Masked Resistance vs Aradian Tyranny {closed/started}

Leopold Thaertus

As I sat in my tree listening to the forest I could feel someone coming towards us, taking my leave of the rather boring company there was, I rushed through the tree branches at the speed of the wind. Suddenly, I recognized the familiar scent of Morgan like a sea breeze in a dark cave. I was hurt by his lack of confidence in me and felt the need to inquire as to why he was headed towards the resistance camp. I leaped from the branches and landed in front of him in a whirl of leaves.

"Morgan," I said removing my mask and trying to think of what to call him." My good man have you lost faith in me as a spy why do you come here this evening."

He looked up at me out of his hood not missing a beat, "I've come seeking my sister not your idol chit chat or news of their affairs."

"You think it safe to enter their camp?" I shook my head Morgan knew little of restraint he would kill rather than offer them mercy. "I must say this is suicide I forbid it lest you take me as your guard. If you refuse me I will restrain you, do not doubt the powers of Air." I looked at him with my best tough guy face but I knew he would see through it.

"Or," Morgan seemed to almost want to laugh at what he was saying," you could bring my sister to talk to me. She trusts you right? So why not?"

I took a long swallow, "Um, if it would convenience you my good friend just say the word I am at your command."

King Morgan Darkrai

Spoiler

*A sea breeze in a dark cave? I'm flattered.*

I thought it over with Kali. I hate to admit it, Kali, but I think Leopold's right. I can't just walk right into Their camp. It'll be the death of me if I walk in on my own free will. Any ideas?
Kali suggested, You could make it look like you and him were engaged in battle.
I hissed, Kali, have you lost your mind? In spite of my own strength, Ventus and Leopold together could send me down to the ground. Even with you, I'm still unable to defeat a very well-trained Leopold and Ventus.
Kali chuckled. You forgot that you're also a master in the art of lying. You have lied to those Rebels once when you got captured, you can do it again. All you have to do is make it look like you two fought against each other. However, you'll have to actually hit each other to make it convincing.
I wanted to tell Kali that I would never hurt Leopold, since he and Fenezari are practically my family. However, Kali wasn't known to steer me wrong at some point. I hated to do it, but I had to. I put my hand on Leopold's shoulder, then whispered, "Forgive me. What I'm about to do was Kali's idea." It pained me to do it, but I whipped Leopold in the chest with a jet of water.

Leopold Thaertus

Morgan's attack briefly knocked me off my feet but I took no time in countering. Before he could respond I had him wrapped in invisible chains of air. Before he could fight back, I took the moment to tranquilize him in a flash he was unconscious. I carried him in the air into the camp, I was unsure as to what Meredith's response, or that of other resistance members would be so I used what illusion skills I had to cloak him.

I brought him up to my ear he was still fast asleep but I hoped he would hear me, "This is fool hardy in the extreme. What she does to you I can not be sure of but I cannot stop her if she strikes you. By the way I'm sorry for being so rough and for what I'm about to do." I threw him roughly into the tent and followed myself. I briefly bowed before Meredith before speaking, "I present King Morgan Darkrai King of Aradia and master tyrant he requested an audience with you I apologize." I took this moment to make a wide sweeping bow of apology. "For having not brought him awake and less harmed."

Merry didn't much care about Morgan being less harmed. She wanted him beaten to the point he was talking to Death himself. Merry tried to pull Morgan to the bed but failed. He was just too heavy for her to carry. "I'll leave him there." She looked at Leopold. "What did you expect me to do with him sleeping there? Don't you see..." Merry waved him away. She was getting a massive headache. She almost passed out on the ground before Leopold caught her.

Leopold Thaertus

As I caught her I looked about her room and noticed that her meals laid untouched. Sighing deeply I laid her on her cot and summoned a healer. I tried to restrain my fury but I knew who had caused this. I summoned Ventus to my side to give him a simple command. "Find Anubis he is supposed to watch her well being. Tell him she fainted from not eating. I told him to watch her and this is precisely what I was afraid of."

"Leopold my dear friend relax do not be so furious Anubis has been worried about Meredith as have you. He can't command her to eat when she will not he can't force it upon her." He flew onto my shoulder and meddled with my hair using his wings. "You my young master, you are fortunate to have a spirit such as me not all are as fortunate as you. Anubis, much like Kali, is of a younger generation than Pellentesque or I they are still learning. So be not so furious with him he will learn from this I assure you."

Ventus's speech did little to calm me but I remained restrained, regardless the tent was filled with a gust as I let out a long sigh. "I hate all of this intrigue and deceit you know that full well Ventus. We aren't cut out for this like Fenezari and Pellentesque. I don't see why we can't tell them why they need to make peace. We'll summon back Uncle and he can warn them. If civil war tears this kingdom apart, nothing will be able to stop the coming darkness. We need them united."

Ventus looked into my eyes, "Pellentesque told me that Fenezari would be tracking Uncle perhaps he can give the message. We will need the greatest magic users the Abnormals even the Vampires must stand as one to fight this. Soon even those that are Abnormals shall have magic again."

Meredith/Anubis

The day the soldiers stormed the farm, it was a bright summer day. The trees swayed along with the wind. The grass to Anubis seemed to be greener than the day before. Maybe the rain helped it grow into a beautiful sea of green it was that day. The baby was upstairs with the maid while her mother tended to the gardens. Her long curly blonde hair kept dancing around her face. It annoyed her greatly but she was used to it. People have told her that she was beautiful with her hair loose. Her long red dress had dirt on it. Anubis knew John wouldn't care if her new dress was dirty. Anubis felt something inside his chest; a swelling of a sort. It was the feeling of love. Love for the family especially Adela. She was Meredith's child, her life. If she lose Adela, she would never live again.

"Ma'am, soldiers are approaching!" A servant yelled out the second floor window.

Where is John? Anubis looked around the house. He remembered John was in the field but the soldiers were walking on the only path to the fields. They have come for Meredith.

There were about 40 foot soldiers and 10 horseriders. The leader of them was on a white horse and was the only one to wear all white. "We have come for Meredith."

Merry stood up from where she was. Tell everyone to hide. Protect my girl. She told Anubis with her mind. "Who is asking?" She approach cautionly toward the door to the house. She was holding her garden shears in her left hand behind her back. "Who has sent you?" Anubis fled to the back of the house.

"Woman, I am here to arrest Meredith Darkai." The general hopped off his horse. "Our leader has ushered us to find her and we were lead here. Now, where is she?" He slowly approached her, daggar in hand.

"John, No!" Merry yelled as her husband charged toward the general, ax in hand. The General being highly trained, swiftly sliced her husband's throat before he had a chance to slam down his ax on the General. "No. No. NO!" Merry hollared as her husband laid dead in front of her. "Anubis, protect my baby! Anubis!"

____

Anubis laid in the field behind Merry's tent thinking about that day. He could not save any of them. It was by the grace of luck that Meredith and the other three servants survived. But as for her husband and child...He did not want to think about what happened after John's death. Meredith was undead; a corpse walking around, not thinking clearly. He tried to help her but he couldn't. It was Merry's choice not to eat or drink. At least she wasn't drinking alcohol anymore. Merry laid in bed in her tent while Morgan was pulled, in chains, in another tent. They probably will not do anything until Merry wakes up.

King Morgan Darkrai

It was too obvious to me that Leopold was more stronger than I was, even after years of vigorous training in both Water and Dark sorcery. I knew I was still asleep, but didn't have the time to dream. Kali was just sitting on the ground, almost like she was some kind of cat. I growled at her, Of all the ideas you had in mind, you just had to make me hit Leopold in spite of my protests. You know he's like a brother to me.
Kali reminded, You're still a brother yourself, Master. In spite of the fact that you two are now rivals, you and Their leader are still brother and sister. You wanted to talk with Baby Sis, so wake up and talk to her. Surely you are curious about why she didn't wait for you when you left for training.
I took a step back at this. Kali just had to bring that up. I left the house to train in Dark sorcery for five years, then come back to an empty house instead of having Meredith hug me and welcome me home. It broke my heart that she wasn't there when I came home. It was like she gave up on me, in spite of the fact that I told her I'd come back after five years. Why didn't she wait for me like I told her to? I promised her I'd come back. All she had to do was wait until I came home. I woke up, still a bit sore from Leopold's attack and bound by his chains of air. I found myself staring into the eyes of a jackel- Meredith's jackel. "You know I can see you. Whenever she sees fit, tell your mistress she and I need to talk like the family we still are. If you don't think I'm telling the truth, your mistress and myself are siblings. Whether she or you think so or not, I'm her only brother and always will be." I just laid there on my back, since I couldn't move without breaking eye contact with Meredith's jackel.

"I know you are her brother. She hates you for what you've done to her family. You had John and her child killed. You wanted to destroy her just for leaving. You are ruthless. Don't ever expect forgiveness for it will not come from her mouth." Anubis, finally, said after thirty minutes of silence. He scrolled out of the prisoner tent and into Merry's. She was still sleeping. He closed his eyes, not wanting to remember that day. The memories flooded his mind so fast that he couldn't stop it.

"Mammy. Daddy." Adela screamed as more soldiers stored into the house. "I want mamma." Anubis tried his best to keep the soldiers at bay but there was too many of them and only one of him. He was in the kitchen throwing sparks at the soldiers trying to storm through the kitchen windows and door. Anubis heard the window in the tiny parlor break. Suddenly the whole downstairs area was filled with black smoke and flames.

Merry's eyes darted back to the house. "Oh no." she said her voice cracked, "My baby." Merry could see fire throughout the lower area of the house. There was no escape but from a second story window. Merry stopped fighting the soldiers for a moment as she her her daughter's cries. Tears filled her eyes as a sharp pain perced her shoulder and kneecaps. She was in shock. Everything around her seem to go by in slow motion: Merry falling to the ground, the General's foot on the back of her head so she will not move, her daughter's screams subsides as the flames engulfed the entire house, and Anubis killing the general with his claws.

"Merry, Merry" Anubis awoke her from her deep slumber in her tent. "Morgan wants to talk to you. I suggest go get it over with." Merry put on a trenchcoat before leaving her tent and heading toward Morgan's.

King Morgan Darkrai

I tried to get up so I could see Meredith eye-to-eye. Hearing her jackel accuse me of killing her family didn't make any sense. Ever since I took the throne from the old Earth sorceror, I sent soldiers to look for Meredith and bring her to me alive. I never said anything about killing anyone. I looked at her straight in the eye.
Kali commented, She looks like she's going to kill you.
I asked, "Why did you leave when I told you I'd come back?"

Merry couldn't look into Morgan's eyes. "I had met someone, a young peasent man named John Sebastian. I despised him at first because he had the audacity to approach a noble like me yet I was flattered that he was brave enough to do it. He confessed his love in the middle of the markert area. I turned him down.

"John....He..um..h.." Merry stopped for a moment to stop the tears from falling. "Joh...He courted me for awhile. He was persistant. He would not give up no matter how harsh I was to him and no matter what cruel games I played on him. We would secretly sneak out of town and into the woods and just....just...watch the stars shine brightly while we talked about our lives and family." a smile broke on her face.

"He wasn't my first. You know, making love but he was my first love. Then, I became pregnant with our child. I refused to see him for three months. It killed me not to see him. It killed him as well. The councils and the townsfolks became suspicious of us. You know how they are, not before you're married. I knew some councils in the town wanted me out of the castle because if I give birth to a child, an heir to the throne, the council will not be anymore. But they succeeded. They drove me out of the castle. And so I married John and together we thought we would live in peace with our daughter."

King Morgan Darkrai

"But still, little sister, you should've waited for me to come home like I asked you to. You promised me you would wait until I came home from training. After five years of training, I came back to an empty house instead of being greeted by my sister. You're a Darkrai, my little sister, and our parents' daughter. I took your place in everything you did wrong and suffered most of our father's whippings and our mother's groundings. All those punishments I've put up with because your Wind power came late. I sacrificed myself every time you accidentally broke something with your power and those acts made me earn your respect as a brother and protector. Did you forget how I stood up to that bully who threw your dolls at you after breaking their heads off? I promised to get you another doll and I tried to make time so I could make that doll I promised you, but our parents were poor peasants as the both of us were before this happened."
Kali sighed, Forget it, Master. She'll probably kill you anyway.
I reminded Kali, Family law states that a Darkrai can't kill Darkrai kinfolk. I kept my eye on Meredith. "For the gods' sake, Meredith, you should've stayed until I got home. I've wasted thirteen years of my life searching for you because you weren't home waiting for me like you promised you wouldn't."

Merry diverted her eyes to the ground. "I told you. I was run out by some group of peasents and the council. They kept telling me it was because of my pregenacy but I know better. It was an excuse to drive me out and take over." Merry looked at Morgan up and down. "Obviously, you succeeded the throne without much effort."

King Morgan Darkrai

I smiled. "Remember, you and I both have animal spirits to call onto when we need them. I know yours is a jackel, but mine is a dragon. Without Kali, I wouldn't be king. Both our parents were murdered on my twenty-first birthday and not once did the king before myself had answered my plea for justice. I wanted the surviving marauders locked up and killed for murdering our parents in front of me. We still had each other after that." I sighed, my smile fading away. "During my five years of training, I kept thinking about you and tread on as I thought about you hugging me after I got home. Because you left without even a note to say where you might be, my heart broke as I thought I lost you the same way we lost our parents. Looking at you now proves to me that those years without me at your side has done you a great deal of pain and void of the fact of which was the one thing you still had and didn't lose." I was about to cry on this. "I just couldn't believe that you left when I told you to wait until I came home. Three days before my training ended, I sent you a letter to let you know I was still alive and coming home. When I did come home, that letter I sent you was on the table unopened. Why didn't you open it?"

Leopold Thaertus

I sat outside the tent meditating with Ventus on my shoulder resting. Suddenly my mind was filled with Fenezari's voice, Uncle returns alert Morgan as well as Meredith and prepare to move the Masked Resistance to the Castle.
I snapped out of my reverie my father was returning and apparently with news. It would be wonderful to see him but I knew it was dark tidings he was coming to give.

I got up and went into the tent apparently interrupting a family moment and carefully made a bow of respect to both of them, "Um...excuse my interruption but well unless we must air out everything here. Well Morgan Uncle is returning Fenezari told me to give you and Meredith both this message. He is supposed to be here with much knowledge attained on his journey. Fenezari told me little but he has been wandering for many years I doubt his news is without some measure of importance." I nervously tapped my foot afraid of how to say the next part. "He request you quickly resolve your differences and move to the Castle." I looked to Meredith, "he wants The Resistance their as well I will explain or situation to them if you would like so that you may get packed."


Fenezari Thaertus

As I once again became one with my body I felt the changes Uncle had forced upon me. My soul was calm but everything every cell in my body burst with strength. I could have run a thousand miles and never grown weary. I looked towards Delilah and quickly getting up form my meditative pose I picked her up and hugged her tight shocking her. It had taken me almost a one-hundred years to find Uncle in the spirit realm while no time had passed here. "Delilah, Uncle Bran is returning he has told some many things some wonderful and some terrible but he will share all once he arrives. He told me why the Abnormals do not have magic and that he has found their magic once more. Go gather your Fellow abnormals and prepare for his arrival."

Delilah looked at me dumbstruck, "Fenezari what happened to you have changed?" I looked at her puzzled.

"Why what do you mean?" I strolled over to the mirror in Morgan's room and stared in awe for a moment. I let out a peel of laughter that sounded more like chimes than my usual laugh. Uncle was bringing back the old ways of magic in more senses than one. My normally brown hair had become a startling white with shimmers of blue and red randomly traveling through, it my clothes had turned white as well and were shifting with hints of red and blue. my eyes seemed to glow and took turns between seeming to glow like fire and like the lights reflected from the sea. "Delilah it is still I but Uncle's old magic has touched me I am changing as will many that are like me."

"What do you mean," Delilah looked afraid and confused. "There are others whose forms will change?"

I looked at her and nodded thinking of how to explain, "Delilah you know how their are four basic elements of magic Fire, Water, Earth and Air?" She nodded, "then there is Darkness, have you never wondered why unlike the other elements it does not have a balancing force such as the magic of Light?"

She looked at me appearing even more confused, "What does this have to do with you glowing."

"It's the magic of Light many of it's users glowed as I do and many of the immortals knew this magic well. It was once common to see a Light magic user on every corner. But then, something happened a corruption if you will Light magic users started loosing their magic and taking that of other magic users draining them dry, the were the first Abnormals. Dark magic users were suffering problems of their own as well they began to go mad attacking those they love their magic turning against them. Magic had lost part of it's balance Kali was to be the heir to this Dark magic that is how Morgan has remained sane. But, she may soon slip as well Uncle is returning to tell us of the solution."

Delilah looked at me observing my new form and with a chuckle said, "I hope I can control how brightly I glow better than you."

Merry waited for Leopold to leave Morgan's tent before saying, "I never seen a letter from you." She walked out of the tent, blonde hair becoming loose in the process. She went into the area where most of her men and women were laughing and joking amongst each other. They stopped and stood as she approached them. She finally for the first time in a long time, took off her mask, revealing her identity to her warriors. People gasped. They knew Merry's face. There was a reward for her capture made by the council years ago. For a moment, all was quiet. Merry's eyes glanced from one end of the crowd to the other. Merry was tired of hiding who she was. She was tired of hiding her face.

"We leave at the break of dawn. So rest." She turned away from the crowd to go back to her tent. "One other thing." She glanced back. "You shouldn't even be celebrating."

Anubis was in her tent. "Today is your daughter's 13th birthday."