Sea, Shadows, Spirits [Job: The Storm Looms] (Akeya/Ruvel)

Job Description:

"So we meet once more, sea."

It sounded incredibly silly in her head, yet Akeya couldn't help but think that as she looked out over the waters. There was no sign of there being anything wrong, the waves gently moving towards the coast where it washed the sand again and again. The sky was clear, with a bright sun shining down upon the waves and lighting them up like glittering velvet. It was the kind of weather any sailor would be happy with, although they'd probably be happier if there was a steady wind to help them sail out. For Akeya she'd rather have the sky be dark and the moon bright, but she could live with this.

Looking at the scrap of paper which described the warning written by a lone seer Akeya frowned, still not sure what to make of it. It described a monster which was creating a storm to strike at Midi, but it didn't say anything about what kind of monster or how it might be stopped. The best the seer had been able to think of was to send whatever mages were willing to go out to the sea and hope they could stop the storm at the source before it grew strong enough to wash away the lands of the mysterious nation. Since the monster was creating a storm it had to be some kind of spirit or magical creature, since something of raw size and strength wasn't going to be able to create an actual storm. If strong enough it could form tsunamis, but while equally if not more effective that wasn't the same as a storm.

A boat had also been offered, but Akeya would have refused it if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't know for sure whether her companion and leader on this mission would be fine with swimming or not. While she'd been given the information about the job it'd come from her guild, Onyx Moon, and she wasn't going unsupervised. While she'd become a full-fledged part of the guild ever since she took on its mark that didn't mean she'd proven herself fully yet, so one of the Aces would be coming along and Akeya was pretty sure she was supposed to show herself both capable and possessing the right spirit. Given that Onyx Moon wasn't a guild of heroes she was pretty sure that the right spirit mostly consisted of 'don't cause trouble for the guild and do your best to complete any job to the best of your ability', so that was fine with her. That was her usual approach anyway.

All that said, there was a boat waiting for them if they chose to take it, gently moved by the waves as Akeya looked at it before looking away to the water again, a frown crossing her face as she tried her best to ignore it. She didn't like irrationality, but given her strong motion sickness she wasn't planning to go anywhere near the vessel if she could help it. Dragons and their descendants weren't meant to use those things. Seeing some sailors who were preparing to cast off themselves stare Akeya stared back at them, a neutral stare which was practically asking them whether they didn't have something more important to do, and after some shrugging they went back to their work. Midi was a place where many strange sights could be seen, both native and from visitors, so a humanoid dragoness wasn't worth the time of a hardworking man unless she had something to offer. Just as well, since Akeya appreciated respect but didn't care for gawking.

For now there wasn't much left to do but wait. The boat was ready for departure if her partner chose to use it, and given the nature of the job there wasn't a lot of information gathering for her to do. The threat was out there in the sea, and since it was of a nature which included the summoning of storms heading out there alone would be folly. Once the ace arrived she'd ask them what the plan was, and then they'd be off to go and deal with a stormbringer, whatever its nature might be.

Unless of course the clear skies and calm waters were a sign that the seer was hallucinating, and all they'd fine was a peaceful ocean.

Word Count: 729
Total: 729/8,000

It had been a few weeks since the job at Hargeon, however it had left the young vice president at odds with himself, his summons and the others within management since the ending of the job. This was to the point that he had moved from where he usually safely rested to where he now spent his time which had been more than a little eventful to say the least, if nothing else it kept him on his toes. Never the less what had come to pass he knew was barely the tip of what was to come for himself, Cirven and now Johann that seemed to have inadvertently been dragged into the drama of his and Cirven's past. He didn't understand why they couldn't just leave them alone, they didn't want the same things as them. Cirven didn't want to destroy the place to the best of his knowledge and he didn't want to be some sort of puppet god. Being that he sat on the canopy of the thick forest he looked over everything, he couldn't help but shudder but didn't understand why. It was warm for the season and time of day. "Why do I feel like this?" he asked himself quietly, he could have likely asked Shindara or Amuul but they would have told him that the answer would come in time so remained silent on that.

Since he had moved away from the company grounds to stay within this murky forest he had refused to go on tasks or see clients even when he had been personally asked for. There was far to much going on his mind and didn't want to yell at someone over something that he shouldn't be. It was safer that way right? However this day was different he had agreed a while back to go on a task with one of the companies newer members, so couldn't back out of it even if he really didn't feel up to it. 'Ruvel, it's time to go meet Akeya. I know this is a difficult time and likely there's more to come but you have responsibilities to live up to.' a gentle voice came to his mind, he knew this was Seiyuki and knew she was right. 'Thank you Seiyuki, I'll head out now.' He sent back through their bond as he slowly stood carefully walking over the canopy the trees made towards the agreed location "Do I really have to take a boat?" he asked as if to an unseen person as his speed started to pick up, he knew that this was dangerous for him given just how far off the ground he was and what would happen if he made one wrong move. This didn't seem to phase him as he continued to the edge closest to where he was going.

After around about an hour of running he slid between the higher branches to be below the canopy, from there he jamp from branch to branch till he was on the ground before a further forty-five minute run to get to the docks. He was surprised to see that his partner was already waiting for him "I am sorry if you have been waiting for me for a long time Miss Kuusai." he said respectfully his hand going to his chest a little as he leaned forward. "I am guessing you have found a task appropriate to your taste." he said as his eyes looked over the water before moving to the ship that was being provided for this task "Damned things..." he sighed a little smiling weakly "I dislike the fake freedom they give also being at the whim of the weather is unsettling." he admitted to the other, his eyes then looked to the sky "You may want to cover your ears if they are sensitive." he advised the other knowing his own hearing was as where many people who owned summoning magic. "I ssannnnhan thi nnh tshh gairrtiin flinness shaf rredirrtsh" he called out before covering his ears hearing a screech followed by a sonic boom, soon afterwards a 30 foot golden flamed phoenix landed knocking the smaller Ruvel back five meters, where he landed obsidian and glass appeared before he went to fetch his summoner chirping as he nuzzled him, picking him up and plopping Ruvel on his back before lowering his wing so the other may get on. "This is Bennu, he'll be taking us to where ever we'll be going." in honesty the young vice president had no idea as he had left the job choice up to the other.

Word count: 768

It didn't take too long for the Ace to arrive, Akeya blinking when the impressive magic power was represented in the physical plane by a little boy. It looked like this one went with the 'appearances are deceiving' approach when it came to power, although on the other hand there was still something... off about him. Akeya couldn't put her finger on it: it probably was the result of a young person carrying a lot of magical power. Either way he had greeted her, so the dragoness followed protocol and bowed back towards him.

"Don't worry about it. We've got plenty of time, since our client didn't specify when she thought the disaster would occur."

She nodded when Ruvel commented on the nature of the task. As a shadow dragon something people often didn't think about was that the sea was an ideal place to be. In the water there was an abundance of shadows and darkness as the deeper you went the more the light was blocked, and with the right preparations you could deal with the water pressure and the lack of air to breathe... and if you just stuck to being a shadow you didn't need to worry about either issue at all. While not her intended speciality it had resulted in Akeya being quite good at water-related missions.

"I never had the opportunity to experience being on a boat without being afflicted with motion sickness, so I wasn't planning on using it. Our client provided it in case we had need of it." Once Ruvel told her to protect her ears Akeya nodded and covered the fin-like portrusions on the sides of her head, watching the Ace as he called something out, followed by a loud screech and the arrival of a large bird of flame. Given the effect it had on the ground where its claws scored sand and stone it was safe to say she'd better not touch it, so Akeya took a couple of steps back while watching Ruvel get on, removing her scaled hands from her ears.

"If we're both capable of flight let's just leave the boat here. Our client would probably be happier if we didn't put her vessel at risk." She'd been planning to leave the harbour somewhat stealthily, slipping into the water while Ruvel cast off. However with the change of plans she focused, a very brief shudder going through her body before it began to rapidly change. Scales were replaced by feathers, her arms withdrew back into her body while her wings became more prominent, her lizard tail shortened and lost its flexibility. At the end of her transformation she had become a rather large kite, with a brown body and big black feathers adorning her wings.

"Truth be told we don't have much of a lead other than to head out to sea. Even with our client being certain that there's a disaster forming the best she could say was that there is some kind of monster gathering its power, but no clue to its location or which monster it might be."

Flapping her wings she ascended into the air, waiting for Ruvel and Benno to follow her before heading out to sea, using her large wings to carry her as she didn't know how long the journey would take.

"Given that there's no sign of a storm or other natural disaster forming I'm guessing that it's a monster capable of using magic. Anything big enough to make a seer fear the possibility of an entire nation being drowned using nothing but physical strength would have been noticed already. We'll have to spend some time looking around to see if there's a hint where the creature exactly is, although if we're dealing with something capable of summoning large storms our airborne position will make us easy targets."

As she spoke Akeya scanned the calm seas before them, beady bird eyes trying to pick up on anything out of the ordinary. So far there wasn't anything to see: it was early in the day, and closer to land there was fishing boats and some native birds. Further out there was just easy waves, reflecting the light of the sun and the phoenix... Although if Akeya glared at the horizon she could imagine that it was darker than it was supposed to be, on a clear day like this.

"Given the situation, can I ask how proficient you are in fighting above and in the sea?"

Word Count: 748
Total: 1477/8,000

Ruvel watched as the dragoness bowed back to his own greeting, it unnerved him a little that was for sure but he understood that certain formalities might have been a must for her like they where him. "Miss Kuusai, there is no need to bow to me. I do so because it has been drilled into me from a very young age." given he couldn't count he had no idea that he was still classed as very young so only went on what he knew. He also decided to leave out a few details as those were wounds that no one had to see and he was trying to hide and forget. He knew it was a part of him he would eventually have to terms with, but he was frightened of others finding out and with good reason; it put him in danger and given how close Crescent island was to Tolgalen it was not the best situation to be in for him. Regardless he still had duties and refused to let his burdens and past hold him back from improving and potentially have a better future, those that he was close to had told him not to worry about things that have yet to happen; that all a person can do is have a plan that could be used if certain things happened. There were all sorts of precautions and protocol put in place for many of his needs and potential threats. Though to be honest those who would come after him would also be going after a few of the guild members, so he didn't feel overly bad for those since it was for many peoples safety.

Regardless of all that he had to push it to the side and deal with the task at hand, with a silent deep breath he focused his thoughts before continuing to converse with the other. Hearing that there client hadn't exactly given them much information on the task made him worried, but still they had accepted to help and so would do so until whatever threat they were to deal with was dealt with. "That's worrying as the issue could already be happening or have happened." Ruvel started to wonder just how bad this was going to be right off the bat, but until they got there he knew he shouldn't really think of the worst set of circumstances. That however was hard given life hadn't exactly been kind to the youth. He tilted his head as he thought a little, he knew a little of each member within the guild even a bit about the types of magic they used. he believed that it was not only good for a smoothly running company but for the bonds that went through a guild such as theirs "Miss Kuusai, you are a dragon slayer of the shadow element if my information is correct." he said his voice inquisitive as he looked into the water unable to see the bottom "Does that mean that you are effective within deep water as well as on land?" he knew that of course water pressure was a factor the deeper a person went down, he just wanted to understand the limits and strengths of the others magic type.

Listening to Akeya and there weakness to ships, he brought up his left hand and scratched his cheek, he was trying to understand why. He doubted it was because of the same reason he disliked ships but was kind of embarrassed to ask the other in case it was something personal. It was kind of their client to provide a ship, being that they where a trading company however they should have realised that they would have had their own transportation. That being said the two had other ideas anyway as they had decided to fly. Hearing that the other agreed about leaving the ship behind as they didn't want to damage it that had sorted it. He could only imagine the amount of paperwork the others would have to do and then paying for a replacement, just thinking about it was giving him a headache and he wouldn't even be the one doing it. He quietly watched as the others form changed and found himself fascinated by it, perhaps it was something that he could ask her about at a later date as he was unsure if this was her gift alone or something that all dragon slayers were able to do. The more he observed the more he wanted to learn about this kind of magic, he could have went to the library and perhaps found out that way but there was an issue with that. He couldn't read and even if he could he believed that books could only give certain information, while asking someone who used a certain magic could give real insight to it.

Hearing the other had little information made it that more bothersome for the youth, the sea was a vast space and even if they split up it could take months before they found anything, by that time it may be to late to stop the issue. He just hoped that they would get lucky with whatever direction they ended up going. "I'm guessing it's one of those we'll know it when we see it situations" he said calmly hearing that they didn't even know what they were hunting, this job had just begun and it was already more hassle than he cared to deal with. Seeing the other take off he stroked the Bennu's neck showing him they needed to go "Bennu follow Miss Kuusai." he instructed his summon who screeched and took off with a sonic boom as was normal. Bennu kept close so his summoner could hear the other but made sure not to be to close as to burn her or affect her in anyway. "A magic using sea monster, just what we need. I guess it can't be helped." he commented frustration easily heard in his voice. "I have a summon who specialises in information gathering and as for us being targets in the air, we would have been targets in the water as well; so either way we would be at a disadvantage at least this way we haven't put anyone else at risk." His voice calm, the one thing that he couldn't stand thinking about was the unwarranted harm of life if it could be avoided even if it made things that more difficult.

Ruvel had been dealing with loose flamed feathers and blackened feathers that normally made his young summon sick, once again Akeya's voice was heard asking him a question about how well he could fight on and under sea. He hated fighting, he had seen to much pain in his life and didn't want to be the cause of it. Yet, he had been taught that sometimes peaceful methods wouldn't work, that fighting was needed, that during those times he wasn't going against his own belief system or morals for the greater good. "I've never fought on a ship, in the air or underwater... I've only fought on solid ground." he confessed, he knew he should feel like a liability or burden but he didn't; since his training with Cirven he had found he had an unusually steep learning curve and would be able to adapt depending on the situation. More so thanks to the diverse summons that he had. "I will be fine Miss Kuusai." his voice stoic as he looked finally at the darkened horizon, it felt unnatural and cold to him but he knew that's where they were headed.

Word count: 1'273
Total Word count: 2'041

Akeya raised an eyebrow as her superior told her that there was no need to bow, seizing the boy up as she tried to figure out whether he was being genuine or whether he was testing her. Most superiors would expect their underlings to display at least equal amounts of respect, but it didn't appear like this one followed that tradition. Maybe not too surprising, given that even if he was powerful he was still a child. It looked like she would have to study him a bit longer to figure out what kind of behaviour she could expect from him. "As you wish. However you don't need to call me miss either." She gave him a nod before turning her gaze out towards the sea. As Ruvel expressed concern about it possibly being too late the dragoness narrowed her eyes slightly, then raised one hand and tapped her forehead with a talon.

"It's a possibility, but I think it's unlikely that we'll be too late. Our client is a seer, and from what I've heard when seers are involved there's no coincidences or poor timing." The talon she'd used to indicate the imaginary third eye of seers dropped back down as she explained further. "I have little personal experience, but I've read up on foresight and similar matters due to how much of an impact they can have on events. Guesswork and mystery aside most stories appear to agree that aside from short term precognition seers will get visions if something important is about to happen and their influence is needed to steer the stream of time so it flows in the right direction." The books which discussed time magic and precognition were difficult to understand, and as someone whose existence was firmly anchored (like most things) Akeya lacked the innate talent. A struggle, and the amount of information she could take away from it was limited. "It might be that it can't be stopped and we are only here to influence how it will happen, or even as nothing more than observers, but I think whatever our role is we'll find ourselves to be right on time." She grimaced as she spoke it, unable to completely hide her discomfort. She disliked the concept of a predestined path, but there were countless examples of how everything worked out exactly as it should when prophecies were involved, down to the smallest coincidences.

"That information is correct." She replied quickly in response to the question about her magic. Not the time to have a discussion about the proper naming of things. "I'm actually stronger in the water than on the land. The deeper you go the more darkness there is, while here on land I'm reliant on structures and obstacles casting shadows." She stepped towards the edge of the water and looked down, into the murky darkness that obscured everything deeper than a couple of feet. "I've got some tricks to deal with the lack of air as well, which is likely why I was assigned this task."

She noticed that her partner for the job was the curious type, the way he asked about her abilities in the water and the way he watched as she took on the form of a kite. It was good to see a curious soul, as she herself was also the curious type. She just hoped she wouldn't be giving away too much: desire to know was a good trait, but anyone who wished to live a long live would also try to keep some things secret.

Once they were in the air and began their search for whatever it was they were supposed to deal with Akeya replied to Ruvel's audible frustration. "Indeed. A stroke of fortune, however: Fiore has had to deal with attacks from powerful magical sea monsters before, and documented information states that while such creatures can cause calamities their powers tend to lack control and precision. If we can find the monster and avoid being swallowed up by a storm we should be able to do something even in its territory." She couldn't think of a real counter argument when her superior stated that they'd be targets whether they were in the sea or in the air, so she gave a small nod with her bird head before resuming her scouting of the area ahead. Personally she preferred being in the water, but it was true that either way they would be running a risk.

When she heard that the boy had never fought on anything but solid ground before Akeya suppressed a stab of irritation, instead trying to think of the best way to make up for the lack of experience. The boy's magic was definitely stronger than her own, and summoners could be useful even when out of their element as long as they had the appropriate summon, but she'd still have to keep an eye out just in case. "Not entirely unexpected. Just try to avoid falling into the water: it's easier to be airborne than submerged while fighting." At least up in the air you didn't have to worry about being unable to breathe.

As they flew onwards the sky in front and even above them would quickly lose its sunny demeanour, first turning a pale gray which would then become textured with darker clouds while the temperature around them also steadily dropped. Akeya didn't think they were going to meet their opponent just yet, but it was clear that its power was reaching far and that they'd have to hurry. While the presence of a seer meant they weren't likely to be too late in the stories they appeared to always be cutting it close to the annoyance of whomever was wrapped up in what was described as a 'temporal choke point'.

Word Count: 968
Total: 2445/8,000

The member 'Akeya' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Ruvel knew that he was getting sized up, not that he blamed the other given how he had seen many other business and companies run. He smiled non the less trying to show her that he was being genuine in his request, in honesty such things made him uncomfortable and where it was needed when dealing with certain clients or with nobles. The reason behind that was something he kept to himself, in his mind the people that needed to know knew and further than that it was in his past. This was something he was working though even though it was slow, but it was something he kept from the light as it made him feel worthless and it hurt him badly. "Miss Kuusai, I speak like this as it is not only respectful but again has been ingrained in me from a very young age." he informed the other calmly as she told him that there was no need for him to be so formal, he couldn't help that as much as he tried but it was far better than what he would have called him several months earlier. As of that point in time he only called two people outside his summons by their first names and that was Cirven whom he seen as an elder brother and Rasparov whom he held a mutually assured destruction pact with but seen as a friend. He watched the other as their eyes narrowed and tap their head and tiled his own head as he listened to her words, it would be more than a little annoying if they had indeed been late.

He shook his head to her words when it came to seers, he had known a few within the facility he grew in and knew that it didn't work how the other thought it did. "When a seer sees something it is like a drop in the ocean, it sends out ripples and it could be one of several outcomes..." he said looking out over the horizon "The only thing a seer can see for certain is the method in how they die, something that I never wish for any of them because their deaths usually follow shortly after." his voice was calm but held a saddened undertone as if he had been through the latter at some point in his life. The smile faded as he spoke on the subject his eyes glazing over as if he was deep in thought about something, soon enough however he shook his head breaking himself free from his mind. "I'm sorry about that, I just..." he trained off not really wanting to get into it, it was his past and though nothing had happened to him on that occasion he had lost a friend to their own vision making it hard for him to think about. He knew death was an inevitable thing that came to all but he couldn't help but feel sorry for those gifted with foresight, to see your own death thus know how you are going to die must be a horrible thing to experience especially as it meant you were marked and it would happen most likely within the year of the vision. He watched as the other tapped their forehead and listened, he himself had little to do with it but knew nothing was absolute more so as they hadn't been given an exact time or location.


"There are many different threads within the time stream, we are only but one in several thousand potential outcomes." he said calmly but he had to agree that normally when they did see something it was important and so should be taken seriously, he just wished they had seen a newspaper or calendar so they knew the exact date; that would make things far to easy for them and like that was ever going to happen. This was a topic that he may need to look into more so he could understand some of his lost friends but for now he had to push that to the side and worry about the task at hand. He nodded to her words, he knew better than most that what will be, will  be and there was no point fighting it as it would accomplish very little at the end of the day. He studied the others body language for a moment and believed like many that had been born and raised free from what he had gone though. He had found that many believed that their path was theirs to walk how they wished and that they could change direction on a whim, he on the other hand was raised in such a manner that be believed that everything had already been decided for a person. "Miss Kuusai, nothing is ever set in stone. You have free will over your actions as you move forward in your life." he said with a soft smile, it was true he couldn't lie but his personal belief was only his truth, not a universal one so he hadn't lied when he spoke his last statement only hoping to bring the other a little peace on such a subject.

He was glad that the other had confirmed that his information on her magic was correct, though he had to wonder if this was the correct time to be asking such things. "I'm a summoner and a light demon slayer." he informed the other believing that he should give her some information on himself so they could find a way to work off each others strengths and weaknesses. As the other went into the fact she was stronger within the depths of the ocean than on land, as her strengths relied on the terrain and sun there. To him this made a lot of sense that she would feel that way and would take things like the lack of oxygen and water pressure into consideration and thus had a way around them. "I am glad to find out more about shadow users, it will help me form a better bond with my void and shadow reliant summons. I also have to agree that this was likely the reason you were best suited towards this job." he said his voice showing that he was grateful to the other for such helpful insight, it also meant that he understood how to use his light to benefit them more too. "Miss Kuusai, I am sorry if I am asking anything that is making you uncomfortable. In honesty I am playing catch up on certain aspects of my magical education and because my summons are of different elements and abilities asking questions of other mages helps me become stronger with them." he said looking out over the horizon trying to make out small blips that they where coming up on quickly "If I ever ask something you don't want to answer, just tell me and I will happily drop the conversation. I don't like people looking into my personal stuff so would never do it to another." he assured the other as he blinked hearing the calls of birds "Do you hear that Miss Kuusai?" he said thinking that it was only him at the moment.

He didn't know this information and felt dumb due to this fact, it stood to reason that what the other was saying was true; though it still didn't excuse him not knowing the information so made a mental note to find out about Fiore's history. It now stood to reason that it would be of some benefit to him while dealing with high end clients and his duty as a diplomat. "perhaps even luring it further away from the mainland might be good as well, the physical force of it may cause tsunamis or bad floods." he said honestly worried about those on the coastlines, if they could keep that damage to a minimum they could likely prevent any loss of life. "I completely agree that such things lack discipline and thus pose a threat to the innocent, they must be taken care of quickly. Do you have any objections to this?" he asked the other doubting the answer would be no but he believed that it still was important to get the others input on what they were going to be dealing with shortly. He then went over the last of what Akeya had said and then thought of their earlier conversation "If you want to attack from the sea, I can attack from the air. You will be at your strongest after all and I can have one of my summons that use telepathy to communicate create a brief bond between us so we can keep in contact." he said to the other wondering what she thought of his idea, if nothing else it would split the enemies attention and so they would have a slight advantage and if one of them fell by some miracle then the other would have managed to survive hopefully long enough to get the job done. This however would depend on what the other said and if they had anything they wanted to add to it. He could only guess that his lack of experience may have irritated the other but it wasn't like he had went on many jobs that had him in the ocean to tend to something. "Miss Kuusai, thank you for your concern but you aren't the only one who has a few tricks for when being in the water." he explained with a mischievous smile, just because he had never fought in such circumstances before didn't mean that he didn't think the eventuality might never come up and so had made sure to be prepared. 

It was then he realised that everything seemed to be suddenly darker as if they had entered another dimension or if several hours had gone missing, this put the youth at ill ease but he didn't show it he was now more focused on his surroundings. Again he heard the call of the birds from earlier, unlike the other he hadn't felt the drop in temperature thanks to being on the back of Bennu but if he vanished then that would drastically change. He then looked around blinking unable to believe just how many birds where around him, he had been to midi a few times due to business but still he never believed he would see Yatagarasu away from their homeland especially so many of them. "Miss Kuusai, I am better equipped to deal with these birds than you are; go ahead and I'll catch up. Keep your fear low." he instructed the other waiting til she flew off before tending to what had to be done. "Bennu deal with those in front." he instructed his summon as he covered his ears not worried in the slightest that he would fall off, he trusted Bennu to keep him on his back as he reared up and started flapping quickly sending a sonic boom forward knocking all ten of them back. Due to Bennu's larger size and the speed in which he flapped his wings it was enough to send those caught in the sonic boom down to the water where they would be caught in the turbulent waters thus unable to get up again. When this was done he moved to to catch up with Akeya "Well done Bennu, mother will be proud of you." he praised the young phoenix laughing as he heard the happy chirps and whistles in reply.

Word count: 1'929
Total word count: 3'790

(We'll be making two of the normal rolls a strong roll)

Akeya frankly didn't really care for honorifics, but Ruvel's insistence made it clear that it was a habit for him and that it would be a waste of time to try and dissuade him from addressing her as miss. Instead she just nodded once more, acknowledging what he said while she focused on other things. "Do as you wish then." Peasants didn't generally put much stock into teaching their children manners, so if Ruvel had been taught from a young age he must have been involved with people of a higher class... possibly a noble child. Not enough information to draw a solid conclusion.

When her superior disagreed with the workings of seers Akeya raised an eyebrow but listened quietly, curious what the stronger mage had to say. From the way he talked about it he had more experience than she did, so it would be foolish to completely dismiss it... one of her clawed fingers twitched at the last part, the barest sign of a reaction as otherwise the dragoness just looked thoughtful.

"Given the accuracy of most prophecies I think there is more certainty than just their own method of death. But I've heard that even if the prophecies always end up true the original wording can be very confusing even to the seers themselves, so it could be that the accuracy of the prophecies is a result of creative interpretation." It wouldn't surprise her: all it would take would be some vague wording and you could say the prophecy had been fulfilled no matter what actually happened. "Regardless, we'll have to see what we can do about the situation."

If it was true that seers were blessed (or cursed) with certain knowledge of how they were to die that meant experimenting with their precognitant abilities would be much more straightforward. It would take some work to find one who had already foreseen their own death, but after that you could try to kill them in a manner which didn't fit the visions to see how absolute their foresight was.

...But she shouldn't try this any time soon. Seers were rare enough that a single one going missing would already get a response from the local community, and she'd survived this long by not doing anything blatantly immoral when it seemed likely it'd come back to bite her.

"Don't dwell too much on it." She replied when it was clear that Ruvel wasn't entirely happy remembering some of the things this conversation was pulling from the depths of his mind. "For now let's drop the subject and focus on the matter at hand. We'll find out in time whether we're too late or not." She was happy to let it go, but when Ruvel tried to comfort her with his statement about freedom of will she looked at him with an emerald, draconic eye. She held his gaze for several seconds before looking back towards the sea. "Possibly, although whether it's true or not it doesn't change what I can do."

She was pretty sure there were powerful forces trying to guide the world at all times, but she wasn't strong enough to do anything about that.

The declaration of the ace being a light demon slayer earned him a brief grimace from Akeya. Her relationship with light mages was a complicated one, a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. They were on the same side so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but she'd still try to stick to the darker parts of the waters so his light wouldn't get in her way. "I could teach you a little bit more about shadow magic once we're done here." Not everything, but if he had shadow/void summons it wouldn't hurt to make him more knowledgeable about how to use them. "If you ask anything inappropriate I'll tell you so." She wasn't easily offended, so as long as he didn't ask anything which he really shouldn't know about she wasn't going to dissuade him from sating his curiosity.

---

"Faintly." Akeya replied. Her sharp draconic senses allowed her to pick up on the cries of the birds, even if it was still far enough away that she couldn't make much out. "If we can lure it further away that would be preferable, although I think more important will be to eliminate it quickly. It's gathering strength after all." Most likely it'd be fine even if they took the time to lure it away, but Akeya wanted to play it safe.

Hearing that Ruvel had a summon which would allow them to communicate even at a distance the dragoness become a lot more interested. Communication was always an important and difficult part of hectic missions like these, so if the ace had a way of guaranteeing smooth communication it'd make things a lot easier. "That is an excellent idea. Out here in the open there aren't a lot of shadows."

As the birds began to appear Akeya could feel a discomforting sensation from them, as if they emanated a kind of dread. Combined with Ruvel's warning about fear it wasn't too hard to guess what was going on, and the dragoness-turned-kite nodded quickly. "I'll go on ahead then." Without another word she swooped down, her form turning from a kite back into her own as she entered the water. From her own form she began to turn herself amhibious, adding webbing between her lengthened digits and growing a large fin on the end of her tail while her scales turned smooth and shiny. Removing her wings so they wouldn't cause too much drag the much more serpentine dragoness swam onwards, trusting Ruvel to quickly take care of the dread birds.

Making her way onwards she looked around, both up and down. The surface of the water distorted the vision above somewhat, but she could see far and wide throughout the ocean as the darkness of the depths were pierced by her emerald gaze. They weren't at the heart of the cataclysmic threat yet, but she could already see that things were seriously wrong up ahead: the sea currents were wild and erratic, and everything living was swimming away as fast as it could. Nothing wanted to be caught up in what was happening. And further up ahead the waters were in such a chaotic state that even darkvision didn't allow her to discern it.

She didn't have much time to worry about that before another threat appeard in the skies above, the dragoness only being warned by a sudden surge of power. Diving deeper the surface of the ocean suddenly was positively crackling with electricity as something had noticed her and tried to make her regret entering the waters. Fortunately the water dispersed the electrical charge horizontally, leaving the depths relatively safe as the dragoness tried to think of how to deal with this.

The ocean would conduct the electricity and disperse it, so as long as she kept her distance from the blast radius she should be relatively safe. Up in the air she'd be more easily hit, since she'd be a much better conductor than the air itself. Her enemies seemed to be happy staying up in the air, so she'd have to force them into the water where they wouldn't have as easy a time hitting her...

The five storm elementals floating above the waters would still be electrocuting the surface when suddenly several black threads shot out from the waves, wrapping themselves around one of the creatures and quickly dragging it down into the water. While it struggled to stay up in the air the pull was too strong, and the other four would end up watching their fifth member submerge, followed by several blasts of lightning underwater.

Down in the waters the storm elemental would quickly find itself in deep trouble. Up in the skies it could control the lightning without trouble, as the air was a poor conductor so the lightning went wherever the elemental wanted it to go. Down here whenever it tried to use its powers the electricity would spread out, becoming chaotic and uncontrollable. It tried to free itself from its bindings even as it released surges of electricity, but while it did a good job making the water around it unsafe for any living creature it couldn't hit the serpentine dragoness that was dragging it further down, out of reach of the discharges.

Akeya for her part wasn't wasting any time. While the lightning wasn't as much of a threat as long as she kept her distance she had to take care of this thing quickly, because she wasn't sure if lightning was the only weapon it had in its arsenal. Even as she swam deeper she summoned her dagger, leaving it to slowly drift down while she and the elemental swam downwards at a much faster pace. Positioning the elemental between herself and the dagger she made a shadow string appear connecting her hand and the dagger, forcing the weapon to be reeled in at an extreme speed.

The lightning elemental didn't have much time to react when suddenly an unusually sharp weapon shot straight through its core, passing through the charged water unharmed even as the elemental began to spasm and contort. It wouldn't die immediately, but having its core pierced kept it busy for long enough that Akeya could shoot back upwards and use that same dagger to slice it into several pieces.

Word Count: 1576
Total: 4021/8,000

Ruvel studied the other but couldn't get a clear read on them or what they could be thinking, this could be because of their form, that they where flying, he couldn't see their face or that they where just plainly difficult to read. That being said it could be a bit of each of these things, after all were he had likely seen the other in the company's headquarters or even in the guild's lair they had never really interacted. This made it difficult to read other people but perhaps he would be a little better at reading Akeya after this job but he wasn't about to hold his breath, as he may suffocate before that possibility was ever on the table. Then again he liked his privacy even more so when it came to his history so would never go out of his way to investigate another more so without a just reason, she was his ally and so knew he should trust her but he trusted very few and even fewer fully. To him this was he knew just how cruel the world could be and how everyone seemed to be out for themselves at the end of the day, even Rasparov had told him as much when they had done their first job together that if he had to choose he would sacrifice Ruvel to continue his own existence. He didn't blame the man he had since started to see as a friend and told him that he understood such a move. It wasn't due to being innocent it was just how he was raised he seen his own existence as little compared to others, that being said he had started to question a few things though at the current time he had no real answers and speculations where worthless in his opinion.

Hearing the others words with how he was so formal he smiled and nodded his head in thanks to her "Thank you for understanding Miss Kuusai" his voice showing he was sincere in his words, he sighed a little however wondering if she was thinking the same as many of the people he had to interact with as the person in charge of public relations. "Miss Kuusai, I am curious to know if you think me of noble birth due to my formal way of speaking." he said his dual coloured eyes on her he looked down to the back of his beloved summon. Regardless of how she answered he thought he should clear up something as he seemed to have to do it quite a lot. "I am not a noble, I was raised strictly however; disobedience wasn't tolerated and regardless of how slight the disobedience it was dealt with severely" his voice was calm as he spoke but it was clear through the undertone it was a painful the memories he was going through as he spoke about it. "We all learned formality and the way of the world within it." he said quietly looking at Bennu's back, the large fire bird letting out a few sad chirps making the youth look at him making him smile "I know, thank you Bennu." he said rubbing his neck lovingly.

He watched her as he spoke about how things were with seers and sighed quietly his eyes looking up to the sky, knowing that this most likely had the other thinking given he had made it clear he had some experience with seers. In honesty they had been a pain in his ass and those who weren't liked them, life was hard for everyone until in the facility until they moulded you how they wanted or you became one of the lost. Known seers however were often given certain special privileges like fresh food and water, kept inside when the weather got to bad as they had been seen as the messengers of the new world. It had him wonder why they were treated so well as they were apparently only messengers yet those who were to become the gods of this so called new world had to go through all the hardships. he hugged himself a little as he remembered how many of those he knew died or went crazy  of exhaustion, starvation, dehydration or exposure to the elements. He also knew of seers that kept that gift from being known by the so called 'carers' of the facility, he remembered asking one why would they go through the same as everyone else if they could get better treatment. He had been told that it wouldn't be fair on people like him if they had special treatment while there where people still suffering, he also said the trade off wasn't worth it given some of the horrible things that those like them had to go through for the apparent special treatment. He wanted to ask questions but he had been afraid of the answers so just nodded to the one whom gave him the information. "I knew some seers as I grew, they helped me understand their gifts though some seen it as a curse." His eyes going back to the dragoness "They said where they held the power to try and prevent calamity and see beautiful things, nothing was ever set in stone they also seen horrors that no one should have to bare witness to." his voice sounded hurt "I had a friend who kept their gift a secret, he told me that the only thing that was set in stone in a timeline was a seers death, the moment that vision happened their death was assured. He died a little while after, Demi told me it was three months after that talk." his voice showed he had suffered a great loss as he spoke of the person.

He listened more the what the other had to say and smiled weakly "Sometimes, but they don't just see the fabric of this timeline but others too. It's like ripples in a pond, the further away the ripple gets the less precise and the more blurry it becomes so you may end up with the same event but a much different outcome than what was seen or other details might be different. It might even be of another realm parallel to this one" This conversation was hitting a little to close to home for him but this was the way people learned, they told them what they read or seen debate it til one or the other gave or they found a middle ground using the truths they had both found out. The truth however was that you could only truly know what was going on with such things if you held such a gifted curse, given what he already went through he found it a blessing he didn't have this one on top. He couldn't disagree that there was some degree of perception to what a vision a seer may receive, he thought about what it was like if two seers got images of the same event would they see it from different points of view. Hearing her speak again he nodded in agreement at the very least they should go and check it out to see what they could do to help with this issue, then again they had no idea what role they where here to play either.

He snapped out of his mind as she spoke once more, this time to tell him to not dwell on the things he was, this was easier said than done given how he was brought up. The scars hadn't even began to heal and every time it seemed like the healing process was about to begin something came up to stop it and make the wound seem that much fresher. "I have been attempting to do that Miss Kuusai but some things are still very much fresh in my mind, it's very hard to ignore such things." he explained to the other hoping she too would have experienced something similar in the past, so would hopefully understand where he was coming from on the matter. She was right though dwelling on the past would do them no good right now and would only cause more issues which could end in very bad outcomes, something he wanted to avoid if he could. More so at the moment as he had no medicine with him and by now they were to far away from the company headquarters for someone to bring him some, not that he ever wanted it even when it was needed. "You're right however, me thinking on the past does nothing to help the here and now." he said his tone returning back to its normal calm neutral tone. He nodded and smiled briefly when the other said for now they should drop this subject for now, honestly he didn't want the conversation to come up again. "Yes, we will see soon." he said looking to his summon worried as he could see he was becoming tired knowing that wasn't good. "B.. Bennu... just a little longer..." he whispered concern written all over his face, he had to think of a solution and quickly so his young summon could leave and get some much needed rest. Due to giving his summon his attention he didn't catch the last part of the conversation that Akeya had spoken to him.

He eventually looked to her and smiled weakly "I know some of our magics are strong and weak against another..." he paused for a moment looking to the horizon "If we can get the right balance however we can create twilight." he said softly "That single perfect moment when the night and day have a beautiful tranquillity with one another, to the point they can live in harmony." he explained his voice almost like he was in a dream like state as he thought on it, after a moment he shook his head coming out of what had obviously just happened "Sorry about that, I get lost in thought at times." It wasn't something that happened to much luckily but it had been a side effect of what he had been through over the years, he was lucky that Cirven didn't know about it or questions could be risen on his capability to do things; he decided that was something to not worry about he had summons he kept an eye on him so he was safe and still able to do things normally. Hearing her offer to teach him more about shadow magic he bowed his head a little "Thank you, it will help me bond with my shadow and void base summons and understand their magics a bit more. In return I could teach you about light magic and how to minimise it harming you while using it to your advantage." he replied hoping that they would accept his offer, he never did feel right about taking without giving something in return. He didn't think this was something about how he was raised up given from what he seen pretty much everyone was out for themselves, he believed this had something to do with him as a person. He nodded to when she said he would be informed if he asked something she was uncomfortable asking, he was fine with her having her secrets he just wanted to learn a little more about his summons and their magic "I understand, I will not push if you say no" he stated he showing he understood there would be somethings she wouldn't reveal to him and that he was fine with it.

Hearing she also heard them faintly put him a little at ease as at least he knew that at least he wasn't just hearing things that weren't there in the first place. He listened to her suggestion and nodded in agreement, he concurred that getting whatever they were heading out to deal with away from the mainland was preferred but it wasn't something that they likely had the time to deal with given as Akeya had said it was likely building power as they spoke and travelled to it. Soon he created wings of light by concentrating, it had been the first time he had done this since he was pushed off a building and instincts kicked in. Flapping them a little he floated off Bennu seeing that if he pushed any further he would end up in the ocean "Bennu, thank you. Return back to mother she must be worried." he said listening to the tired concerned screech only to sigh "Bennu, I'll be fine... I promise as soon as I get home I'll call you." he moved to a position he could stroke his summon's beak lovingly watching as he nuzzled before screeching and leaving quickly. He knew that this course of action would tire him but he had no other option really to him as he knew for a fact that he may his summons in the fight to come. 'Shindara, create a connection between myself and Miss Kuusai; please keep it separate from you all.' he instructed remembering the last time he wasn't precise and the headache that came with it, as he spoke the words Shindara set up the connection required using himself as a conduit thanks to how his race communicated with one another it wasn't that hard. 'Miss Kuusai you merely have to think of me and the words you wish to say and I will now hear.' he explained his voice appearing directly in her mind, he gave such instructions so Shindara would only allow thoughts directed towards him to get to him keeping her privacy otherwise completely in check.

He was just glad that he could take care of the enemies that fed of fear before Bennu had to leave, his summon was to young and well sheltered to know what fear was and were he himself knew fear, he was taught to push it aside and fight. He now refused to be ruled by the fears he had, what could they do to him that hadn't already be done. Fear of course in the youth was still there, everyone had their fears after all he just knew that that it wasn't the absence of fear but the need to overcome it that pushed him to take out the enemy quickly. He wanted to protect the other from their abilities even if it put him in harms way as he didn't know how she would react to them or her own fears. 'Miss Kuusai, that is the enemy here taken care of. How are you fairing?' he sent through the bond they currently shared as he continued to fly forwards, he knew this was going to tire him but he hoped by the time they had to go back he could use one of his winged summons to get him back home without issue. Continuing forward to try and keep up with his partner on this task he came to a sudden stop as he seen the next issue for them to deal with. 'Great, just what we need.' he thought to himself, it was almost like the universe was conspiring against them 'See... this is why I don't believe in gods or higher powers.' he sent to his summons with a frustrated tone, he knew that many of them claimed to be gods but to him they were nothing more than lunatics with delusions of grandeur. Right now however he didn't have the time to go into semantics with them yet again on the subject. He moved into his top bringing out the dagger he used when a certain amount of blood or additional magic was needed for summoning, this wast to make sure he didn't die of blood loss. 'Barthenz, your going to need your wings with this summoning.' he warned his warrior summon in advance 'Fine kid.' was all he got in response.

With a deep breath he brought the dagger to his hand and slid it across it quickly making him wince a little, glowing liquid pooling in his hand as he turned it as he clenched his hand "I summon blood, I summon hate, I summon war and anger... Warrior of death hear my call!" he called out, where his blood had seemingly landed in the air a dark blood red seal seemed to have formed around one meter away from him. Barthenz appears as a tall muscular, yet scarred man wearing a wrap around his waist and a sword in his hand, his eyes are a deep crimson and seem almost feral, his dark shaggy hair caked in blood, from his back two scaled wings matching his eye colour could be seen. Before Ruvel could even speak a word Barthenz had already dashed towards the enemy in front of him, the had seen him and even tried to shock him with electric attacks. For the most part the veteran warrior dragon dodged them but he was still hit by at least two which made him grin as he started to slash at the nearest two without mercy. Ruvel knew that he had put Barthenz at risk but this was the kind of thing he lived for and so would happily give him his wish. He hoped between Akeya's strength and his summons need for fighting that this issue would be taken care of quickly so they continue towards their final destination and the task that awaited them there before it was to late.

Word count: 2,927
Total word count: 6,717

"I'm considering it. Those living out in the wilds or with little money have little interest or time for educating their children to speak formally. That's the kind of thing nobles, rich merchants and organizations with plenty of resources worry about." After all, a pig wasn't going to care if you used flowery words, as long as you had food. Looking over at Ruvel it was clear that the topic wasn't a pleasant one, and while Akeya was curious what kind of circumstances the kid had if it wasn't a noble upbringing she wasn't going to compromise their cooperation by being too nosy.

Although combining that with the young Ace having shared his youth with several seers... that's definitely different from what you'd expect with nobles. Rich merchants wouldn't have that. Kings and emperors might not even have that (well, they'd almost certainly have one seer in their court in case there's an important vision). Either it was sheer coincidence (as much as seers allowed for coincidences) or some group which gathered people with special abilities... Not enough information to make a more detailed hypothesis. When Ruvel spoke about how seers had to see things nobody should ever have to see Akeya narrowed her eyes, although in her bird form this wasn't easily accomplished or seen.

"It's been suggested to me that enduring things nobody should have to endure is how children turn into adults. That would explain why seers give the impression of being older of mind than those around them." Growing up seemed to include experiencing trauma and learning how to deal with it, so if seers had to endure more traumatizing events than others...

After that she stayed silent for a while, barely reacting as Ruvel explained that it was difficult not to dwell on unpleasant matters. Akeya herself hadn't really experienced heavily traumatizing events in her youth: she wasn't even sure why she was so much colder than most. It felt as natural to her as her tail. Her ability to notice when someone was upset by something and knowing not to press too hard was a result of trial and error, careful observation. Sympathy didn't come naturally to her.

Hearing about twilight, however, Ruvel got a twitch out of Akeya, although at the same time she appeared to be annoyed by something, moving her wings more harshly as she snapped with her beak once. "I tried to create that in the past. I encountered difficulties." Maybe it'd work if there were two people working at it, but back then holding both light and darkness in the same body had been too difficult a task. She could investigate it at a later time, when she'd matured a bit more... from the perspective of dragons she was still very young, after all.

"I've already done research on how to deal with light magic, but I won't refuse the help of someone who actually wields it. I have some ideas which might require experimenting as well..." Her voice trailed off as she stared ahead into the distance, then shook her head and returned her focus to the present. "We'll see how it works out."

---

Hearing the voice in her head Akeya steeled her mind, performing the exercises she had read about to help protect your mind from intrusions. She wasn't sure how effective it'd be in reality, but she wasn't going to let others enter her mind easily if she could help it. "One two three, I can hear you." The voice of her mind sounded flat compared to her physical voice. Her physical voice was clear and precise, but still held emotion (usually a careful politeness, occasionally dry amusement). The voice of her mind sounded like it couldn't be bothered with emotions because it was too busy analyzing something. "There are five storm elementals here. I have eliminated one. Be cautious."

With Ruvel's summoning engaging the remaining four elementals above Akeya planned her next assault. With a frontal warrior holding their attention she could be a bit more aggressive. Sitting down here pulling another one down would be safe, but this fight might take a while and regardless of how accurate her perspective of seers might be the dragoness didn't want to waste too much time. Leaving the remains of her first target to disperse in the sea she disappeared into the darkness, moving from one dark spot to another.

Above the water the storm elementals were busy with Barthenz, and in the process releasing quite a bit of lightning. Even though their own body was also forged from storm releasing such bright bursts still made their backs darken if only as contrast to the brightness in front of them, which gave Akeya the opportunity she needed. Jumping out of the shadows she quickly reformed her wings. Her dagger began to emanate with darkness as if it was glowing with anti-light. Letting the string that connected her webbed hand and the dagger lengthen the dragoness began to lash out as if using some kind of whip or flail, but with a very dangerous tip.

The storm elementals that hadn't been smashed by Barthenz yet were caught off guard. Suddenly a powerful knife infused and enchanted with the element of darkness was slicing them into pieces from behind, quickly exposing their cores. With Barthenz in front of them and Akeya behind them the one which turned to face Akeya quickly got crushed by the summons, while those that tried to fend off the summons began to fall apart when Akeya lashed out with a whiplike motion, the dagger actually making a sharp cracking sound as it went through the cores as if splitting apples.

With the immediate threat having disappeared Akeya pulled the dagger back, but held it in one hand in case something else showed up while she dove back into the water. "That should be all of them. I think we're close to the centre of all this."

As they dealt with the storm elementals the weather further ahead had become even worse, and now you didn't even have to strain to see the massive whirlpool. Underwater Akeya could feel the water being drawn towards what must have been the most energetic vortex she'd ever had the (dis)pleasure of witnessing. The fact that they could feel a very malevolent entity residing inside that swirling chaos only made the dragoness more wary. Natural disasters were bad enough without some monstrous creature controlling it with such a destructive desire.

"Something is coming up to meet us."

Word Count: 1088
Total: 5109/8,000

Ruvel looked to the dragoness as she spoke about how only nobles cared for manners like his and blinked in complete surprise, this wasn't exactly something he had known given his own upbringing; it made him curious why he was treated worse than many would treat a slave but brought up with the same manners as a noble. "I see..." he commented quietly "I was raised with very little Miss Kuusai, but certain things were instilled into me and I dared not go against this..." he shuddered a little thinking about some of the punishments he had faced and the other had gone through, it wasn't something he wanted to think of since he took double the punishment if he or Demi messed up since the two had been paired together since he could remember. The way it normally worked was if one messed up they both got punished but he couldn't bare the thought of her being harmed more so if it had been his fault so had always taken everything. He gave everything he could to make sure she had a somewhat normal lifestyle considering their lives but for the longest time he thought that was how life was everywhere and had almost given up hope until he heard the voices of the two that freed him of his hell on earth.

He took a deep breath realising this likely had made the other that much more curious and was thankful that she seemed to be respectful not to push, at least for now but after this job ended who knew what would happen and that kind of worried him. "You can ask questions if you like, if I don't want to answer them then I won't." he let the other know, there wasn't much of his past he would really reveal as it was still a very fresh, very open wound but he thought that this may stop the others curiosity and prevent her trying to look into him at a later point, or at least that was his hope. He couldn't tell that the other had narrowed her eyes but that hadn't meant that the young Phoenix summon hadn't and chirped, Ruvel could only stroke the back of the summons neck to calm him. He had no idea that outside the facility that he had once called home seers were beyond rare, regardless he knew seers seen some horrible things and other things that should be seen by no human or mortal being. He understood why many would see this as a blessing after all they could save many lives or prevent disasters but what was the price they paid for such a gift? The seers he knew knew had always called their gift a curse as they seen what happened if things weren't changed; how frightened they had been after seeing their deaths knowing there was no way to avoid their vision.

He listened to her as she spoke and sighed sadly "Not when those children are made into adults years before they should be." he said shaking a little, he knew he was young when he was hurt and abused making him whom he was at this very point in time. "We are given what we are meant to be able to endure but those who can't endure become lost or even worse die because they either couldn't take what was happening to them or take their own lives to stop it from proceeding." he said looking to the water below, he had almost died several times in the past, over two dozen times in little over two weeks but somehow had survived. He believed then and even now Demi had something to do with his survival but had never asked her for it for fear she would lie to him to protect his feelings or prevent his anger though fleeting aimed at her. He had a horrible life before he had met his two saviours, before he had met the dark mage of the guild Savage Skull known as Dahau and his now elder brother Cirven, his life was now blessed and he was thankful for each day away from his hell but feared one day he would wake back within the magically barbed confines of the place he once called home.

He quietly listened as the other explained how she had tried to create twilight on her own, he could only shake his head as no one person would be able to create such a thing unless they had somehow managed to find their own balance. Without that there was no hope of making a self efficient twilight, even with two people it would likely be difficult as they would have to balance off each other and trust the other not to harm them. All it would take is one moment of hesitation or fear and a twilight spell could fail or go terribly wrong for both mages involved. "It requires complete balance and trust." he said allowing the other to know why it likely gave the other difficulties, it seemed like himself she had difficulties in trust, it was either that or there was no balance either way that had been the reason behind the failure. "You are dragonic, I know they have terms like hatchling and such... where do you stand? I don't know the entire scale either, I haven't had enough time to sit down and ask Mr. Terumi so perhaps you wouldn't mind helping educate me on this matter" he asked wanting to know and learn since it seemed to be part of his contract with his summon Crystal to learn about her race not just from herself and Barthenz but others with dragonic blood but there weren't that many he knew of and it wasn't in him to go seeking for such information in case it was personal.

Hearing she had done some research on how to deal with the light he smiled a little, it was only smart to know how to deal with something that is your elemental weakness after all. Then again going through things in theory and it actually working were two completely different things, more so as just because one person wielded a certain magic or element one way didn't mean that everyone did; or you had people like him who seemed to be made from an element and so complicating things further for the one fighting them and possibly the person themselves. "I'm happy to help in any way I can, helping you strengthens us after all." his voice not losing its calmness as he spoke regardless of how exactly he was feeling at the moment "Perhaps by understanding the others element better twilight can be achieved." he suggested, it was worth a shot after all there was to much misunderstanding, distrust and hostility amongst those who wielded opposite elements, this could hopefully be a start to bridging gaps. Both light and Shadow after all had similarities, if used correctly they had the ability to mislead, hide things and create illusions that would make any normal person question their sanity. To him this would be the best course of action and she hoped the other would see similar if not the same benefit from learning from the other, of course each of their magics came with secrets they wouldn't or more couldn't tell others but that was to be expected in many aspects of life. "Yes, we will." he confirmed seeming like if nothing else then a new fledgling alliance of sorts had been forged.

Shindara had kept to his promise and didn't delve into the mind of the other but merely played the conduit so his summoner and his colleague would be able to talk. He could tell she was trying to steel herself against him, but they were little more than walls made of rice paper as far as he was concerned; still he knew what was before him was as much as the other wanted to permit him to see and respected her privacy. 'I'm glad, I can hear you clearly also.' Ruvel sent back to her just so she knew that her own thoughts aimed at him where indeed reaching him. He took note of the flatness of the tone and it didn't bother him at all given some of the way his summons spoke and thus didn't miss a beat. 'Barthenz will find them an interesting challenge then and given how he is...' he sent to the other watching as the warrior summon threw caution to the wind 'It doesn't really matter, he's happy and that's what counts right now.' he wasn't about to say that if he was fighting against them then it meant he wouldn't be bothered by him but that was the truth of the matter, he was a warrior and lived for the fight wherever that may be. He watched quietly as Barthenz and Akeya seemed to make quick work of the storm elementals as they worked in tandem as if their attacks had been co-ordinated, it was like some sort of strange, entrancing light show and dance.

With the immediate threat taken care of, she watched as Akeya dove back into the water and Barthenz hovered smoking thanks to the shocks that he had received, he was laughing still as if it was nothing more than small static shocks. Ruvel moved forward to him blinking but he could see the blood frenzy in his eyes and stopped a little ways away, he knew that this meant if he got to close then he would be his summons next target and that wouldn't be good for anyone involved. 'Should we wait for it to come to us?' he asked the other, in his honest opinion this seemed like a bad idea given if it got to close there was chance that the fight could create a tidal wave that could end countless innocent lives and who knew what kind of property damage. 'I think we should go meet it, the further away from land we are the better. Your thoughts on this matter?' he sent to the other waiting in the same spot to hear back that way a decision could be made together.

Word count: 1,712
Total word count: 8,429

~~Word count achieved~~
@Akeya

Ruvel sounded genuine when he said he didn't have much when he grew up, and from how he had acted up until now it did make sense... he didn't act like some noble's child, or someone who was used to having everything provided and available. Of course that didn't mean that the people who raised him didn't have anything, since Akeya still held to the idea that farmers just didn't have much reason to bother with something like that, but it did suggest that whatever Ruvel's situation was, it wasn't something as innocent as being born with blue blood. "From how you describe it you were raised with a purpose, although I wouldn't be able to guess at what purpose." Probably a servant or something? Take some child too young to remember much, raise him as a servant to your family/organization and be very strict to make sure he'll be a more obedient servant than anyone who's merely in it for the money... Although that wouldn't explain the seers. That indicated something bigger.

The Ace looked to be troubled by the memories, although he still told her that she could ask him for more details if she was curious. Akeya still thought it wiser if she didn't get too pushy, but she could ask at least one question without it causing trouble. The bird sailed silently over the waters for several seconds before speaking, the only sound in those seconds being the wind flowing across wings and the sound of the phoenix's flames. "Can you remember some marking which often showed up where you grew up? Something carved on doors or decorating flags." She wasn't planning on unraveling the mystery overnight, but it would be useful if she knew to look out for something in the future.

Her reaction towards Ruvel's sad sigh was to look towards him, her dark bird eyes focused on him for a moment before she looked ahead again. "Often the world is cruel. In the wild many animals don't make it to adulthood, it's only civilization which thinks such a thing is too harsh." The strong, the fast, the smart, the lucky... they survived. The weak, the slow, the stupid, the unfortunate... they died. It certainly wasn't fair, but Akeya didn't think she needed to remind Ruvel that nobody ever said life would be fair. The boy certainly had learned this with his own body, the way he spoke about his past. "But I agree that pressuring children too much too early is more likely to break them than to shape them. It sounds wasteful." Of course if you had plenty of children you could afford to sacrifice some to ensure those that did survive were genuinely strong, but it still sounded like those people who raised Ruvel weren't being entirely efficient... maybe they were in a hurry? It must already have been years ago, but even a plan which spanned decades could be hurried.

When the subject of trust was brought up Akeya nearly twitched again, managing to contain it. However her presence would still feel colder for a moment before she took a deep breath. "Balance I can do, but I'm not the type to trust easily or quickly." She could feel annoyance seep into her mind. It was typical of the humanoids to think that trust and friendship were the path to growth. It was exasperating to her. "If trust is required it'd be smarter to focus on developing abilities which don't have such restrictive requirements." As useful as twilight might be, it wasn't worth compromising one's ability to perceive others, and from Akeya's perspective trust wasn't logical. The best you could do was calculate that the other person had little reason to act contrary to your desires and that it was unlikely that something would occur that would give them adequate reason.

"I'd be called a drake. It's similar to a human adolescent or young adult. Old enough to live and act independently but still growing and learning at a rapid pace." She was looking forward to the day she could call herself a wyrm. Being young held little attraction to her, given that as a dragon she didn't really have to worry about dying of old age any time soon.

Noticing Ruvel's smile she wondered how she should deal with this, scanning the world ahead as she considered her options. The Ace certainly sounded sincere, and it would be helpful to have the aid of a light element user in gathering information. On the other hand him speaking of trust meant he was likely hoping for something like friendship or a bond, which was difficult for Akeya. "I'd prefer creating twilight through understanding over relying on trust." She replied truthfully. It could very well be that her own attempts at creating twilight were hampered by her own nature being distinctly shadow/darkness based, which meant that despite her studies she couldn't understand light the same way a natural light user could. Either this meant she had to obtain the information directly through a light user, or be restricted to creating the blend of two opposites only when she had an opposite magic user available. Or she could resort to more drastic measures, but she didn't feel much interest in that course of action... yet.

"I'll look forward to learning more then." Research and study was something which easily drew her interest after all.

---

She couldn't tell how effective her mental barriers were. She had trained to ward her mind from unwanted intrusions, but she didn't have much practice in the real deal and it was rare enough a threat that she wasn't even sure what exactly it would feel like. It wouldn't be surprising if the subtle ones could slip into your mind without ever being caught, a thought which greatly disturbed her. For now the best she could do was go with what she trained on: focus. If you focused on what was important and didn't get sidetracked by stray thoughts it was supposed to make it less likely the telepath would receive information you didn't want them to give, and a focused mind was also supposed to be harder to infiltrate beyond the surface layer. Akeya's ability to focus was extraordinary, so that at least was something she should be good at if it worked as the scrolls said it should.

"We're on a mission, enjoyment is secondary to success." It would have sounded irritated if Akeya's mental voice wasn't devoid of emotion. Instead it sounded like a statement of fact. "But as long as it works I won't argue." Enjoyment being secondary to success didn't mean you couldn't enjoy success.

Once the elementals were dealt with Akeya turned her focus to the massive magical whirlpool, and the malevolent spirit that was begin to rise up from the depths. With the water being so chaotic she couldn't see much, but from what she could see what was going on here was so massive that was she was glad that she didn't suffer from a fear of depths. She was pretty sure a lot of civilians would already have fled in wild panic if they were exposed to these kind of conditions.  "I think it's connected to the whirlpool. The best we can do is engage before it moves towards us." She wasn't even sure if the vortex could move easily, but better to not take any chances with this one. That said Ruvel was correct when he stated that they should make sure this fight didn't cause any damage to the country their client resided on. She wasn't going to try and move an entire whirlpool, but she could draw attention away from the land and towards herself.

"I'll move around it and draw its attention. Even if it attacks it shouldn't reach the coastline then." She hated being the one focused by the enemy (given her nature as an assassin), but in this situation it was probably for the best. She wasn't sure if Ruvel had a way of drawing the entity's attention, but even if he did it was likely that he was more suited for preparing a big attack to hit the entity with while Akeya kept it distracted. "Prepare for combat."

Turning back into a shadow she took advantage of the fact that dark clouds covered the sky so far as the eye could see, and that the chaotic waters themselves also obscured a lot. Amidst the madness caused by the oversized stormy vortex the shadow raced through darkness, moving around the whirlpool in a wide circle to avoid drawing attention prematurely. She could feel the focus of something huge, quickly gathering at the heart of the whirlpool and reaching upwards. She didn't have much time before whatever they were dealing with would show itself, and after that things would most likely get very complicated.

Once she had positioned the whirlpool between herself and the coastline (which was out of sight, but Akeya remembered which direction it was) the dragoness rose out of the water, flapping he wings to gain altitude while her eyes narrowed. She was a part of Onyx Moon now, and she preferred to not show off her true nature too much because even those who could stomach it often found it hard to trust her once they learned of it. However she'd just have to risk it, because it was the only thing she really had that would definitely earn her the focus of whatever was the source of all this. For a moment she closed her eyes as she went to the core of herself, shedding layers of personality which were just there to interact with the outside world.

Social interactions? Methods for extracting information and ensuring that other creatures wouldn't get in her way, if possible even helping her. Friends? Creatures who had been given reason to aid her rather than oppose her. Beauty? An easy method for manipulating others into holding positive feelings towards her. Hatred? A manifestation of the belief that the target's existence was detrimental to her own existence and plans. Paranoia? A result of constant awareness that there are many threats in the world, but which required moderation to avoid it causin negative bias in her perspective.

At the core? She survived. She grew. She learned. The lives of others held little value, because no amount of love would be of any use if she was dead. She gathered information to survive. She trained to survive. She planned, plotted, deceived and cooperated to survive. People made things too complicated. They distracted themselves with the how and the why and made up things and called them important. She wanted to survive, and she wanted to keep surviving. She knew she had the potential to stand high, and she wanted to get as high as she could. She could only understand and appreciate reality if she was standing at the top: if you were standing at the bottom your perspective wasn't broad enough.

And the smaller your perspective was the less reason you had to survive, because at the end of the day the reason you survived was because the world was worth living in.

From the whirlpool rose a massive figure, formed of water and foam. It was too big to be organic, too big to be a solid creature: it was a storm given a humanoid shape. it looked female, even attractive if you could see past the electricity being discharged everywhere and the swirling waters the figure was made of. An artist could even experience an epiphany and paint it as something mixing beauty and terror. However even as it formed itself it spreads its intent, a malevolence which suited the raging storms perfectly. This creature wanted to destroy, lay waste, wash away. It held no compassion for those who crossed the surface of the deep oceans. It had no reason to care for them as anything but nuisances. It was going to turn the country of Midi into a wasteland devoid of life, maybe even pull it below the waves, regardless of any begging or praying that the inhabitants might do.

At the same time that the creature rose out of the whirlpool another sensation also swept across the area, clashing with the storm entity's naked malevolence: the purest killing intent. This entity of storms was fuelled by hatred, anger and a desire to destroy. This other sensation lacked emotion. It wouldn't kill because of hatred. It wouldn't kill because of anger. It wouldn't kill because it wanted to kill. It would kill because it had decided that doing so was most beneficial to it. The sensation was like a dagger at the throat, an edge so sharp it would split a hair lengthwise and steel so cold that one would think that even the waters of this hectic storm should be freezing.

Akeya was still there, flying in the air in the same spot unchanged. However around here there was a vision of a black dragon much larger than herself, regarding the storm entity with eyes of pure emerald and an expression devoid of any emotion other than focus. The dragoness had decided to try and impress, and did so by showing what she was: a dragon of the element of darkness, and a true killer.

The entity of storms turned towards Akeya, facing the much smaller creature as its body finished forming. Even Akeya's draconic aura was still small compared to this towering manifestation of nature's wrath, but the fact that Akeya could produce such an undiluted and powerful intent to kill meant she was the one most likely to get in the entity's way if it tried to destroy Midi... at least until Ruvel made his presence known like Akeya had.

As Akeya and the entity stared at one another the dragoness drew all the shadows and darkness in the area towards herself, her entire form turning pitch black except for those emerald eyes which were echoed by her aura. She didn't boast, bluff or brag. Her pride in herself, her own talents and abilities, shone through the shape of her aura. She only said four words, in a voice as cold and emotionless as the killing intent that was clashing with the storm entity's malicious desires, a voice which carried despite the roaring depths, the crackling thunder and the crashing rain.

"I will kill you."

Word Count: 2406
Total: 7515/8,000

@Ruvel

Ruvel looked to his guild mate as she spoke of him sounding like he was made for a purpose, to be honest he didn't know if it had always been that way or just from the moment that he was taken to the place that he was forced to call home. No matter how he tried to make sense of it that was indeed the case as much as he hated to admit it. "I was, though I don't know if that was always the case and there is no one I can ask." he said quietly, his entire family and those that he knew had all been butchered so all that left was the facility and he doubted anyone there knew if he had a purpose before the one they forced upon him. Then even if they did he refused to go back there as he feared he would never leave that place again, he had been lucky the first time and the second time he almost broke. Had it not been for Demi's untimely demise then he believed that he would have fallen back into his old routine and just listened and obeyed what was expected of him

He turned his eyes away "I would rather not go into my apparent purpose more so with how it was taught to me." he said quietly shame in his voice, how exactly could he say he was raised to replace old gods like several others had been, but to do that they had been abused, experimented on and not even given the basic rights of a human being. He lived though it and yet if someone came and told him this he would find it hard to believe it. Hearing the others question brought him back out of his own memories, he thought back to that hellish place and nodded "There were many symbols and runes. I only seen flags and tapestries inside though." he spoke in a thoughtful tone his body shuddering as he remembered what some of them meant and what it meant by those who wore them. "Even some uniforms had symbols to show rank, but then they also used colours for that." he said quietly recalled but forced a smile on his face "That however is my past and the company my here and now so that is what I try concentrate on Miss Kuusai" he didn't want to dwell on his past but knew one day he would have to make that hellish trip once more to put an end to it once and for all.

He nodded by her analogy "Even those who should have passed weren't permitted to do so, they became something else..." he said in a soft whisper, the ones they called 'the lost' they had failed in their purpose and so where re-purposed as mindless dolls slaves doing their masters biddings regardless of what it was. They all had their senses removed from what he had seen but they could still do tasks as if they had them, listening to their superiors. He couldn't help shudder as he had seen the process done once when he had been holding back when he had first arrived, there was nothing more scaring to someone that age than seeing such an awful and painful process that took days. He knew that not all lives would be blessed, hell his own situation had proven that on more than one occasion. "We all ended up there within the first few years of our life, I was engaged pretty soon after my arrival and married not to long after that I think." his hand went to his left arm were his unseen armlet would be. He knew that it didn't mean anything outside that place but he had worn it for as long as he could remember, the thought of removing it made him feel uncomfortable. He looked at her with a weak smile "They wanted to break us, that was the issue." he had no idea why he would share that with her but he had, he like others were to be nothing more than puppet gods dancing on the strings of their creators for the utopia they desired regardless if it was good or bad in the long run.

Ruvel looked to her when listening to her when it came to the subject of trust, given how he was raised he really didn't trust anyone he couldn't afford to because to protect themselves they had sold each other out. Ruvel had never actually done that regardless of the punishment he would receive from such actions, he never seen the point in it. Sure he and Demi would have gotten a little more food but the cost in his opinion was far to high as people would look for a reason to sell you out in the future. It didn't actually stop them with him in all honesty, again he couldn't blame them he felt what happened to those who had refused to give such information. One person had refused to give him up nearing the blood moon ceremony, they had been removed and never seen again that was until Ruvel had seen him amongst the lost. He remembered he had broken down into tears at the sight as he remembered his friend being one of those who had met all the requirements, he would have been placed in his own sanctuary before to long treated properly. He had sacrificed it all to protect him, from that moment no one dared to protect him, he even told them not to as he didn't want to see another be made into a lost one because of him. "I don't trust anyone myself Miss Kuusai, not even my elder brother or the summons that protect and help me." he admitted to her, he was ashamed of this fact but if he didn't trust them then it meant if he was  betrayed it wouldn't hurt as badly, it also meant if the need arose that they could betray him to protect themselves without issue. He knew his summons always said they would put what they thought was best for him first, that didn't always align with what he wanted and his own older brother had almost mentally broke him and physically killed him in trying to find himself so there was still that he was working through.

He looked to her again for a moment with dual coloured eyes "Trust can be a hindrance but it can be a useful tool apparently if placed within the right person or thing." he said with a small shrug "Light and dark are natural enemies so there would have to be some kind of respect and or trust between those wielding them if used together or the wielders could be harmed." he explained, it made sense in his mind but everyone had their own opinions on such matters and he knew this so wouldn't force his on another. Hearing another of his own questions answered about her race made him smile as he enjoyed learning about other cultures and races. He was after all he was primarily a diplomat and the public relations of the company so it didn't do himself or the company any good if he didn't know such things. He doubted that he would come across a dragonic race or a culture that was close to them but he would rather not take the risk as no one knew exactly what the future would hold and he believed in being prepared. "I'm not exactly sure what I am in the humanoid way of doing things, ages meant little where I was raised as to them we were all the same." he admitted, he didn't want to say it was because he didn't know his age and that he didn't count though both had been true so was what he had said, he had been engaged at four and married at five to a girl whom seemed to be at least five years older than he was. Nothing was expected to happen until they had both grown though both had, had 'the talk' on their wedding day, in which the expectations of their union was set but at that time all it was, was a formal pairing. He did care a lot about Demi but it wasn't how they wanted but more of that of a sister so he doubted what they wanted would have ever happened.

He chuckled at the others talk once more of twilight and not relying on trust, he could understand and wouldn't force it on the other "Then it seems we're both going to get hurt quite a bit in the learning process." he was use to pain so that didn't bother him to much until they decided to learn that though they had a more immediate issue, the reason they had taken such a long flight here; something he hoped they could put an end to quickly and without issues happening to any shores that where near by. Eventually he heard Akeya's voice in his mind when he had spoke about his summon enjoying himself with the going's on 'Barthenz is a warrior dragon, he is efficient at what he does and gains enjoyment in battle. You needn't worry about him being an issue, it's when he gets bored then it may happen.' he sent back to the other, he could see where she was coming from so felt like he should put the other's mind at peace about the batter scarred warrior summon. Hearing her words he nodded 'I agree, this could get bad quickly otherwise.' he said with a frustrated tone. 'I do have an aquatic summon and summons that can be annoying if needed to be distractions, just let me know if needed' he sent to the other knowing that she was a shadow user meant that normally her attacks were meant to be quick and unseen like the element itself. He watched from the sky as the other started to change, not in fear but in awe, he had heard on many going through changes at home but this was the first time he had seen someone inside or outside doing such a thing other than his brother who was just down right scary and dangerous.

Seeing what came out of the whirlpool threw the youth through a loophole as he looked to his summon "Storm elemental?" he asked not sure if this was indeed the case or not, Barthenz who remained quiet but had a huge grin on his face. Ruvel already knew that the other was itching to get into the battle regardless of the cost to him, so Removed himself from the grasp of his summon wings of light appearing from his back. It had been the first time he had done such a thing but he knew he had to remain out of the water it would make things so much more difficult for him. For a long moment all that the young ace could do was watch in awe the energy dancing between his guild mate and the one they had been sent here to destroy, it was both beautiful and terrifying more so with the raging waves below and the dark crackling clouds above setting the deadly scene. While this had been going on Barthenz had been looking for his way in, the enemy after all had been distracted by Akeya so he had lowered his height and quietly moved forward, just because he was a beserker didn't mean he didn't have brains. Watching and waiting he seen the she elemental move backwards just slightly like she was ready to lunge and quickly shot up his swords in his hands turning like a corkscrew slashing at her stomach, chest and throat.

It was true he was getting shocked but it was more than enough for the focus of their enemy to change from Akeya to Barthenz who had by then slashed diagnally down her beautiful face with one sword while cutting out the eye with his other. To him this was a trophy and Ruvel knew he would have to barter for it meaning another job was just around the corner thanks to it. The elemental was now holding her eye screaming in pain thrashing around with her one free hand, everyone knew that this of course would make their enemy more dangerous but at the same time would also make them reckless and so easily defeated. Ruvel guessed it would only now take a few more good blows to take down the threat and believed that Akeya would be able to manage it given the unbridled focus he seen in her eyes.

Word Count: 2,129
Total Word Count: 10,558

@Akeya

The giant elemental took her time, studying Akeya carefully as the dragoness stared her down. The giant construct of water and lightning before her was powerful enough to be a demi-god and had little reason to rush. Despite Akeya's impressive killing intent she was still only one creature facing the might of an entire storm on her own. The only reason why she hadn't been swept away yet was that this giant storm abomination wanted to make sure the black dragon had no tricks waiting for her once she struck. It was only after Raija was certain that she wouldn't be surprised by Akeya that she began to lean backwards, preparing to get rid of this interloper in her domain. Akeya tensed as she prepared to evade and begin the fight in earnest...

As wary as Raija might have been towards Akeya, the dragoness's killing intent had done its job of preventing the storm avatar noticing Ruvel and his summons. As such it was that their enemy screamed out in surprise when suddenly Barthenz ripped apart her body, cutting her open and forcefully extracting her eye. As a creature formed of storm and ocean having her body torn apart wasn't fatal and she quickly reformed, but it looked like her eye wasn't going to recover as easily. Given that it wasn't falling apart in Barthenz's hands it was clear that this was more than just a construct of water. Raija turned towards the summoned wary with an expression of pain and fury. However before she could do any more than that suddenly her body was ripped apart once more, and this time the attack cut deeper than just skin deep.

At the same time as Barthenz attacked Akeya had turned invisible, waiting for the massive storm monster to turn around before she dove right inside the reformed chest. Once there she'd gathered a massive amount of magical power and released it as a burst of intense darkness, creating a shockwave which not only scattered the water into a downpour but also directly ravaged the essence of the entity controlling the ocean and the storm. Screaming and roaring like thunder and lightning Raija reached out with one arm, electricity quickly gathering around it in large enough amounts to eradicate Ruvel, Barthenz, Akeya, and everything else in the area.

Before the attack could launch Raija let out another scream as suddenly her arm was severed, a streak of black shearing right through the watery elbow. Once more she felt the intense and merciless darkness cut not only the physical but also her actual being. As an avatar of a greater being it wasn't enough to kill her. The problem was that Akeya's magical attacks were hindering her ability to reform the body she had created for herself. Her other hand had been protecting her face after Barthenz had cut out her one remaining eye, only to now come forth and smash downwards as if a massive hammer of solid water. Where it hit the ocean surface a spray went up hundreds of meters, sending water everywhere.

That arm got cut off as well.

Raija raised both arms, the stumps foaming and bristling with electricity as she attempted and failed to reform them. Her torso had already been distorted and torn, water flowing up to fill the hole only to fall back to the humongous whirlpool from which she had risen up. While she was figuring out how to get rid of the interlopers in her current state the black flash returned, this time in rapid succession.

Having turned her entire body into a weapon Akeya dashed and flew about at high speed, slashing straight through the avatar which was losing its distinct form more and more with every attack. The storm elemental was still protecting its head as much as it could so she sliced off the arms piece by piece until they were nothing more than water pouring lifelessly from shimmering shoulders with lightning arcing off of them occasionally. Once the elemental's defences had been removed Akeya shot far, far upwards, far enough that she almost reached the dark clouds which were threatening to unleash a massive lightning storm if Raija regained her bearings.

Akeya let loose a roar, chilling with its emotionless declaration of death. Spreading her wings wide she once more turned her entire body into a dark blade. Shooting downwards several small spheres of dark energy shot forwards. With pinpoint accuracy they all hit the crown of the avatar's head, piercing through and leaving it weakened. Akeya followed next, her spread wings spreading the area she cut through immensely as she sliced Raija, the Sea Serpent of Storms, in half from top to bottom. Once she reached the point where she was facing the abyss of the depths she abruptly changed direction and flew back upwards, turning so her upwards slicing attack was at a right angle with her downwards strike.

Breaking out of what remained of the storm elemental's massive form the dragoness stayed far, far above. She watched with pitiless emerald eyes as the avatar of a godlike being shuddered and twisted before completely falling apart. Enough water to drown a city collapsed back into the whirlpool, which itself quickly began to lose its strength and slow down. As Akeya watched the whirlpool was replaced with turbulent (but mundane) ocean, and above her the dark clouds quickly dissipated as Raija was no longer there to sustain them.

Allowing her body to return to its normal, fleshy form Akeya shook her arms a couple of times to shake off some errant droplets even as sunlight broke through and shone upon the two mages and the summons who had worked together to take down the threat.

Once she was certain that every bit of the avatar's power had disappeared far into the depths of the seas Akeya flew back down towards Ruvel, hiding the fact that after such a relentless assault she had lost quite a bit of her energy. While turning herself into a blade of darkness to slice through her enemies was very effective it was an exhausting affair.

"I don't think that killed it. However I doubt it will be back any time soon so we have done as we were asked." She glanced over at Barthenz and the eye he had retrieved. "And quite possibly got a powerful artefact out of it as well." Not that she had much interest in it herself. "Let's go report that Midi is no longer in danger and collect our reward."

Word Count: 1093
Total: 8608/8,000

@Ruvel

Job Complete, Eye Collected