Aerion

[Shorik]

Shorik had received the orders to report to the Galian Ruins. It seemed it was another one of those orders Shorik had to obey. Then again, this one seemed to have a good purpose. From what Shorik knew about Gravirgo, the man was once a tyrant who tried to rule Aerion. He had succeeded in claiming what was now the Unclaimed Lands. However, it was said that a warrior of both light and darkness had conquered him. Shorik couldn't help but wonder though.... The Death Knights were only able to use darkness. Even Shorik himself had no abilities of light magic. If Aerigen wanted Gravirgo defeated, he wasn't using the traditional method.

About a day later, Shorik had arrived at the Galian Ruins. Dark clouds surrounded the area, and an army of about 100 Death Knights had came. In the distance, was a ruined castle, with an army of undead warriors and beasts emerging from it.
This oughta be interesting....
Then, at the head of the group of Death Knights, two humanoid shadows appeared, and then became Aerigen, and a woman in white Death Knight Armour.
"Lord Aerigen!" the crowd of Death Knights chanted, lowering on to one knee. Shorik did the same.
"Knights!" Aerigen said, "As you know, you are here to eliminate Gravirgo. As you can see, we have an army to eliminate as well."
We? Shorik thought.
"Together," Aerigen said, "Let us fight for Aerion!"

With those words, Aerigen and the White Death Knight turned to face Gravirgo's army, and set off to defeat them. The rest of the Death Knights, and Shorik, followed, weapons drawn, and ready for battle.

Shorik started smashing undead warriors to pieces, while blasting them with dark fireballs, and the occasional blast of wind magic. He could feel a thrill in his body from the fighting. He almost enjoyed watching heads fly off his victims' heads. Soon enough, he decided to take on one of the undead beasts. It was a land dragon, with rotting blue scales. What wings it had in life were broken and useless. It's tail, limbs, and head, however, were all working fine, as it tried to kill Shorik with them. The disguised knight fought back fiercely, charging dark fire into his blade, and striking madly with it.

[Shorik]

Shorik was about to deliver the finishing blow to the undead dragon, when a Holy blast struck, and decimated it. The young man looked to see where the blast had come from, only to see the White Death Knight.
"Thanks." he said, running forward to combat more undead. The White Death Knight followed, and assisted. While Shorik weakened them with powerful strikes, the White Death Knight finished them off with Holy blasts.

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Aerigen had used a flight spell to take to the skies as the Death Knights went to battle. From his airborne position, the Dark Mage fired spells at his opponents, striking them down in single shots. soon enough, airborne creatures flew from the ruined castle, and began wreaking havoc from above. Aerigen diverted his attention to these beasts now, blasting them into oblivion with his magic.

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Back on the ground, the Death Knights fought hard, and had eventually managed to reach the ruined castle. Gravirgo was running out of undead to throw at them. On the other hand, the Death Knights had suffered soem casualties. Their numbers were now reduced to about 70 knights. With Aerigen, the White Death Knight, and Shorik at the head of the army, they charged into the castle.

[Shorik]

In all honesty, Teesha felt unsure of herself right now. Not long ago, she had been an enemy of Aerigen. She had gone and tried to kill the man. Yet now, she was clad in a suit of white armour, fighting a war for Aerigen's army. Sure, Shorik had killed his fatehr, and didn't come to her aid.. but did that mean she should've gone to Aerigen's side?

To make things worse, Teesha was inexperienced with both sword and armour. She was still able to move, but she felt weighed down and restricted. As for the sword, well, she could perhaps jab a few things, but she mostly relied on her holy magic.

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This was going smoother than Aerigen had originally thought. Gravirgo was less threatening than the legends made him out to be. Still, the man had the kind of power Aerigen needed, and he didn't regret returning him to the living world.

To make things even better, this battle had brough Shorik back into Aerigen's sight. It seemed his brother though he could hide behind a suit of Death Knight armour. However, Aerigen's powers allowed him to easily see past such masks. For now, though, Aerigen decided to let Shorik play at the sharade a little longer. He was at least a helpful hand for now.

Soon enough, Aerigen, and his army had stormed the entire castle, and cornered Gravirgo to what had been a ballroom. He was merely a strongly buily man, with long black hair, brown eyes, and he wore an old suit of armour. Despite the cirumstance, though, Gravirgo was smiling.
"So, Aerigen.." he said with a low voice, "You bring an entire army to stop me? I'm flattered."
"Hmph!" Aerigen said, "I could destroy you myself, Gravirgo."
"Oh really?" the revived man responded, "Let's test that theory!"
Dark energy began to emit from Gravirgo, until he unleashed it through the whole room in a wave. As it passed through Aerigen's Death Knights, they were literally decimated, with nothing left of them. However....

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Shorik felt stung as the wave hit him, and he was pushed back a few feet. However, he didn't share the same fate as the other Death Knights around him. He looked around, and saw that only he, Aerigen, and the White Death Knight were still alive.
"Interesting..." Gravirgo said, as he summoned an axe to his hand that looked as if it was spawned from hell, "You brought more than mere peons."
Neither Aerigen, or the White Death Knight responded.

It was then that the battle started. Gravirgo swung at his foes with his axe, though Shorik noted that his main target seemed to be the White Death Knight. It was now that Shorik could see she wasn't suited for melee combat. Her dodges were just barely made, and often times lucky. She wasn't able to counter back. Aerigen, on the other hand, had took to the air, and seemed to be charging something. That left Shorik to try and attack Gravirgo whenever the opportunity arose.

Several minutes went by, and the White Death Knight had been exhausted out of the battle. Aerigen was still in the air, charging something, while avoiding magic blasts from Gravirgo. Shorik, lastly, was facing off with the revived man, one-on-one. Both had managed to get some strikes on each other, but neither had fallen yet. Shorik raised his sword high, and landed a hard blow on Gravirgo, knocking him back a couple of feet.
"Definatly not an average knight." he said.

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Aerigen had finished charging his spell, ad was presented with a perfect opportunity to use it. Gravirgo had just been knocked back by Shorik, keeping him still just long enough. The Dark Lord unleashed the spell in a large blast of pure magic that struck Gravirgo. When it ended, Gravirgo was left, kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Strike him, now!" Aerigen said, as he slowly fell to the ground. Admittedly, the spell had taken a toll on him.

[Shorik]

Gravirgo knew his end was near. For the second time, He would die. He regretted the fact that he couldn't achieve his goal, but he was a man of honour, and would take this death proudly.
"Go on..." he said to the Death Knight before him, "Kill me."

As Gravirgo savoured his last breath of air, the Death Knight plunged his sword through his chest. It was then that Gravirgo's body burst into silver-blue smoke of some kind. As a result, Both Death Knights were blwon into the air, and landed on the gorund some feet away.

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Shorik slowly got up from the ground. His body was beginning to ache. It took him a moment to realize that his helmet was off his head, and down on the ground, revealing his identidy.
Oh no....
Looking forward, the young man saw Aerigen staring straight at him, as well as...
"Teesha?!" he said, rubbing his eyes before looking back at the now unmasked White Death Knight. It was her. Many questions formed in Shorik's head, but before he could voice any of them...

"Yes, it is Teesha, Shorik." Aerigen said, walking over to where Gravirgo had been moments ago, and absorbing the silver-blue smoke.
"You turned her into a Death Knight?!" Shorik said, his anger beginning to rise.
"I did nothing, actually." Aerigen said, "I merely provided her shelter, food, and training. When Gravirgo went on the loose, she volunteered to help. Isn't that right, Teesha?"
"Yes.." Teesha said, walking over to Aerigen.
Shorik didn't believe it. Something was up.
"Why would you ally yourself with him?" he asked, "He kidnapped you, and kept you prisoner! Twice!"
"He kept me alive, and safe, though." Teesha replied, "Meanwhile, you forgot about me, and became a murderer!"
"Murderer?!" Shorik said, "What are you talking about?!"
"You're father!" Teesha accused, "You killed him, and fled!"
"I didn't kill him!" Shorik protested, "Despite what he's been telling you, my brother killed him! I'm your friend! Why take his word over mine?!"
"You used to be my friend, Shorik..." Teesha said, angry tears beginning to appear in her eyes, "But that was in the past. You've changed."

Shorik couldn't believe it. Aerigen had to have brainwashed Teesha. There was no other reasonable explanation. Furious, he raised his sword, and ran at Aerigen, ready to strike. However, before he could, Teesha stepped in the way, and drew her sword at him.
"You won't harm him, murderer!" she said, before blasting Shorik back with a Holy Orb.
"I don't want to harm you Teesha." he said, getting up. However, Teesha had ran up to him, and slashed him with her sword. She was a novice with the blade, though, and he still stood.
"But I guess I have no other choice." he said to her, "I'm sorry Teesha."

The two clashed blades and magic for a good five minutes straight, with neither of them falling. Shorik had been able to wear out Teesha with blunt hits with his blade, but Teesha had been able to wear him down with holy magic. Shorik knew that this had to end soon. He needed to take down Aerigen, and the more energy he wasted here, the less he would have for that task. So, he quickly charged dark energy into his blade and smacked Teesha full force with the flat side of it. She fell to the ground, and didn't rise up to retaliate, but she was still alive.
"I'm sorry..." Shorik said, before turning to face Aerigen.

"You hate me right?" Aerigen said, "Don't waste your breath saying it, cause I know it, Shorik. What I'd like to know, though, is what will you do with that hate?"
"I'll kill you!" Shorik said, furiously slashing at his brother, who teleported to the side.
"I highly doubt that Shorik." Aerigen responded, "We've fought a few times now, and each time you say that you'll kill me. However, I'm still here, alive and well."
"Before, I was reluctant to kill you, Aerigen. We were family." Shorik said, making another fruitless slash at his brother, "But now it's different."
"How so?" Aerigen asked.
"You killed our father! You turned my one true friend agaisnt me!" Shorik answered.
"Ah.. So now you'll try killing me out of revenge." Aerigen said, "It will still be the same though. You don't have the power to kill me. You're still the same man who I fought in Verlian. I, however, continue to grow stronger. Even just now, I've become stronger. Gravirgo's energy was well worth the hassle."

Filled with blind anger, Shorik thrust his sword at Aerigen. He heard the sound of flesh being ripped open, and then took the sword out. He then looked forward to see Teesha standing in front of him, a stab wound in her torso, and her eyes wide in shock. To her right, stood Aerigen, perfectly fine, smiling cruelly.

Shorik dropped his sword to the ground, and caught Teesha's body as she began to fall forward.
"This can't be happening.." he said, tears streaming down his face, "I..I...I'm sorry... I..."
"It's... alright.." Teesha said, her voice quiet, "You're forgiven, Shorik.. You're... forgiven... my friend.."

Shorik looked into Teesha's eyes, and he knew, that whatever magic Aerigen had her under was broken. The Teesha he knew was back, even if only for a moment. Here eyes closed, and she stopped breathing. Silver-blue smoke was released from her into the air, and Shorik set her down on the ground. He turned to Aerigen who was now absorbing the smoke, like he had with Gravirgo.
"DIE!" Shorik yelled, picking up his sword, and hurling it at Aerigen, who teleported into the air. Blinded by grief and anger, Shorik took off pieces of his armour and began throwing them at Aerigen, until there were no more pieces to throw. Aerigen remained unscathed.
"Ahhh..." Aerigen breathed, "Much more energy than Gravirgo. Interesting. Well, Shorik, I've had my fill of death for now. Until we next meet, you are a free man. Then, you will be a dead man."
With those parting words, Aerigen disappeared.

[Shorik]

For a breif while, Shorik took out his rage on the ruined castle around him. Eventually, he calmed down, and walked to where hsi sword landed. He looked upon it with hate. He wanted to destroy it, or at least leave it here. But, he needed a weapon until he returned to where he hid his old one. So, he strapped it to his back, and then walked over to Teesha. He picked her up, and walked outside the ruins, until he found a calm spot of land. He then dug a grave, and placed Teesha's body inside it. Finally, he filled the grave, and then marked it with a broken piece of wood he found laying about. He planned to return here with a more suitable grave marker. But for now, Shorik left the Galian Ruins.

[Shorik]

Part III

Not long after Teesha's death, Shorik Malentfeis was no longer wanted for the murder of Sefito Malentfeis. Now a free man, Shorik was free to take back his identidy, and he met up with Gardivon before taking any further action.

Meanwhile, the resistance groups against Aerigen were beginning to unite. Rumours of war were being whispered in the dark alleys.

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"So, you're a free man now." Gardivon said, looking over at Shorik, who was sitting on the grass, his head in his hands, "What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know.." Shorik said, "What can I do?"
"You can pursue your brother." Gardivon said, "You want him dead, right?"
"Yeah... but how many more lives will I destroy in the process, Gardivon?" Shorik said, his head still buried in his hands.
"What are you talking about?" Gardivon questioned.
"Think about it." Shorik said, "In my attempts to kill Aerigen, I've only ended up killing those close to me. First my father, then my first and best friend. Who will be next."

"That's up to you." Gardivon said, "If you go after him now, maybe nobody else will die. Sitting here mulling about it is going to accomplish nothing, though."
Shorik sighed, and then got up to his feet.
"You're right..." he said, "Let's seek out the resistance groups. They could help."

A short time later, Shorik and Gardivon were trekking through the forest in which they had hid the former's equipment. Suddenly, Shorik could hear some shouts coming from not far away. Curious, Shorik ran off to the source.

Three death knights clad in heavy armour had surrounded themselves around a young woman. One of the knights was crouched down in pain.
"Grr..." the crouched knight said, "You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Lord Aerigen. I'll give you one more chance to come quietly."
The young woman gave a laugh, and then smacked to knight with the flat side of a swallow blade. The other two knights then proceeded to restrain the woman.

Not exacty sure why he was getting himself involved, Shorik ran into the fray, and began attacking the knights. They had been taken by surprise, and within moments, they had been knocked down, freeing the woman, who then proceeded to attack with Shorik. After a few moments, the knights were dead, and Shorik was taking his first good look at this woman he had just helped out.

She was just about his age, and she stood at about 5'7". She had a slender attractive frame, blue eyes, and long blonde hair. She was wearing brown travelling boots, black cloth pants, a white cloth sleeveless tunic, and brown gloves. Around her waist was a brown belt with various pouches tied to it.
"Thanks." she said to Shorik, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead, "Didn't expect to find anyone here, much less someone kind enough to help a stranger."

"No problem." Shorik said.
"Say..." the woman said, looking closely at Shorik's face, "You look like that guy who used to be accused of killing his father.. Shorik Malentfeis is it?"
"Yeah. I'm him." Shorik replied, "And you are?"
"Aiona Jazari." the woman replied, "Nice to meet you Shorik.

[Shorik]

"This is what your detour was about?" Gardivon said, coming into view.
"Yeah.." Shorik said, "She was being ganged up by a pack of Death Knights. I couldn't just ignore it."
"I understand." Gardivon replied, "So then, who are you, miss?"

Shorik quickly made the intorductions between Aiona and Gardivon.
"Pleased to meet you." Aiona said to Gardivon, "So, where were you guys headed, before taking this detour?"
"Nowhere specifically." Shorik answered, "Just trying to find a resistance group. What about you?"
"Aside from fleeing the Death Knights?" Aiona responded, "I've been looking for a resistance group as well. I figure if I want to successfully kill Aerigen, it'll be easier to work in numbers."
"Wait, you actually did try killing him?" Shorik said.
"Yeah..." Aiona responded, "What? You thought a girl like me wouldn't be capable of it?"
"No, no.." Shorik said, "I just thought those Death Knights were making up the charge against you."
"Hmm..." Aiona said, "Well, no, I did try to kill Aerigen. To be honest, I was lucky to have made it out alive.... Anyways, if we're both looking for the same thing, why not find it together? Besides, you could use another fighting hand."

[Shorik]

It had taken a day to find someone willing to talk about nearby resistance groups. It then took another two days to find and arrive at the location of the camp. In those days Shorik got to know Aiona a bit more. She was a generally calm woman, even if she was sometimes blunt. Her reasons for trying to kill Aerigen had been personal.

"That bastard destroyed my home." she had said, "My neighbors, stangers, my family... All of them killed without remorse."
"What about you?" Shorik asked, "How did you survive."
"He spared me, but forced me to watch them all die." Aiona told him, "I never found out why."

Shorik couldn't help but feel closer to Aiona than he did to most other people in his life. Maybe it was because they both had seen loved ones die at the hands of the same person. Maybe it was something more. In any case, Shorik enjoyed having Aiona around.

The resistance camp's location was well-placed. Underneath the Razenda Desert of the Unclaimed Lands was a series of caves and tunnels. Parts were manmade , while others were there naturally. In any case, the desert heat made it hard to find one of the entraces to the tunnels without guidance, and even if you did, the tunnels were fairly dark, and hard to navigate.

Luckily, Shorik, Aiona and Gardivon had managed to find the resistance camp. The bulk was located in a large cave, with the rest in some smaller caves nearby. The area was lit with torches, and it was bustling with people when the three strangers came across it. Two feline demi-humans in plate armour quickly blocked the path.
"Who are you, and what do you seek?" one of the said.
"We are travellers who wish to join the resistance against Aerigen Malentfeis." Shorik stated, "We were guided here by a man named Jordi."
"Jordi, huh?" the second demi-human said, "He is one of our scouts... However, all hopeful recruits must be approved by the Master. Please follow me."
The demi-human lead Shorik, Aiona, and Gardivon through the camp while the second demi-human took the rear. They arrived at a door within the cave wall. the demi human opened it, and enetered into the room beyond it.
"Master Vargos, I bring you three new recruits to our cause." he said.
"Bring them forth." said the voice of an older man.

Shorik observed the room as he entered it. There were maps of Aerion hung upon the cave walls, and a large wooden table in the middle that took up a fair portionm of the room. many papers and writing utensils were strewn upon it, while a grey haired man in blue clothing sat behind it. He raised his head to look at Shorik, Aiona, and Gardivon as they entered.
"Hmm...." the man said, stroking his goatee, "What are your names?"
"Shorik Malentfeis." Shorik answered.
"Aiona Jazari." Aiona responded.
"Garidvon" Gardivon said.
"Shorik?" the man said, "I assume you are the same Shorik who was falsely accused of killing his own father, and you Gardivon must be the dragon that gained noteriety as his partner-in-crime. And Aiona... accused of trying to kill Aerigen himself.... Interesting."
"May we join your resistance?" Aiona asked, obviously wanting to just get to the point.
"Certainly." the man said, "Welcome to the largest resistance force in all of Aerion. I am the leader, Kain Vargos."
"Thank you, Sir Vargos." Shorik said.
"Please, 'Kain' is fine." Kain said, "Anyways, these gentlemen will show you to your quarters."

[Shorik]

Shorik and Aiona observed their new living qaurters as they entered them. It was a fair-sized tent with 3 cots,a two oil laterns hanging off the pole holding the tent up, and just enough floor space to store basic belongings, and still have room to move. One cot was already occupied by some clothes and other items, as well as it's owner.
"Hikaro?" Shorik said.
"Shorik?" responded the silver-haired man, "I see you've ditched the disguise."
"Well, I have no need of it anymore." Shorik said, "I am apparently a free man now."
"True. Well, in any case, it is good to see you." Hikaro said.
"Umm.. I hate to interupt," Aiona butted in, "But Shorik, who is this guy, and how do you know him?"
"Ah, forigve me..." Hikaro said, making a small bow, "My name is Hikaro."
"He helped me try and rescue Teesha from Aerigen before I had been accused of murdering my father.." Shorik explained, "He also lended me a hand with a task I had to do in the Latrion Mountains. If I remember correctly, you had said you were trying to form a resistance group back then Hikaro, yet here you are."
"Well, I did manage to gather a small group together. However, after a rather.. unfortunate incident, I was once again alone. Rumour had come to me about a greater Resistance group down here, and sought it out. I think you can finish the rest of the story on your own."

For the next hour, Shorik and Aiona adjusted themselves to their new home, with Hikaro's help. Most tents held up to 3 people, while the tenst themselves were grouped up into little "neighbourhoods of five. These five tents all shared a cooking pit. There were also larger tents that stored weapons, armour, and other combat equipment. There were also designated areas within the caves that could be used for combat training. Everyone was required to train at least 3 times a week.
"Hmm..." Shorik said, sitting down on his cot, "I suppose I could get used to this."
"When do we go after Aerigen?" Aiona asked.
"Really, that's Kain's decision." Hikaro answered, "Until then, we just keep ourselves in fighting form."
"What's the use in waiting?" Aiona objected, "While we wait here, doing nothing, Aerigen will continue to destroy lives, and gain power!"
"I know what you mean." Hikaro said, I don't like it either, but I know from experience that rushed plans won't work."
"But-" Aiona said.
"He's right.." Shorik said, "All the times I went after Aerigen were rushed, heat-of-the-moment moves. Everytime, I failed to take him down. Really, I was lucky to have remained alive through them. I'm also guessing your attempt on Aerigen's life wasn't planned out that much. I think it's safe to say that we need to have an actual plan before we try to take down my brother."
"I.. I guess you're right..." Aiona said, defeated.

[Shorik]

The next day came, and Shorik, Aiona, and Hikaro decided to do some training. They had asked Gardivon if he wanted to join them, however....

"I wouldn't mind.." he had said, "But, if I remember correctly, there are others of my kind in the area. I think it would be wise for me to try and have them join our cause."
"Well, then we'll skip the training and go with you." Shorik suggested.
"Not a good idea." Gardivon said, "Most dragons aren't very fond of humans. If you were to come, it'd lower the chances of them helping us, and your lives would be in an unecessary risk."

So, in the end, Gardivon had gone off to convince the dragons, while Shorik and Aiona followed Hikaro to one of the training zones. Shorik knew he needed this training. It wasn't learning to use a one-handed sword again, but rather to dual-wield them again. That, and he needed to re-adjust to using his enhancement stones in combat.

The training zone Hikaro had lead them to was still undeground, with enough torches placed to keep the whole area nicely lit. It was designed for both melee and magic training, with more of a focus on melee. There were a number of different obstacles and targets to use, however something else caught the group's attention.
"Any idea where that leads?" Aiona asked Hikaro, pointing to an open door on the opposite side of the zone.
"No.." Hikaro said, "Nobody's allowed to go in there, last I checked."
"Obviously someone thought differently." Shorik said, "Perhaps we oughta check it out?"
"I dunno.." Hikaro said, "There could be danger down there."
"There's danger everywhere these days." Aiona noted, "Besides, it'd make for good training."
"Still..." Hikaro said.
"Don't worry, Hikaro." Shorik said, "We were able to take down that Aquelos. I think the three of us can handle this. If we can't, then we flee, plain and simple."
"Alright.." Hikaro sighed, walking to the door.


Through the door was a spiralling staircase that led down into a large room. There wasn't much light, but the group could see open coffins littering the stone floor, as well as multiple skeletons.
"Hmm..." Hikaro said, picking up on dark energy in the room, "I would guess that whoever came before us had taken care of those undead."
"Undead?" Shorik said, "I thought those were just old skeletons."
"Nah.." Hikaro said, "The lucky bit about being a Dark Warrior is the ability to pick up on magic. They may be unactive right now, but those skeletons are bleeding necromatic energy."
"Hmm.." Aiona said, "Either way, we don't need to worry about them, right?"
"Nope." Hikaro said, "But if we linger in here long enough, they might rise again. Best if we just continue forward."

[Shorik]

As Shorik, Aiona, and Hikaro proceeded through the tomb, they continued to find slain undead littering the floors. After they came into the fifth room filled with them, Hikaro noted an observation.
"The magic binding them is much weaker here than the ones we first encountered. Whoever defeated these is not far ahead." he said.

Thet crossed the room, and opened the door into the next. It was about the same size as the one before it, however, it had three other exits, and a raised table in the center of the room. Next to the table was a man wearing sapphire blue armour. In one hand he held a single-edged greatsword, and in the other, a stone. He turned his head to look at Shorik, Aiona, and Hikaro.
"Who is so foolish to enter here?" he asked.
"I would ask the same of you." Hikaro said calmly, "You are the one who slayed those undead, no?"
"What does it matter to you?" the armoured man said.
"Because it would mean you know the Resistance's whereabouts." Hikaro said.
"Of coure I know." the armoured man said, "I'm one of the founders! The question, though, is who are you three?"
"Newer recruits." Shorik answered.
"I see...." the armoured man said, "So what are three nwebies doing down here? I'm sure you were told not to go down here."
"Mainly curiousity." Aiona answered, "We saw the entrance was open, and came to check it out."
"Now, if you don't mind us asking," Hikaro said, "Why are you down here?"
The armoured man sighed and said, "It was said that some great treasure was left down in this tomb. A treasure that held great power. I decided to come down here and get it for the resistance before it got into Aerigen's hands."
"Makes sense..." Hikaro said, "So, what have you found?"
"Just this stone." the armoured man said, "The fact that it was placed on this pedestal would make it appear that it has some sort of power, but it hasn't shown anything of the like."
"Could I see it?" Shorik asked. The armoured man obliged and tossed the stone to Shorik, who inspected it closely. It looked very much like his two enhancement stones.
"I can't say for sure what this stone does..." he said, "But it should do something when the time is right."

The armoured man looked like he was about to say soemthing, but before he could, the door opposite them flew open, and Death Knights began to storm in.
"Dammit!" the armoured man said, "Death Kngihts. Back to the camp!"
With that, the man rushed for the left exit, rather than the one shorik, Aiona, and Hikaro had coem through. For a moment, the three of them were confused as to why he went that way, but then cottoned on.
We can't lead them to the camp... We gotta lead them away from it.... Shorik thought.

[Shorik]

The plan seemed to be working. The Death Knights were chasing Shorik and the others, being led away from the resistance camp. To make things better, the Death Knights were out of range for melee attacks, and what little magic they were using was pretty pathetic, and badly aimed.

However, Shorik and the others finally found themselves at a dead end. They turned around to see the Death Knights beginning to block their way.
"Well, I guess we only have one option now." Hikaro said as everyone drew their weapons.
"Makes for some decent training." Shorik said, fairly confident.
Before any strike could be made, though, a furious roar could be heard from above.

Suddenly, a strange humanoid giant landed on the ground. It was about 9 feet tall, and quite muscular, with blood red skin. It wore tribal-looking armour, as well as a tribal mask resembling a hawk. It wielded two glowing greatswords which it used to decimate the Death Knights in about a minute. It then turned to Shorik, and the others, and roared.
"I think I prefered the Death Knights..." Hikaro said.

The group tried to fight the giant, but didn't have any success. Their attacks were easily blocked, while the giant managed to get a few small cuts upon them. They decided to try and flee, but as they ran for the exit, the giant made a furious roar that caused some boulders to fall from the ceiling, and block their way.
"This can't be happening!" Aiona exclainmed
"Don't worry.." The armoured man said, closing his eyes, and holding his sword in front of him, "I've got an idea.. but I'll need you to distract that thing."
Shorik, Aiona, and Hikaro all gulped nervously, but moved forward to do their part. The giant attacked furiously, and three of them had difficulty defending it's attacks. Within moments, both HJikaro and Aiona had taken enough injuries to retreat, leaving Shorik to face the beast alone.
Dammit!
"How much longer do I need to keep this up?" Shorik asked as he took a minor cut to the shoulder.
"Not long..." the armoured man responded.
Gah! I need to defend... Just a little longer.
A green light could be seen from inside Shorik's pouch, and the young man began to feel clear-minded, and very aware. He could see the giant making a motion to attack. It appeared to be an overhead chop. Shorik brought both of his swords in front of him, crossed them, and used them to hold off the attack, and soon, deflect it. The giant came back to attack quickly, but Shorik managed to block that blow, as well as the next wave of blows.

"Alright!" the armoured man said, turning to face the blocked exit, "Here goes nothing!"
An orange aura surrounded the armoured man and his sword, as he wound up for a bat-like swing. He swung his blade at the boulders, which shattered into smaller pieces that the group could walk over.
"Finally!" Shorik said, as teh green light faded from his pouch. Immediatly, the group of four exited the room. Hikaro halted after passing the boulders, though, and made a quick shot of pure magic energy at the ceiling, which caused the exit to cave-in once more.
"There." he said, catching back up with the others, "Let's get out of here."

[Shorik]

The group made their way back through the tomb, until they reached the room where they had found the stone in Shorik's pouch. Standing before them was a Death Knight. It was completely covered in armour, minus two glowing red eyes. The armour itself had a more demonic look to it than the regular set, and in the Death Knight's right hand was an obsidian sword.
"A Death General." Hikaro noted.
"General?" Aiona said, "Great..."
"So....." the Death General said, "You escaped from my men. Not bad for Resistance scum.... You would make fine members of Lord Aerigen's forces."
"Ha!" Shorik laughed, "There's not a chance in hell that'll happen."
"What a pity.." the General remarked, before sending a wave of darkness at the four Resistance members. Already weakened, they fell to their knees.
"We're in no condition to fight..." Hikaro said, "We'll have to run again."
"If we run, he'll follow.." the armoured man pointed out.
"Then you guys run, and I'll hold him off." Aiona said.
"Are you crazy?" Hikaro said.
"Nope.." Aiona said, "Just trust me, and get going!"
the armoured man and Hikaro began to head for the exit, but Shorik hesitated.
"Go already!" Aiona said, a slightly grin on her face.
Shorik finally left with the others, while Aiona confronted the General.
"Don't even think you're going to get past me!" she taunted.
"Ha!" the General said, "You are foolish."

Aiona rushed in to attack, but the General was prepared, and deflected it easily before counterattacking. Aiona hastily sidestepped the attack, and tried to strike the General down again. After another five unsucesscful attempts by both the combatants, Aiona jumped back a couple of feet, and took a breath.
"Hmm..." the General said, "I thought I recognized you.... The woman who attempted to kill Lord Aerigen."
"What's it to you?" Aiona said, panting a bit.
"You ceratinly must be skilled to have even come close to an attempt on the Lord's life. I'm certain he would be willing to have someone of such skill in his ranks." The General offered, "It certainly beats spending your life as a fugitive, no?"
"Serving the monster that took away everyone close to me?" Aiona said, "I'd rather be dead!"
"Then let me grant your wish!" the General said, advancign to Aiona, and making a horizontal sweep with his blade. Aiona ducked under the attack, and thrust her weapon right into the General's torso. A sizable hole in the armour was created, and underneath it, all that could be seen was darkness, and the random fork of red lightning. For a moment, Aiona was in shock. In thi s moment, the now angered General grabbed Aiona's weapon, and threw it and her across the room, and into the opposite wall.

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Meanwhile, Shorik was feeling uneasy as he, Hikaro, and the armoured man fled. He didn't feel right running while Aiona risked her life for them. He was in a better condition to fight, yet he had let her take the place....
No... I can't do this.
Without a word, Shorik quickly turned around and headed back.

When he arrived, Aiona was slumped against a wall, with the General closing in on her. Not hesistating, Shorik drew his blades and charged at the General, knocking him back a couple of feet.
"Shorik... the hole... attack the hole." Aiona panted.
Shorik looked at the General to try and understand what Aiona had meant. There was a hole in the General's armour. That must've been it. The young man qucikly rushed foward, and plunged both of his blades in the hole, as the General cried in agony. It's eyes glowed brighter, and red light could been seen erryupting from newly formed cracks thoughout the armour. Before Shorik knew it, the General was destroyed in a burst energy that sent him flying into a wall, where he lost conciousness.

[Shorik]

"What have I accomplished?" Shorik found himself standing in darkness, with nobody around him. All he could hear were his own thoughts.
"Your brother has taken over Aerion. Your home is nearly ruins. You did nothing to save your father, and you killed your childhood friend. If you've accomplished anything, it certainly isn't anything good."
Shorik's environment changed. He was in the ruins of his home, with his father's body sprawled out on the fountain, and Teesha's lying in front of him, with the Death Knight sword plunged through her torso. High in the sky, Aerigen hovered, the darkness blottign the skies coming from him. However, it was all frozen in time, and had a portrait look to it. Shorik hung his head.
"This is everything I've accomplished."

"Not everything.." a voice said in the back of his head, "You've tried to defeat your brother for the good of Aerion. You freed Gardivon. You helped Aiona."

"Yeah.." Shorik said, "But in all my attempts, I failed to defeat my brother. And Gardivon freed me, rather than the other way around.... And Aiona... Well, that's one decent deed with no bad side, but still..."
"Shorik..." the voice said, "Not everything turned out well.. Some even turned out really bad. But, through it all, you are still a good person. You can still accomplish good things... You just need to continue onward...""Yeah... " Shorik said, "Maybe you're right..."

"Shorik..."

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"Shorik..." Aiona's voice said, "You awake?"
Slowly, Shorik opened his eyes, and adjusted to the light. By the looks of it, he was inside his tent at the Resistance camp. He began to sit up, but felt blast of pain in his torso.
"Whoa, man.." Hikaro said, from his bunk, "Take it easy. You're still recovering."
"Recovering?" Shorik said. He then looked at himself. His lower torso was bandaged up, as well as his left forearm he could feel a bandage over his left leg under the blankets.
"Damn..." he said, trying again to sit up, except this time slowly, "How long have I been out?"
"Not that long.." Hikaro answered, "Almost a day... Mithan and I ran back after you after we realized you had gone back to Aiona and the Death General."
"Mithan?" Shorik said.
"The man we met in the tomb.. "Hikaro explained, "Anyways, we found you both unconcious, and the General was gone... By the way, what happened to him?"
"Aiona had created a hole in his armour, and I exploited it when I got there..." Shorik answered, "However, he then burst into an explosion...."
"Ahh..." Hikaro said, "Well, Mithan and I managed to bring you guys back here, and from there, the healers started their work. Aiona only came to a few minutes before you did."
Shorik nodded as he observed both of his friends. They also were in bandages, though Shorik noticed Hikaro didn't have quite as much as Aiona and him.
"Where is Mithan?" Shorik asked, "I owe him my thanks."
"He's either training, or discussing plans with Kain." Hikaro answered, "Turns out he's one of the higher ups in the Resistance. I'll bring him over later, if you want to thank him, but right now, you two should focus on resting up."
"Yeah.." Aiona agreed, "That's probably a good idea."

Hikaro stood up, and began to exit the tent.
"Hey, wait!" Shorik protested, "Where are you going?"
"To get some food. The healers said they'd bring it to us as long as we're recovering, but I'm feeling well enough to at least walk. I'll be back shortly."
Shorik sighed as Hikaro left. He then noticed Aiona staring at him, with a small smile on her face.
"What?" he asked her.
"Oh.." she responded, looking as if she'd just been called back to reality, "Nothing... well, there is one thing.."
"Yeah?" Shorik said.
"I wanted to.. well.... Thanks, Shorik.." Aiona said, "That general might've got the better of me if you hadn't come back..."
"Don't mention it.." Shorik said, "I... I didn't feel right leaving you behind.."
Aiona smiled, "Thanks."

[Shorik]

For a week, both Shorik and Aiona were bedbound. It felt like the longest week in his life for Shorik. He had taken injuries before, but he'd never been stuck in bed for a prolonged amount of time because of them. Shorik was constantly restless, and being trapped in the tent was like being trapped in a prison. To make things worse, not all the healers were nice people. Particularily this one grumpy one who would come in, and just tear off the bandages rather forcefully before healing the wounds. She'd then re-apply the bandages too tightly, and storm out.

From what Shorik could gather, it seemed like Aiona wasn't enjoying her bedridden week either. The two of them were both glad to be free after the week. By this point, most of their injuries healed completely.
"Finally!" Shorik exclaimed as he walked out of the tent and stretched his arms, "Sweet freedom!"
Aiona chuckled as she followed him, "So, Mr. Glad-To-Be-Free, what exactly are you going to do with your freedom?"
"Well..." Shorik stared "I'm gonna... err...."
"Maybe we oughta check in with Kain and Mithan." Aiona suggested, "Who knows what's happened while we've been holed up in that tent."
"Well, I suppose I may as well join you guys." Hikaro said, walking up to Shorik and Aiona from another section of the camp, "I need to catch up with current events myself."

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"Lord Aerigen, I have reports from the battle in Vedonia."
"Then give them to me." Aerigen said as he outstretched his hand. The Death Knight before him trembled as he handed over the reports. Aerigen began to look them over, becoming dissaapointed as he went through them.
"Vedonia has yet to be taken, or surrendered?!" Aerigen questioned, "Would you care to explain why that is?"
"W-well, you see My Lord-" the Death Knight stuttered, trembling even more.
"How is it that this one city still stands free?" Aerigen asked, "Aervona was more heavilly guarded, and yet here we are right now!"
"Well, their forces are armed with magic, My Lord..." The Death Knight pointed out.
"So are yours." Aerigen said, "This shouldn't be a problem."
"Well.." The Death Knight said, "We have reason to believe that Verdonia is recieving outside help."
"'Outside help?'" Aerigen said, "Please, clarify for me."
"Verdonia is a city of Demi-Humans, however, among their forces, we spotted humans." the Death Knight said, "These humans also were in different armour, even varrying amongst themselves. If our assumptions are correct, these humans may be part of one of the few resistance groups left."

Aerigen pondered over this information for a bit. If these humans were from a Resistance group, then they would need to be dealt with before Verdonia could be taken. However, that would require knowledge of where their main camp was. Acquiring such knowledge was beconming harder as the remaining groups became more organized. However, it wasn't impossible."
"Alright." Aerigen said, "I will grant you reinforcements, as well as a scout group."
"We already have a scout group, My Lord." the Death Knight said.
"I know." Aerigen said, "That one is for scouting Verdonia. This new one is to be used to find the source of these resistance forces. They must be dealt with as soon as possible. Understand?"
"Yes, My Lord." the Death Knight said, bowing down.

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"Well, if it isn't you three.." Mithan said, as Shorik, Aiona and Hikaro entered the confrence tent, "What do you need?"
"A summary of wha'ts been happening while we've been recovering.." Hikaro said.
"Then please, have a seat." Mithan responded. sittign next to Mithan was Kain, who began to speak.
"For starters, Our ranks have grown a bit. However, Aerigen's Death Knights have swept across almost all of Aerion now. There are few places that he does not control."
"One of those places is the city of Verdonia. However, Aerigen's forces have begun to concentrate on taking that city." Mithan said
"What's so important about Verdonia?" Shorik asked.
"We have two guesses... " Kain said, "One is that Verdonia's population consists of powerful mages. Surely Aerigen would not want to chance any of his enemies having magic that rivals his own."
"Our second guess is that Aerigen wants control over the Tower of Herados, which is located within Verdonia." Mithan continued.
"And the importance of that Tower is...?" Aiona asked.
"We're not too certain of that.." Mithan answered, "According to the Verdonians, there is a legend that says in times of need, a hero will descend from the tower and bring peace to the land. If anything, the Tower acts as a symbol of hope."
"So, how is Verdonia doing against Aerigen's forces?" Hikaro asked.
"They're managing to keep Aerigen's forces outside the city, but they are beginning to weaken. They have already requested our help." Kain answered
"'Requested?' You make it sound like we aren't helping them." Shorik said.
"Well, we have sent a some of our soldiers to aid them." Kain explained, "However, we cannot risk losing our forces in one shot."
"What happens if Verdonia is taken?" Aiona asked, "You did say that the Tower was a symbol of hope, right? Isn't that hope worth more than just a few soldiers?"
"It is, but still.." Kain said, "I must consider the bigger picture. You are dismised."
With that, Shorik, Aiona, and Hikaro left the conference tent, and headed back to their own, their minds still fixed on the Verdonia situation.