FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 19: Arising lights.

"Hey." A voice arose from the morn, the shadows and grips of sleep still held Hato within his rest. "Wake up." The sudden cold shock of a frozen paw shook Hato's shoulder, causing him to stubbornly groan.

"Serviath, it's hardly light out."

"I need to show you something."

"You know I had a late night." Hato bitterly stated as he felt something tug his tail.

"Stop being such a puppy, it's the last time I can show you this."

"Alright." Hato said with a sluggish rise and a tired eye.

"Okay, follow me." Serviath urged Hato on as he struggled to get some clothes on, and followed Serviath outside the odd barrier.

"Up here." Serviath called out, waving a hand as Hato slowly trudged along and up the hill towards him.

"Okay, what's so special?" Hato looked out to the horizon of trees, swaying gently within the darkness of the dawn as the sun began to breach the heavens above. Like a rock striking a pond, the barrier a lit with the soft sight of darkness, the light of the sun diverged as it pressed it's warmth upon it, allowing, for the slightest of time, the rest of the forest to seep through, the light diverging itself across the water-like substance and creating the illusion of color. They spanned fourth, bright as the dawns sun, but gleamed and wavered like moonlights glow. A marvel that baffled Hato as the streams seamlessly interchanged and mixed as what he saw in the distance made him freeze. A banner died down from the winds, hovering off in the distance only to let the light mist of the morning fade away to reveal the tips of a tower of stone. The mountains further off were covered with snow, though the trees here were still an evergreen of emerald and, at times, the light shades of gold, brown, and amber. The transition between forests were what made Hato's heart stop as the colors vibrantly singed the trees around with their own blaze of unique masks and shades. Within the bewilderment Hato felt something wrap around his chest, and draw him down to the soft, almost warm grass below. Serviath's muzzle pressed gently against the top of Hato's head, his grip softly tightened to embrace him further. For a moment, and one small simple moment, Hato felt why he was so close to Serviath, and almost believed at that moment that he could have fallen for him again. Hato knew one thing for certain, and that was the fact that when he first met Serviath, Hato felt that he was a complete stranger, regardless of all that had transpired from his awakening.

"What is it?" Hato felt almost foolish asking such a question, as a cherished red had shot down along the outside of the orb.

"I don't know myself; I almost believe it's a fault in Livrythi's spell. This only happens when is just at the right point, and it stays for only a few minutes." Hato remained silent from there, looking out upon the world with a mind still filled with confusion. As long as he lay here, the more time he had to think, and this disrupted his attempts for a peaceful and relaxed moment.

"Something wrong?" The perfused concern almost drove Hato's peaceful feelings back into him; Hato was still as confused with himself as he was with Serviath.

"Where did I first meet you?" The question made Serviath go quiet at first.

"An inn quite the ways from London, I remember you were speaking with what looked like a priest or a bishop, you yourself was dressed within the clothes of the parish. As to why he was there, you never told me yourself. At first I believed that this was some trick, but it soon transpired differently once you told me that you needed help with... Kiyoko? I believe that's her name. You said something about bandits or slave traders attacking their caravan or travel group and that she was last seen near the town. I would have offered to help, but I myself was busy with my own quest."

"But, how is Kiyoko here? I- I mean if -"

"You have forgotten everything haven't you? Well what I heard from the Town of Hallinth was that you had saved her yourself, some farmer's spoke of her screaming or being struck or you witnessed anything like that. Whoever survived stated that a demon overtook you, or they described something along those lines. She then ended up in London after you two got separated and at that time was found as a 'runaway slave' and was put under the care of another trader. I was already with the Rangers group back in London, following Goris when he paid for her, stating he always needed a cooking apprentice."

"Wait, you said something about a demon?"

"Yes, they spoke of your eyes going bloodshot, your look ravenous; the creature used its own claws to tear into everyone and anyone." Serviath interrupted with a small nervous laugh. "I myself haven't heard of such a thing, hell, they couldn't even describe what the creature looked like, but they did say it didn't use magic's. They said it summoned energy from the ground, the trees, the grass and flowers, as if whoever attacked them was using some variant of casting or black magic." Hato gave an uneasy look and stood up, if what he remembered seeing during his time asleep, this demon he'd been seeing every now and then is true, would he be able to control it. All the thoughts pounded against Hato's skull as Serviath stood, as if believing something was wrong.

"I'm fine Serviath." Hato reassured quickly, giving a smile, a hug, and a small tender kiss, before the sounds of laughing came from the forest.

"Who's there?" Serviath barked out, drawing his blade as Hato stared at it for the first time. It was a single-handed sword, double edged with a handle that had a red, silken woven fabric. Oddly, it didn't have a tip. Never seeing such a blade before, Hato realized he left his own sword back at camp.

"Calm down now Serviath, I knew you acted all protective of him, but I honestly thought you were joking when you meant that you swung that way"

"Damn it Kieai! You can't just sneak up on people like that." Serviath sheathed his blade, and crossed his arms with an annoyed look.

"Hey, nothing wrong with a little curiosity now and then." She shrugged it off, giving a small chuckle and a sly look.

"Well, curiosity kills the cat." Serviath responded, watching as she passed a small laugh.

"And how over-used is that phrase?"

"Not enough in this case." Serviath responded again.

"Whatever, we need to get moving, everyone's starting to get ready to make the final stretch to Castle Fairike." In the oddest of sense, Hato remained dead silent letting the two quarrel a bit before they all walked back to camp. Kieai walked a bit further ahead than the two of them, a smug look on her face as if she was more than willing to blackmail them if she wanted to. Walking back, Hato had a further chance to speak with Serviath.

"About last night." Hato oddly felt out of place as he brought the topic up.

"Yes? Is anything wrong?"

"No, no, I had fun, a lot of fun. It's just won't anyone be able to... I mean..." Hato stopped to think for a moment, the sudden flashes of his dream pounding his skull further.

"We haven't cleaned yet, won't they be able to catch onto our scents? I mean what will happen if they find out?"

"The Rangers? Jeaz is that what you're worrying about?" Hato nodded yes, a bit of a nervous feeling starting to breach. "Puppy, there's no reason to fear anything, at worst there would be a few jokes. The only militaries that ban our 'interests' are London and Hovishira. Tishkia has always been free and lenient on everything, the irony is that our military is more disciplined than the both of them put together. We unite our strengths and weaknesses, we are like a brotherhood, and we're all like family. Hovishira looks for perfection, and London spends more time developing everything than taking part in any wars. You'll be fine." At that moment, Hato looked at Serviath in a different way, before he was seeing him a bit too blindly and now everything was slowly starting to come back. Most of his past was still hidden from him though, lost within sands and carried off with the winds that now wanted to spiral around all of them as the group began pushing on through the forest. Beauty had surrounded them, flooded Hato's mind with a familiar naive wonder, as the face and voice of his father breached through. A tone as deep as thunder, but warm as a summer's day, and as quiet as autumn's night. The sudden thoughts made the world around slow down, and Hato could finally think clearly. As memories of the streets of London filled his mind, so did her. Kiyoko still left a mark, even if here she was nothing more than some slave, the rainy night that she kissed him, the panic he felt when Hato remembered seeing her cuffed and chained in front of a slavers caravan, and the joy he noted when he discovered that a Ranger had paid for her. A mixture of faces and personalities arose, all of that ending with the face of an older dog, cloaked and dressed as the father of a Geshian church, or at least it seemed. With a careful eye Hato remembered seeing a sword hidden underneath those robes, but he soon discouraged his suspicions, after all, he could believe that clergymen could take such a drastic action, especially in these times.

"Hato?" Serviath almost had to wave his hand in front of him.

"Hmm?" Hato responded, catching himself standing in a hidden trail ensnared with roots and trees.

"You've been spacing out for the past hour and you're falling behind, are you okay?"

"I'm fine; I'm just trying to remember some things." Another reassuring tone came from Hato; it seemed that he caught the attention of more people than just Serviath. Kiyoko stood further down the path, her tail was low as it normally was and she almost seemed concerned herself. Standing with a mild confusion of silence and curiosity; Hato's large satchel was slung over her shoulder, his quiver carefully hung as she was carrying his bow.

"I- Is Master Hato okay?" It was the first time she had spoken in a long while, and all that went through Hato's head was the question why she called him her master. Hato was a bit speechless, remaining silent as Serviath responded quickly and politely to her, before dismissing her to check on the rest of the group.

"She... Why di-" Serviath held his hand in objection, giving a small curious look himself.

"Even though I stated that Tishkia is lenient, they are very, very strict with slaves. Most die in the first couple weeks, and there's nothing to stop it. If they knew that you were willing to even try to view her as equal; they'd rather kill you both than allow that to happen."

"But that isn't right."

"It's true, and unfortunately your friend was caught in the middle of it. She'll get out I'm sure but for now she's playing an act, and so should you if you want to save her."

'But I'm not - She's a friend I can't just -" Serviath interrupted once more.

"You're going to have to; it's not the worst thing, just try to remember that it's for Kiyoko's well-being... I remember you saying that you'd try to help her find her family again, and that you'd try anything to find them. You're one odd figure, I won't lie about that." Serviath gave a kind smile and Hato greatly appreciated it. Dust slowly began to rise up from winds far in the distance as the group quietly travelled on further and further away from them.

"Come on, we have to catch up." Serviath bolted up ahead, catching up quickly with the group as the sounds of a howl stopped Hato for a second, allowing him to listen to the cry in a full ear, before trudging on forward, wondering why such a thing would happen mid-day. Hato had kept an attentive ear for any more of the calls and none arose again for the time it took for them to travel further. Suspicions still arose in the back of his mind; the thoughts of darkness still clouded his head whenever the name Fairike arose from the silent, though talkative crowd. At some point Hato saw Kiyoko walking by Goris, who seemed to have acted more polite around her, though still quickly dismissed her with hardly a word further.

"Kiy!" Hato had called out, hardly spending a moment to say her full name. It caught her attention in a heartbeat, getting her to step back through the group.

"Master Hato, is there anything you need?" Her voice was alien to him, it sounded so false though she did seem happier now that she was speaking to an all too familiar face. A small pair of eyes stared back, content with their travels and watching as if curious that something important was happening.

"Yes, I must ask, did you retrieve everything from our last campsite?"

"Yes sir, I've gotten your bag and all your supplies sir."

"Good, see to it that you can assist these people if they need it."

"Of course sir." She hardly said a word more and proceeded on walking with the crowd, carrying out tasks for people here and there. The walk on became silent and a little while after mid-day, and Castle Fairike now visible on the horizon the group stopped for rations. A river coursed by their site, and hardly a little while a ways was a reserve of water, fed by a river higher up on the cliff side not too far off. Still being a few hours from the castle, they were following the eastern side of the mountain wall, moving towards the castle at a gradual pace. Though it wasn't the towers that caught Hato's attention, it was the town wall that surrounded it.

"There's a town?" Hato spoke more to himself than anyone else.

"Yes young one." Livrythi made Hato jump a mile-high, even to his sensitive ears he still didn't hear him. Livrythi chuckled, looking back out to the ancient stone.

"The town has been deserted for almost as long as the castle has. Now we still have at least an hour or two, our scouts are out making sure everything is clear." Those words were like fresh air after weeks of mining.

"That's great." Hato couldn't shake off his uneasy feelings though - the castle seemed to loom, lingering over all of them with a devil's look. Its stone seemed all too familiar to Hato, and it wasn't from the hallucinations he had.

"Yes, now I believe this would be the best time for you to relax. It seems you are more restless than I thought you would be."

"Well I -" Hato tried to bring up the point that he hadn't remembered anything.

"No use in arguing." Livrythi responded casually. "Why don't you step out towards the mountain wall and get washed off? I'm sure that it will help you." It could only make Hato wonder why Livrythi was so insistent, but he was starting to remember how he usually acted and spoke to him like this. All of it seemed odd to him yet he kept it quiet and walked towards the mountains ahead. High above the mountain was the sight of steam, oddly rising up in wisps and swirls of clouds and the trees above. With a silent world everything felt calmer, clearer than it would before. As to why Hato felt so in place, surrounded by the wonders of the forest and the cold beautiful earth that flourished and grew so perfectly around him. Roars of a waterfall preached to him, the steam from the mountains now covering the forest with a light film of water that's when Hato reached the base of the waterfall. It seemed to rise up further than the trees, gallantly falling down with a light crash, churning with every spiral of stones on the mountainside and gently falling into the reserve below. Taking off his soft woolen shirt, Hato took a moment to feel the spray of warm water on his bare fur the feeling causing his tail to gently sway left and right. What appeared to have been a whisper caused his tail to die down and his ears to perk up, listening to the cold breeze caress the leaves leaving a silent crumple to linger in the wind. As Hato stripped away the rest of his clothing, he folded them and placed them on a dry rock nearby the water before stepping in - the warmth almost unnaturally comfortable. Silence enveloped the world around him and he closed his eyes, letting the hotter water consume and ease him. With the silent teases of the wind, a chuckle arose from nearby.

"You comfortable?" The voice was in a language hardly recognizable and it made him spring into action forcing him to look left and right. "Up here." Above him was a sturdy branch with a black-robed figure sitting as if portraying a feral dog. The hood resembled the symbol of fire, a small slit way showing the bright blackish-yellow eyes to stare at him from the shadows. The robes were long, reaching down to the feet and rising halfway to meet a fairly thick black belt. Across their shoulder was a black sling holding a handful of small silver throwing knives from the shoulder all the way to the waist. They spoke further within the language too quick at first before giving Hato a thoughtful look. Staring at them, Hato noted the upper part of their robe cut off at the biceps, allowing for the sight of a tighter black cloth underneath, which reached down, ending in cuffs at their hands.

"I - I'm sorry I can't understand your language well." It appeared that they didn't understand English at all.

"You know that I don't understand English very well Angel."

'Angel?' The sudden thought came along, and it left Hato in a puzzlement that almost seemed to make them annoyed.

"Don't you remember your own brother?" Hato was still speechless, unable to speak their language but finally able to understand it a bit more.

"It's me, Sylcion Silver... How could you forget?" Hato shrugged, staring at the strange male grasp the branch and hang upside-down from it, getting a closer view of him without getting near the water. "My apologies, you know I hate water... Or do you?" Hato stuttered on, grasping for any memory or fragment he could remember of this person. Nothing arose. "God... I take the next few months searching for you after you disappear and now you're acting like you don't remember your objectives."

"What objectives?" The words finally came naturally as if it was the only language he knew.

"Alright I got the joke, you can quit it now."

"I'm not joking, I can't remember anything... What are you?" They went dead silent, any more of a sudden shock Hato was concerned whether or not Sylcion would fall off the branch or not. Syclion studied Hato curiously before nimbly moving off down the tree and landing as silent as the mists around them.

"We both are Liearin Assassins, we're the famous - well I think more infamous - Duran Brothers." A sound caught both our attentions. "I'll have to talk later right now, someone is coming here." With the split fractions of a figure appearing above the side, Sylcion casted down a blue crystal-like stone calling the term Yelminae and he was gone in a heartbeat. The steam and mist was disturbed, kicking up a blinding white between Hato and the closing form. Standing out of the water, He heard Kiyoko call out his name before it sounded like she fell right nearby and as the mist faded - on her hands and knees, she met straight in line with Hato's sheath. A deep-red blush formed on both their faces as Hato covered himself with his paws and Kiyoko looked away after a second of being startled.

"I - uh" She shook her head; her face blazing as if trying to get the image out of her head. "I'm sorry for bothering you Master Hato, Mister Serviath asked me to bring your robes to you." Folded - and only a little dirty - were black robes in her paws; almost the same design as Sylcion's but Hato's undershirt was a lighter (But still dark) greyish-brown, and Hato noted quickly that the separating at the midway of the robes to the base weren't there (Unlike Sylcion which gave the illusion that his robes split almost like the style of a fauld but only halfway down.) The robe was solid heavy robe, and it didn't have a hood or a hard-leather sling. Sounds of more footsteps came in the background, and Hato quickly retrieved his attire, dismissed Kiyoko, and got dressed. It sounded as if some of the rangers were coming down here, but their voices sounded younger than them. Hato knew that there was a lot of others in the group, he just never spoke to them or remembered if he had. They didn't look like rangers themselves, but more like pages for them as the walking group had stopped for the sudden moment of seeing the two.

"Oh." One had stopped, looking at the two of them for a moment. "I didn't know that anyone was here already... Are we interrupting anything?" The words were played with, making Kiyoko blush a little.

"No." Hato replied his hand gesturing with him. "We were busy sorting some things out."

"Oh." He darted a look to Kiyoko, passing a small chuckle with it. "I see."

"We were just leaving. Kiy, come." Hato turned back, giving a small smile and gesturing her to follow. As they left some voices came in the background.

"Hey slave! If you ever want to take a real dog's knot come talk to me!" Kiyoko's blush almost deepened a little bit and it was then that Hato realized that her scent seemed... Off. He didn't allow it to bother him and hurried back to camp with her. As the sights of their quickly made camp came onto the horizon Hato realized that Kiyoko's blush was just starting to fade away.

"Master, I should check in with Goris, he may need help with rations." A nervous smile arose, something that began to instigate thoughts for Hato.

"Alright." It was all he could say before she walked off, slow at first than sped up away from him, he stood in confusion before stepping into the heart of the group. Unable to shake the odd feeling of being watched; Hato gave a look around to the trees surrounding, wondering if he would see Sylcion again. Unfortunately that chance didn't come along, about an hour of nothing passed until he finally heard a set of familiar voices coming from deeper in the forest.

"- Of course I worry about him." A fraction of the conversation touched Hato; the tone was something gentle and sincere.

"You and I both know he is a Liearin and you and I know of their kind better than any other." Hato couldn't pick out their voice, but he knew that it growled bitterly at the term Liearin.

"It doesn't mean t-" A reasonable sound, Serviath's voice came from the leaves. With silence Hato moved forward to them.

"It bloody well does mean that! Regardless of your 'Relationship' with the animal, it changes nothing! Their kind depends solely on their instinct, they hunt, they sleep, and they rut like any other feral creature!" Hato could see the two of them, but the person Serviath was speaking with had his back to him.

"For Geshia's sake mate, I am one of their kind, and I've domesticated!"

"You can't just suppress instinct; even you still go through your heat!"

"Fuck you Livrythi." Serviath stuck his middle finger clearly for him to see. "At least I've learned to control it!"

"Why don't you go find that companion of yours and that bitch he is travelling with? Knowing her she's probably one of them." Hato stepped from the shadows, arising between the middle of them with a mixture of emotions brewing within him.

"Is something wrong?" Hato spoke as casually as his thoughts would let him, closely studying them both as he did.

"Your fre... Your slave may be from your mountains." Livrythi seemed to have played on the words slowly Hato could sense something big must've pissed him off.

"Will this serve as a problem?" His calm tone and relatively calm voice seemed to help Livrythi ease.

"It may. If anyone in this group knew she was from Liearia, she'd either be killed or end up raped. At one point she may go through her rut, it's common with those raised deep within the wilds of the land." The words echoed a familiar conversation arose from deep within his thoughts.

'What wouldn't they kill?' It came through the all the thoughts that plowed at him, but it didn't stop him from speaking a little longer and leaving off back to the group for final rations before stepping into the castle's town. The day's food wasn't too bad; just a few slices of bread with some rum or water and topped with whatever scraps they got from the days hunting. Kiyoko regardless of this supposed 'Liearin problem' still was busy moving and delivering out even portions of food to all of them. With sharp, watchful eyes Hato stared at her cross by every now and then, nothing more than a blur of white crossed with a blaze of emerald green forestry and sunlight from the amber stone that now burned in the afternoon's sky.

"So we'll step into the town tonight to make sure it is clear." A group of normal soldiers was talking silently behind him as a figure stepped up, putting down a small cup of tea, the steam still rising off of it. Looking up to a content, though upset face, Hato almost stood in question.

"Are you okay Serviath?" A scent, strong - slightly bitter and almost undetected touched his nose with its hot steam, the familiarity made his mind suddenly ease to follow the scent. Wavering in the wind, a banner of its steam pressed onwards towards the trees, as its light amber liquid stayed stiff and unmoving.

"Yes I'm fine." Serviath replied looking at him with what appeared to be a smile. "I'm just still a little upset with Livrythi." With first a peculiar look, Serviath passed another smile sitting down beside him for a brief moment. "It took me a long time to find the leaves to make that tea, but I know you love it all the same. I can't stay here long; I need to help Kieai with some more things." Serviath stood, nodded gently, and left walking through the almost silent crowd and at times Hato could swear it was quiet enough to hear Serviath's footsteps on the ground. Another pair of footsteps came sharply from behind Hato, passing by his right and with a sudden turn, Hato collided straight with Kiyoko who was holding some metal cups and plates of food. Hato was stumbled back as Kiyoko went straight to the ground, her face going straight red from the embarrassment and the mixture of loud and soft clatter from the metal. She almost appeared in sudden fear, a mixture of tears almost beginning to form.

"I- I'm sorry master! I - I wasn't paying enough attention." Before Hato could act at all sympathetic, a group of eyes stared all around them as if curious to his every move. By reaction Hato put a paw over his forehead and his head tilted downright as if he was fighting off the embarrassment himself.

"Ah, jeaz Kiy." Hato forced out a bitter tone, most people looked away to his fortune, but others still stared with sharp looks. Kiyoko flinched when Hato returned his arm to his side. "Don't let this happen again." He spoke with a rough tone, though to a trained ear, it could sense the sympathy and tenderness within it.

"Y- Yes sir." The tone; her voice made it appear that her fear of him was all too real as she stared down his pointed claw.

"Now clean this up, and resume your previous cho-"

"So that's it then?" A young voice arose from behind him and Hato quickly turned around to meet an oddly familiar figure. The page from before stood behind him, almost as silent as the eyes that now turned back to Hato, sharp looks studied his every movement. "You're just going to let this bitch of a slave get away with this." He looked out to the crowd himself, a mixture of different looks came around. Some were sharply prejudiced, others gave no care. "This slave... This bitch! Has been fucking a lot up since she got here! And it's all because of a lack of proper discipline and punishment!" Hato realized something real quickly. It looked more like everyone was starting to agree with him. Eyes seemed to cut like slate, and it made his fur almost stand on end. With a forced confidence, he cleared his throat and faced them head on.

"Regardless of your believe that I have been inadequate towards your standards, She is of my property. I will sort over her punishments privately and at my discretion, no matter your supposed right that you can demand anything out of any slave of mine." Kiyoko slowly stood to accompany Hato's side, a bit surprised and still in fear. He scoffed looking with a snob look.

"For Geshia's sake! All you have to do is hit the bitch!" He went to backhand her; the sound of a loud slap hit the air. Everyone stood with a mixture of confusion and sudden surprise as the noise rang out to meet everyone's ears, and even stop Serviath who was sent to investigate the disturbance. It was too easy of a movement. When his paw went to strike her, Hato stepped in quickly, grabbing their wrist with one paw and slowly twisting and forcing down till they were forced on their knees. With a small crack starting to be heard, they finally yelped out. "What the fuck are you doing!?" Hato tightened his grip and twisted more to let the small cracks start. A light almost seemed to glow from him, but it wasn't that sky blue he'd been seeing. A blood red pulse almost appeared out of the golden fur around his arm and at that moment he was the only person who saw it. "Alright alright fuck.... Please stop!" Suddenly letting them go Hato drove his foot into their chest, knocking them on the ground.

"Don't you ever touch my property!" A vicious snarl rose from him, the sound feeling oddly too animal-like. "Next time I'll be breaking your wrist! Understand me!" They stayed silent; their teeth slightly bore with a small snarl of their own. Turning away Hato suddenly heard a voice, Serviath called out a name; and everything was a blur of light, a reflection from metal touched the corner of his eye. Slowing the world down around him, instinct rippled through his body as his fur stood once again on end before he turned, drew his blade and swung. It went far, and the pulse was deeper, twitching every now and then as if forcing darkness out of him and he knew that something must be wrong. He forced his arm back more, right before his sword bit into flesh. They both stood, the page standing taller above him with his sword held high as Hato was just below his chest, his wakizashi to the far right. The reddened blood-ridden color was quickly replaced with the faint light blue pulsing lightly underneath his fur as the page dropped his blade and fell back to the ground with a silent thump. Hushed voices arose. "Is he dead?" Was one. "Did he kill him?" Was another voice that arose in the odd silence. A dark line formed across their chest, very slowly bleeding out and to Hato's luck it appeared that the wound wouldn't kill him.

"Y- You actually." They spoke in a shaken voice and with a shaking paw put it on the cut to reveal to them that they were injured. Serviath stood for a second at bay, almost scared, and even surprised from it.

"Kiyoko!" Serviath called out catching her attention in a heartbeat. "Get a doctor from the Rangers part of camp now!"

"Yes sir!" She nodded once and bolted off in through the crowd. Serviath walked up to both of them, Hato watched him grow nervous and conscious of his movements. It took Hato a moment to realize that he was still holding his sword, and he put it down as his own body shook in an odd unprecedented fear which Serviath noticed quickly.

"Aaron? You need to stay awake okay?" Aaron, the sudden sound made Hato almost back up a bit and at first he believed that he heard it wrong.

"Mister Serviath!" Kiyoko yelled out, running to him. "I- I couldn't find him, everyone said he left. So I got Livrythi, they told me to bring him here. He said that he'd be here shortly."

"Excellent work, for now I need you to find a long piece of clean cloth for Aaron's injury."

"Yes sir." Was her only reply before she was off again. Hato still stood, his mind suddenly blurred from the bewildering event.

"Are you okay?" It took Hato a second to realize that Serviath was talking to him.

"I- I, I'm a bit... Lost."

"Lost?" Serviath said in a bitter confusion.

"I - I need to talk to Livrythi about everything." Hato believed that it sounded right, his tone and the initial idea of it made sense.

"Yes, I think you should tell him everything now."

"Tell me what?" Livrythi appeared like he usually does, dead silent and startling enough that even Serviath almost jumped. In the background Kiyoko came running in.

"I'm sorry for the wait sir." She handed the cloth to Serviath without another word. He quickly went to applying pressure on Aarons injury, the cut wasn't as deep as it was large; casting itself almost perfectly from his shoulder all the way to his side. As Hato stood, his hands suddenly shaking as the glow slowly came back; Livrythi walked cautiously up to him.

"It is time for you to speak." Livrythi's voice was tender and without falter. "Please follow me." Livrythi ordered, or so it had seemed. The tone was quick and clear, and that made Hato snap to reality in a second. A feeling came deep from within him, a shiver teasing his fur with a light touch so violently placed Hato believed it tore him in half. Hato didn't know if anyone else could see it, as the fragmented symbol shattered a light blue across his body with the color as gentle as the bright auburn and bronze trees around them. Hato witnessed and felt the stream slow down, the sun casting a final ring of warmth upon the world, color wavered and light shadows danced in the wind and presented themselves broadly on the trail below them.

"What is wrong with you? What did you see?" Livrythi broke the warming feeling that did beat in Hato's breast.

"I saw a lot and none of it made sense." No matter his tone, Hato still sounded strange to him compared to what he saw and heard before.

"You aren't helping your cause Hato. You just struck down a Ranger apprentice; they aren't going to take kindly to that."

"It appears that they don't take kindly to much."

"That's why they are the best. They don't spend their time trusting traitors and following dead leads."

'Following dead leads?' The initial thought brought a small confusion to Hato, something that made him ponder broadly about everything. "Why are we here? Where are we going?" Livrythi sighed, looking at Hato with a little bit of sympathy.

"We all are going to Lord Shakshira, last anyone heard from her, she was in a Leairin village just past the mountain border of Leairia and Kalini. Things were going good, real good until you appeared."

"What did I do?"

"You claimed something, a dream you kept having about a light glowing deep within the mountains of crescent (Given that name for they are in the shape of a crescent moon.) And that they opened allowing a world to connect us all, but you spoke of a darkness that formed and shot itself into the heart of the land; destroying everything we all knew... Do you remember any of that?" Hato promptly shook his head no, a puzzled look on his face.

"I remember some names." Livrythi began looking around at the trees surrounding them, staring hard at some parts of the trees which swayed slightly out of proportion.

"Names? Like what?" Livrythi paid little attention, only focusing on the odd movements.

"What is the City of Fylakas?" Suddenly he and the wind went dead, silent as the leaves which froze in time.

"The City of Keepers is an old fable, nothing more than that." Livrythi spoke simply; a small chuckle arose from him.

"But what is it?" Hato tried again, and he went a little blank.

"It's a place in which those said to hold the ability to change fates lay. A place the world created in its own fear that the death of these people would change fate and destiny irregularly." Hato gave a ponderous look, thinking hard about everything else.

"What is a Kreotur?"

"A mythological feral creature said to be able to feel emotions and the emotions of others. It is said that their blood - their tears as some say - have the ability to heal any ailment." Livrythi paused for a moment. "I have a book on every myth that's been around, are you just going to keep asking me these childish questions? I am not your private scholar boy." He made a clear point; nothing Hato stated seemed to really catch his interest.

"Alright, two nights ago I had a different sight. What is Varien's bow?" That appeared to catch his attention effectively.

"How di- Varien is a god of death, he rules the hells and has a high standing within the god's court. His bow is an instrument that has been said he'd enjoyed to play when he was alive and in this world. His violin was used to play light happy tunes said to bring the mothering land peace, and all creature's prosperity."

"Could it bring darkness and insanity to the minds of these same creatures?" Livrythi looked a bit stumped, but also a little riled and excited.

"In theory I'd believe so." He chuckled a little more. "Varien has never done such a thing though child. Anything else?"

"A Caller, I remember during that sleep that it was mentioned."

"Oh, it doesn't mean much boy, in fact I've never really have heard anything about that before." He passed his own thoughtful look, a small squint came across his hood-covered face, and it made Hato curious how he'd never seen his actual form before. All that stood out to Hato was Livrythi's striped muzzle, that white strip that hid his brown-furred face.

"What are you?" The words made Livrythi burst out with laughter, a cheery kind to Hato's relief.

"Have you never seen a badger before young one? Oi you being put under for as long as you were has done something with your head all right."

"That can't be right." A long unsettled pause arose.

"Excuse me?"

"Everyone I saw in those visions, almost all of them and their names are showing up here. The only people I saw with any abilities or knowledge with magic or medicines was a villain named Fylakas, an unnamed bear, and a wolverine, they're all the ones that haven't quite arisen yet." More of a pause arose, more silent than the last.

"A wolverine? The only wolverine who has the ability of magic is Tiveris. His kind rightfully cannot, and it drove him mad and to insanity." Thoughts of his dream came back; the hooded figure that spoke to Kisherviria came to mind. Livrythi kept speaking on about some other things, referring to the fact that he'd never heard of someone with the name Fylakas. "- This bear you speak of is probably the princess Neives royal nurse, translator, and friend. Everyone knows how diverse the species in the mountains and deserts are, the ones across the main land are mainly canines, cats, and animals closely related."

"Where do you come from?" That stopped the older badger's rant.

"The Colhean tribe, we originate from the kingdoms further west, outside of Kalini."

"Why are there such a diverse number of tribes?" Livrythi paused to think of a way to explain it logically, his eyes followed off to the trees surrounding them once more.

"If I may stop you for a moment." Hato took a look around himself, staring off into the woods. "Assassin! Show yourself! I can sense your presence just as easily as I can hear you shift on the branches above." For a hesitant second, a figure wavered into existence jumping down to the trail below and landing silently, their cloak engulfing them with the shadows of the trees. They spoke in their language.

"Ah, damn Leairins." Livrythi looked away; Hato stared at Sylcion their face and form still well hidden underneath their odd cloak. He stared from head to toe at Hato.

"Why wear your cloak brother? These people don't take kindly to Leairins." Sylcion kept speaking to Hato, and he replied with a squint and a small shrug. Livrythi took another moment to look around before he too spoke to Sylcion in his language.

"What business have you here?" Hato picked those words out easily.

"I am here with my brother, my travelling friend. I needed to speak with him and I needed some things answered."

"Who is your brother?"

"Why the same figure you've been speaking with all this time." A silence arose before Livrythi stared back, his gaze almost murderous.

"You're an assassin!?" Livrythi barked out at him, his paws threw up past his cloak, casting a small wind of branches and small rocks around.

"Relax mage, we are not here to kill anyone and he's not technically an assassin, he just travels with me... Well used to. I was his tutor, until he left the mountain lands and went back into English air." Sycion's spoke so quickly, it almost made Hato confused from all of the words that were coming back to him.

"What did you need answers to assassin?" Livrythi asked in a sharp, bitter tone

"My friend's loss of memory, you see he was supposed to be sending a message out to lord Galiril in the deserts of Merciataea." Livrythi paused, along with Hato who snapped to look at Sylcion.

"Lord Galiril is dead, he has been for years." Livrythi spoke in a peak of interest and annoyance.

"Our elders speak differently upon that subject, we believe that if we could find him and bring him back, we could be able to stop the Galiril knights and seize Kishervira for the tyrant that he really is."

"Far-fetched don't you think?"

"The arrival of spring is coming; the Festival of Keirikia is starting."

"Keirikia?" Hato repeated the word, stuttering a little bit with it.

"You know the story better than anyone Angel, you always told the tale so boldly to the younger ones. Always wondered why you never had a girl though, most of them look for a male with good fathering skills." Hato felt his face turn red a little. "They also like one who's a little bit modest too." Syclion passed a chuckle.

"Besides the point Assassin." Livrythi interrupted.

"Please, names Sylcion. I'd love to be able to help anyone that my friend is friends with."

"We don't need your help, and the sun's going down quickly and night will soon come. We need to return to the group now."

"We need to find Galiril! If we don't, we fear that this year will be the last Festival of Keirikia!" Both Hato and Livrythi left, though Livrythi was quiet and calm, Hato couldn't shake the ominous feeling away.

"Tomorrow should be the day we reach Liearia's mountain gate, from there we walk on towards the Village of Leeris. The Liearin's main city if you will."

"Livrythi!" A Ranger came towards them, their footsteps were dead silent. "Have you reached a verdict?"

"Hato is indeed still useful and important; you'll just have to live with his violent act. Is Aaron okay?"

"The boy is fine."

"Good, now Hato get prepared and get your sword, you will be the first to step within the castle's town." Hato went dead; an uneasy feeling came over him.

"Why would you want me to go first?" Hato passed a nervous look.

"Clearly one who gets as pent up and violent as you would love to be the first to walk into danger. Consider it as a... Punishment." As all of them stepped back to the group, Kiyoko was standing with Hato's bag, his sword, quiver, and bow she held in her paws. Without a word she passed them all over to him and he put his blade into the empty wooden sheath that was slung at his side and tied the quiver onto the back of his black robes. Soon after he heard Serviath behind him, barking at Livrythi as he spent a few minutes explaining to him everything he needed to know. That's when Hato was pushed off from the group and started his way down an old gravel and dirt road that led to the town's gates. From the darkness of the night a torch was lit, a single light that waved and danced in the wind, casting flames to ignite the face of a shadow far off inside the guard tower, and Hato knew that if he wasn't in those robes, he would have been seen. Closer, and closer he crept towards the gates as a form appeared from the trees.

"Let me." Sycion hardly spoke, jumping next to him with his robe lightly pattering down the wind and sound around him. Pulling out another stone, Hato almost gasped as it looked just like the wisps crystal. "Uithias" he spoke them casting the stone towards the gates lock, and from there Hato heard the bolts lightly click and become undone. Looking around Hato noticed that he was already gone, but the wind carried his voice. "I'm sorry Angel, some things I am forbidden to assist you in." And as the large doors creaked open quietly and with ease, Hato stepped into the large dead-quiet heart of the Castle's market.