Chapter 3 – The Search.

Princess Katherine D’Ava was the oldest of King Touleis Avaraline’s children, but having been born to the King’s mistress rather than to the Queen she was a princess in name only and not eligible for the throne, a fact that she found extremely grating. A stunning beauty with fiery red hair who could turn heads just by the mention of her name, the king had spared nothing for his daughter, ensuring that she lived just as a princess should. She had a lavish life style and the best of clothes, even at the expense of those around her, got anything she asked for, well almost anything, and was even blessed with the magic of a vibrant Tourmaline Gem, for which she received the best possible training.

But all of this was not enough for her. She was a bastard child, and not the heir. She was smarter and more talented than all of her siblings, more fit to rule, but she could not. She wasn’t even allowed to take on the name of the kingdom, but was stuck with the version that reflected her birthright. Princess Katherine D’Ava, first born, but bottom of the heap.

She wanted power. More power. Her Gem was not enough, and she cursed that she wasn’t born with a Lattice Soul. She wanted the power to show them all that she was the rightful heir, and the kingdom be hers. So the bitterness and resentment grew, and she began to look at other avenues. She was conveniently out of town when the crown prince fell down the stairs to his death, and deep in study trying to find a cure when the first princess succumbed to mysterious illness that she had contracted a week earlier.

And then Zorthac had come to her in a dream, offering her the kingdom and power, in exchange for her cooperation. She readily accepted. She knew exactly who he was, and could sense his power, and it was his power that she wanted, her first taste of it exhilarating, fuel for the darkness of her very being. She became the Mask of Fire.

The current task however, was boring her to tears. The village was a dust bowl and ruining her clothes. The people of the village were stupid and weak, and if they didn’t soon die out by themselves she would do them the mercy. The whole situation was filled with so many unknowns that it was grating on her nerves, making her more furious by the day, and all things considered they weren’t progressing very well. The Witch, two riders, and a young farmhand were all key parts of the puzzle, and nowhere to be found. There had been no further sighting of the Witch since then, like she had come from nothing and vanished the same. They’d learnt that the farmhand was called Izen, but his involvement was even more weird. Failing anything else, they could probably draw out Myne, or at the least make her life hell, by placing all the blame on her. But the new Rider, who no one seemed to know anything about, was the biggest worry of them all. How on earth do you miss the summoning of a Prime?

Izen spent the next three days continuing to transverse through the rolling hills, heading roughly in a north easterly direction while keeping within range of the creek she had run into the previous day, using the mountains in the far distance as a point of reference. She recalled from some old maps that she had seen when the miners were still at her village that there was a major city in the vicinity of the mountains, and she was sure that there would be some small villages between here and there. The previous nights rest had settled her down. She had not seen any indication of pursuit, so she was happy to take her time for the moment, though still keeping as much out of view as she could. She continued to send Light up to scout, though there wasn’t much to see at the moment apart from the hilly terrain. Foraging had limited success, providing just enough food to take the edge of her hunger, though at least she wasn’t thirsty because of the nearby creek. The relaxed pace also gave her the opportunity to try and experiment with the use of her magic. The flood of magic from her arm during the battle with the Great Cat in the forest had revealed to her that she could bring forth and physically manifest magic for use in combat, but she needed to work out how to do so outside of blind panic, and then how to weave it into a usable form. She did also ask Light again about her alignment, but like her Light had no clue as to what the Dawn alignment entailed.

The first day was spent trying to get a feel for the magic and coax it forth as she walked, but she was largely unsuccessful. In her mind she knew what she was trying to do, but getting an unknown part of her to react wasn’t easy, compounded by that she was trying to do so while active. She did realise near the end of the first day though that Light was able to sense her magic rousing before she did, and with Light letting her know when she was doing something right, by nightfall she was able to get her magic to stir on command. The following day was hence much more productive, and by late morning Izen was able to coax her magic forth to manifest on her scarred right arm, the claw marks glowing with a soft sunlight hue while the rest of her lower arm took on a dusty scaled texture not unlike Light’s body. It did appear to confirm that the claw wounds were the conduit for her power, likely a side effect of how she had been awakened. Thinking back to the attack that had caused them, Izen was appreciative of effort that the Sisters had gone to heal the wound, as it was in a much better state than she would have expected given that not much time had passed, but she wondered if it would ever fully heal with her magic flowing through it.

It was shortly after that that they stumbled into the ruins of what was probably an ancient temple, nestled in the deepest part of the valley, with the creek having been redirected to form a large pool in its middle, bathed in the warmth and light of the sun, the crystal clear water glinting invitingly. Most of the structure had long since fallen apart, with only a few walls still remaining, standing only waist high. Moss and grass had reclaimed the bulk of its floor, and a number of small animals had made the area their home, though they scattered upon her arrival. Etched into the stone and surprisingly still readable were the remains of some ritualistic circles, long inert and their purpose unknown. Given the warmth of the day, and not wanting to pass up the opportunity, Izen decided to stop there for a while so that she could bathe. It turned out to be fairly simple to dismiss and recall her armour, the ability being instinctual to Riders and the process very quick. She stripped off her Skeon tights and bodysuit, gave them a wash in the pool, and then hung them over a nearby branch before slipping into the water herself. The water was cool and refreshing, and having the rinse helped her feel more alive. Her hair however was a different matter, and something that she hadn’t thought about before getting in to the water. There was no way she could avoid it getting wet given how much of it she had, and getting it dry was going to take forever, not to mention trying to maintain it.

Once she had finished bathing, she got out of the pool, and found a grass patch in the sun to lie down in, her hair spread out above her in the hopes that it might dry out a bit. Stretching herself out and enjoying the suns warmth, she proceeded to take the time to fully explore her new body, and while Light playfully teased her about it, she replied that if she was going to be able to draw out its full potential she needed to have a full understanding of it. At least that was her excuse, and she was going to enjoy herself anyways. They ended up staying there longer than intended, and it was mid afternoon before Izen finally decided they should depart, her garments and hair now dry enough. Feeling satisfied, she put the Skeon garments back on, and then recalling her armour they departed.

The discovery of the ruins reminded Izen that there was a lot of the history of the kingdom that she did not know. She had read all that she could, but her family had not had a lot of books, and there was a lot that hadn’t been recorded or had been lost to time. Also, if you weren’t wealthy or a member of the Guilds or Clans, then chances were high that you were illiterate, and in that regard Izen had been fortunate that his adoptive mother had been keen to teach him, especially as he picked it up easily. The Guilds and Clans would have their own personal libraries, but there was no guarantee that what they contained was the complete truth either, as they liked to put their own spin on everything.

Before the formation of the six kingdoms there had been a great war, humanity coming together to battle an evil that threatened to bring everything to ruin. To some degree it succeeded too, as most of what had been before then was lost, both of the world itself and the people, with those surviving only a fraction of their previous number. The climax of the battle was held in what had been the worlds core, and while the evil was defeated, the heroes fighting it had lost their lives too. As a result of the battle the core shattered, which brought magic into the world. It took time for people to realize what had happened and even longer on how to properly use it, but the coming of magic changed the world for those who remained. The world was split into six kingdoms, centred roughly around where the core had been (which was now somewhere in the middle of the sea), each ruled over by one of the families of the heroes of the last battle. As people learnt to wield their magic and dragons came into being the Guilds and Clans were formed, and all that had happened got shunted into the legends of the past.

Avaraline was largest of the kingdoms, bit it also had the most diversity in its and climates and biomes, and it was sparsely populated, most people living in or around the major cities and/or Guild Halls and Rider Temples. Mining towns cropped up as veins of valuable metals and minerals were found, some disappearing once it was depleted, others hanging on. Once settled, people didn’t want to leave, especially if the area was safe enough. The advent of magic had also given rise to Night Beasts, dangerous creatures mutated by their magic, but they tended to stay away from the larger cities, instead preying on smaller townships, travellers and those foolish to stray into their territory. Their numbers had been rising in the last few decades, which at the least was keeping the Riders and Guilds busy, but had some worried that something was amiss. At least the existence of demons had disappeared with the fall of the old world. Agersdene City was the capital of the kingdom and seat of the royal family, as well as being the oldest city, located in the centre of the kingdom and built on the ruins of a pre war city that was now buried deep underneath and mostly forgotten. The ruins of the past intrigued Izen, and at some point in the future once she knew exactly where she stood in the world, she would be keen to explore and see what she could learn. It certainly would be a lot more interesting than struggling to survive in a dying village.

Their stop in the ruins turned out to be beneficial in more ways than expected, as with a clearer and more settled mind by evening Izen has able to get a small amount of magic to gather and coalesce on her arm. She was starting to get a hang of what was involved, and bit by but it was becoming more natural for her to call forth the magic, and she was starting to get inklings of other ways in which she could call and use it. She knew she had a long way to go though, and that without proper training she wouldn't be able to use it to its full extent, as the method that she was working on at the moment seemed to be more of an instinctual and blunt force approach, and a decent amount of the power was wasted in its calling. Plus there may well be other uses for it of which she would have no idea.

By the middle of the third day Izen had managed to call enough magic to her arm to be able to coalesce it into a usable form. While she had a number of ideas that she wanted to try out, she needed a basic form to use at the moment until her ability with the magic improved, and so, in honour of her first battle as a Rider, she settled upon a large dragons claw, formed by the magic around her right arm and hand, providing both offensive and defensive capabilities. For the rest of the day she focused on creating, sustaining and releasing it, and by evening was comfortable that she’d be able to draw it out when needed, and keep it for the length of the battle. She would need practice using it in combat, as she needed to be wary of its size and form, but walking didn’t provide such opportunities. The fall of night also brought along with it the smell of smoke from a burning campfire, and a bit of scouting by Light confirmed such, located a little ways to the north of them. Making sure that they found shelter far enough away from whoever it was, they settled down for the night, taking turns on watch, with a plan to investigate the following morning.

Dawn of the fourth morning brought along with it a sky covered in dark clouds the threat of rain as the temperature dropped considerably. Izen was pleasantly surprised to discover that even with what she was wearing she was still comfortably warm, Light informing her that it was likely due to the enchantments on her garments. They made their way as stealthy as possible towards the camping sight, getting within close view a couple of hours later as the first spits of rain started to fall. Located at the end of a valley, a camp consisting of three tents was set up in what looked to have once been a small mining settlement, and it appeared that the occupants had been there for a number of days. An ageing wagon was parked near the tents, with numerous crates stacked beside and inside it, and two horses grazed just up the side of the hill. Of the owners there was no sign.

“They must be inside the mine,” Izen commented to Light. “I wonder what they’re doing here.”

‘Looks like they’re fairly confident that there is nothing hostile nearby as well,’ added Light. While they hadn’t run into anything hostile themselves either, they had been taking pains to make sure that they didn’t, avoiding any areas that had felt off and keeping alert even while Izen had been training. They hadn’t wanted to battle again until Izen had succeeded with her experimentation and mustered some form of weapon, as they last thing they needed was another uncontrolled surge of power that could potentially give away their location like a beacon to anyone was looking for such. They had had no doubts that their landing sight and subsequent battle would have been thoroughly investigated, though fortunately it seemed to be limited to just that.

Izen’s assumption was correct, as three figures appeared out of the mine shaft closest to the camp shortly after the heavens opened and the rain poured down, hurriedly trying to stack the crates inside the wagon and secure the tents as the ground around them turned to mud and water started flowing around the long abandoned settlement. As far as she could make out through the rain (she got drenched pretty much instantly, but there was little she could do about that), there was a male Wolf Feral, a male Fire Dog Feral, and a long haired lady who was completely covered in leather armour.

There was a sudden change in the atmosphere, putting Izen on edge. The rain eased, and a mist started to form around the settlement.

“Something isn’t right.” Izen stated to Light quietly, as they started to move closer.

Her suspicions were confirmed by a yell of alarm from the lady as she moved to take cover inside the wagon, slipping as she did so, multiple Night Beasts in the form of Giant Spiders, each as large a person, emerging out of the shaft that the adventurers had just exited from.

“Where in the blazes did those come?” The Fire Dog Feral cursed, as he and the Wolf Feral prepared to engage them. The lady, having recovered herself, climbed into the wagon, trying to keep herself out of the sight of the spiders.

“I take it she’s not a fighter,” Izen commented. “Should we aid them?” She was keen to test the claw out in real combat.

'Only if they appear to be having difficulty I would think. We don’t know how friendly they are.' Light replied.

“True.” she conceded.

Both Ferals appeared to be experienced fighters and used to working together as they used their magic to reinforce themselves, their bodies taking on a slight glow as a result, before they launched themselves at the three spiders that had emerged. The Fire Dog Feral’s ears, arms and claws had small licks of flame, a side effect of the reinforcement magic, and he looked like a dancing fire as bounded into the first spider, slamming into it and pushing it towards the mineshaft, before skirting around its legs and leaping over it, swiping with his claws as he went, moving fast enough around it that it wasn’t able to properly respond. The Wolf Feral, his silver blue ears glinting in what light there was, was a more direct combatant. Large War Hammer in one hand and shield in the other, he walked straight towards the closest spider before swinging it down in an arc against the creatures legs, connecting with a solid thunk, using the shield to defend against any counter attacks as he then used the momentum of the blow to shift himself around and prepare for the follow up attack. Even with the odds against them at two to three, the two Ferals were more than managing to hold their ground, and it looked as though they would be able to defeat the threat without too much issue, but Izen still felt on edge, like she was missing something important.

Peeling her eyes away from the battle, she carefully scanned the surrounding area, trying to see if anything else was going on. It didn’t take long. Stealthy making their way out of the remaining mine shafts, partially concealed by the mist and the sound of their movement masked by the battle, were additional spiders, their target being the wagon and the horses. The initial wave had been a diversion.

“That’s our cue,” Izen declared, calling forth the dragon claw as she charged along the slope towards the closest spider. “Can you do anything to distract the remaining ones?” she queried of Light.

‘Easily done.’ Light replied. Her body suddenly started to glow brightly like a morning sunrise, the battlefield bathed in light, with shadows dancing in the mists as Light let out an ear-splitting hiss at the spiders in general. Everyone's attention was pulled to her, Izen using the opportunity as she reached her target to slide under the spider, swinging up with the claw to rend through its lower body. ‘Wow, that’s sharp’ Izen thought to herself as she then righted herself and sprinted to the next one, leaping off the slope down onto its head, the spider behind her howling in pain and collapsing.

“Well that certainly worked,” she thanked of Light.

Unfortunately the two Ferals were also distracted by the light, the sudden illumination breaking their focus. “Keep attacking,” the ladies voice rang out from the wagon. “It’s friendly, and there’s more spiders out there.”, she continued, reappearing from the wagon, a Mythril shield in hand that had flames dancing across its surface.

Izen tore at the head of the one she had landed on, then raked along its back as she slid off it, following up with a swipe to its legs which caused it to collapse as she then leapt backwards from a retaliatory strike from a nearby spider. The magic claw was insanely sharp and she was pleased with how it had turned out, but she didn’t really like it as a primary weapon as it just didn’t fit well with her fighting style. She was having to adapt too much and do things that she normally wouldn’t, which meant that her reactions were a bit sloppy. It’d probably work out better if used in conjunction with other weapons, if she was able to learn how to summon and switch between then. But in the interim she’d just have to make do. It was the consequence of her choice of initial weapon.

A howl emanated from one of the spiders as it staggered backwards from the wagon. It had rushed past the Ferals to attack the lady, but when its limbs had made contact with the Mythril shield that she was defending herself with the flames had burst forth from it, searing its flesh. Finally managing to finish off the ones they had been engaged with, they both attacked it from behind in unison, catching it by surprise. Izen continued her assault on the remaining spiders, weaving and dodging between them, the dragon claw slicing through flesh and limb. The spiders were now fully focused on the Rider, so Light let her glow die away, moving to settle on the horses and out of the way of the battle.

‘You work well together,’ she commented, as the two Ferals joined Izen in attacking the remaining spiders, taking prompts from her to synchronize their attacks and working as a team, the spiders falling quickly.

‘I didn’t know you were such a good strategist,’ Light stated as the last spider fell, its blood mingling with the water and flowing back into the mine.

‘It must come with the occupation,’ Izen thought back, ‘Though it’s more a reflection of their abilities I’d say.’

The mining site was a scene of carnage now, spider corpses littering the area as the mist swirled around them, the ground a mess of blood and mud. The three warriors stood looking at each other, Izen letting the magic fade as the lady hopped down out of the wagon and made her way over.

“Thank you for your help Rider, we are in your debt,” the Wolf man stated to Izen, his green eyes looking her up and down. He stood about a head taller than Izen, and well matched his totem animal of wolf. His hair was silver blue, wolf like ears on his head. He had a very solid and muscular frame, his bare upper body and arms covered in a thick layer of hair. He wore a pair of leather pants and boots, his war hammer and shield now resting against him. He had a very rugged and chiselled appearance, and looked to be the leader of the trio. “My name is Laphir, and we are from the Bluemoon branch of the Fall Haven Guild.”

“I am Shino,” said the Fire Dog Feral, giving Izen a bow. At about Izen’s height, he had a wiry frame, a handsome but playful looking face with sharp yellow eyes, and a pair of orange tipped dog ears on his head amongst his strawberry blonde hair. The claws that he had been fighting with were now gone, and over his chest he wore silk chain, the occasional glint giving away that it carried enchantments. He had a puffy orange haired dogs tail coming out of his loose silk chain shorts, and wore a sturdy pair of combat boots, the metal tips starting to rust. His arms and legs were otherwise bare.

“And my name is Alice,” the lady introduced, letting her shield rest against her legs. She had pretty features, pale skin, soft rose lips and sky blue eyes. She had curly auburn hair that sat around her shoulders, was dressed from head to toe in comfortable leather armour and boots, and she was the shortest of the three standing a hand below Izen. It was hard to tell what her figure was like with what she wore, but at least she would be well protected in combat, though from what Izen had seen it didn’t seem like she was a warrior.

“We happened to be passing by and could see that things were about to go South,” Izen offered as a way of explanation, although it was only partially true.

She paused for a moment, before continuing.

“My name is Velvet Izen,” she said, introducing herself with the female name that she felt fitted her best. She had been mulling over a few over the last few days, and this was what she had decided upon. Most people only had a single given name, with surnames and titles the providence of those with status, such as nobles and those with excessive wealth. She didn’t want to give up her male name, so this was a way of keeping it, as well as deflecting questions about her origin in a different direction.

“Where is your dragon?” queried Alice, looking around.

“She’s here,” Izen said, patting Light as she descended and settled on her shoulder. “Meet Light.”

“I thought Riders dragons were a lot...” Shino stopped short, gesturing around with his hands to indicate that he was sure that the Riders dragons were a lot bigger.

“We’re kinda unique in that way.” Izen replied, smiling. ‘We’re unique in many ways’ she added to herself.

‘That we are,’ agreed Light, speaking directly into her mind as always.

“We break camp now and leave,” stated Laphir, looking worried. “The mines have been vacant of any Night Beasts in the three weeks that we have been here. Their sudden appearance does not bode well, and this many at once is unheard of.”

“You’re welcome to ride with us if you wish, Velvet,” he added. “I know not how you ended up out here, but it’s a long walk to anywhere.”

Izen contemplated her options briefly. She hadn’t minded the walking, which allowed plenty of time for self development, but travelling in this weather was not enjoyable. A bit of company and an opportunity to dry out wouldn’t go amiss. That, and she had no clue as to where she was travelling, or what she was going to do with her life either, now that everything had suddenly changed.

“We’ll take you up on that offer, and travel with you for a bit,” Izen replied.

It didn’t take long to break camp. The remaining crates were all loaded into the wagon, the tents collapsed and packed, and the horses collected and harnessed to the wagon. With Izen and Alice riding in the wagon perched on top of the crates, Shino watching the rear and Laphir sitting at the front, within an hour they had left, riding north along a small trail that exited the valley at its tip, the rain settling in again in earnest.