the scythe attack, and began to run towards his weapon of Holiness once more. Seeing this happening the powerful chaotic being also headed off at a run to block the path of the angel. Alba was still affected with the Blur spell so he was a lot faster than a normal person, his movements only leaving a small streak of black and red in his wake.

He had managed to stop just short of the weapon the angel was after, and just a little before he had managed to get to it. Although seeing the ever pressing on movements of the angel made Albas smirk become ever more twisted. While his scythe was held in a death grip within his right hand Alba began to use his power of the flame to make a large whip form in his left hand. This whip however was not normal, instead of being made of a rope or chain the actual whip was made of raging flames. It was the perfect weapon for causing wipe scale burns on the people it hit. The Phoenix mainly used this attack as a means of torture, but in the case of an angel he would make an exception!

As the angel got closer to his weapon the Phoenix raised his left hand and then lashed it back down towards his side with great force. This movement making the flame whip crackle through the air and head for the form of the angel, the attack was aimed at the angelic being chest but whether it would in fact meet its mark was another question. It the angel was to avoid the attack all together then Alba would still be relatively happy since he would have stopped his from acquiring his Holy weapons once more. After all, at that point in time that was the main objective of the Phoenix, to toy with the angel for a little while before taking the battle seriously. Yes it was true that Alba was holding back his power to an incredible degree, these fools had no idea of the might that lay dormant within his body, in fact not ever the Wraith Xoco had ever seen Alba at his full power as of yet. All that was left for now was for Alba to watch the angelic figures reaction to his flamed whip attack, along the path blocking to his weapon.

While all this was going on between Alba and the Angel, Zaraku was also fighting against the woman wielding a bow. The large black Lupine seemed to thunder down from the air towards the figure of this woman, although was actually heading up an attack on her bow. The woman seemed to get out of the way in time, or so it seemed. Zarakus' eyes turned bright red as the delicious aroma or blood met with his nostrils. It seemed the Lupine had somehow caused this woman damage and his blood hungry nature was now taking over his form. He wanted to feast upon this woman more than anything now, which was very clear indeed.

Just as the Lupine turned to fact the woman again an arrow came in contact while his right shoulder, the tip digging deep into his fur and causing the Lupine to let out a mighty roar of both pain and sheer anger. But something strange was happening, the Lupine soon began to change its form! Its body began to get longer and longer, but the Lupine features did not stay present for long, soon Zaraku had become something different all together, thanks to power of chaos infused into the Lupine by Ita he had now transformed into a great serpentine dragon around nine feet in length. In this form the beasts’ power was increased significantly as had his attack range, he would even now have slight flight capabilities. Sure the transformation would only last ten to fifteen minutes but with luck that should be enough time for it to do its job.

The newly formed dragon let out a powerful and chaotic roar towards her while its eyes scanned over her form. Now it was time to bring the chaos of this battle up another notch. The dragon opened its large draconic maw and let a wave of flames spurt from its mouth towards the, small in comparison, form of the woman. So much was happening this day, in this place. So much Chaos that Alba himself could not wait to find out the income of the battle, be it in his favour or not!

Xoco’s eyes flared slightly as his blade met nothing but the cold steel of a well-crafted katana. He landed with the grace of a cat, but his opponent was not so lucky, landing on his backside and sliding backwards several feet. Xoco would have laughed under different cicumstances, but now his attention was too focused to indulge in humor. He stared down his new opponent, white stands of hair brushing across his forehead. Xoco stood tall and mighty, with Ice held confidently in his right hand. He was quite an intimidating figure.

The chaos of the battle erupted like the cork from a stirred champagne bottle. Instantly, Alba and the Angel were battling away, while the Phoenix’s chaotic lupine attacked a new arrival. Xoco had sensed her presence, but he had been too pre-occupied with his own target to really care too much. She was but a young human child with a bow, and Xoco figured that she posed little threat. The immediate danger was the sharpened steel of the Katana that was coming straight for him.

Xoco evaded the charge in a spinning pries de faire, parrying downwards with his own blade while twirling to the left to avoid the charging body of his new opponent. He made a cut as they passed, bringing his wrist around out of the pries de faire and cutting down at his opponent’s back. He was unsure if the attack had done any real damage, but he was suddenly pre-occupied by a new development. The angel was wounded, and his sword lay on the ground beside him.

Xoco smiled a wry grin as he spoke a demonic incantation, one in the Black Speech. He brought his hand up slowly, and then brought it down quickly in a sort of slamming motion. A piercing crackle and a blinding flash of light erupted from the sky, temporarily filling the area with white light. The Summon Lightning spell was a real show-stopper, one of Xoco’s favorites. The crackling bolt of energy slammed downwards, slamming into the sword that stuck out of the ground. The holy blade was strong, and not destroyed by the boly. But Xoco knew that the lightning would have heated the blade incredibly, making it nearly impossible to wield for a short while.

Smiling, he turned his attention back to the katana-wielding human to see the effects of his attack.

Shiro's eyes widened as his opponent made a graceful turn, dodging Shiro's blade and slashing his sword across Shiro's back. He cried out as the blade hit, creating a long slash down Shiro's back. Blood dripped freely from the cut, and Shiro fell to the ground, his breath coming in short pants. His katana hung loosely from his hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Lupine head towards the forest. His eyes widened as he realized who the Lupine was targeting.

Nadine! he thought, both surprised and worried. What was she doing here? Nadine was a great archer, but he wasn't sure what would happen to her in close-range combat. He needed to get out of this fight.

He looked up, noticing that his opponent was momentarily distracted by the angel. Grabbing his katana, Shiro made a thrusting motion, intending to drive the blade into the other man's gut.

Nadine watched as the arrow she released successfully dived onto the beast's shoulder. It let out a loud roar. She saved herself this time but who knows what could happen next. Much to her fright, the Lupine sudenly changed it's form into something much more bigger and powerful. It transformed itself into a creature she has only heard and not seen.

She stood shocked, seeing its form as a Serpentine Dragon. From what she has heard, the creature was known to be extremely powerful. nobody ever lasted long enough with it. She could feel a new kind of power filling this dragon and it casted its eyes to her, revealing its hunger for blood.

"Double shoot." she said, staring at it.

Just then, the dragon let out another loud and powerful roar. It quickly opened its large mouth and released a wave of fire towards her.

Seeing the fire coming towards her, she focused her mind straight. This wasn't the time for her to be stunned or anything. Because of the great agility she achieved due to the past training she had, she managed to move fast enough, rolling away from the line of fire.

Doing so, she rushed towards the nearest unburnt tree and sat down, hiding herself. Luckily the beast won't spot her because of the heavy smoke the fire has created.

And it was at that time that she noticed that her left sleeve was on fire. Quickly she tore it out and stepped on it, killing the flames.

"Okay Nadine, size isn't everything." she muttered to herself, "You have to be fast enough."

Slowly, she took out two arrows and placed them on her bow,. She waited for the right opportunity to make an assault.

Xoco’s eyes widened as he turned to find the katana headed straight for him. He noticed streams of blood running from a deep cut in his opponent’s back. Briefly, he wondered how his opponent could still fight with such a wound. He didn’t have much time to get an answer, leaping off to one side in an attempt to avoid the blade. It was too late, however, and the sharp edge of the katana cut him across the stomach. Xoco roared in furious pain. The wound was not life-threatening, but it stung with a passion. His eyes flared as the shockwave of agony erupted through his body. Xoco fell backwards, clutching at the wound with his free hand.

Gaining control of himself, Xoco spoke a long string of words in the Black Speech, whispering them through clenched teeth. Slowly, he swept his hand across the cut, allowing a deep crimson flow of energy to spill into the wound. At first, the red energy simply sat in the cut like a magical scab. But slowly, the essence began to mend, and as the spell completed, Xoco sighed his relief. The fire of pain seemed doused, as though the spell was cool and refreshing water. He stood, testing his mobility. Xoco smiled, and then a scowl came over his face.

Xoco turned to his opponent, who was apparently distracted by the lupine-besieged human girl. Xoco spoke yet another incantation, this one slightly louder and considerably shorter. All of his magic was spoken in the Black Speech, his native tongue. He raised one hand, scowling as the incantation completed. A huge bolt of energy shot out of his hand, a crackling, black missile headed straight for his opponent. Xoco smiled as the Enervation spell zoomed through the air, hoping that it would do it’s dark work and vanquish this enemy.

Maktesh sat in shock as the dark warrior took his scythe in one hand while a whip of pure fire appeared in the other. He lunged and rolled towards his right as the flame whip cracked towards him. Luckily he had dodged it enough that no permanent damage was done, although he did end up with a nasty burn across his right arm. Quickly taking to the air on his large wings Maktesh catapaulted himself over the dark warrior in an attempt to reach his holy broadsword. Suddenly a streak of lightning wove it's way down from the sky and struck his sword. Maktesh did not know whether this was a natural bolt of lightning or magically induced, it did not matter, either way it was bad news for him. Maktesh landed in front of the sword, now glowing not just from the holy flames but with the lightning's heat that would surely scorch his flesh should he try and take hold of the blade. He had no time to debate the matter, as usual necessity won out over common sense and Maktesh took hold of the sword, his hands sizzleing and popping as the leather wrapped handle of his holy broad sword seared the flesh of his hands. The pain was incredible and he let out a mighty roar as he spun around and swung the glowing sword with it's holy flames trailing behing it towards the dark warriors mid section. Pain surged throughout Maktesh's entire body as the burns worsened and his musceles strained.

The attack on this angel seemed to be going as planned as Alba blocked his path, yes his attack with the Flame Lash had missed its mark but a few moments after this Xoco had summoned forth a powerful bolt of lightning that stuck onto the fallen blade the angel was after, so it seemed the Wraith actually has some uses after all. But none the less the Angel managed to get past Alba and reach his weapon, even though the blade had intense heat soaring through it this angel still went to pick it up. Alba could hear the sizzling from where he stood and knew it must have been causing this being a great deal of pain to hold onto a weapon that had just been hit with a powerful lightning blast, the blade must have been super heated and yet the angel was still going to fight on. In a twisted way Alba respected this angels thrive for battle, it was not very often that people impressed him that way!

It was then the angle made a follow up attack towards Alba. The Phoenix kicked backwards to avoid the strike then began to rip out his manic laughter once more. This was all to easy for the chaotic being, the only people he had faced that Alba deemed worthy opponents was his battle with the Wind Guardian Ploay, and also his battle with the Rider none as Death. Even though the Phoenix had barely managed to avoid the burning blade of the angel he was still holding back his true strength. Alba Meria pushed himself forward once more towards the angel, the time for another strike was at hand and Alba wanted to make it one this fool would not soon forget.

The scythe held in Albas’ right hand was swinging sideways through the air for the angel’s right arm while the burning Flame Lash was being used to for a different target, the angel’s legs! Yes if Alba could manage to get this man onto the ground then it would be fun watching him beg for his life to be spared, it was one of Albas’ favourite things to do in battle, make those he fought against crumble beneath his power then watch on as they begged for mercy. Of course if the angel did not fall to the ground Alba would not mind, he would only carry on placing in more and more attacks for the angel, and in turn would try and aim for its wings but for now the two attacks Alba had in place would enough.

Zaraku on the other hand in his large serpentine dragon form seemed to have missed his target with the blast of flames and in turn lost track of her. The dragon raised its body more to get a better view over the area and then seemed the very slight movements of the woman behind the rock. Seeing this Zaraku let out another might roar before yet another blast of flames headed in the direction of the bow wielding woman, but this time the flames were aimed not at the woman herself but just a little but away from her incase she was run. That way the dragon might be able to still catch her off guard and cause some damage!

Shiro bit his lip to keep from crying out from the pain of the wound in his back, focusing on thrusting the katana forward. He felt the blade hit, and although it had not been as straight a cut as he had hoped, the blade still managed to hit his opponent.

As his opponent hit the ground, crying out in pain, Shiro turned around watching as the Lupine-turned-dragon fired a blast of fire at Nadine.

“Nadine!” he cried out, running towards her. Each step he took stung the wound on his back. His breath came in short pants, and he saw darkness gathering at the edges of his vision, but he couldn’t black out now. If he did, then he would surely die, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help his friend. He pressed on forward.

It was then that Shiro heard a single word spoken, and he turned around. A black bolt of energy was heading towards him, and Shiro’s eyes widened as he saw the bolt come closer. Shiro stood there, frozen as he watched the bolt near him.

Move! he screamed in his head.

Shiro jumped quickly to the side. The sudden movement, although sparing him the effect of the Enervation spell, did not do well for the wound on his back. Shiro cried out in pain as he landed. He fell into a crouched position, digging the blade of his katana into the ground to keep from falling over. He panted, each breath causing him pain.

Nadine held on her bow tight, her arrows all set for another assault. She was just lucky enough to escape from the recent fire attack that the dragon has made.

"Nadine!" cried a familiar voice.

She turned to the voice and saw Shiro, trying to run towards her. But! he was stopped because of a black bolt of energy that targetted him. The young archer wanted to run to him as well and help in any way she could but at this point, she was in a tight spot. She also glanced at the angel who was fighting with Alba Meria and it wasn't going well either. Looks like everybody was very busy...

It was not soon enough that the beast had spotted her location and this time, it read her moves. Nadine was planning yet again another run for but the dragon got ahead of her. As she quickly moved forward, the dragon sent its flames right at the direction she was going to run to.

"Ah!!!" she screamed, moving back as the fire caught her leg.

Not only that, she fell back on the very same rock and her wounded back was pressed hard on the stone. More blood gushed out because of this. It was ironic that having an element such as fire would also be the one to give her much damage. She panted, feeling a great feeling of pasing out. She sat still, regaining her strength. She still held on her bow tight and the arrows were still set. Slowly, fire began to appear from the arrow's tip blade. Once that dragon steps a little bit closer...

The dark knight had easily sidestepped the blow that had cost Maktesh most of his strength. All appeared hopeless, but then again hopelessness is just a state of perception. If he must alter his perceptions in order to maintain hope, then he would. At least I'm not dead...., mused Maktesh. Suddenly the dark knight swung forth from both sides with his scythe and fire whip. Maktesh had no desire to meet with either of those weapons, but he had an idea of which would hurt more. It's like grandfather used to say, "Best to go with the poisen you know", considered Maketsh. And with that he ducked down beneath the swinging scythe and attempted to block the flaming lashes headed his way with his broadsword. He was prepared, should he not be able to maneuver the large weapon in time, to take the full strength of the lashes acrossed his back and curled up wings. Luckily he did manage to get the holy weapon in place, although unfortunately, it was not held far enough away from him. As the line of fire wrapped itself about his blade it grazed his face causeing him to cry out in intense pain as the flames licked his cheek. Standing, flames still wrapped around his blade, he made a last ditch effort with what little strength remained to him. He knew that the sword must still be hot, he could smell the cooking of his own flesh. It must be bad, thought Maktesh, I can't even feel my hands anymore. with that thought he hurled the flaming blade straight for the dark knight, aiming best as he could for the knight's chest. As the blade was airborne he muttered a short incantation of healing, the only one he knew, and a light blue aura appeared about his wounds. It eased the pain a little bit but his woundswere far from being healed. He then slipped a pair of brass knuckles over each of his hands hurled himself at the dark knight intending to follow up his attack the best way he knew, with fists.

Xoco’s face exploded into an expression of furious rage. His magical bolt went sailing off into the distance, where it promptly connected with a tree. The evil energy left a large scorch mark on the tree trunk, causing it to smolder and smoke slightly. Xoco’s expression softened slightly. He remembered some techniques he had learned from other battles he had fought in this same swamp. He had once battled a Shinobi warrior, long ago, as well as a strong half-demon. He smiled, recalling the maneuvers that had won him those fights.

Xoco let our a roar of anger and fury, shooting one hand up towards the sky. With a single word, mostly masked by his roar, a bolt of energy exploded out of his hand. It soared up through the treetops and exploded brilliantly in the night sky, causing flaming debris to fall quickly towards the ground. Nobody was injured by the blast, but that was hardly the intent. One by one, the arcane debris fell onto the trees and vegetation. It took several seconds for the fires to catch, but eventually, the trees all around the battle began to steadily burn. The swamp gas fed the fires, as did the vegetation and the dense tree wood.

The smell of smoke and the heat of the fires filled the air, giving the entire forest a wonderfully evil appearance. Xoco turned back to his opponent, who was now raggedly gasping for breath. The wound on his back bled steadily, obviously causing him great pain. He supported himself on his katana, which was now firmly wedged into the ground. Xoco ran past him, ignoring the man for the moment. Recalling an old technique, he took his longsword and slid to a halt before the tree he had hit with his Enervation spell. The trunk was weakened and the tree was rotting, it’s life force suppressed by the spell. Xoco went to the side, judging the angle, and then took a fierce swing at the tree. The weakened trunk gave way instantly, Ice’s sharp edge cutting through in one clean stroke. The tree fell away, towards where his opponent laid. The treetops were on fire, and the trunk was a heavy mass of impending death. Xoco cackled evilly as the tree descended swiftly, fully intent upon killing the strong-willed opponent.

This angel was not going to give up, it seemed Alba had finally found a rare site, an angel with a backbone. The Phoenix smiled as his fire lash went around the blade of the angel who had managed to get down on his knees with the blade in front of him to try and block both of Albas’ last attacks. It was all so perfect, the Phoenix thought he had this battle in the bag and he had not even been using half of his full power yet. Alba then took a step back as the angel suddenly threw his flaming blade towards the Phoenix, yet still Alba had all in control. As the blade drew nearer to the Phoenix he used his power of Telekinesis to stop it in its track.

He could feel the heat from the blade as it had stopped short of Albas face, the Phoenix let out a small sigh before using his power to turn the blade and shoot it back at the angelic being before him. The only thing was that when Alba had sent the blade back to this winged being the angel seemed to be placing some kind of weapon onto his hands. The Phoenix smirked seeing this and then placed his left hand in front of him, cancelling the Fire Lash spell.

With this spell no longer in effect it was time for Alba to strike the angel with a totally different attack. His left arm began to cover with a thick layer of red chaotic lightning and Alba let out a wicked laugh. He was charging one of his most powerful spells and also one his favourite. The sickening laugh of Alba once again caught the air as he cast the crimson lightning spell to the angel. A powerful and searing hot blast of Chaotic Lightning shot from the left hand of Alba, but thanks to his Latent spell known as Barrage this blast split into three to add even more destruction. All there blasts held the same power as a normal Crimson Lighting spell, but of course had a wider attack range since there were three blasts instead of only one.

But the woman and Zaraku was an entirely different thing. The woman seemed to have gotten hit by the flames, which of course added more confidence to Zaraku but for now the Lupine began to change back to normal. He had now become a normal yet still powerful Lupine. The only difference between Zaraku and other lupines when in this form was that he was still able to breath fire. Now back in his normal form Zaraku began to creep through the mist to find the form of the woman who was hiding again. But it was to no avail; the Lupine had not located her just yet but knew he was drawing closer. Yes he could smell her near by!

Nadine fell silent, shock engulfing her senses. She stayed leaning against the same rock, breathing frantically. the wound on her back was starting to bug her as it gave her a hard time in breathing and now, it was to her disadvantage because she knew that through this, the beast could smell her out.

But, she still had luck. The fog was beginning to get much thicker and it was going to be harder to see anything. she listened as the beast set out to look for her. It was very near her.

Suddenly, an idea stroke her mind. Slowly and silently, she pulled herself to stand. Blood was dripping from her back and onto the floor grounds of the forest.

"I hope this works." she thought.

She stood up and released the arrows that was set on her bow earlier. she released them, aimed directly at the beast nearby. Then, she started walking around slowly, allowing the blood to drip more onto the floor. True, the fog was making it hard to see but thanks to the training she had back home, she could use it to her advantage. Nadine was trained in a small village before. She and a couple more young archers were asked to put on blindfolds whenever they train. through this, her senses became sharper even though when sight is impossible.

The blood was now everywhere, making it harder to track her. Once this was done, she casted a small heal on herself, and crept out of the forest. she was going to find Shiro.

Shiro continued to kneel on the ground, holding onto his katana for support. His breathing was labored, as his vision began to blur from loss of blood. How easy would it be to just let unconsciousness take him? How easy would it be to lie there and wait for death?

He heard his opponent shout out a word. Bright lights erupted all around him as various trees caught fire. The young human could feel the heat of the flames from where he knelt. The smell of smoke met his nose, and he coughed slightly. However, Shiro did not move. His body seemed extremely heavy, and his senses were blurred.

Is this what dying feels like? thought Shiro to himself as he glanced down at the ground.

He heard footsteps, and he heard the blade of a longsword cut through the tree trunk. Shiro sighed. Let it fall on him. He didn’t have the strength to move anyway, and right now he didn’t much care what happened to him.

Shiro looked up slightly as the tree began to fall, seeing his surroundings through blurred vision. A single figure made her way into his line of sight, cutting through the mists that shrouded his mind. Nadine! He had forgotten about her for a second. What was she doing coming out into the open. What would happen to her now?

Suddenly, Shiro felt selfish and cowardly. He was going to die, leaving Nadine alive to face whatever creature she would have to face? He was going to take the easy way out?

Summoning the last amounts of his strength, Shiro pried his katana from the ground, rolling sharply to the side as the burning tree hit the ground. He had cut it close, so close that he could feel the heat from the burning tree. He let out a grunt as he hit the ground.

For a second, Shiro felt tempted to lie there, but he couldn’t, not until he had bought Nadine some time to get away. He dug the point of his katana into the ground, struggling to his feet. Shiro swayed slightly as he lost his balance, before holding the katana into a weak semblance of a fighting stance.

“Nadine, run!” he shouted, turning to her.

((OOC: Sorry it took so long to reply to this...))

Maktesh was forced to duck and roll in order to avoid his own sword. He had thrown it as a last ditch effort in his fight with the scythe wielding knight. The knight had stopped the scythe in mid-air and had thrown it back at him, without touching it once. Maktesh figured it had to be some sort of magic. Kneeling on the ground after dodging his own holy armament, Maktesh saw a blood red lighting begin to whip about th knight's hands. It grew larger and suddenly, before he had time to react, three immense balls of red lightning launched themselves in his direction. Maktesh attempted to get out of the way. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and he caught a ball of chaotic lighting full on in the chest. It launched him backwards slamming him into a wet, mossy tree. As he slid down to the wet earth the stench of burnt flesh and charred feathers greated his nostrils. He was beyond pain, he felt nothing. Maktesh struggled to raise his head, he felt weaker than he ever had before. As he looked upwards it seemed that the fog was growing thicker. Was it really or was this "fog" simply the cold embrace of unconciousness? Maktesh faintly heard a loud cracking and thought for a second that maybe trees were falling. Suddenlt he remembered the others, he was not alone, they would need his help. He attempted to rise only to drop back down onto the thick, wet grass and moaned. What good could he be helping the others when he couldn't even look out for himself? With these thoughts ringing, and echoing throughout his mind he drifted of into the cold arms of his friend sleep.

Everything seemed to be playing right into the hands of Alba. He had sent the angels blade back towards him as well as volley of the Crimson Lightning spell, which actually ended up hitting the fool. It was once this blast had made contact with the angel that Alba began to let out a sick laugh ring through the night sky. It was clear Alba was only having some fun, and when he seen that the Angel was starting to “fall asleep” Alba let out a small sigh as he walked over to the angels body.

While Alba was doing this however Zaraku was still trying to hunt down the woman with the bow. But it seemed the woman has a strange, yet effective tactic up her sleeve. She had walked around in a full circle letting her blood drip onto the ground below in order to confuse the sense smell of the Lupine, and for now it was actually working. Also the male human with the Katana had just managed to get out of the way of a large burning, falling tree after which he seemed to shout out the name of the bow-wielding woman. So her name was Nadine?

It was when her name had been called that Zaraku managed to lock onto her placing within the swamp and with the beast set off at a run for the woman, its sharp claws at the ready to rip her open within mere moments of course.

Alba on the other hand was still looking right towards the form of the angel, he then walked right up to the winged fool and said, “It’s time you finally pay now foolish angel!” With that said Alba raised his scythe up and brought the blade down through the air towards the form of the angel!

Shiro panted heavily, swaying unsteadily as he fought to keep his balance. He was pretty much finished now, and he knew it. A strong enough gust of wind would blow him to the ground. He grit his teeth against the constant pain, fighting to keep the Swamp of Shadows in focus. He couldn’t black out just yet. He needed to make sure that Nadine was safe first.

Shiro turned his head towards Nadine, blinking several times to get the forest back in focus. He saw the lupine’s hulking form run towards her, ready to tear the archer to pieces with its sharp talons.

“Nadine!” he shouted, “Behind you!”

The human fell to his knees. It was too much. He had lost too much blood, used up all his energy. He heard the angel crash against the tree, but the sound seemed muffled, as if it had come from far away. His whole body was numb. He could no longer feel the pain of his wound. Black spots began appearing on his vision.

Shiro fell the rest of the way, landing face first in the mud. He turned his head, his breath coming in short pants as he fought away the darkness blocking his vision. Unfortunately, although he still had the will to fight, his human body could only take so much.

“Nadine, I’m sorry…” he muttered, eyes closing as he let himself fall into unconsciousness.

Xoco’s brow furrowed in frustration as his opponent narrowly dodged the falling tree. How had someone with such a critical injury managed to summon such agility? Of course, it did not matter then. Xoco watched as his opponent struggled up, struggling for his breath. The katana was now a makeshift cane, the warrior trying to keep himself upright to continue the fight. Xoco turned his own blade upside-down, allowing the tip to pierce the ground and resting his hands on top of it. The light from the fires reflected wonderfully on the blade, as did a small stream of blood.

The smile turned into a devious grin as Xoco watched the human’s futile efforts to save his friend from the lupine’s wrath. Xoco did nothing to hinder him; he simply sat back and watched the warrior with a sadistic pleasure. The wound was bleeding badly, which meant that the warrior’s strength was draining away by the second. Soon, there would be none left. A distant crash drew Xoco’s attention for a second, and he was able to catch a glimpse of Alba laughing over the smoldering body of the angel. It seemed the fight was theirs.

With a solid thump, Xoco watched the warrior slump to his knees. His eyes were fading, distant and cloudy. After kneeling for a moment, he fell face-first into the mud with a satisfying crash. Xoco let out a maniacal cackle, piercing the night air. The sound danced with the crackling of the fires and melded with Alba’s own laugh. On this day, the battle was sufficiently won. Now, all he had to do was finish the human warrior and he could truly claim victory.

Xoco strutted over to the human, who had slipped into a deep sleep. One from which he might never awaken. Xoco held Ice in his right hand, and admired for a second how the blade’s sharp edge gleamed in anticipation of a killing strike. Xoco grinned, turning his attention back to the warrior. He brought the blade up in his hands, turning the tip downwards. His eyes lit up with an evil gleam as the blade descended, putting all of his unholy weight behind the thrust. The killing blow lashed downwards, and if it struck true, Xoco would have yet another victory to add to his growing repertoire.

Nadine rushed out of the forest. She left that beast to wonder where she was and she had hoped tha it would tay there, unable to locate her. All she cared now was going to her friend who was badly injured. As she headed towards him, she saw a tree that was falling and if he did not move, he would surely be squashed to death.

Thankfully, he was able to roll out of the way but still, he was not doing well. He hardly kepy his balance straight. Worry began to fill her as she saw three men. One she was certain of was on their side. He was an angel. the other two men, she worried about.

"Hold on, Shiro. I'm almost there." she said in her mind.

Although she did not know what she could do or what she would do once she got there, it did not matter as long as she got there. Continuing to run, she felt something very wrong.

“Nadine!” shouted Shiro, “Behind you!”

Behind her? It must be that beast again...he must have spotted her. Nadine had to move quickly. She did not care to look at what was behind her but simply pulled out two arrows, fire burning from their tips blades. She turned around and released them at the beast inches away from her. At this very moment, she could almost hear her heart beat faster and faster.

After she was able to attack, she fell on the ground. She quickly turned to her friend who was now...unconscious. She began to get frightened, thinking that he was going to die if this keeps up.

"SHIRO!!!!"

((To everyone: I'm really sorry for taking forever to reply...again but I was really stuck with what to do here.))

A feeling of hopelessness washed over Shiro as he lay there, unable to move, unable to do anything but watch his vision grow dimmer by the second as he made his way into unconsciousness. He was going to die here, and for what? What had he done? What had he accomplished? Nothing. He hadn't even done what he had set out to do--find out what had happened to his family. He had done nothing, nothing meaningful...and here he would die a meaningless death.

Shiro tried to force his body into movement, but to no avail. He could do nothing but lie still and wait for the sting of the opponent's blade. If he was lucky, it wouldn't hurt that much.

Frustration flooded Shiro's mind. Why did it have to end here? It couldn't end here. There was still so much he had to do. Only one thing was sure. He didn't want to die here.

"Please..." he muttered weakly, vision growing dark.

It was the first prayer that Shiro Skye had said in his life, and probably the smallest prayer said. Shiro was not a religious person, having been taught by his master to rely only on his own strength, but he prayed then, that he might be spared. It was a prayer sent out to any deity, in the hope that they would answer.

And one did.

A flash of light flooded the clearing, piercing through the darkness in Shiro's vision. And for just one second, just one tiny second, Shiro thought he saw the figure of a woman in the middle of the bright light. A feeling of peace washed over Shiro as he drifted into unconciousness, unaware of his opponent's blade just over his head. He closed his eyes, a small smile gracing his features. He was in the goddess's debt and he knew that. It was one debt that he intended to repay.

The name of the goddess rang through his mind as he slipped from consciousness, a name that Shiro would remember from that day.

Threnody...

((In case anyone is wondering, I used the Restore Balance that I purchased. I PM'ed Threnody and asked her how to go about using it, and she said I could do something like that. Again, I'm sorry for leaving this hanging for so long.))