Elrandir

That is a very serious problem indeed. We still have some time before the end, maybe a solution will be found by then. That is correct. I like to think long distance teleportation would take a lot of effort, and only very skilled mages would be able to cast the spell. But that's just me. Gotta love it when you focus on one story, and a completely other one is happening in the background, far away from where you currently are. With the humans now in the Overworld the Dragon Siblings Raishan and Umbra will be very displeased. The help that Queen Leviathan and King Asura offered to Raiden of Mystras only brought danger to the Overworld, and to the north. They knew that their proposal to strip Levi and Asura from their royal titles would be a no go with half of the other judges of the north. The other half is trying to reach a decision on that matter. If they don't cooperate Raish and Umbra will instigate a coup d'etat, sucessfully sowing chaos around the north. The wonders of the north! A great place to live.

My calculations put the city of Hydrin around a day's travel to the south-west from the port town of Aquis on boat. Since the city is underwater it would be somewhat difficult to find it, unless you had someone from Aquis to guide you since they are on good terms with the merfolk. But would it be feasible to travel all the way up north just for some fish? I imagine it would take some time to travel from one flying continent to the other. Wouldn't it be easier to try and find some merfolk somewhere in the Nymphadora Sea?

You get a cupcake! And you get a cupcake! Everyone gets a cupcake! Welcome back Sabre. Let me tell you that you shouldn't be apologizing to us for something like that. Don't forget that we are here for you in case you need help with something. Or if you just need to talk. I read you post and since Xion's lieutenants are going to the sea with the merfolk, my muse got me interested in that particular area. Have some seemingly innocent mermaid in the form of Thetis Thalassa! Although she is from the north, so, she will keep singing about riches, fame, and pleasure in the north were she belongs. Good luck to Xion's lieutenants! Still needs work but I need to rest because that took so long with a mouse. I'm glad I didn't do colours!

That is a good question, but I don't think it was clearly stated how much time passed.

Not really. The plan was to get the remnants of the feyslayer and find the assassin. But now that the world below is destroyed I don't know what Raiden's plan is.

- Aura - City of Mystras - The news had hit the city of Mystras, and to Aura, who could only stand still, processing what just had happened. The world below, her world, her home, was completely gone. It was strange to see more humans in Mystras now. Survivors brought into the Overworld while the rest perished in ways to horrible for Aura to imagine. She came to think about her old home, their farm, the place were Aulea, her mother, was resting, it was gone too, and it hurt so much to think that there was no place to return to talk with her mother. Her brother's body had been sent to the north if what Sifrei said was true, and there was no reason not to trust him, but what about her mother's? "...Yeah..." Aura replied quietly before hugging Helios back, leaning her forehead on his shoulder to hide the tears that were running down her cheeks. "I am too, Helios. I am too." - Rabiyu and Sifrei - Walking towards Raiden's Villa - Both judges remained silent on their way back to Raiden's villa. One wondering what the next course of action would be, while the other wondering what it would take to accommodate the human immigrants. "Well, that meeting could have gone better if you ask me," Sifrei said, "But you shouldn't listen to Raishan. You know how she is. Always trying to get you to react." "I agree, but she was right, for once. The Dark Witch is gone and I feel it's my fault. She managed to avoid my sight, somehow, it shouldn't be possible, but she did," Rabiyu replied, a faint hint of anger in her voice, "The land below is also gone, taking with it most of humanity. I do wonder if this was part of Kilkis Seres's Regent's plan." "Yevgeni?" Sifrei asked. "Blaming yourself won't solve anything, Sapling. Instead, you should focus on what can be done now," a familiar voice said, "Be grateful that even a small part of humanity is here." Both Rabiyu and Sifrei turned around at the sound of the voice of Mielinare, the Fire Nymph, who was currently holding the hands of two human children. Sifrei was the most surprised of the two since it would take days of travel to arrive at Mystras. Rabiyu was just surprised that she was there. "I failed in my duty, and I can stop wondering if the Dark Witch's disappearence and the destruction of the world below is connected," Rabiyu said, "Perhaps if...if I used the help of my friend Rufus's power, a wish to save and restore the land below, bring those who are still alive here. Perhaps Lord Raiden, or I-" "There are limits to what the wish granting magiks of a djinni can do, Sapling. The land would be torn apart once more in time, why bring it back now when it would be destroyed again," Mielinare said, her face was without her usual porcelain mask, and as calm as a still lake, "I am sure a time will come when that wish will prove useful, maybe not to you, but perhaps someone else." "Why are you here Mielinare? I thought you were in the Imperial City, or the City of Water. When did you-" Sifrei said nervously. "I came to see how the two of you were doing, and to inform you that we managed to save a few thousand survivors who are currently scattered around the north," Mielinare said, "The Regent of Kilkis Seres is not the only one who is allowed to bring back survivors to the Overworld." Those were not the best news, but still good news nonetheless. There were more survivors on the north, that had to mean something, at least. That's what both Rabiyu and Sifrei felt at the moment. "It is best to remain together in these dark times, Sapling. Do not doubt yourselves now, after coming so long. Believe that there is a reason to all of this, that there is a way to stop this from going further. Answers are within your grasps, you just need to reach out and take them." The Fire Nymph said, "I will take my leave now. These children need to find their mother among the survivors, and I offered my help. Keep your spirits up, children, give hope to those who are in need of it, give these humans the chance to rebuilt their lives once more, this is the time when fae and humans must stand together, unless both wish to face extinction." Mielinare smiled at the two children and both of them nodded slowly before holding Mielinare's hands tighter.. She gave the two judges a final look along with a gentle smile before turning around and walking away towards the city in search for the children's mother. That was tipical Mielinare behavior, taking her leave while leaving more question than answers, this, Sifrei knew, and Rabiyu knew to a far greater extent. After watching the Fire Nymph blend into the crowd both of them reasumed their way towards Raiden's villa. Rabiyu was sure that the Lord of the city would need some support after such an event. The two of them entered the villa, were now humans resided in, along with the fae servants, and made their way towards Raiden's study, where Soren Monroe waited outside. " It is good to see that you are back, Master Monroe. We thought we lost you in battle." Rabiyu said calmly, now returning to her normal behavior, "May we accompany you to listen to this information you have for Lord Raiden. Perhaps it would give us an idea of what our next course of action will be."

I'm getting some weird flashbacks from years ago with this. Let's just hope FFVII Remake doesn't take as long as XV. Even when it's only going to be Volume 1 of who knows how many volumes.

If Raiden is still in Mystras then Sif and Rabs are there. Mariel? I dunno, but I'm sure she is going to stay close to Raiden too. So yeah, I'm sure almost everyone is in Mystras right now.

Sif and Rabs are not physically on the north, just using astral projection. I'm waiting to see what Raiden's plan is so I can move forward.

- Caligo - Imperial City: Exire - Golden Palace - When was the point that everything went wrong? That was the question that many asked themselves around the Overworld. The land below the Sea of Clouds, once coming back to life, was destroyed. How? they did not fully know. Why? the could only guess. "Should we suppose that the reason for the current whereabouts of the Dark Witch, who was supposed to be under your watch, Judge Magister, is thanks to your own incompetence?" Raishan said coldly, "Raiden of Mystras failed to save the land below the clouds, you lost the Dark Witch and-" "Thanks for your imput, My lady, but whether it was our fault. Yes, ours, since I am here as well, has nothing to do with you," Sifrei asnwered, "We learned about a large amount of human refugees arriving at Kilkis Seres. Saved by current regent, Yevgeni Malachite. Which should be good news, even when the land below, or the rest of humanity, was lost in the process." "Master Mond, with the cooperation of a group from Kilkis Seres, manage to find fragments of the weapon used to murder the Frostbearer. The culprit will be found." Rabiyu said calmly. "The plan has not changed. We will keep helping Raiden while we keep our eyes open for any information regarding the Dark Witch, or the regent of Kilkis Seres." Said Asura, "It is strange that the Prince didn't ascended to the throne, but he must have his reasons. Judge Magister, Master Mond, I trust you to keep helping with the current situation. If anything else happen, please, report back. I am sure my wife will be happy to hear of you when she wakes up. This meeting is now over." One by one the silhouettes around the room disappeared. Only Rabiyu, Sifrei and the King remained. "How is the Queen, Your Highness?" Rabiyu asked, "As well as one could hope, Judge Magister. The bonding ritual took some effort, but she is resting now. I expect her full recovery in a matter of days." Asura snwered while rubbing his eyes, "I will notify both of you when she wakes up from her slumber, but for now, keep focused on the situation over there." Rabiyu and Sifrei bowed while the silhouettes disappeared. It was time to focus on what was going to be done now that the land below was destroyed. The two Judges wondered what the future hold for both feys and humans, and what would be Raiden's next course of action..

Already working on it. Give me a couple of minutes and I will post it!

Holy cow! And here I was, trying to write something for dear Aurora when this post appeared! That was exciting. Now we are truly at the end of our journey. I have to go back to think about what I'm trying to express for Aura.

You saw through my plan, Scrap! Now I have to break the guy's poor heart! Nah, I've been smiling like an idiot for a few minutes now. I think it was a cute confession, and a nice surprise. The music helped too. Good job, Star, good job. Now I have to delve into Aura's past and formulate an appropriate answer for the sudden confession of Helios. Her experiences with men have been...I don't want to say awful...but she has been unlucky in the romantic side.

- Aura - outskirts of Mystras - "Oh, um...sure," Aura said before looking at Alastor, "Thanks for the training." Aura walked in silence for a moment, wondering about Alastor's words regarding her condition. Apparently, there were more symptoms coming if she waited for too long. It didn't showed much but she was preoccupied about it. Although having Helios's support put her doubts to rest for the time being. Aura could see worry in his eyes, even when he was trying to keep calm. She also wondered what this back up plan of Helios was. "Helios? I, um," Aura stuttered for a second, "I just want to say...thank you. Thank you for giving me your support through this. I am very grateful." - Sifrei - Lake Kresnik - After a dew moments Sifrei walked back with the group after not being able to pinpoint the location of the weapon. "I agree with Mariel and Henry here." Sifrei said to Mikhail, "It would be beneficial if both parties work together to find this weapon." Sifrei then turned around and looked towards the lake. "Lord Raiden gave us an estimate of where the weapon could be, that information could help all reduce the time we could spend looking for it," he said calmly, "If we work together, then the time could be reduced even more. The assassin who murdered the Frostbearer must be caught so they can pay for their crimes.

I like to think that Alastor would try to obtain/steal an egg in his time in Arcadia. *At this point Henry would be considered a threat, perhaps.* Rabs is just watching Henry do her job. Giving him a thumbs up.

That is true!

That is until she is either killed or captured for either plotting, or successfully executing a coup against Leviathan and Asura. Whichever comes first. But hey! There's still Rabs, or Mielinare! "At this point, it's either a strategic retreat or Umbrasyl joining the fight so both can have some fun for awhile. Then they will leave after having their fun with Henry.*

Of course he doesn't! He is a dragon slayer! But like you said, it would be less troublesome. "At which point Henry would be deemed worthy to have his soul taken. Both dragon siblings could wait until Henry is dead by natural means." "I'm just waiting until Henry is powerful enough to suplex a massive dragoness"

Alastor would make a fine company indeed. Perhaps even convincing Raish to allow him to enter Arcadia as her guest. *Would slowly feel the increase in power. Fight to see how much his prowess can increase until his physical body start to suffer the consequences.*

Raish would be amused that Alastor can use the dragon tongue for extended periods of time while Rabs suffer the side effects, after some time. *Raish watching Henry for a moment, barely feeling the punches after dreadnought armor was activated. Trying to decide if he should be melted with acid or keep him within an inch of his life, see if he is useful enough so Umbra can take his soul and play with it for a few centuries."

Raishan's curiosity slightly piqued by Alastor's apparent mastery of the dragon tongue. Henry can punch Raishan's humanoid form all he wants. Who knows what would happen once she reverts back to her natural form.

Henry = Suicidal puncher = GOOD Alastor = Former Dragon Slayer = Unaccounted variable. Punch Raishan, one of the Dragon Princesses of Arcadia, in the face? Sure, why not? You could make it outside without consequences, maybe lose an arm and a leg in the process. Punch a judge in the face? A lifetime in prison, bound by ancient arcane means, without a chance to see the light of the sun again. Alastor? I cannot fathom what would happen if he did something like that. Humans need someone to protect them!

No problem! War changes people, feys are no exception, I suppose. Raish and Umbra, and dragons in general, are very distrustful of others, at least in my part of the world, unless they prove themselves worthy. Their oldests stories (I'm talking ages ago) tell of a greedy human who commited a crime that made the dragons leave the world below and create what currently is the continent of the north. That is why those two prefer to avoid anything that has to do with humans. I'm sure Leviathan and Asura from the north could agree with Soren. They wish to help the humans too. That is the reason they are helping Raiden through Rabiyu and Sifrei.

Raish is the sister, Umbra is the brother I think Yev's motivation has to do with the loss of his sister (and family?). I dunno about him being delusional, that's just his way of handling the current problem. I don't think Soren is alone. Maybe, he just needs to search for more like minded people/feys.

Raishan and Umbra see the humans as a plague. Sure, they may have redeemable qualities, but to them the worst qualities of the humans are the ones that show up more often. Humans are linked to the current situation, they had a share of the blame for the war two millennia ago, and who knows what other things they have done throughtout the ages. Bottom line? Raish is not to fond of humans.