Izen’s main problem was that she had no idea where to start looking. She was certain that Myne had been captured, but she had no idea by who. The age of all of the tracks around the village made her believe that it was likely related to the demon attack and hence unlikely that she was captured by bounty hunters from the Clan, but she couldn’t rule out that possibility entirely. So she was going to need some help. There wasn’t anyone in her village who would be the least bit useful, so there was no point in returning there, and she didn’t know anyone else outside of that, apart from her passing acquaintance with the trio from the Guild. She liked Alice and her companions, and at the least she knew that she could count on them in a fight, but if they were to face demons again she also would have to improve her armaments.

She decided that her best plan was probably to locate and ask for the assistance of the guild trio. They were a lot more experienced in this style of life than she was, and failing anything else they would be able to give her some direction. That and they had said they would aid her when the next met. They would also be a lot easier to find, as she knew what Guild and branch they were from, so she could go there and ask after them. Along the way she would also stop off at settlements to see what she could learn and what news she could pick up, as well as finding out where the town of Bluemoon was in the first place. She was going to be relying on Light now for transport, and while Light was a lot faster than most other dragons, she was also a lot more conspicuous, and as much as Izen wanted to charge along and find Myne as quickly as possible, she knew she would need to take some care, landing out of sight of the villages. The last thing she needed was extra attention on her, especially that of the Clan, and she doubted that reports of a massive dragon would stay quiet for long. Light, of course, was in complete agreement.

Starting their journey the following morning, having found a suitable location to camp for the night that was well out of range of where the demons had been, it didn’t take them long to locate the main road that went west from the capital, weaving its way across the kingdom and passing through all of the major towns. Using it to get their bearings, they flew an hour away from it before then changing direction to travel parallel with it, as flying within its range carried too great a risk of being spotted. It was the main path of travel after all, and while the Guild caravans usually had their own guards as an extra measure, especially as bandits had the habit of preying on those under prepared, the Clan was responsible for patrolling it and keeping it clear of any Night Beasts. While she wouldn’t pass by any of the major settlements that the road went through, she was certain that she would be able to spot some of the satellite farming villages or trading posts that were clustered around them, and those were where she wanted to go. She had also chosen to travel away from the Capital deliberately, as both the Clan and the Guilds all had major presence there, and her instinct was telling her that was the last place she wanted to be right now.

The day was nearing its end by the time Izen walked into the first village that she had spotted, and a sizeable one at that. While she had seen it much earlier in the day, they had landed out of sight, Light taking her chibi form. Rummaging through the satchel she was pleased to discover that Myne had left the cloaks in there, so she donned one, and with her hair flowing out behind her and Light quite comfortable on her shoulder, she had set off towards it. The walk in was a lot longer than she liked, and by the time they had reached the first of the towns dwellings she was seriously considering just dropping in to the next one from a great height, using her magic to pad her landing. Landing out of sight of course, but a heck of a lot closer, and it didn’t take Light long to change forms either, so it was a feasible option.

She found the village’s tavern without any issue, and ordering a meal sat off to the side, listening in on the conversations going on around her. It seemed like the massacre at the village and the appearance of demons hadn’t reached here yet, with all the chatter being the ramblings of drunkards and talk of the days work. The village was under the protection of the Brotherhood of Craftsman, and it sounded like they were recruiting miners again, having obviously discovered a new vein somewhere in the greater area. Miners who weren’t careful didn’t live long lives, so there was always the need for fresh recruits.

A cute young Cat Feral brought Izen her meal, and asking of her she learnt that Bluemoon was located near the southern edge of the Sentorine Forest, which made sense when she thought about it.

It had been a long while since she had had a cooked meal like this, so Izen was annoyed when she was interrupted by the arrival at her table of a solidly built man, dressed in leather armour and stinking of booze.

“You’re a fresh face. What’s a pretty little thing like you doing all the way out here?” he queried, resting heavily on her table.

“Trying to enjoy a nice meal,” Izen replied curtly, making sure the food was out of his range.

“It’s a dangerous place,” the man breathed heavily, leaning in. “You should come with us. We’ll keep you safe.”

“No thank you,” Izen stated, irritated. Of all things, this idiot was trying to hit on her, and while drunk out of his mind too, which made it even worse!

“That’s not the right answer,” the man said, reaching out to stroke her face.

His hand never got any closer. Instinctively reacting, she reinforced her fist and punched him square in the face, the sounds of his nose breaking clearly audible as he flew across the room and slammed into the wall, the impact knocking him out.

Izen stood up, furious and glowering at his companions as they rushed to him. “Demons are walking the lands again and villages are dying, and all you can think about is who your next conquest is going to be? You disgust me.”

She sat back down, trying to eat her meal while keeping an eye on the group, the rest of the patrons doing their best to avoid looking at either party. Even though she had been a male for most of her life, she still couldn’t fathom their actions. But there were others like him everywhere. And women too she was sure.

The cat girl came back up to Izen, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry about that Miss. He’s from the Brotherhoods recruiters.”

‘Great,’ she thought to herself. ‘I’ve taking out one of their bruisers. That ain’t going to go down well.’

Light shrugged. ‘He deserved it.’ Obviously in his drunken state he had also completely missed her presence.

“I know it’s not much, but we can offer you a room for the night as way of apology for his actions.” The cat girl actually looked quite worried about it all.

“That’s very kind of you. I will accept your offer.” Izen replied, though she suspected she wouldn’t get to enjoy the comfort of the bed for long. Once he had awoken they would likely try and visit her.

Izen was of course right. She had only been in the room for a few hours, lightly dozing, when she heard the sound of them gathering outside her door. She had already taken precautions, and sleeping while fully dressed had been the norm for her ever since her awakening. Looking out the window she could see a figure waiting down below. ‘They’d even put a little thought into it’, she mused, ‘but this wasn’t going to be their day.’ Summoning a shield out of magic, reminiscent in style to the one that Alice had enchanted, she opened the door to her room. The four men standing outside were surprised and caught off guard, and Izen wasted no time, reinforcing her left fist and knocking the first man hard up against the wall before then slamming her boot into the next one, sending him flying down the stairs. They were all solid burly men, but obviously none of them were gem magic users, with no animalistic traits evident, and none of them cautious enough to be a Caster. Just plain old hired muscle, possibly possessing a shard. Now alert the two remaining men drew weapons, but Izen wasn’t about to lose her momentum. She slammed her shield hard into the man with the dagger, his wrist breaking, unable to take the impact of the reinforced swing, before she then spun around, bringing it down hard on the final man's head, giving him no time to use his own weapon.

“Stupid fools,” she grumbled, heading down the stairs, walking straight over the one lying prone at its turn.

In the dinning area near the bottom of the stairs she found the cat girl cowering, tears streaming down her cheeks, fresh bruises on her face and arms.

“I’m sorry Miss,” she cried, her eyes filled with fear. “I didn’t have any choice.”

Izen walked up to her, the cat girl raising her arms over her face in defence.

“I know you didn’t,” Izen said softly, ruffling her hair reassuringly, the cat girl lowering her arms in surprise. “I don’t place any of the blame on you at all.”

Izen turned to leave, making it to the door before the cat girl cried out from behind her.

“Take me with you, please,” she implored. Reaching out to Izen, the girl looked frail and desperate, and on her arm Izen suddenly noticed the tattooed crest that marked her as a slave. While slaves weren’t common in the kingdom, they also weren’t rare, with most of them being held by the nobles in the larger cities. The Guilds and Clan also had a small number, used as serving and maintenance staff, but it was almost unheard of for a magic user to be a slave. For those born into the life of slavery, if magic awakened in them they were released from their servitude by the Clans or Guilds. For this girl to be a slave she must have done something, or her magic was really really weak.

“Why are you still bonded?” Izen asked of her.

The cat girl pointed to her ears and tail, her eyes cast down. “The physical changes are the extent of my magic, and so I am useless, except for the servicing of patrons.”

“Those men are going to kill me for this,” she whimpered. “My owner is in so much debt to the Brotherhood he’ll just have to find another one.”

Izen felt sick at just the words.

‘Take her with us.’ Light implored.

‘And what would we do with her? Our journey ain’t going to be peaceful.’ Izen replied. She was thinking along Light’s line, but the reality was much more stark.

‘We’ll work out something.’

She walked back up to the cat girl, and squatted down till she was level with her.

“The path I currently travel is very dangerous, and wrought with demons,” Izen said, speaking frankly with the girl. She knew she would run into more demons in a matter of time, so what she was saying was at least partially true, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to defend another at the same time. The situation would be different once she found Alice, Laphir and Shino, but even so, rescuing Myne from whatever had befallen her would likely have a cost. “I am with neither the Clan nor the Guilds, and it is possible that all that waits us at the end is death.”

“Pain and death is all that waits for me here if I have to stay,” the cat girl replied. The desperation was clear in her eyes.

“I am not what I seem,” warned Izen.

“You are more than those men,” the cat girl replied back.

Izen stood, offering out her hand to the cat girl, having made her decision.

“Fine. You may come with me then, but we leave now, and your life is your own,” she said.

The cat girl stood up, wiping the tears from her eyes and taking her hand. “Thank you,” she said gratefully.

Her gem must have manifested quite late Izen mused, taking a better look at the cat girl, pinning her age at nineteen at most. She had a pair of luxuriously soft black cat ears and a matching long tail, short cropped deep purple hair and lavender eyes. The bruises on her face marred her delicate features, and she was a head shorter than Izen, her figure lithe. She was dressed in a simple skirt and top now, her waiting clothes gone and her feet bare.

“What is your name?” Izen asked, as they reached the door.

“Kyla,” the cat girl replied.

“And I am Velvet Izen,” she stated, heading out into the night, the cat girl following close behind.

While she knew that there was still one more man from the group active, the one that had been stationed outside her window, Izen didn’t see the point of worrying about him, instead making a beeline for the outskirts of the village. She would deal with him if he interfered, but he would be better off worrying about his guild mates instead if he had any common sense.

“We need to clear the village proper so that we can take our leave,” Izen told Kyla, the girl just nodding in response, with no clue as to why. She would have preferred to have been able to go a lot further away from the village before she mounted Light, but it was night so they had some cover, and given what had just transpired and that she now had a charge, the sooner they left the better.

They travelled until they were on the far side of the fields, and being courteous Izen also ensured that they were away from any crops that they might inadvertently damage, before she got Light to change to her larger form. The surprise and awe on Kyla’s face was evident, with all that she could manage to do was stare.

“I am not what I seem,” stated Izen again, fishing out Myne’s cloak from the satchel, and throwing it over Kyla’s shoulders. “It’s cold up there.” She’d need to get some appropriate clothes for her at some point. Izen clambered onto Light, pulling Kyla up behind her.

“Hold on tight,” Izen commanded her, as Light took to the air. Looking around Izen couldn’t see anyone who may have seen their departure, but given their proximity and Light’s size, she wouldn’t be surprised if someone had. She’d find out eventually if rumours of a Prime started circulating around.

‘We’ll need to teach her how to hold on properly,’ she thought to Light as Kyla gripped her tightly, burying herself in Izen’s hair.

‘Or create some form of saddle, especially if I’m going to end up carrying more people.’ Light offered.

‘You’re thinking of Alice and her friends?’ Izen queried.

‘At the least, yes.’ Light replied.

‘How many people can you carry?’ Izen asked.

‘A lot probably. I’ve never really thought about it, but I’d rather not have to. I’m not a wagon after all.’

‘True. I don’t think I’d do well with a crowd either,’ Izen agreed.

They set course for Bluemoon, Izen intending to fly through the rest of the night, but with Kyla nodding off about an hour into the journey, resulting in a high risk of her falling off, they were forced to land. Izen found a suitable spot for them to rest, as much out of the way as possible while still being out of the range of the forest, and she alternated the watch with Light till morning broke, managing to get enough sleep to function properly. ‘She sleeps like a cat too’, Izen observed, cradling Kyla. ‘Her magic may extend a lot further than she realizes’.

By the time Kyla woke the following morning Izen had managed to forage enough for a passable meal. Understandably the cat girl was looking out of place and confused, wondering if the dragon from the previous night had just been a dream.

“No, it was all real,” Izen assured her. “Sleep and flight just don’t mix well, so we landed.”

“Sorry,” Kyla apologized, looking crestfallen.

“Don’t worry, it’s not an issue. We all have to sleep,” Izen said.

They left after breakfast, Kyla in awe again at Light’s size, even more so in the daylight now that she could fully appreciate her size.

“Exactly who are you?” she asked of Izen as she buried herself in Izen’s hair again, probably not yet comfortable with the heights.

“I am just me.” Izen replied. “I am with neither Clan nor Guild, nor any group at all in fact,” she added.

“We’re looking for some acquaintances of mine,” she continued. “Members of the Bluemoon branch of the Fall Haven Guild, hence why we’re heading there. I am hoping they can help me, but I’m not sure if they will be able to do so.”

“What is it that you’re after then?” Kyla asked.

“I’m looking for someone very important to me,” Izen answered.

“We will be making some stops on the way though, to see if we can garner any clues before I find them, but given the obliviousness of those in your village I’m not at all hopeful that the others will be any different,” she added.

“You think the Guild members will be able to help you?” Kyla queried.

“No idea to be honest, but my chances of success will be much higher with them, especially as one of them is a highly skilled Caster.”

They flew for the bulk of the day, going in a direct line over the Sentorine Forest, progress a lot faster than it had been flying on Vel’nas. As the shadows started to lengthen they then peeled off their path, heading to the forests edge to find a suitable spot to spend the night. Given their experiences with forests, Izen was unwilling to camp within one, unless of course they were holed up in a defensible ruin. The following day was the same, the first of the satellite villages coming into view in the middle of the afternoon. Well aware of the length of walk required to reach it, but back to wanting to avoid notice, they landed well outside of view, walking along the main road to the village, arriving well after night had taken its hold.

“Things will be a lot quicker when we don’t have to worry about being noticed,” Izen explained to Kyla, “but for the moment, we have quite a few long treks ahead of us.”

This village only had a small tavern, and listening to the farmers as they ate their meal told them that the situation was the same as previous – the villagers were oblivious as to the re-emergence of the demons, only focused on their daily lives and what was happening directly around it.

“If you’re after real information and rumours, you’re probably going to need to visit the bigger settlements,” Kyla observed. Izen nodded, knowing she was right. They were, however, now close to their first destination, and even with the necessary trek in and out of the settlements, they were only a days worth of travel out from Bluemoon. Izen was feeling nervous, hoping that she would have some success when they arrived, and still really worried about Myne’s well-being. They rented a room at the inn, wanting to be fully rested for the day ahead. If there was a bounty out for her, then the Guild members at Bluemoon would likely be aware of it, but on the other hand, if needed, she could send in Kyla in her stead, though she’d rather they went in together. Settling in to the room, Izen noticed that Kyla had a lot of scars and bruises at various stages of healing all over her. Her owner and his patrons had been exceedingly rough with her, and it looked like it was almost a miracle that she was still alive. Just the thought of it brought pain to Izen. If she was able to find a way, Izen was determined to remove the slave crest off her, and give her a better chance at life. Assuming that they all survived the events ahead of course.

Izen dreamed of Myne that night. She could feel her, knew that she was there, but no matter where she went she was unable to find her. Someone was hiding Myne from her. And then she stumbled straight into where she was. Something was different about her tho, something missing and something gained, but it mattered not to her. Izen just wanted to be with Myne. Myne was waiting there for her, fighting a battle that she could not win by herself against a force that threatened to engulf her, and the entirety of the kingdom as well.

Izen snapped awake in a cold sweat, both her arms illuminated in searing hot runes that she did not recognize (not that she recognized many in the first place), a worried Kyla kneeling beside her.

“Are you alright Velvet?” Kyla asked concern streaking her voice as Izen sat up.

“I dreamed of Myne,” Izen replied. “The one I’m ultimately looking for,” she added for Kyla’s benefit, remembering that she hadn’t told Kyla her name.

‘You two have a deep bond,’ Light commented, into her mind. ‘A very strong deep bond.’

‘At least that confirms that she is definitely alive,’ Izen thought back.

“What are those?” queried Kyla of the light on Izen’s arms that was slowly fading.

“A part of my magic. It must have been reacting to the dream.” Izen looked thoughtful. “I’ve never had it on both arms before tho, usually it just centres on the scars.”

Izen lay back down, Light curling up beside her head. “We leave at first light. We’re getting closer I’m sure.” She then stared for a while at the magic inscriptions on her arms till they had faded. There was still so much of her magic that she didn’t understand. Most of it actually. She closed her eyes, imagining Myne beside her.

---

 

Erragon watched with a twisted glee as the flames quickly engulfed the tavern. There were no screams, he had made certain of that. Blackness crept along his heart, His voice clear in his mind. He had been humiliated not once, not twice, but three times, and he had been absolutely furious. First the broad had broken his nose and thrown him into a wall. Him, the head bruiser. Women gave themselves to him, they did not refuse him. Then the broad had done a number on his men, and ignored him completely. Then to top it all off the cat girl, the only worthwhile thing in this place, had vanished without a trace, likely with the broad. Not that she would have survived long after he’d had his way with her. But that was beside the point. No one humiliated him like that. So they all had to go, so that there would be no one to ever speak of it again. At least the tavern owner no longer had to worry about his debt.