Dragon Riders

Maradomin:


Maradomin sweard under his breath "Damn." he was angry.
Not here not now. he thought.

They were in a big round hall, there were four corridors going east, west, south and north from the hall. The walls had red stripes on them going all around the great round hall. The ceiling was very high and was kept up by four pillars in the center of the hall. These pillars were well designed to keep the roof from falling down and could take heavy damage if needed. The floor was made out of marble and was quite cold because of the night air.

Maradomin saw Nerad gazing at him.
Maradomin looked at the prince "Take Nerand out quick."
The prince looked at him sternly "I will take him on the minute when ciru releases Nerand from his spell." He replied coldly.

Maradomin sighed, Nothing was never easy for him "Very well." Maradomin answered

He continued his chanting

Azrayel-

Ray glanced around the room, searching for the one thing that the others would have missed. He smiled slightly as he found what he was looking for. Gripping his mothers pendant, Ray strengthened his Command to punch through Nerad's will. "RELEASE YOUR POWER, NERAD. DON'T EVEN THINK OF USING IT ON US."

Snarling the dark knight lunged forward as he returned to human form. Ray jumped to the side and slammed his shoulder into the wall. Nerad was forced to jump backwards, as a spiked partition slammed down. Ciru looked at the wall blinked in surprise, Maradomin just raised his eyebrows. Shrugging Ray turned and helped to his feet. "This is why I like playing in Kettia. The whole city is rigged with booby traps." Maradomin snorted in wry amusement as glanced at the partition. It was made of iron, and he hadn't missed the three foot long spikes that would have skewered anyone under it. The spikes had slid neatly into holes that had conveniently opened in the floor.

Turning he followed Ciru and Ray. "Just out curiosity how long will your Command to Nerad last?"

Pursing his lips, Ray's eyelids shuttered as he figured it out. "Taking into account his will power and the fact that he's insane, three day? Five if we're lucky."

Crysilla-

Gently Cris heaved the last of the saddle bags into place. "Stupid Ray. How did I get suckered into this? Now he's gonna make me stay behind while he goes off to hunt for the other weapons. The spear and amulet will be hard enough to find, but no one even knows what the fifth one looks like. And he expects me to stay in Kettia and..."

Ren twisted around and gave Cris an amused look. "You're just upset that you're not getting any alone time with him. You know better then anyone just how dangerous Ray is with those scimitars. Having met him I can agree whole heartedly with you. That boy is not the kind of man you want to cross. He makes a good friend, and a relentless enemy. Now that we found these shouldn't we be heading back?"

Cris sighed as she settled into the saddle, and checked the straps on the bag one more time. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go." The pair took off, flying quickly but carefully. Ray's hiding place had been just beyond the city limits, still well within the barrier. It was just a few minutes flight, little more then a hop, and the pair was landing in the infirmary courtyard.

Curious, Ari came out and helped her unload the saddle bags, Ren drank half the water in the pond, before curling up on a pile of grasses. Ari glanced at Cris, with a slightly baffled look. "What are these, they're pretty heavy whatever they are.

Grinning Cris placed the bags by the brazier and opened the saddle bags. Explaining to Ari as she pulled away the cushioning layers of wool. "When Ray went to the Sacred Grounds. He brought several of the eggs out with him and hid them away. The only reason he was caught was because Ray kept Yoru's and Taiou's egg on him. I guess even then he had a rider's instinctual need to be near their dragon."

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Ari's soft gasp, as Cris pulled the last layer of wool away to reveal the eggs. There were five of them, one was a pale bronze, another black with silver streaks, a third was a brilliant ruby red, the fourth a vibrant azure blue, and the fifth was a a pale white-gold color, like a pearl.

**This is after Ari and Cris get back inside.**


Ian...Ian, wake up...

A voice wouldn't let him be. He tried to block it out, to rest...

Ian, please, wake up.

He shivered slightly, breathing still hard. He could still feel heat radiating from his body, but not as intensely as before...

Ian.

He groaned, finally giving in. What do you want?

Wake up. Please. Let me know you're okay.

A hand brushed his face, making him flinch. Voices, slightly distorted in his delirium, answered immediately. The touch returned, gentle and reassuring, and he gave in once more. It was welcoming, comforting...and familiar.

He groaned as he shifted, struggling to pull out of unconsciousness. The voices became clearer; both were female.

That's it. Wake up. You can do it. He realized that the third voice was Shyen. That much was clear.

"Ian?"

He forced heavy lids to open, and blinked many times. He was weak and ill; he couldn't keep his eyes open for too long. He tried to speak, but his voice choked. He coughed.

"Easy, Ian. Easy," a familiar voice hushed him as a hand brushed his face again. He sighed when he finally recognized it.

"A-Ari?"

"Oh, thank God," Ari breathed. "I thought I'd lost you." Her voice sounded hoarse, like she'd been crying for a long period of time. She stroked his cheek lightly with the back of her fingers, trying to reassure Ian and calm herself down.

"Ari?" Ian said again. "I-Is that you?"

"Yes, Ian. It's me."

"I'm so sorry, Ari, for making you worry."

"It's alright. But if you ever do that again, I'm going to have to kick your sorry ass," she said softly between loosely clenched teeth.

"You're cute when you get angry," Ian chuckled, which quickly caused him to cough.

"Shut up, Ian. You're going to hurt yourself. Why the hell can't you joke around when it's the appropriate time?" Ian's coughing subsded as soon as they started. Ari started to sit on the edge of the bed when Ian patted the spot right next to him, motioning for her to lay down. She did, positioning herself like she had the other night; one arm around his waist, the the other supporting her head. Ian turned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Nerad

With an enraged howl he pounded at the stone wall that had fallen between him and the others. It was useless, there was no way through. And for some reason, he couldn't will himself into his ethereal form, not even to try to find Kaniy. He spat, dragging the point of his sword across the stone floor of the hallway as he turned back walked towards where he felt he would find his lieutenant. He could hear the distant ring of iron-shod feet on stone as guards rushed towards his position. Nerad smiled, licking his lips. Let the fools come, he needed someone to take his anger out on. Even if his power didn't work, he'd be more than a match for a few guards.

Kaniy

He stopped in the corridor, voices reaching his ears, "Shut up, Ian. You're going to hurt yourself. Why the hell can't you joke around when it's the appropriate time?"

Kaniy turned and began walking back the way he'd come, past the stairwell he'd just left and then towards the source of the voices. He thanked whatever gods were listening that he'd heard what he had before he'd kept going, he might not have ever found the infirmary otherwise. Better still, it sounded as though Ian was injured. Azrayel, Ciru, Ianeil. The Saviours were not having a good day, but given the attack of the al'Aran the day before and then the Dark Knights, that hardly surprised Kaniy.

A pair of soldiers were standing guard outside the infirmary door, and they drew their swords as Kaniy approached. "Stand down, Dark Knight. No one gets past us."

Kaniy smiled, drawing his knives. The soldiers attacked, one trying a high cut at Kaniy's neck, the other stabbing for his gut. Kaniy ducked low, twisting his body to one side and parrying the first soldier's thrust with one of his knives. He stepped between the two guards, slashing an arm open with his second knife before driving its pommel into the guard's jaw on the backswing. He spun on his heel to avoid another lunge from the remaining guard, then tripped him.

He could hear the other guard gasping for air behind him as he bled out, and knelt over the second guard, knife poised above his throat. He seemed to consider interrogating him for a moment, then shook his head, the kukri flashing across the guard's throat. Kaniy stood and turned to the door. Solid oak, something that would have given him trouble if it had been locked and warded. He tried the doorknob. Not even locked.

It swung open to reveal the infirmary, two long rows of empty beds facing each other. Ciru was gone, which meant that he'd been healed. Ian, on the other hand, was directly opposite Kaniy, his arm around the Saviour general, Ariadne. Kaniy's smile broadened, "Well, isn't this nice?" He bowed to them, "Generals. Ianeil, my orders are to kill you, but I think both Hanik and Nerad would prefer you both alive, given what I now know."

*Changed your picture.*


MARADOMIN:


"Nerand can't use his power in three days? Excellent." Maradomin smiled
He was almost ready with his chanting.
"Prince would you be so kind and take a bottle from my cloak?" asked Maradomin in a kind manner.
The prince was surprised by the politeness in Maradomins voice.

When Ray took the bottle and looked at it's contents he almost threw it away in anger.
"No! Do not throw it away." Maradomin said sternly.
The prince looked angrily at his own blood in the bottle.

"Drop a small drop on my sword." Maradomin commanded
The prince hesitantly did what Maradomin had asked him to do, and as he did the sword spoke.

From darkness I came and darkness I shalt bring, To thai enemy who carries me.

The sword's darkness seemed to spread all around them with an amazing speed.

Maradomin chanted: "Show me. Show thai master, his enemies, where they lie and where they shalt die." Maradomin commanded

The darkness Showed a picture faded and black picture of Kaniy.
Kaniy was in a room that had big beds and large piles of medicines in it.
The prince watched the picture for a while, he soon recognized it "That is the palace infirmary." The prince said hastily.

Maradomin stood up "I'll take some of your soldiers with me to the kitchen and take out Kaniy, you can take Ciru away from here." Maradomin said

"They attacked ´my palace, my friends. I will go there myself. You will take Ciru out." The prince replied
Maradomin was about to say something but the prince used his power "YOU WILL TAKE CIRU TO SAFETY, NOW!" Ray commanded

Maradomin grabbed Ciru and soon vanished into the dark cloud that his word had created.

*If this was hard to understand I can edit it a bit, I've been practicing a bit on my descriptive writing.*

* I edited it, Thanks for the note billy =)*

**Kaniy's with Ian and Ari in the infirmary**

Ari quickly turned, surprised. She lept off the bed as fast as she could, drawing her sword, ready to fight. "Kaniy, you bastard," she spat. "Get the hell out of here why you still can move your pathetic legs."

Kaniy chuckled. "Now, now, sweetie, I can't do that. Hanik wants Ian, and he wants him now. I'm pretty sure he'll want you, too, so you won't have to worry; you guys won't have to be seperated. If you come quietly, neither of you will have get hurt."

"Bit me," Ari growled.

The corner of Kaniy's mouth twitched upwards, in a twisted form of a smile. "You shouldn't have said that."

Ari stood her ground, knowing that if she moved even a foot away from where Ian was lying, he would be caught, and so would she.

Maradomin ran out of the palace door and met with the palace doctors and nurses.
Maradomin gave Ciru to them. HE looked at the palace; it looked so peaceful from the outside... He thought about staying outside for the rest of the battle..
But then he remembered: Cynthia!

Maradomin looked up in a panic like surprise.
Why should I care. he thought.
But he could not forget. He gripped his sword from his belt. The black sword was still radiating darkness.

"Darkess do not fail me now." He whispered under his breath...

He ran back in.

Crysilla-

"They're not the ones who are trapped Dark Knight, you are." Cris' voice was cold, as she walked in from talking to with Ren, she took the scene in and stifled a sigh of relief that Kaniy hadn't noticed the eggs, warming by the hearth fire. Not many people realized it, but when she was pushed Cris could be pretty cruel. She smiled slightly as she spoke. "Do you know what it's like to have the air literally sucked from your lungs? I'm told it's incredibly painful."

*All I got. My computer was down all yesterday.*

*wouldn't it be kinda cool if we let the bad side kinda hve their fun at winning a little bit? We should try it and see how it plays out. What do you guys think? *

*sounds interesting, but they shouldn't get away with everything.*

Viedna

Garrel turned from the guard he had been questioning. "Well it looks like Ari's attracted another renegade to the Saviours then."

Viedna moved from the shadows he had been shadowed in. The guards did not respond well to his questions, given his secretive appearance; it was simply easier to have Garrel do the talking. "Maradomin," he spat, "That man does not go renegade, he moves from on hapless leader to the next, parasite that he is. He supported my king before the coup, but turned to Hanik's side when it became evident that our cause was hopeless."

"If there are dark knights in the city, they could be after Ray, the renegades, or Ari, any of them would be a prize."

"But Ciru and Ian were injured, and I have no idea where Thorn went, they would be the easier targets," Viedna replied, mulling over the likelihoods. "And I would no more leave the injured around a shadow magician than I would lambs around a wolf."

The two began walking toward the infirmary, though it was still a ways off.

"It's just a type of magic Viedna, why do you hate it so much?"

"For the same reason I consider Azrayel's heritage to be ridiculously bad news. Powerful magic needs to be kept from falling into the wrong hands, and someone has to do that keeping."

"Someone?"

"Your secret is your bloodline Garrel, so is mine. You wear yours beneath your skin in your very essence, I wear mine in a name no-one understands."

"The Harlequin?"

"Exactly"

There were sounds of heated conversation coming from the other side of the palace, but it was impossible to tell if it were the infirmary or not. The palace was big, and the acoustics of the vaulted ceilings played havoc with Viedna's sense of hearing.

*I agree, give the baddies an upper hand for once, especially as they appear to be so ridiculously outnumbered.*

Kaniy

He turned, his smile twisting into something malevolent. While Kaniy was sane compared to most Dark Knights, he held no moral reservations whatsoever, and an unshakeable confidence in his own abilities. "You're told it's incredibly painful? Come now, Saviour. You and I both know that that's impossible if you've actually killed someone that way. You're bluffing." He looked from one woman to the other, knives held in a guard stance to either side of his body. Kaniy weighed his options, eyes flicking between Cris and Ari as he considered his next move.

He shifted his weight and made to lunge towards Crysilla, only to vanish, appearing again behind Ariadne.

Ian blinked. Kaniy?! Which meant Nerad was still around, as well...

Ian forced himself to sit up, getting to his feet shakily. He didn't know what to do; could he fight? Could he do anything? Or would he just be in the way? But he couldn't just sit there and let Ari and Cris do all the work! That wasn't right!

He groaned when his body burned, his shoulder searing against any movement as his head seemed to spin. Damn it...Shyen, where's my father?

He's in Athanasia. Are you okay?

Shit! Get him here! Now!

With that command passed, Ian focused some of his magic - as much as he could physically muster - and slammed Kaniy with it. It was enough to knock him off his feet and send him across the room, but not enough to stop him.

"Ian! Stop trying to fight!" Ari shouted, going after Kaniy.

"Don't tell me to stop, Ari!" he snapped back. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while you risk your life for mine!"

"Ian!"

Ian hit Kaniy with telekinesis again, even harder than before.