Up in his room Namor is discussing with Tristan how many men to bring over preliminarily until this threat from the coming army when the herald walks in to ask why he was summoned, Namor gives him instruction to gather some men to help him carry Elanee’s things into the room across the hall from him.

“Did she asked this to happen Namor?” asked Tristan

“No but it’s time that she and I got closer” Namor said back

“In what way; she is already at your side most of the day consulting with you,” Tristan said

“Time to move things ahead” Namor stated and sent away the herald

Rain was working on some last minute things when the herald came in the door telling what he was told by Namor, and not questioning it one bit Rain lets him carry on.

Not long after Elanee is told what transpired when she went to her room in the guardhouse to find it empty and when she reported a robbery is when the herald told her.

Marching up to Namor’s quarters she stormed in

“Namor, what is the meaning of this?” she protested “You don’t just make the decision to move my stuff without consulting me first”

“I thought we had talked about this before and you were ok with it then, I just moved things along, do you want everything put back Elanee?” he asked

And sighing a little she said “no everything is here now already, I just wasn’t ready yet but if I stalled I might never be, wait how did you get the stuff out of the guard house, someone had to be there to give you permission?”

Interrupting the herald spouts out Rain let him in and even got some more hands to help.

“He did, did he” and thinking for seconds getting madder she excused herself from Namor’s room and went to the training grounds, with Namor housing a big grin on his face “She’ll be mine yet” he said to himself.

Elanee goes out to the ring where Rain is finishing some summoned monsters off with his chain lighting spell and watching them sizzle and hit the ground Cloud claps

“That never gets old” Cloud laughs

“Nice job Rain” Elanee sarcastically smiles “Is that your encore or is selling your friends out the limit you like to go to”

“What are you talking about Elanee?” asked Cloud

Staring at Rain the whole time she barks, “I’m talking about having my things moved to the castle tower with out my consent”

“I told the herald he could, because I thought that is what you wanted,” replied Rain not even looking at her grabbing a wooden staff for combat practice

“As I told Namor just now, if that is what he wanted to have happen he should have asked me first not send his herald to do it on a whim” she bolted

And sparing with a common soldier while talking Rain continued “I don’t know what you’re complaining about he’s got everything you want in a man, money, looks and a silver tongue, god what more do you want, well maybe a little more muscles eh?” he finished with a small chuckle.

“My god” she whispered “How bloody shallow to you think I am Rain, I never thought that you consider me that repulsive” and stopping with a block move he looks to her with serious eyes “But I guess I was wrong” she said and backing up almost crying she turns to walk away

“Elanee wait!” Cloud shouts

“No don’t Cloud, I don’t want you hating me too” and she walks off, furiously Cloud looks to his brother

“Your dismissed soldier” Cloud says to the man in the ring and he gets out and leaves “Rain come with me, Now!” and slowly getting out of the ring with a show of fake pride he follows Cloud to the nearest building for storage and pushes Rain inside following him in Cloud slams the door behind him.

Moving quickly past Dawn and Alisianna who is watching Dawn learn her new cure and healing techniques they call to Elanee finding out what’s wrong only for her to reply that she need to get settled in her new accommodations, stopping what they’re doing they catch up to her to find out more.

“Do you mind telling me what’s wrong with you?” Asked Cloud to Rain

“Nothing” Rain deflected

“Then why all of this aggressive pushing on Elanee, she’s part of the team Rain” Cloud said

“She hasn’t been part of the group in a month” Rain reminded him

“Maybe not but she’s still in it regardless, wait are you jealous?” he asked

“Of whom” Rain questioned

“Namor” responded Cloud

“No” Rain defended

“Do you have feelings for Elanee?” asked Cloud

“HELL NO” Rain snapped

“Do you really find her that unbearable to be around?” Cloud inquired

“NO!”

“Then what the hell is wrong, Rain” Cloud blasted at him, and Rain loses his patience “SHE REMINDS ME OF MOTHER ALRIGHT!” Rain barks heating off on a walk finding a crate to sit on “All of her caring to me, words of comfort that try to get me to open up” Rain continues in a lower tone

“Rain I had no idea-”Cloud says stopping in mid sentence

“Well now you do” Rain says lowering his head “You have no clue…no bloody idea how this is, what it’s like Cloud, having demonic blood running through you…the hate…the raw energy of un channeled power, this stupid gut instinct I get, she left it to me and with no training for it…she left me with nothing but this as a memory, Elanee’s the same as she was…the stupid same good heart that won’t quit on me” Rain ends in a huff and heat of frustration.

“Rain, mother maybe gone but she is still with you, with all of us” Cloud comforts

“No! Brother you and me differ there” and quietly Straud comes to the door listening to the conversation a while “Mom is dead to me, I don’t bend to the faith of words that she is with me in spirit, I need proof. That’s what makes me an outcast in this family is my logic over faith” Rain explains

“Well that’s fine, you believe what you want but that still doesn’t help your cause in explaining why you hate Elanee” answered Cloud, and Straud being bombarded by Dawn and Alisianna behind him holding furious looks asking where Rain is, Straud shows them inside the building but tells them to hold their anger for a second and remain quiet until the conversing between Rain and Cloud is over, agreeing they wait and listen as well.

“Seeing her everyday brings that hate back to me, I don’t mean to lay it so thick but…”

“Brother regardless of what you want mother is here to show us the path we need to keep on”

“I don’t need the talk Cloud…I have no path like you and Dawn have laid out in light, mine is hidden from me with bushes of thorns…and I’m blind in the darkness, you two cast powers of healing and kindness, I hold only death and destruction to my grasp, mother was the only one to hold words that kept it at bay”

“Elanee seems to hold the same trait, I have seen her keep you calm as she takes the lashes to go with it…like I remember mother doing for you, Brother…do you hold care for Elanee, love even?” Cloud ended and Rain in a silent gaze stared to him, “I don’t understand, the fight our parents were in” Rain said back changing topics in effort of avoidance and for the time did Cloud not push on.

“The fact that she didn’t run, because if she would’ve they could’ve both been here today raising us like normal parents not dead and dust in the ground” finished Rain throws a bolt towards a crate blowing it up

“You know why they stayed” Cloud replied

“Yeah and it still pisses me off” says Rain turning away from looking at his brother, Cloud recalls a visual picture in his mind of what happened that day “You should’ve seen her Rain, her powers matched Colossus’s with equal stride, when their spells collided the ground shock thunderously like an earth quake” added Cloud

“Doesn’t help the fact that she was too weak to beat him, she still died and my only link to stability died with her” sobbed Rain and turning around with a shocked look on his face Cloud stared at his brother “My god Rain is that what you think happened” spat Cloud back at him

“Well if my interpretation is incorrect than please, correct me brother” Rain stated not backing down “Well???” Rain added impatiently waiting

“Colossus couldn’t kill mother Rain! She was an immortal” Cloud snapped

“She was what?” Rain said

“An immortal “Straud repeated having both brothers spin their sight to his slow entry

“How long have you been there…? Dawn, Alisianna” Cloud added seeing them trail to his walk with a different look to their faces…a look of sympathy “Long enough” Dawn said

“Rain” Straud continued and explaining that his mother was an upper level demon that used knowledge to subdue her weaknesses to all attacks against that were hurtful made her almost invulnerable, all but one the blade of her husband; the love of her love life that brought her to the good side through the eyes of another evil who helped himself along the way with helping her, Cloud then joined in the conversation with saying how she really died. Rain confused and having a gut wrenching feeling loaded with bad karma asks

“So why did you say that she died at his very hand uncle”

“I did it so that you won’t feel as hateful to your parents as you do thinking it was best, but I was wrong, I didn’t expect that you would revere them as fool hardy fighters that had no consideration for your future” Straud sadly sits to finish

“Your heart was in the right place Lord Straud,” Alisianna added

“I don’t think I’m worthy right now of the lord term, druidess”

“Well you are worthy of this uncle” and Dawn ends her statement with a kiss to his cheek and a hug “and you were only looking out for our clear headedness so we wouldn’t go at this with vengeance”

“I let my justification of how I preserved what happened get the better of me, and you all paid the price of my blinding arrogance, for that I am so sorry” Rain says standing up giving it like a speech

“While I accept the apology Rain were not the real ones hurting here” Cloud said and nodding his head with agreeance Rain excuses himself to go catch up with Elanee.

Having a brief moment of compassion Cloud states suddenly “There is one thing I don’t get uncle, you come here early with the judicator and arbiter to warn us about a pending attack and then start furiously into training new techniques and abilities but why and how did you know about the upcoming attack?”

“There is something I have not yet told you” said Straud and going into detail he explains that the legendary silver dragon Lalandra has agreed to allow us to set up our new enclave surrounding her mouth of her cave entrance but she has a favor to ask of first as a token of good faith. The eggs to her latest batch of young were recently stolen and knows were they are kept, but do to the Rasha holding arrows of silver dragon slaying in their possession she cannot get close due to if one arrow hits her anywhere she will die instantly, the arrows are identified by a wooden carving of the creature embedded on the hilt of the arrow amongst the feathers. Straud then explains that they wanted you children back for the undertaking of the mission but her seer ability revealed not only where you were at the time but the upcoming battle you were to fight, and the outcome.

“And what happens to us?” asks Dawn

“You don’t survive and the city burns to the ground,” Straud said not looking at them at the time “I’m here with Cynn and Maylor to change that outcome along with the elf army arriving tomorrow, and change it we will” Straud finishes.

As Rain runs up the tower stairs of the castle where Elanee got relocated, she is moving things around in her room when the door opens.

“Namor what are you doing here, we don’t meet for a couple more hours”

“Oh I know I just wanted to see how you were settling in?” asked Namor

“Ok considering the manner in which it was brought upon me” Elanee stated

“May I look out your window?” he asked

“Sure” Elanee said

And going over there she meets up with him to enjoy it and get some air, admiring the view he looks to her “The view is much better here than in my room” he says looking at her, smiling to him an uncomfortable smile back at him she continues to look out the window.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you look today Elanee” he says and backing away quickly and heading to fold some more clothes on her bed she changes the subject

“Well ambassador I’m sure you have a lot of things to do than sight see with me” and turning around to escort him out she is meet by his face following a passionate kiss laid upon her lips and pulling away for a moment she speaks “Namor please I’m flattered but I don’t think….(turning her head to the doorway)…Rain!”

With an uncomfortable feeling on himself he attempts words “Sorry for interrupting but could I talk to you for a second Elanee…in private”

“Sure” says Elanee and not seeing Namor move an inch Rain gesture with his head to talk out in the hall way, following him out she starts

“Um Rain what you seen in there with me and Namor…the kiss I never wanted you to see; I mean I didn’t want to…” and stopping her with his hand he finishes “Elanee you don’t have to justify your actions to me, it is I who have to do that to you” and folding her arms with some confusion she leans against the wall for him to explain. He starts from the beginning and finishes with the comparison to his mother with everything she has done for him, and talking through the hallway they make there way down the stairs to the lobby of the tower and she sits on a chair when finally Rain conclude his explanation.

“I see, so you always picture your mother when I am around” she questions

“Yeah” Rain answers

“Always, you don’t see me different a little” and hoping for a different answer she waits

“Well, you misunderstand I don’t visually she her I see you just flashes of what she was like in comparison to what you are acting like at the time and it’s very similar” he says

“Oh… well I guess I always wanted to be a mother figure, now I am one, just not how and who I expected to be for it” she says with a saddened voice

“And finishing what I needed to say, Elanee I’m sorry for all the hurt I’ve put you through” and taking a long pause with an uncomfortable silence he breaks it “Well I’d better let you get back to Namor, don’t want to worry him” and walking away she tries to think of something to put his mind at ease that she didn’t want to kiss him but could think of nothing to counteract what he saw; Elanee lets him walk out watching him go from her sight and goes back up the stairs.

Pushing Namor out the door of her room making up something that she had to take care of just to get him away from the uncomfortable situation he put her in.

Meeting the elves the next day Straud, Cloud and Tristan show them to their temporary area where they will be staying and through the first night they are welcomed by a big celebration to commemorate their arrival, everyone goes except Rain who again sits on a hillside to watch the action in private, Artanis knocks out a guardsman to get a dance in with Dawn but when caught by Cloud is told after the dance to leave from there immediately. Letting Tristan set up some guard watching duties for a couple of days Dawn, Cloud and Rain are woken up early one day with Cynn, Straud and Maylor at their sight Alisianna goes back to train a little more with the elders of the woods as the days to the battle near closer.

The first to be trained is Rain and Cynn takes him to a remote location outside the city,

“So what am I learning today, lifting things with my mind, or turning someone to dust instantly, oh or maybe flying am I getting closer” Rain asked kind of excited

And laughing a little she turns to him, none of those Rain those are upper mastery powers that you need a little more time to learn and even I don’t know them completely yet, but there is one who does”

“Colossus” replied Rain and nodding her head she continued

“And that’s why we have to get you prepared as much as possible and finishing the sentence she summoned a sword to her hands

“Whoa!, what is that” Rain said shocked

“This is called a meta-blade or a sorcerer’s sword; it is a material reflection of your power and can be used as such”

“But I’m no fighter how will that help me in a battle with a sword master” asked Rain

“The blade is a symbol of the power you posses Rain, the stronger of a bond you have with your magic in you the easier it will be to use your sword like you have been training with it your whole life”

“Ok how do I conjure mine?” Rain questions

“Just concentrate on what you would like to represent you” Cynn finished and Rain then closed his eyes for a moment, thinking deeply he felt his power gaining strength inside him and feeling very warm he felt something appear in his hands, looking down and opening his eyes he gazes at the blade that would in the future be his metal might in battle and with a confused look on his face he looked to Cynn again.

“Why did I get my mothers blade in my hands again I left it over th..” Rain stopped in speech looking to where it was, he focused to the grass where his mother’s blade rested to see the grass flatted where it was, and smiling to him Cynn comes closer

“I thought this might happen, your mothers blade is part magical and can be used as such a blade, and holding it at eye level Rain feels the hilt staying warm like holding his hand over a fire from a couple feet up In the air

“The warmth you are experiencing is the power you have in you being channeled through the blade Rain, now it is at it’s normal potential, now lets do some drills to get it familiar to you, remember the blade is part of you, you only need to imagine that you are blocking an attack and you will do so, If an opponent is stronger by physical ability then don’t be troubled; for your magic as long as you channel it through the blade will counteract and reinforce the strength you lack” ended Cynn and nodding with some certainty of what was just told to him they start some sparing.

Back in town in a building adjacent to the fighting areas where Dawn can see Stormguard soldiers and Silverspire soldiers fighting against one another for battle tactics, watching for a time Dawn then turns to Maylor.

“Ok so what are we doing here?”

Maylor smiles “We my dear are going to teach you a very special ability called a battle enhancement, you being a priestess can actually enhance the performance of a solders ability in battle by tapping into desire and will and influence them on a positive scale; in turn it will actually improve his fight ability”

“Too what?” she inquired

“What ever you are capable of granting to the barer, “Strauds wife could enhance a base soldier to the level of a veteran knight would fight at or also even Strauds level himself, he always hated losing to a rookie soldier when she did that, but that was only when they had a disagreement” and laughing a bit she calmed down and knelt on the floor

“But this sort of thing is Elanee’s department I want to tap into the minds of others” and trying a few times with no results shown, Maylor leaves and returns a few minuets later, Dawn then hears some laughing going on down at the ring and looking to the window she observes a young kid holding a blade against an overpowering opponent

“That’s not even fair he will be hurt if not killed, Master Maylor can you do something”

“I’m sorry child he went there of his own will” and turning from him to see the battle start Dawn sees the kid losing terribly, being hit from one side of the ring to another and blood starting to appear from his mouth with the added laughter from the Stormguard men at the small Silverspire rookie soldier. Dawn grew angry and closing her eyes had a light blue glow emanated from her body and the rookie suddenly and drastically improved his ability, not knowing what was going on himself the rookie continued to fight until he pinned the Storm guard knight to the ground disarming his sword as well. Opening them again she looked out to see him victorious and looked to Maylor, smiling he explained that her abilities are tied to her emotions and the stronger they are they more power the level of casting she can do. She then continues practicing the ability for the remainder of the day.

Out in the woods Straud leads Cloud deep into the forest and out of it again in to a clearing

“Are we there yet uncle” Cloud whined out in question stopping to relief himself for the second time in a bush

“Shouldn’t have drunk all that water Cloud” Straud said smiling back at him

“It’s a good thing I did or I’d be on the ground collapsed way back there” Cloud stated and looking to see Straud finally halt his strides Cloud breathes a relieving breath

“Ok this should do it” said Straud

“Do good for what?” asked Cloud

“For calling you mount” replied Straud

“Excuse me” replied Cloud “My mount?” he stated

“Yes with your sword” said Straud waiting for him

“I think that walking this distance has clouded you thoughts, this sword here is used for fighting and slashing and blocking-“

“And in the hands of a Paladin knight they can be used for mount summoning” interrupted Straud “Trust me, Cloud you can do this”

And putting his word blade into the ground like instructed he says a word and the blade glows green in color and fading away he looks to his uncle “See I told you it wouldn’t work” and smiling in front of him he tells Cloud to turn around, doing so revealed a brilliant and beautiful white mare horse complete with feathered wings and three unicorn looking horns that in a row went down the face, it was about nine feet tall and had a pure white mane over lapping down the left side of her neck, deep long lashed eyes and a perfect physical form, being engulfed by the beauty of the beast Cloud tries to explain some things about the miracle mount when Cloud speak up

“Chalice, her name is Chalice” says Cloud

“How do you know that” questions Straud

“She told me in my mind” replied Cloud still mesmerized and smiling he then explains to Cloud the horses ability to communicate through a mind link. As well Straud also enlightens Cloud as he mounts the horse that the link can also be used to guide the horse through obstacles and obstructions, and for the remainder of the afternoon they train Cloud with the beast riding.

A blast is shot through the air and hitting him hard he slams into the ground rolling several times before sitting upwards, getting to his feet he shakes his head back to reality and looks to her with a bit of intolerance

“OUCH!” Rain shouts to Cynn

“Remember that you can deflect spell blasts with you sword Rain” reminded Cynn

“I know I know I just wasn’t expecting that” said Rain

“You need to anticipate the move of your enemy if you hope to survive Rain, now I want you to show your partner ability to this weapon” and showing him what to do he hits her with an energy blast and stopping it with her own she speaks “This is called Spellbinding and holding it for a while she explains that it drains energy on a higher level and if to much is drained when in a defensive stance; the person your fighting could die”. Rain then gets a try at the defensive stance but proves to be much harder to hold against then the offensive one, Rain is told how to break out of it and when he does he is hit by the blast of her spell, being thrown into a tree he falls to the ground, Cynn runs to his side to check him for wounds, and getting him to his feet she tells him how to break out of the bind without being hit, then cautioned him that there are some mages and wizards that have learned how to keep an opponent in a bind unwillingly causing death forcefully. Nodding his head with understanding the risks they practice again until dusk.

Cloud was riding up a cliff side with a shale based rock for ground cover, Straud makes a motion to guide him up the side and Chalice slips, losing her footing she slide down the shale and has her back leg impaled by a branch of a tree, throwing Cloud off and falling to her side in pain Cloud gets up to rush to her side. Seeing what happened, Straud gets down to them quickly and tells Cloud to remove his gloves and lay his hands on her wound, doing that Cloud feels a warm feeling and sees the wound glow a deep bright yellow and seal shut with no visible scar even left. Straud then tells Cloud about the healing aura he can do to heal his mount and he keeps that in mind hoping that he doesn’t have to do that again.

Evening rolls around and watching her closely Maylor sees that Dawn has exemplary mastered the task shown to her and witnesses an extraordinary event, Dawn trying to hard was actually causing all the fights in the ring as well as the neighboring ones to increase in the fighting ability and at an alarming rate, he watched as she turned a bright blue in color and observed the soldiers operating a veteran knight level, holding this for a time she then collapsed to the floor unconscious and was taken to the temple very hasty by Maylor. She awakes in her bed in the mourning of next day with her two brothers watching over her. They smile at her recovery and talk at breakfast about what they have been trained at, going back at the training the next day and repeating the process for the final days before the fight.

Clouds darken to the spires of the Lazarus tower as Colossus grows impatient with his messenger gone longer than anticipated, finally arriving back a while later Colossus has brought before him two of Logan’s vampire lieutenants

“Where is Logan?” Asked Colossus

“He went to the surface. Lord Colossus” one replied

“For what purpose, I told him to stay out of sight,” said Colossus

“Well he was following Drakon and –“

“WHAT!!!” Colossus interrupted with a grim look on his face “He went to the battle”

“He said he was tired of waiting for his moment to strike,” added the other vampire

“Then you tell him…no wait” said Colossus and waving his hand he turned them into dust and let their ashes hit the floor, “I’ll tell him myself” and he walked out and back to his work.