The arrival of the Sky Temple Riders was announced by the sudden parting of the people on the street as a ruby coloured dragon landed in the vicinity of the party, half a dozen other dragons setting down behind it. Sitting at half as large again as Vel’nas had been, the ruby dragon was on the larger size for Dragon Familiars, its gaze intense and calculating.

“Well, well, what do we have here,” said its Rider as she dismounted. “The mysterious Rider from the chaos at the Southern Tempe.”

“Lady Knight Ruby,” Myne informed Velvet.

Lady Knight Ruby was very much the embodiment of her name. She had a tall attractive figure, with long blood red hair that flowed freely down her back. Her armour was also the same colour, simple and functional plates, that covered the bulk of her body except for her arms and midriff, and formed a pair of heeled boots, the exposed areas covered by black Skeon. She carried with her a halberd formed of dragon bone, the weapon itself the most intricate manifestation of her magic. Her lips were also blood red, pursed in concentration as her green eyes, specked with red, scanned the party, before settling back on Velvet.

“Who exactly are you?” Ruby asked.

“My name is Velvet,” Velvet replied with a strong and sure voice. “A Rider born from circumstance. We bring ill tidings.”

“You’re not going to tell me any more about yourself?” queried Ruby.

“At this point in time, no. It’s not important to why we are here,” Velvet answered.

There was a gasp from Cammine as Melody stepped up beside Lady Knight Ruby along with the other Riders, then a garbled scream of pain as Cammine tried to summon her armour, failing to do so as the armour briefly flickered into existence and then faded again. Myne and Laphir rushed to Cammine’s side to help support her as she started to collapse, the backlash causing an unexpected drain on her body, her face a mask of pain and fear.

“What the?” Ruby started.

“What are you doing here Melody,” Myne growled at the musician Rider, the entire party tensing at the mention of her name.

“Now, now, let’s not be hasty,” Melody said sweetly, her musical tone attempting to settle the mood. “I’m here of my own accord, to collaborate on your story.”

“Are you all in this together?” Myne asked, black flames forming in her empty hand.

“Lady Knight Ruby does not share my affiliation,” Melody simply stated.

“You were there when Cammine’s dragon was killed,” Myne accused, as Ruby brought her halberd around, it’s blade at Melody’s neck.

“And she’d be dead if I hadn’t intervened when I did,” Melody stated, unflinching.

“She almost died anyway, and look at her now,” Myne growled in response. “Her magic is broken without her dragon.”

“And yet your magic functions better than ever, even though you also don’t have your dragon.” Melody smiled as she retorted. “Perhaps you are the key to saving her.”

Myne glared at her.

“I was also present when you defeated the demon and Night Beast, and yet I did nothing there. I bear you no ill will,” Melody continued. “Continue your message. Surely it is more important than I.”

Myne let her flame fade. While Melody was likely affiliated with Zorthac, they didn’t exactly know how, and she was right. They had more important business at hand.

“Indeed, I almost felt like I had been forgotten there” said Ruby lowering her weapon. “You three, guard Melody,” she then instructed of her Riders, “while we see what Velvet and her crew have to say.”

“Now, where were we.” Ruby paused, looking at Cammine. “You were the healer from the Southern Temple.”

“And you,” she said, looking at Myne, “have a lot of answering to do, little prodigy. But it appears something has also happened to you too, as you weren’t a Feral last I knew.”

Her gaze returned to Velvet. “Speak then, Rider of Circumstance.”

Velvet took a deep breath.

“The Demon King has returned. He was released from his seal twenty one years ago, and he is now more active than ever.” Velvet raised her hand just as Ruby was about to speak.

“Demons now wander the lands, and villages have been massacred. The Southern Temple is no more, all that remains there are the dead, all the riders gone, at the hand of Lady Knight Sorene.”

Ruby stared at Velvet, her face saying that it was a tall tale to have her believe.

“She’s telling the truth,” toned in Melody. “Check the seal for yourself if you don’t believe her. You could even send a Rider to the Southern Temple, though that would take over a week.”

Ruby brought her halberd back up to Melody’s neck.

“Sorene’s been a bad little girl,” Melody teased, as the blade of the halberd threatened to bite into her delicate flesh. “There’s a reason your relationship with her never lasted.”

“Bite your tongue child, least I do so for you.” Ruby snapped at Melody. Obviously Melody had hit a raw nerve.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Myne asked of Melody, surprised at how brazen she was being.

“I play with high stakes,” Melody said carefully, acutely aware of the position Ruby’s weapon.

“Look,” Velvet started, sighing before she continued, “Nothing is what it seems any more, and the Demon King is very much alive and kicking. We brought you warning, because we needed to. What you do with that knowledge is up to you. We currently cannot stop him alone, but we will try nether the less. If you chose not to believe us then we will just take our leave. But know that in the absence of action, war will come. It may even already be too late.”

Ruby lowered her weapon again, looking thoughtful.

“You went to the Southern Temple first, but no one was left there. So you came here. You fear the hold and influence that Sorene has on the Council, and that is why you didn’t go directly to the capital. That is correct?” Ruby asked.

“Correct, and that was the most likely place she’d be.” Velvet replied.

“And if she’d been here?”

“We had hoped that she wouldn’t be.” Velvet shrugged. “It would have had an unwanted battle. We do not know her true strength, nor who is with her, but amongst her associates is one who can kill dragons. We do not know what had happened to the Riders that went with her from the Southern Temple, but let’s be honest the odds have never been in our favour. Hence why we are in the middle of the city with so many witnesses.” Velvet motioned to the people who, tho they were standing well back to give the Riders and dragons room, where still trying to pay attention to the conversation.

“Where is your dragon, Velvet?” asked Ruby “Reports say that they disappeared upon arrival.”

Velvet pointed to Light, who was as usual sitting on her shoulder.

“It’s a common question it seems, but the Sky Temple isn’t suited for her larger form.”

“Nor are the streets,” Ruby stated.

Velvet just smiled.

“I might be tempted to believe your story, but I will want more details before I commit to a visit to the seal. Come to the temple, and we will talk further.” Ruby dismissed her weapon as she spoke. “You’ll just have to trust that I won’t spring a trap on you. Make your way over at your own pace. A bit of an unusual situation for Riders I must say.”

Ruby then turned to face Melody.

“As for you,” she said, “you are under house arrest. If what you say is true, then there is no reason that I shouldn’t execute you right here. I do wonder what you stand to gain in all of this.”

“That is indeed a question for another time,” Melody said, as she smiled ever so sweetly.

‘What is she up to?’ queried Light, echoing Velvet’s own thoughts as Melody was seated on one of the other Riders familiars, and the group left to return to the Sky Temple.

‘We’re not the only ones dancing with fire it seems,’ added Ashling.

“To be honest we know little more than everyone else.” Velvet sighed, almost collapsing as she released all the tension that she had been unknowingly holding. She then turned to the rest of the party.

“We head to the temple then,” Velvet stated, the party nodding in agreement. “Let’s get this over with.” Melody’s appearance had thrown them all out, but it seemed that Ruby wasn’t in cohorts with the musician, which was something to be grateful for.

The Sky Temple had a small area of gardens around it on either side of the river, and as a gesture of goodwill Ruby and a pair of her senior Riders were waiting in the gardens for the party when they arrived. In an open area there would be no traps, and it also meant that their avenue of escape wasn’t blocked, if it came to that. Typical to form the gardens were filled with roses, both beautiful and dangerous, reflecting the nature of the Riders. Ruby had said that they wanted additional details, which Velvet was happy to provide, within reason. She didn’t want to tell her everything, but just enough to convince her that they were telling the truth. Introductions were held all round, the black haired Riders that were accompanying Ruby were Mynx and Lillyanne, their armour a soft pink and intense sea blue respectively, and the coverage similar to Lady Knight Ruby.

Unsurprisingly the first thing that Ruby wanted to know was what had happened at the Southern Temple when Velvet had first been there. Velvet pointed out that it wasn’t directly related to the issue at hand, but as a return gesture of goodwill she would reveal some details, and telling that while she didn’t understand much of it, the Witch had arranged for her to be awakened there at that time. Though the Witch had given them some of her reasons, Velvet knew that they still didn’t have the full story, and probably never would. She couldn’t avoid telling Ruby that the Witch was now dead, so Velvet did so, tagging it on to the end of her awakening, without saying why she knew that, nor making any mention of the Academia de Magica. Ruby didn’t press any further, still trying to process that Velvet had previously been a male. Velvet didn’t offer to show her her original form, not really wanting to undergo the transformation any more. It wasn’t who she was any more, and now that she had made the decision to fully change her name as well she actually felt a sense of dread about changing into the male form. Ruby’s next question was for Myne, about what had happened to her, and Myne gave her a very shortened version of the tale, that she was captured by Lady Knight Sorene, taken to Zorthac, her form changed with Vel’nas being killed in the process, and then being bound to his will. Velvet then finished the tale, stating that they had managed to find and free her from Zorthac, but without elaborating on the how. Velvet did point out the demons that had been encountered at that time, as well as adding in all other times that they had fought or fled from them. That tied into Cammine’s story, which they then told without Ruby prompting, knowing that it would be what she asked about next. Again they went lite on some of the details, especially her recovery, but made sure to focus on the events at the temple, pointing out that she may well be the only survivor of the temple that wasn’t in the Demon King’s hands. Velvet hadn’t wanted to say much about Lyrissa, and fortunately didn’t have to, with Ruby being satisfied with what she had heard.

“I’m sure there is much that hasn’t been said, but I can sense that you do believe in what you have said.” Ruby looked directly at Velvet as she spoke. “I really want for it all to be a lie, for if it is not then we are in a dire situation indeed, and we will know not who we can trust.”

Ruby sighed.

“We will visit the seal, so that I can see for myself.”

She then turned to Mynx.

“Gather those rostered for the next guard cycle, and a dozen others. Melody is to come too, as I don’t trust her out of my sight.”

She then returned her gaze back to Velvet.

“You all are to come too. Don’t worry about the flowers. Your dragon can take it’s true form here.”

“As you wish,” Velvet replied.

Once enough space had been cleared, both Light and Ashling took their true forms. As Velvet had expected, with them standing at half the height of the temple, Ruby hadn’t quite anticipated how large they actually were, or that they were two of them, so she stood for a while just staring in awe while she waited for the rest of the Riders to assemble. There was no shortage of questions from them, but Ruby just waved them silent as they waited. A smiling Melody and her Nightwing dragon, under guard, were the last to arrive. Velvet waited till all the other dragons were airborne before the party clambered aboard hers. It would be a slower flight than normal as they’d have to match pace with the rest of the Riders, which couldn’t fly anywhere near as fast. Looking down as they took flight Velvet could see that the garden had not survived at all.

Even for a parched wasteland, the remanent of the land surrounding the core was eerily silent. There was no sign of life and no one came to greet or intercept them at all. Now an island in the middle of the centre sea, a massive cliff like wall surrounded the land that had once been home to the Core. The naturally formed wall prevented any ships from berthing as the waves crashed violently into it, and it was sheer enough to stop any normal mortal from scaling it. Hence the only ones who were able to access the island itself were the Dragon Riders, and that was part of the reason why they had been tasked with keeping watch over it.

While she knew what the land surrounding the tomb which housed the seal was meant to be like, Velvet was still shocked when the dragons passed over the island’s wall. The land itself looked like death, as if it was trying to suck the life out of everything around it. The ground was black, dusty and bone dry, with massive cracks running chaotically through out it, and even the light that shone on it seemed to just get absorbed into it. The battle that had taken place here at the birth of the known world had more than taken its toll.

Situated on the top of the wall at the four compass points were the small black watchtowers that served as barracks for the Riders stationed to watch over the seal. The tomb sitting in the dead centre of the island seemed out of place. It was intricately detailed and made from the same white marble and black obsidian that the temples were constructed from, its outer walls depicting images of the heroes defeating the Demon King and cages holding him down. A stark contrast to the rest of the island.

They set down just outside of the tomb, a few of the Riders staying on their dragons as guards while everyone else dismounted. Ruby voiced her concern that none of the riders stationed had made an appearance at all, sending a pair to the eastern guard tower to check. It didn’t take them long to return, stating that the tower was empty of any life, although there was still plenty of supplies present. Velvet could see that Ruby was more than a little worried about what was going on and where her riders were. The latter answered itself fairly quickly when Ruby unsealed the entrance of the tomb and they all walked in, the lifeless bodies of the riders scattered on the floor in the centre of the tomb’s main chamber, which was otherwise empty.

Ruby swore.

“Only Lady Knight’s are meant to be able to open the seal of the door. And there is nothing else here. The seal is broken, the sword gone.” Ruby was livid with rage, the anger clearly showing on her face.

She walked up to Melody, and without hesitating punched her solidly in the face, the force of the blow sending Melody crashing into the wall behind her. She had obviously reinforced herself in defence against the blow, but it hadn’t been near enough.

“Talk!” Ruby demanded of Melody, glaring at her.

“Ouch,” Melody complained with puppy dog eyes as she got herself back up. “That’s going to bruise. You almost broke my face.”

“There’ll be more than that broken soon.” Ruby growled in retort.

“You’ve heard the name Byron the Black Hand?” Melody asked.

“The assassin? I though he’d retired years ago.” Ruby eyed Melody wearily.

“He’s still very much active, just not for normal clients. This was his handiwork. He was sent here to reclaim the sword, Soulrender,” Melody explained. “Of all those that serve the Demon King, he is the most dangerous.”

“They never stood a chance,” she added as she motioned to the bodies.

“Did Sorene let him in?” The answers Ruby was getting wasn’t making her any happier.

“She and I are not the only Riders serving him directly. She probably passed on the key though,” Melody replied as she massaged the bruised side of her face.

Ruby marched straight up to where Melody was standing, her look more than intense.

“How many serve him directly?” she asked.

“There is only so much I am willing to say at this point in time. I’m not ready to die yet,” Melody answered, to which Ruby slammed her fist into the wall beside her head, sending fragments of stone flying past them both.

“You won’t kill me, as I know too much that you need. But if Zorthac finds out that I said too much then he’ll likely send Byron to silence me,” Melody continued, the cheeky smile returning to her face as best as she could manage.

“Don’t tempt me child.” Ruby growled, not in the mood for her taunting.

“I’m sure that we can come to some form of agreement,” Melody said sweetly.

“Involving your grave? I’m sure we can.” Ruby’s reply was sharp and cold. Having had enough of Melody she stormed off to outside the tomb, motioning for the rest to join her as well.

Ruby sighed and leaned into her dragon.

“Why did you have to be telling the truth. I’d had a slim hope that you were delusional, but reality had stomped all over that,” she said to Velvet as she emerged out of the tomb.

“What will you do now that you know?” Velvet asked.

“I was going to ask the same question of you.” Ruby sighed again. “What can we do? This situation is above all of us. For a fight against an ancient evil we’d be better off if we weren’t so fractured, but even ignoring the separation between the Guilds and the Clan I have no idea how deep the taint runs, and I’ve been oblivious to it all. And the insult is that it’s been done right under our noses too!”

“We don’t know what’s next either,” Velvet admitted “We’ve been kind of winging it, but we’ve had little choice.” Even having come to the core and confirmed to Ruby that they were telling the truth and that the threat was indeed real, she still had no idea of what to do next. Lyrissa said that they’d need allies, and that much was true, but at this point they really were lacking in direction. After all they were all rather new at this sort of thing (not that anyone really has experience at trying to save a kingdom), so they were floundering in the dark. They also had no clue as to what the Demon King was up to, nor what his overall intentions were, other than the repeat of what he had done before. Mind you, Melody had revealed her supposed allegiance to them.

Velvet walked up to Melody, looking her directly in the eye.

“What exactly are you hoping to gain from all of this?” She asked of her. “I’d appreciate an actual answer.”

Melody gave Velvet a serious look, and then grinned. “Freedom, and Immortality. I’m a musician after all. I’ve seen what you and Myne are capable of, and whether you think it or not you both hold the keys to these things. You wrest your lover from Zorthac’s control, something that should have been neigh impossible. And Dragon Ferals are not normally a thing, and yet Myne is one. Zorthac did not make her one, he just transforms the nature of the body into something much darker. But he pushed her too far, beyond the normal limits of a person, and she became one through her own power. The result of the two is something quite special. He was trying to make a weapon, and he succeeded, learning something quite valuable in the process.”

“She holds the secret to healing your broken Rider there was well,” Melody added, seeing that she now had Myne’s attention as well.

“That’s a quick change of tune,” Ruby stated sarcastically.

“Velvet’s nicer than you are,” Melody replied in like. “And prettier too,” she added.

“Where is the Demon King?” Velvet asked, on the off chance that Melody might actually tell them.

“Agersdene City of course. Where else?” Melody stated simply.

“Oh.” That was and wasn’t expected.

Ruby’s plan, until she came up with something better, was fairly straight forward. Test the waters and see what the response was like. She’d send her most trusted Riders to the three remaining temples – to the Northern Reach Temple, Eastern Bay Temple, and of course the Radiant Temple in the capital city. The message to the central temple was to be taken directly to Lady Knight Amber, hopefully avoiding the attention of Sorene. It carried a lot of risk, but if Lady Knight Amber was unaware of Sorene’s actions then it could work in their favour. If she was, then the die was already cast. In the interim, it was a waiting game. Velvet and the party couldn’t see any better alternative, and what the responses were would shape their plan of attack as well, so the obvious decision that they would wait in the port town for the moment. While Ruby had offered them accommodation in the temple (there were vacant spots from dead Riders), they had decided that if things went awry, such as a visit from Byron, they’d be better off being a little harder to find. Melody of course would remain under watch in the temple, while they decided if they would work with her, at all, though they knew that if she wanted to leave there was probably little they could actually do to stop her.

mogust

Finally. The Clan has been informed of what is going on, and to someone who is able to help them out. But what will the rest of the Clan's response be like?

Melody is also starting to show her true colours, but is there more to her than meets the eye?

Thanks for reading :)

Final part of the chapter will be up before the end of the week.

In terms of progress, I am currently working on Chapter 13, and I anticipate that chapter 14 will be the last chapter of this book.