The Ninth Prophecy

[Enigmatic Immortal]

CLOSED TO PARAGON

“Say it again, Anita!” Jensen cheered pointing a finger at Sei’s daughter accusingly as the young woman merely sighed in frustration. “Go on, tell me one more time!” Jensen leaned forwards with his hand cupping his ear, just to make sure he could get in every juicy detail of the words that were about to be said.

So far the Nine had yet to fully gather, and as Anita was the only one who could read the tablets of prophecy and decipher them it was a tough role for her to fulfill. Yet that didn’t stop the enigmatic immortal from expecting only the best from the one job the young Mystic had. Sei had politely asked Jensen politely to put in a cork in Anita and Jensen’s usual games of piss the other off, but today the knight couldn’t let it go when it came to Anita’s only job.

“I was wrong,” Anita mumbled as she angrily looked to the tablet. Slowly she took a small duster, an archeologist brush and gently swiped it along the bottom and sighed again. “Damn it, it wasn’t Logan, it never was Logan, you happy immortal?” Anita passed him a sideways glare as Jensen whooped excitedly, clapping his hands and laughing. Anita sighed again lowering herself to her knees and whisking away more dirt that hid a few lines in the tablet, altered the shapes of the symbols, and showed that she was impenitently wrong.

“I suppose I should tell my father about this,” She sighed turning and walking past Jensen, but the immortal wasn’t done quite yet.

“So, question for you,” Jensen asked annoyingly, grinning right behind her left ear. “You have one duty in this army, and that’s decipher the names of the Nine generals, right?” Anita sighed. “So, if you were wrong about the librarian chick, wrong about Corvus, and now wrong about Logan, what makes you think you are right about Taka Laka Ding Dong, and Willy, and all the other Nine generals?”

“Shut up Jensen!” Anita roared turning to face him as he chuckled and grinned wider. “This isn’t exactly basic reading, and I don’t see you bothering to decipher the script!”

“Why should I? I kill things.” Jensen laughed as Anita sighed, pushing him away as she turned. Jensen continued to follow her, laughing it up that she was a failure and that she wasn’t really good for much. When they entered Sei’s sanctum Anita nearly sprinted to be next to her father, pointing to Jensen and complaining about how he’s being a jerk. To that the immortal merely grinned and pointed back to Anita.

“I may be a dick, but who’s the one who fucked up YET ANOTHER prophecy?” Jensen retorted as Anita’s face went red with embarrassment. Sei looked to his daughter and she sheepishly nodded.

“We were wrong about Logan,” She admitted. “It’s not him, Papa.” Sei merely took one hand and rubbed her shoulders.

“It’s not an exact science, Anita. The important part is learning from the mistakes and trying harder!” Sei told her and she instantly felt better. That was until Jensen broke in.

“BULLSHIT!” Jensen roared. “She’s got one damn job to perform! Read a fucking stone! You can’t gloss over this shit, Sei! We got a war coming and we need every general we can get! Her not reading the damned scribbly lines correctly is holding this army back! How many soldiers are still waiting for their leader to arrive?” Sei merely motioned for Jensen to be silent.

“Do you have an idea of where our missing family member may be?” Sei asked his daughter. Anita looked to him and nodded.

“I have reason to believe he’s in Corone, maybe near Gisela.” She bit her lower lip. “The prophecy speaks of a skilled worker and enchanter. There happens to be an area in Corone where I heard of a highly skilled enchanter in the area doing work for some gold! I think that‘s our best lead! I‘m positive, Papa!” Anita spoke with such conviction that Sei merely nodded to her, accepting her wisdom. Jensen once again brought in reality.

“About as positive as you were that your hocus pocus predictions were correct?” Anita shot Jensen a violent glare. She returned her gaze to Sei and nodded confidently. Sei merely looked down to the table and sighed, which sounded rather awkward coming from the mute.

“Taka isn’t back yet, and I can’t wait any longer. I have matters to address with rest of the army and I can’t leave. Yet I do have an idea…” Sei looked to Jensen with a coy smile. “Mr. Ambrose, since you have such a ventured interest in this prophecy you will escort my daughter to find our missing member. Anita, you are to listen to Jensen when it comes to danger, but otherwise I leave you in charge. By the way, that’s an order Jensen!” Sei smiled to him as Anita dropped her jaw.

“Can’t I take William?” Anita whined. “Cassandra Remi? Zerith? Talen? ANYBODY but Jensen?” The immortal nodded furiously.

“Yeah, I got a family to think of!” Jensen said quickly. “Can’t just abandon my kid now!”

“Azza is in good hands with Stephanie,” Sei said ending the matter with Jensen. “And yo need to learn to work with all the aspects of this army, not just the ones you like.” Sei scolded his daughter. Both gave him puppy eyes to make him change his mind. He shook his head and pointed to the door.

“Come on, Jensen,” Anita grumbled. “Grab your things. We’ll leave in a half hour.”

“Yes, Fairy Butch Queen,” Jensen mumbled in a snobbish tone. Anita shot him a dark look before moving on to her room. Before Jensen left he felt Sei’s hand upon his shoulder.

“Jensen, she means as much to me as Azza does to you. I trust if the time comes you will act accordingly.” Sei looked to him with his soft eyes and the immortal looked back before patting the man’s hand.

“From one daddy to another,” Jensen said with heavy sarcasm, but honest intent. “I’ll watch after your little girl if you watch after mine.” Sei nodded and smiled as Jensen looked back down the hall. “Though I make no promises I won’t kill her myself.”

“Oh, I’m sure the feeling is mutual.” Sei thought happily as he went back to his desk.

[Paragon]

all bunnying approved etc

Her stall was a modest one, nestled in the business district of Gisela between a smelly fish stand and loud metal casting workshop. It wasn't the most comfortable location for her, but she didn't have much of a choice. Despite the high quality of her enchanting ability, she had no sources, contacts, sponsors, and no supply of good material. Ever since her father, a skilled enchanter, died ten years ago, she's been trying to craft her own fate. However, her refusal to conduct exquisite work on almost-worthless material for cheap has left her in a rut financially.

Her name was Celesta. She had long, wavy red hair covered by a cloche hat. The amber eyes that hid in the shade were inherited from her father. Her black cascade dress gave her an elegance befitting someone who didn't belong there, as if she was merely standing in for her husband, most assumed. With her legs crossed and a scowl on her face, she sat with some agitation.

This was no way to live!

Already in her early twenties, she felt her life wasting away attempting to convince suppliers to provide her what what she wanted, even though she didn't have the money to pay them right away. As it stood, she had few options to not become stricken with poverty.

It was then that a man came to her stall. Instead of soliciting or asking for her alleged husband, he inquired about her services.

She noticed him only mid-sentence, "...What kind of enchantments? I've never had one personally, but it sounds interesting."

Peering out from under her hat, with one of her nails digging slightly into her skin, she pointed at two iron spheres sitting on the counter. The man blinked, and picked one of them up. It was very smooth and light to the touch, and surprisingly he lifted it so fast that he almost lost his grip on it. It was like he was picking up a feather. He placed it back down, then picked up the other one, which felt as it should. He smiled and asked what sort of equipment she could do this sort of enchantment on.

She blinked. Normally, people assumed one of the balls was not iron, hollow, or whatever else was would lead them to assume it wasn't enchanted. This man was different. He explicitly believed in the work. They both went into the stall, which was covered by a large blue tarp. Inside, the man placed an iron breastplate onto a work bench, and she told him to come back later to pick it up. As he was leaving the stall, he noticed small jars filled with a powdery substance, as well as some vials of liquid strewn about. Feeling confident, he went off to explore the rest of the marketplace.

A voice spoke into his head, "How did you know the iron ball wasn't hollow?"

Dorian Sesthal smiled, replying to his invisible black dragonling friend, "I'm a blacksmith. I can tell."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Gisela was brisk in the early afternoon, the sun not bearing down intently and the wind not overwhelming. It was a nice day and Anita lowered her jacket zipper to let some of the refreshing wind pass through her. Jensen stood behind her, eyes shut as he walked feeling the air blow the small tufts of his hair as he lazily yawned. Anita quickly elbowed the knight, doubling him over with a gasping sound before a triumphant smile crossed her features.

“We are on duty, not lounging about. I expect us to fins her within forty eight hours.” Jensen snorted rubbing his stomach where he was elbowed.

“Rushing the job won’t erase the mistake you made in choosing the wrong guy. Do you even have a description? Let me guess, you don’t” Jensen cut the woman off multiple times as she tried to speak, placing a hand on her head and yawning as he ruffled her hair. Angrily she shoved his hand off.

“I do have a description! The ninth general is…um…a very hard worker, confident and skilled in the ways of the forges and…um…” Jensen just chuckled. “Okay fine, so maybe the prophecy wasn’t exactly keen on giving detailed instructions on what to look for. Isn’t that a truth for most prophecy’s anyway?”

“Actually, I think you and I can agree on that one. In the Knight’s of Apocalypse we got this one prophecy about the End Bringer. Deep during the third winter's reign during the near of the Ragnarok a child of destiny shall be born, and with its cries they shall bring the four faces of the end, and the Knights shall be no more.” He spoke in a deep tone like an old sage and Anita felt a giggle coming as she smiled to him.

“That was pretty ambiguous,” She admitted. Jensen laughed as he shook his head in disappointment. “All prophecies gotta be convoluted and up to different interpretations. Otherwise it’d be so easy to prove they never existed. If I knew Joe Bob was going to lift the golden sword out on the fourth day of the winter sunsets, then it’d be easy to find Joe Bob and just prevent it from happening, right?” Anita feigned a shrug.

“Some would say by preventing the action you actually are setting the events in motion to realize it. This really comes down to what you personally believe. Do the Thayne’s control every aspect of our lives so well that they can predict all we do before hand?” She shrugged. “Some can’t handle that kind of feeling of powerlessness.” Jensen looked to the streets of the different carts and stalls.

“Gisela, the home of the grand army tournament.” Anita snorted.

“Not entirely true, it’s just the city the tournament was named after!” She piped as she brushed a stray lock of hair. “Now we need to focus, Mr. Ambrose,” She spoke in a haughty way, as if she were talking down to Jensen and the immortal wouldn’t take much of it. Easilyhe lifted up two fingers and thwacked Anita upside the head.

“OH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE THAT FLY THAT NEARLY KILLED YOU!” Jensen was being loud on purpose to draw as many eyes as he could before letting out a cruel chuckle. Anita shook her head angrily as she stifled the response, looking to the prying eyes with embarrassment as she turned to the different booths.

“Come on, loudmouth, let’s get cracking. We need to find us an enchanter of legendary skill.”

[Paragon]

When Dorian returned, she directed him to the back of the stall for fitting. He sat down in a folding chair, and slipped the iron breastplate on over his shirt. At first, his expectations got the better of him.

"Hey, not bad! I feel lighter alread... y... "

He snapped through the chair and fell to the ground. It was as if gravity decided to do a number on him. He looked around for the enchanter but she was gone.

"Argh.. Fallow, did you see where she went?"

"I, I don't know! One moment she was here... it's like she's vanished! What's going on?!"

Dorian smiled in pain, "I think we've been had."

After a few minutes and with Fallow's help, he slipped out of the breastplate, which laid on the ground. It was very heavy now, which was the opposite of what he wanted. Wiping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, he looked around and noticed most of the materials were missing too. Were they here when he entered the stall? Her speed at getting away after a scam was impressive.

Fallow was confused, "Why did she do this? I don't understand!" Dorian was ever the positive one.

"I'm sure she has her reasons. It may not look it, but even though this is an enchantment that is much cheaper to weave, it takes phenomenal skill to use such limited materials to this effect."

At that moment, the stall was raided by several members of the city guard and wealthy-looking individuals dressed in fine silks and puffy sleeves.

One of the noblemen yelled, "This is it! Where that vile mistress scammed me!"

The city guard reassured him, "We've got it under control, sir." They started rummaging through the stall.

Behind the metalcaster's workshop adjacent to the enchanting stall, Dorian caught his breath. He crouched down behind the hot furnace giving off steam and the stench of burning metal. He just narrowly avoided being implicated. He overhead more of their conversation.

"I will not be made a fool!" announced the nobleman. "Put a bounty on her head!I want this city picked clean until she is found!"

"What now?" asked Dorian's little dragonling friend, who was floating invisibly in mid-air.

"We've got to find her first and warn her."

"What? After what she did to you?"

"She has real skill. I think we can work something out."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

As they entered the town they nearly were ran over by a rush of guars who sighed as nobles began to shout at them for justice. Jensen and Anita watched as they argued about how to find the woman who swindled them, angry that anyone would steal their money on bogus tricks. Anita’s eyes widened and Jensen begant o shake his head defiantly.

“Nope, outta the question,” Jensen ordered. Anita gave him a cross look.

“What do you mean, no? I didn’t even say anything yet!” She shot back.

“You got that stupid ass look in your eyes, just like Sei does when he wants to help somebody in need. We got a mission to do!” Anita turned to she faced Jensen and lifted a wagging finger to him as she began to spout out nonsense the immortal only half listened to. As far as conversations went, Anita sucked. So he did the next best thing, stare at her body and find something to be attracted to.

“You don’t get the real motive of the Ixian Knights…” She was nicely shaped, not to fat or scrawny. All the walking made her have nice thighs, he supposed. Though Stephanie’s was much, much nicer. “We have obligations to our fellow man, a concept you wouldn’t…” Her eyes were cute. “To think my father would even trust you with tying his shoes is beyond me…” Pretty face for sure. “Taka is a fine example of what a man should be,” She said with a righteous fury.

“Isn’t he a ronin? So by that title he done fucked up royally, with a royal chick no less?” Jensen countered as he observed her ears. Well, they weren’t huge, but nothing he could feel like nibbling. Interestingly enough those edible ears belong to a woman he hated, and that was Cassandra.

“And another thing, you are completely rude and insensitive…” She talks a lot, Jensen concluded. “Why Kyla even had a fling with you is a level of understanding I’ll never be able to reach…” She turned to look back at the crowd. Her ass was nice, but Kyla’s was nicer. “And will you PLEASE stop ogling my body?” She finished. Her legs from this angle wasn’t all that bad, made her rump look juicy in the way she leaned heavily on one leg. Maybe that was what Taka liked. Yes, in the end Anita’s legs were probably her strongest going trait.

“Huh? Did you say something?” Jensen mused with a smile.

“Sick pig,” Jensen shrugged. “We are going to help the town guard for free, as a good will mission to the town from the Ixian Knights. Saddle up.”

“No,” Jensen said sternly. “We’re here to find the Ninth general! We can’t do that if we’re playing town guard all day.” Anita rolled her eyes.

“They are looking for the legendary enchanter! This must be the general! If we can find them first and smooth things over we can take them back with us!” Jensen shook his head and laughed.

“She’s a con artist, not the ninth general!” Jensen looked into Anita’s piercing gaze and smiled again. “Look, you really, really think that this is the way to go, and I really, really think it isn’t. So tell you what,” Jensen relaxed and brought his hands over his chest leaning on his left leg. “I feel confident that with you being protected by the town guard you can do your own thing. Me? I’ll do my own and find this ninth general, assuming they are even here.” He put his hand out and Anita took a moment to contemplate it.

“Acceptable terms, Mr. Ambrose.” Anita shook his hand politely. Jensen turned towards the enchanting shop shrugged back to Anita. “Check in at this location in two hours, and no leaving the city limits. I’m serious about that one!” Jensen warned the girl, and Anita reluctantly agreed when she saw he wasn’t going to back down.

“Fine, in two hours,” And the daughter of Sei went her own way to chase after the guards, fishing in her bag for some papers. Jensen rolled his eyes as he headed towards the stalls to see if he could dig up any information on the so called legendary enchanter. One of the stall owners had to know some information, and Jensen would find it. All he had to do was be patient.

[Paragon]

Atop a tall shoppe building behind her stall, the Enchantress stood firmly on the roof looking downward at the nobles rifling through what was left of her business. She had planned to make a hasty retreat, but stayed when she noticed the city guard approaching. It would've been an amusing sight to see the young man take the fall for her, but he was keen to notice the approaching feet, sly to note his predicament, and agile enough to slip out of the armor and hide in time. She shrugged, holding her high heels in one hand. Around her feet were enchanted silver anklets allowing a heightened capacity for jumping and an even greater one for soft landings. At her side was a small pouch wrapped up with an elastic band. She loosened it with her free hand and stuck the high heels inside, and despite the obvious volume difference between the pouch and the footwear, it disappeared into the pouch entirely. Pulling out a pair of pink boots that broke several laws of physics in their size difference with the pouch, she put them on. The bag, after all, was enchanted to allow a capacity equal to a storehouse. In it was her entire stockpile of available material.

With a flick of her wrist, she changed the color of her dress to red, her hair to black, and her eyes to a deep emerald. Even her hairstyle became a much shorter version of the previous one, with her hair only extending just past her ears. She tossed her hat into the wind. It was like she was a different person, thanks to her enchanted bracelet on her left hand that allowed one to change their outward appearance. Content with her newfound anonymity, she walked towards the back of the workshop's roof and jumped down, landing so softly that she made no audible sound.

After getting some distance from her former stand and keeping a watch on her back, she decided it was safe enough. Although ultimately, she had never been detected after changing her appearance. Even her face had subtle changes in eye shape, nose length, and cheek rise for enough of a distinguishable difference. She could not help but maintain her beauty however. With some alleged hard-earned money, she decided to get some fruit from a stand. In the busy marketplace on the other side of town, she was knee-deep in a busy intersection filled with busy patrons. Handing off her money to the fruit seller, she bit into a juicy apple and savored the taste. Although she did not hear what the guards said from up there, it was likely that she had to either lay low for a while or go to another town entirely. She was not found of moving around much, so she would try to opt for the former option. After all, her biggest chance of high-value material was in these big cities, or so she thought.

Taking another bite, she was tapped on the shoulder.

"Miss, may I have a moment of your time?"

She turned around, expecting a panhandler or an admirer, and nearly choked on the food in her mouth. Staring her right in the face was the man she just conned, Dorian Sesthal. She froze.

"Oh sorry, I must have the wrong person." He turned around and walked away.

She blinked. What was that? What was that? What was that? While standing still, she observed as he stopped in his tracks as if he forgot something. Then, he sloooowly turned around, an expression on his face that resembled a gorilla finding his lost banana. She dropped the apple, jumping high into the air to the amazement of those around her, and disappearing onto another street.

Dorian slammed a fist into his palm and yelled, "You were right!"

"I told you!" lamented Fallow. "I never forget a scent. What made you realize it was her?"

"Enchanting! It's not out of the realm of reason that she would have one to mix up her looks. I bet she's so accustomed to this being enough that she was cocky enough to just walk around in broad daylight. She never counted on my little invisible tracker!"

Fallow's eyes sunk, "I'm not a dog, you know..."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Anita smiled as the town guard all welcomed her into their ranks for the investigation. The sergeant had mentioned he had a nephew serving Sei in the Ixian Knights and was more than willing to accept any help the group would offer. As she walked with them she thought about how this was what it was supposed to be about. Brotherhood and working together towards a common goal. Jensen would never get it, but what could a man with so narrow a mind comprehend? Cassandra Remi was right in that aspect. Those with a singular focus would be blind to all the possibilities.

The search took them to the market as they described the woman who had sold her bogus wares, and she drank in the details of her new general. She was supposedly very good at what she did, and many people had paid for her services, but for whatever reason she skipped out with the money and ran. Anita thought about her new member to Sei’s army. If she was a dishonest person she would need to make sure she received the proper support to change.

Sei had changed Cassandra, after all. If he could set the Midnight Mistress on the right path, surely this new found general could be as well?

The sergeant awoke her from her thoughts and pointed to the end of the supermarket. “We got shouts coming from that direction, all men prepare for search and seize.” Anita nodded her head in understanding. Found ya, She thought triumphantly. Take that you immortal jerk!

~*~*~

Jensen’s eyes scanned the different stalls as he sighed to himself, rubbing the back of his head before looking up the sky and pondering what to do next. So far the only information he gathered was the person he was searching for was a woman, nobody knew a whole lot about her before she fled. Jensen was impressed that she seemed to have just vanished in thin air.

In the back of his head he wondered how Anita was doing with her search, thinking if she needed any help with anything. Though he didn’t personally like the girl, he didn’t hate her. There was only one person alive today that Jensen actually hated with all his earnest intent of the words meaning, and that was Cassandra Remi. Even his tussles with William Arcus was just intense displeasure of two rivals who frustratingly couldn’t figure out how to kill the other off. And even then, at least William was man enough to go to blows with the immortal himself instead of hiding behind shadows and utilizing underhanded tactics to get the job done.

That was also a concerning note, now that he pondered it. Cassandra and Anita had spent a lot of time together, but now that the dark detestable bitch was reported as dead how would Sei’s daughter take it? Anita’s demeanor as of late has been getting colder the more Jensen rolled the thought in his mind. He would need to talk to Sei, cause nobody should ever go down the path Cassandra walked.

“Tasty apples?” A vendor asked. Jensen looked up, nearly bumped into a woman with black hair, and apologized before moving on. He chastised himself mentally for getting so lost in his thoughts and did a few mental exercises to focus on his objective again. During that time he continued to peek through the stalls of business, buying himself a piece of bread and munching on it before he heard some shouting. Turning his head up he observed a site that made him drop his bread to the ground.

The black haired woman had vaulted high into the sky and onto the top of a couple buildings, rushing away. Jensen was amazed by the act of agility and looked down to his own boots. With a couple test jumps he whistled in awe.

Taking a few more test jumps Jensen looked to the woman and then bolted, chasing after her. “Hey, get back here! I got a shiny present for you!”

[Paragon]

"This way!"

Dorian followed Fallow's airborne tracking, navigating tight intersections and narrow streets. He followed her into a restaurant, where he saw her slide across the bar counter and slip into the kitchen. He pursued, almost knocking over several people in his chase, and then smashing into a set of pots and pans that were kindly displaced by the runaway enchantress. Passing by looks of horror, he avoided capture by the angry staff of the establishing and ran out the back door into an alley. Trying to catch his breath, he looked around and couldn't spot her anywhere. He didn't have time to determine his route however, as he fled the scene before the cooks could come out wielding cleavers. Unfortunately, Dorian didn't have telepathic abilities. He couldn't ask Fallow for more directions.

Luckily, Fallow relayed his next message, "I've got her! She ran into this courtyard to your next right!"

Dorian made his way to a large open space with ground that's been stomped so hard that no grass grew anymore. It was a flea market of sorts, with peddlers exchanging clothes and old tools. It was surrounded by shacks and fences, and Fallow lost her in the crowd temporarily. She was still somewhere there, since he would've caught her scent leaving the area.

Fallow flew down, hovering just slightly above everyone's heads. Dorian ran over to him, his eyes darting about frantically.

"Where did she go?"

Fallow looked toward a blond-haired woman with curly hair standing in front of a stack of clothes. He flew up close to her and then told Dorian that this was her. Dorian tried a different approach.

"Hey!" he called out to her. "I don't mean any harm! I just want to talk!"

He received an unexpected response. With tearful rage in her eyes, she ran at him with a knife. It was a strange knife, for even though she was still five feet away from her, he could feel the tip of the knife press into his chest. If it wasn't for his reaction time to get away, he would've been stabbed by some sort of invisible force. The knife was, after all, had a strange enchant of hitting out five feet in front of it one second early, given adequate acceleration by the wielder and a strong grip on the knife with two hands.

As he dodged, he noticed that she couldn't stop her momentum, and took the opportunity to attempt to restrain her. He reached for her hand and grabbed it, but she would have none of this as he attempted to jump high into the air once more, causing Dorian to lose his grip. However, he managed to pull the transforming ring off her hand, causing her to return to her original, red-headed appearance. She landed, noticing her change, but it was too late. The city guard, who were closing in on the commotion since it started, had already surrounded them.

"On behalf of The Guard we order you to cease and desist!" ordered one of the armed guards.

Celesta gave Dorian the look at what you've done, you imbecile! glare.

One of the guards addressed him, "We don't know what your business is with her, but we must ask you to turn the matter over to us."

Dorian turned to the guard with a confident smirk, about to proclaim something, bu at this time Jensen came crashing down onto the ground from the sky, adding more confusion to the scene, "About time you squirrels stopped... squirreling... about the city! Wait, can I try that again?"

"I've had just about enough of this!" screamed the noble, who had been trailing the city guardsmen. "Arrest this witch immediately!"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Jensen announced. "You see, she's mine. I hope you see that."

Dorian sighed. Somehow, in one fell swoop, Jensen appeared out of nowhere and stole his thunder. He still had to try to sound cool, "I'm not letting anyone lay a hand on her."

Fallow flapped his wings intensely above the scene. They were all standing in the center of the courtyard, having already chased away all the shoppers and driven the merchants away. With such an open area, there was no place to run.

Jensen finally recognized Dorian, "Oh, hey dragon-boy! Didn't think I'd find you here. Talk to any dragons lately?"

All this time, Celesta has been standing at the center of it all, completely red-faced. After gritting her teeth for nearly a minute, she finally clenched her fists and looked up at all of them, "I don't recall asking for your help!"

She reached down into the ground, her fists sliding into the ground like it was made of sand, and pulled up a huge chunk of earth. Using the power of her Golem's Might necklace, she held it above her head, causing more than a few jaws to drop. It was a huge stone that was circular and nearly three meters in diameter. She chucked it not at the city guard, but at Dorian and Jensen, who were arrogant enough to assume she was a damsel in distress needing to be saved by a couple of macho, righteous heroes!

Dorian jumped out of the way, hitting the ground and and rolling over to his side, and the rock kept flying at Jensen.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“Holy hell lady!” Jensen bellowed as the rock flew at him. He made an effort to roll to his right, but his body hit hard into a cart that was trying to be pushed out of the way of the scene. Jensen bounced off it like a pebble and lifted his arms up in a defensive position, as if that would save his soul.

Just as the rock was about to hit his face he felt a tiny bubble form around his body, and as the rock struck his bubble the sound of glass shattering echoed in the street scene. The immortal had known what had happened, seeing the Mystic Protection spelled used before. Anita stood behind the knight, a smile on her face as she strolled casually like she owned the place. When she stood next to Jensen she shot the enchantress a smile of a kindness.

“We would like to talk to you, if these terms are acceptable,” Anita began as she started to pull out her file folder on the Ixian Knights.

“No, it’s not! I was accosted by these men! Harassed by the younger one, and molested by the older one.” Jensen’s jaw dropped in accusation. Dorian even seemed to be a bit hurt by the woman’s words, but he still stood before her against the guards.

“Look lady, you may be cute, but I am not that into you!” Jensen warned with a wagging finger. Anita kicked him in the shins to silence the immortal as she took a few steps closer.

“We just want to help you out of this mess, and offer you something in return. Your destiny!” Anita tried to communicate with her, but all she got was confused looks and awkward glances. “I swear to you, that I have found the ninth general of the Ixian Knights!”

“Nope, sorry, wrong woman,” The enchantress said rapidly. Jensen slapped Anita upside the head.

“This is your destiny? By the gods woman, are you trying to make this prophecy happen by force, or actually going to let the fates or whatever figure it out?” Anita looked like she would stab Jensen, but before anymore words could be exchanged the guards moved on the prisoner.

“Listen, both of you!” The woman said, and as she began to tap her foot Jensen saw the signs of a long winded rant coming about. Not really all that interested in whatever she was about to bitch about, Jensen reverted to his normal routine. “You have got to have bats in your brains if you think…” Hmm, she does have pretty eyes. Bit harsh though… “So take your damned prophecy and shove it up…” Decent rack, could get some nice bounce I’d think… “And as for you, you wanna be knight in shining armor!” She turned to Dorian going off on him. Hmm, Anita’s legs are way better than hers. But I do not lie when I say I dig the pale complexion… “And YOU!” She shouted to the immortal. “I don’t even know who the hell you are to think you can come running right at me…” I’d say all she’s got is great skin tone, and pretty eyes. Maybe if she’d drop the ‘I’m a bitch’ attitude…

“You are coming with us!” The guard shouted over her rant. Dorian prepared for the worst, but instead of getting ready he was shoved forwards and stumbled. The dragon-speaker nearly fell into the guards as the woman lifted out a mirror and looked right at it.

“She’s doing more witchcraft!” The nobles shouted in a frenzy. Jensen watched as she took the mirror and slammed it onto the ground, the pieces fracturing into seven shards. Then the most incredible thing happened that Jensen had seen, more so than her jumping abilities. Each shard had a small, but quickly growing shape emerge from the glass, and when they stood erect they were each mirror images of the woman.

“Uh, Sarge?” One of the guard asked confused. Anita’s eyes went wide as Jensen’s vision scanned each one quickly. Dorian looked up from the ground confused, and without warning the woman and all her doppelgangers split up into eight different directions charging through the alleys, climbing ladders, and running into houses and vendor’s businesses.

“Search and apprehend her!” The leader shouted pointing towards one of the bodies.

“Which one, sir?” A guard shouted tracking another.

“Uh…I…I…” The Sergeant was out of his element as he looked to them getting away. “Ah, Thayne damn it all, chase all of them! Split up, and don’t lose her!” Anita watched as one breezed by her, nearly pushing into the daughter of Sei but Jensen intercepted the hit as he felt her wonder away in a trot. He spun in a circle, laughing wildly as he grinned looking at Dorian.

“Always fun with you, isn’t it, dragon boy?” Dorian rolled his eyes as the immortal helped the man up, watching everyone splitting and running away. Anita looked to Jensen, gave him a sly grin that told him the chase was still on, and she ran off with another town guardsman to capture one of the copies. When it was just Jensen left with Dorian he looked to him with a chuckle.

“They all are going the wrong way,” Jensen said quickly urging the man onwards. “I know which way she’s going, oh and by the way, good to see you Dorian!” Jensen clasped the man on the back. “I hope you got over that awkward dragon talking phase,” Again Dorian rolled his eyes as he moved with Jensen.

“First off,” Dorian panted. “Good to see you too! I never had a chance to say thanks for helping me.” Jensen shrugged.

“Not my style to stick around,” He laughed in his dash. They caught sight of red hair turning a corner and redoubled their efforts.

“Right, well, second off,” Dorian and Jensen parted ways running alongside both sides of a food vendor’s cart. When they met he continued talking as if nothing happened, pointing to the enchantress as she spotted them and cursed, moving faster. “How do you know we are chasing the right one?”

“Oh that?” Jensen muttered, jumping over a bench and coming up in a roll next to Dorian tossing a rock at the enchantress. It missed her calf by a fraction of an inch. “I looked at her ass while she was whining. Can’t forget an ass Dorian, it’s important!” Jensen looked to the boy with a wide grin. “And stop rolling your eyes.”

“Right,” Dorian mused. The dragon-speaker planted his hands on a fence to a tavern the woman ran into and vaulted the highest rung. Jensen placed one hand on the top rung and cart wheeled over the barrier not losing his momentum. They both landed in mud, splashing the other as they were reduced in speed, splashing and feeling the muck gather in the soles of their boots.

“So, out of curiosity, why are you doing all this for the broad anyways? She doesn’t seem to want your help, so what’s the deal?” Dorian pointed to Jensen and before he spoke the immortal anticipated the question. “Helping you, duh! You always needed my help it seems,” Jensen joked. “Now answer me, and mind the cow.”

[Paragon]

In the sleepy cabin deep in the mountains of Salvar, far-flung from any vestige of civilization, Dorian's father stood among the snowy trees in his green winter cloak. Covering his brown tunic, boots, and bald head, he put his strong arm on the trunk of a nearby pine. With a thick, short beard and long eyebrows, he looked up at the gently falling snow. Behind him was a teenage Dorian with light in his aqua eyes.

"Let me tell you" began the father "about what I do for the people here. Our lineage is in possession of an ability that, some would say, defies logic. It is not an art of forgery, nor an act of craftsmanship."

"Is that why we're not in the workshop?" asked the young Dorian.

"Very astute, boy. No, this is something that is not tempered nor imbued. I believe I have showed you many times before, but I have never told you how to do it."

"You said it's because it's something you can't teach. It must come to you."

"Indeed. However, there is a way to attune yourself to the process gradually. To do this, you need in your possession an enchanted item of the finest quality you can imagine. The kind that kings would fight wars over. I have avoided doing my 'work' on this particular item, because I wanted you to try attuning yourself to it."

He pulled out an axe from the case he was carrying, and in its splendor Dorian could not stop blinking. He almost had to shield his eyes from the brightness of the weapon, although the light from it faded.

He continued, "The blade is made of Mythril, and has been enchanted to find its mark no matter how wide the swing, and to parry instantaneously no matter how disadvantageous the position. It is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. Several enchanted gems have been imbued into the hilt as well, granting even greater abilities that even I do not have full knowledge of. After all, I have never used it, even though it is older than myself."

Young Dorian walked over to it, his own green cloak flailing in the high winds of the mountain, "What do I do?"

"See its fate."

Back in Gisela, Dorian didn't answer Jensen immediately. Part of it was his oath of secrecy to his father, which in retrospect was quite vague, and another was all this talk of prophecy. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted with the enchantress.

With his pupils wandering to the corner of his eyes, he said, "I just need some enchantments, that's all."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth. He needed something like the axe his father showed him. Back then, he wasn't ready yet, but even his father could not activate his abilities until his mid-20's. A stream of high-level enchantments would allow him to attune much more easily, perhaps finally letting him grasp the almost cryptic advice of his father.

They ran into an alley, with tall wooden buildings at each of their sides. He looked at the ring in the palm of his hand, the one he accidentally pulled off of the woman they were pursuing. It was a ring that allowed transformation of physical appearances. Such an enchantment was fairly powerful, but he wondered... what limits did it have? Hair color, clothes, eyes, skin, even specific shapes of the body such as the nose, mouth, and such? Why stop there? His focus drifted away from his target, and onto this ring. He thought of it one step further, with a different purpose. He stopped running, now completely engrossed in his thoughts. Jensen also halted, albeit impatiently as his glare switched between his target and Dorian, giving him the what's the hold up! look. The young dragon-speaker did not notice, however. Even Fallow's voice which went directly into his mind went unnoticed. Blue wisps appeared in mid-air around him and glowed like fireflies. The ring itself gained a lustrous quality, and several streams of near-transparent mist surrounded it.

He thought, 'Could you become something more? An animal, an object, and retain their features? Could you...'

Suddenly, he snapped back into reality, and in his hand was a dark blue ring with black engravings all over it. The engravings were so small, yet so detailed that it looked like it would take an artisan months to complete the painstaking process. It had a low glow, as though it was chiseled out of a combination of Sapphire and Prevaldia.

It would be called The Shapeshifter's Muse, allowing transformation into anyone and anything that the wearer has seen, retaining the physical qualities and physiological characteristics of the transformation. One could be a cheetah and as fast as one, an eagle and soar high as one, or a elephant and be as strong as one.

Or a curtain, and flow in the wind as softly as one.

Even Jensen was a bit taken back by the event, walking over to Dorian and asking him what the hell just happened. Dorian was speechless, and felt his strength leaving his body. He almost fell over but caught himself.

Just then, Celesta dropped in from above, demanding the ring. Minutes before, she had decided that she couldn't run forever, and the immortal chasing her seemed to have much more speed and jumping power than herself. It was either run and eventually get caught, or try to strike a deal. At the very least, she would attempt to steal back her ring. As she was plotting her retrieval, she sensed something strange in the air around Dorian and pulled out her scrying glasses, which were enchanted to determine the properties of an enchanted item. She was a bit surprised that they did not attempt to apprehend her upon her entry, but at least it seemed to match up with their previous 'offer'. She decided to make her move when, from a distance, the properties of her ring drastically changed. The ring which her father said was his best work, the ring that was her only keepsake from him. For this little punk to defile it! She could wait no longer. She circled around and jumped on top of one of the buildings that enclosed Dorian and Jensen before they ran through the alley below, and then jumped down in front of them.

"Return my ring," she demanded. Dorian could only put his palm out, still a bit winded from the ordeal, and she snatched it from his hand. "What have you done to it?! This... this is hardly my ring anymo.. re..." Her scrying glasses told the whole story. With this, she could easily escape not only from these two, but from everything in this city. "Do you know what you have done?!"

Dorian shook his head.

"Listen lady," Jensen interjected. "It's great that you've decided to come to your senses, but give the kid a break. Now, there's a very angry (and whiny) little twerp that wants to talk to you, so how about you come along already?"

She ignored him and kept looking at Dorian, "Why?"

Dorian, a bit recomposed but still with a heavy breath, answered, "I need more. I need the best."

She understood. As an enchanter, and as a perfectionist. "Could you provide the material?"

Dorian nodded.

Jensen scratched his head, clearly being left out of the subtleties of their conversation.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“Why is it every time we meet up, Dorian, you speak in cryptic nonsense that bothers the hell out of me?” Jensen observed as the two looked to each other with an understanding way beyond his simple mind. He looked over to the roads of the town, finding the guards looking around for their prey and Jensen snarled in rage. “Come on, and hurry! Both of you!” Jensen pushed the two towards the inn. The woman looked ready to protest but he forcefully cupped her mouth.

“You still have guards looking all over the land for you, so shut up, get inside, and let me hide you!”

“I never asked for your help!” She sassed after moving his mouth. Jensen just shook his head side to side in frustration.

“Didn’t exactly ask you either! Now get going!” Jensen shoved his coin purse into Dorian’s hands. “Reserve it for four. And stay low!” The boy looked to Jensen, then nodded once grabbing the enchantress’ hand. They both ran into the inn as Jensen turned to meet the guards before they snooped closer to the inn.

When he arrived at them he flicked one his throwing knives to his hand and turned away from them, slamming the pommel of the weapon into his face as hard as he could. He cringed and grunted in pain as he pocketed his weapon, feeling his cheek swell like he had recently been punched. When the guards ran to him, Anita in tow, they began asking him questions. Jensen just waved them all to calm themselves as he stood up, panting.

“She’s got a mighty good handle on her craft. Created something out of a mouse that gave me this to remind me of her by. I lost her, she ran into the forest past the inn.” The guards looked to their commanding officer.

“We may still have a chance,” He thought loudly as he made a motion to move his men forwards. Jensen quickly shook his head.

“No point, sarge,” Jensen said sadly. “She ran into the forest, shape shifted into a fox, and that was the last I saw of her.” The guard talked to Jensen, getting descriptions and what not for his reports as Anita eyed Jensen warily. She looked to him accusingly, but kept silent on the matter as the immortal discussed the situation with the Gisela guard. After a half hour of talking Jensen waved the guards away and turned to Anita.

“You lied the entire time,” Anita said as if she was onto the biggest discovery in detective history. Jensen chuckled to her patting her on the back and walking with her at his side.

“Yeah, but you didn’t bother to say anything because you know I know where she is.” Jensen mused back as she let out a snort of laughter. She looked up to him, beaming with excitement. “What’s up?”

“This is it! Once I tell her she’s the ninth general, the missing link, we will all be together! The Nine will have gathered, and Papa can save Radansath!” She shivered in excitement.

“Ya know, you still haven’t told me the prophecy yet,” Jensen mused. “She’s good, she’s damn good, but she isn’t the type to give a rats ass about anybody else.” Anita looked to her body guard and shrugged.

“Some said that about Lady Remi,” Anita countered. Jensen spat on the ground, thinking about Cassandra Remi with such hate.

“She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Jensen muttered. Anita shrugged as the two entered the Inn. “Okay, I’ll introduce you to our so called general, and if she says no, then what?” Jensen began to ponder more. “What if she really isn’t the one?” Anita looked to him with worried eyes.

“She has to be…I can’t afford to be wrong…” She didn’t finish her thoughts as she looked up at the stairs watching Jensen ask for the number to the room he had Dorian purchase.

I can’t be wrong! Anita panicked. She held herself for comfort, as she began to doubt everything. What if Jensen was right? What if she once again was wrong? More people would be suffering because she couldn’t find the general of the Nine. Her father’s prophecy rested on her shoulders, and so far she hadn’t done much. She got lucky with a few of them, but for the most part she had been wrong several times. She hated to admit it, but Jensen was correct in all his insults.

She hadn’t pursued looking for general’s because she was scared to be wrong again. She had been wrong several times and the looks on the soldiers faces when she returned empty handed had been to much to bare. So she spent all her free time just looking at the tablets in her room, hoping to scry some sort of answer. Yet Jensen had always been right, and only when she sat on her butt doing nothing was when the immortal yelled at her with such venom.

The more she thought about his anger, the more worried she became. What if she was wrong? Would he laugh at her again? Point his finger and rub it in her nose? She wasn’t sure she could handle that. Maybe a drink would help her! Yes, a nice drink. A Black Isle Ice Tea, that wasn’t very alcoholic. One tiny little drink wasn’t going to set her off the wagon again.

“Hey,” Jensen said interrupting her thoughts. “Win or lose, kiddo, I’m happy you are trying again. That’s all I ever wanted,” Jensen smiled to her, a father’s smile she had never seen before. She looked to his warmth, finding strength within it as he patted her on the back. So that was why Stephanie and Azza loved him so. “Though if you’re wrong, I will laugh SO hard,” Jensen teased.

Anita poked the immortal in the ribs, making him squeal and bend away as the two walked up the stairs. Before they entered the room, Anita hesitated, turned to look at Jensen, and smiled. “Thanks, Jensen,” she whispered. She then turned walking into the room, leaving the immortal confused, but shrugging all the same heading in

[Paragon]

The drab room had a clear, hardwood floor surrounded by four short walls. The two beds had thin sheets, and the single window's vision only extended to the next house that was packed tightly on this street. A single candle on stool added more light into the room than the small window. Dorian sat on one of the beds, but Celesta was pacing around nervously, looking over the ring.

"How did you do this?" she asked. "I've never seen this type of enchanting. It doesn't follow any of the conventions I've ever heard about." Even her scrying glasses could not determine the origin of the abilities on the ring.

"I don't know," Dorian replied. "All I know is that I need more... things.. not even weapons or armor, but anything with a powerful enchantment."

He hasn't been traveling that long, but already it seemed that his father was doing something extraordinary. He was told that only his family could do this strange Fate-crafting, but something in his mind told him that it wasn't the whole story.

"Anything? That's odd." She remembered something from her childhood, "My father once told me a story about the days long before I was born. He traveled the lands and performed enchantments for important figures, but because he was completely inept at financing, he would always come back barely better than he left. Anyway, he told me that one time he went to Jya's Keep in Fallien and was asked to perform very challenging and expensive enchantments on ordinary items: Cups, kettles, and such. I always thought it was strange, but here you are, asking something similar..."

Dorian sprung up, "Fallien?" He had never visited that place before. His father's knowledge of world events was sketchy, and nothing quite matched up his stories about his youth. It was outdated not by months or years, but sometimes hundreds of thousands of years. He doubted that his father was responsible for this, but there was really nothing to think about. "I know a place full of raw material. I could take you there, but..."

He looked at Fallow, who was sitting on the bed and staring at the two. He blinked a few times, gesturing to Dorian that she couldn't actually see him, but he was still looking at the little dragonling.

"What do you think? Should I take her there?"

Celesta, thinking Dorian was talking to her, asked, "Take who where?"

"Are you sure about this? Talking to me right in front of her?"

"It's fine," he said. "After all, I'm asking if it's alright to bring her to Malanthar."

Fallow's eyes widened, "B, but you barely know her! You would give away our most important secret to someone you just met?!"

"I trust her. I can see the kindness in people, however unlikely it seems. Ultimately, though, it's up to you and The Big Guy. If you don't want to do it, I'll drop the matter."

"Dorian..."

Celesta looked utterly bewildered, "You... are you insane?" Just then, she noticed that some of the bedding Dorian looked at was a little sunken. She turned silent.

"I trust you, Dorian. And if you trust her as well, then so do I." Dorian grinned at that. "I asked my father. He is willing to meet with her. However, if he suspects anything amiss... I don't know what would happen."

"Don't worry about it, little buddy! I'm sure she'll do just fine."

Celesta smacked Dorian on the side of his head, "Hellooo? Am I privvy to this discussion? What about my opinion on the matter, guy-who-talks-to-the-air?" Dorian stood up, rubbing his head and smiling. He extended his palm to Fallow, who nervously revealed himself to Celesta. The dragonling was invisible to everyone, but can selectively reveal himself to certain people. He's actually naturally invisible, so it's more akin to casting a spell on that person to see him. "W-what is... is that- a little dragon?!"

Dorian nodded, "His name is Fallow. He's been invisible to you up until now. I figured you wouldn't believe anything I said unless we did this first." Celesta's expression changed, and the new one horrified Fallow, but Dorian knew exactly what kind of look it was. "Uh, he's a little shy so try not to-"

She suddenly wrapped her arms around the dragonling and yelled, "Cuuuuute~! Look at those little horns growing out of its head! And these deep emerald eyes, I could get lost in them!"

The young man didn't quite expect this reaction. He thought he was going to deal with horror or confusion. She was better than he believed.

Fallow spoke into her mind this time, "I'm not an 'it', I'm a he,"

The enchantress drew back, "Ah! It- er, he speaks! That is marvelous!"

"So..." Dorian scratched his head. "Does this mean you're willing to come with me? It, it's a castle that's deep underground, far from any trace of civilization, no people anywhere, and..."

"Of course! If you're implying that there's more of this cute little guy, and precious material, then I'm all for it."

"Just like that? You're not suspicious at all?"

"With this ring, I can get away anytime I wanted to. In fact, there's nothing stopping me from flying out that window right now. Did you say there's nobody around? That's perfect, as I am sick to death of people. Not having to deal with them anymore would suit me just fine."

At this moment, Anita walked into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Now then, sorry for all the commotion, but we really mean you no harm, miss. Where do I begin?"

[Enigmatic Immortal]

There was twenty minutes of explanations, ten minutes of rebuttals, five minutes of clarification, and one second of decision making. Jensen watched the woman like a hawk, taking in all her features and mannerisms, and the more Anita talked, the more clear it was to him what this woman was. Dorian stayed silent through the matter, looking to the side nervously and then back to the girl, but Anita seemed focused only on making it clear what was going on. When all was said and done, the woman spoke with clarity.

“Hell no,” She said flatly. “I am not a fated person or anything of that sort!” There was a moment’s pause, then she laughed again. “You’re crazy, you know that? War against Corone? The whole world? What game did you think you were playing?” Anita kept her composure as she tired to repair the situation, but the more the tried, the more violent the word ‘no’ was tossed around. After several more attempts, Jensen stepped forward and looked to the woman.

“It’s not her,” Jensen said somberly. “Give it up, Anita. She thinks only of herself.”

“That’s not a good enough reason!” Anita shouted back. “William and Cassandra think for themselves, but they learned in time to listen!”

“Sounds like a tyranny to me,” The woman said off handedly in an overly loud whisper. Jensen passed her a look of silence, and she rolled her eyes looking back to Dorian. The boy looked to Anita, and then to Jensen.

“Always something with you, isn’t it?” Dorian mirrored Jensen’s mirth from earlier, and the immortal smiled to him. “I listened to all this, and honestly, Ms. Orlouge, I think you got the wrong person.” He spoke softly, and politely as to not incite anger in the young Mystic, but also a measure of finality in those words as well. The weight of Dorian, Jensen, and the Enchantress was to much to bare and Anita lifted herself up with shaky limbs.

“S-sorry to waste you-your time,” she stuttered, as tears began to run down her cheeks. The woman waved her away, Dorian waved it off as nothing fancy, and Jensen looked to Anita as she turned and did all she could to not look like she was running away. When she left the room, Jensen turned back to the woman.

“What are you looking at? Isn’t she running off in search of the next great general or something. Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

“I suppose I should,” Jensen admitted before turning to Dorian. “Your girlfriend is a bitch, Dorian. Good to see you again. Next time we meet let’s not have half a town chasing after us and no more dragons.” The boy smiled as Jensen struck his hand out, shaking the youths as he turned and left. His feet pounded against the floorboards, making them creak with each step he took until he reached the final flight and found Anita sitting at a table in the corner, face looking to the wall and arms crossed in front of her.

Jensen rounded around her table, and sat looking right at her tear streaked face. She continued to gaze upwards, and at last she started to mumble.

“I could have sworn it was her,” Anita whispered, so silent Jensen almost didn’t hear it. “A powerful enchanter, everything! I read the tablet twice before we left! I crossed the words with the other words I knew from the correct prophecies! Everything pointed to her!”

“But it’s not her, Anita,” Jensen said harshly. “Get it together.” Anita sniffled before looking at him with red puffy eyes.

“You must be loving this Jensen! You must be having a damn giggle fit boiling inside your stomach, waiting to come out!” Jensen looked to Anita, and then with the smallest change in his face, he looked sad. Anita felt her face twist in confusion, and Jensen sighed reaching one hand out and softly picking up Anita’s fingers in his, stroking his thumb over her knuckles.

“No kiddo, I’m not.” Jensen’s words were soft and father-like. Anita was reminded of the care of Sei when she cried before. “I don’t want to see you like this, I don’t want to see you fail and be wrong. I know full well how much of an ass I’ve been to you, and trust me, I don’t like the things I may have said, but you know why I said them?” Anita shook her head, sniffling some more.

“I said those words to get your rear in gear. You’ve gotten complacent, and the whole army got complacent, and because of that we started to fail. But now look at you!” Jensen said full of hope. Anita snorted and looked to Jensen angrily.

“A mess, a wreck and still no general!” Anita said stubbornly.

“Yeah, but ya know what I see?” Jensen asked. Anita looked to the side as Jensen moved over the table, crossed the gap, and held her in a tight hug. “You trying. I can’t be mad at anyone who at least is trying. You took a big risk today. You went out and searched for the missing general. You stopped being a little whiney bitch and I’m proud of you for that.”

“You sound like a cliché, Jensen,” Anita sniffled, but with less hostility.

“Yeah, but your not mad anymore, are you, sniffles?” Anita snorted into a laugh, and she wrapped her arms around Jensen tightly. “But, to be fair…I told you so.” Jensen teased and Anita slapped him hard, but hugged him tighter. Jensen was about to release the hug when he looked forward and watched Dorian leaving with his woman in tow. Both were talking, but the strange thing was not the conversation, but who they talked to. Both cast their eyes to the center of them, but not to each other. Jensen began to wonder, and with sudden swiftness he grabbed Anita by the shoulders and shot her in front of his face.

“The prophecy! What exactly were the words? All of them, and be snappy!” Anita took a moment to look to Jensen oddly, before with haste she spoke rapidly.

“The Fourth is a smith by trade. Forging weapons with the sweat of their brow, they provide the Nine with the armor they will need to win.” Anita looked to Jensen and the immortal flashed her an angry glare of intent.

“All of it!” Jensen shouted. Anita took a moment to think before speaking timidly.

“Uh…They shall seem aloof and oblivious to the more sinister appeals of the world, and talk to the air, which is anything but when they are around.” Jensen shot his eyes back to Dorian as they were about to leave the inn.

As if the world suddenly slowed the immortal remembered a sudden image in his memories with the boy, the conversation where he actually convinced the immortal to reason with a black a dragon. The innocence in his words, the obliviousness to the danger of talking to dragons. The boat they sailed on where the child was nearly dead, and the whispers in the wind of the words thank you. Dorian was way to far past the point of blacking out, and couldn’t speak even if he tried. Nobody else was around him. He looked back to them and listened hard, straining to hear every word they said.

“…Lil buddy, you really got nothing to fear…” Jensen suddenly felt everything within him shut down, the world stopped moving, and he felt only his heart beat as suddenly a bright white light flashed in his mind’s eye.

“Fuck me,” Jensen whispered in astonishment. “It’s Dorian…”

[Paragon]

They were almost at the edge of town. The sun was starting to set, its warm orange glow cast over the gravel road in front of them. This was one of the lesser-used paths to leave, far from the city's marketplace and government bodies. The trees had been cleared a long time ago, but little shrubs grew alongside the road, their growth impervious to rooting efforts.

"Heyyy!!!"

A distant whisper in the wind.

"Heeeeeeeeeeyy!!"

Dorian, Fallow, and Celesta turned around to see a panting Jensen who had just caught up to them and was trying to catch his breath with his hands on his knees.

"Dorian! It's you, man! You're the one in the prophecy!"

The young man thought that this was it, the immortal had finally lost his mind, "Jensen... I'm just a regular guy. I don't think I'm some prophetical being."

"You're some sort of blacksmith, right?"

Dorian blinked. Celesta tapped the ground with her foot impatiently. Fallow, bright-eyed, floated above them all.

"I told you that, right? Last time we met? I'm sure I..."

"No, man! You never told me! It's just what it says in the prophecy. And talking to the air..."

Dorian grew nervous, "I, I think you're mistaken. Who would t, talk to the air? Right, Celesta? Hah hah..." Celesta strained her brows but made no response. "Also, don't you need some sort of enchanter?"

Celesta finally spoke up, "Oh? Then what do you call what you did to my ring?"

"That's right!" Jensen added. "I saw that!"

This time, it was Dorian who was outnumbered. Even Fallow was mentally telling him that he didn't care one way or the other. In fact, the thought of Dorian being some sort of legendary hero enticed the dragonling.

"Alright," Dorian conceded. "I don't know about this fortune telling stuff, but I'll do it because it's you, Jensen." It wasn't that he felt he still owed Jensen from the island dragon incident, but he felt he could trust the immortal as his friend. Whatever he wanted, it was important to him, and Dorian couldn't turn him down. "I can't guarantee anything, though. I'm still planning on traveling around."

"That's fine," said Jensen. "We can accommodate you. It's much more important just to have you on the team, man."

At about this time, Anita caught up to them, not nearly as fast as the superhuman Jensen and twice as exhausted.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Anita panted as the immortal turned to her, smiling, and she looked up to Dorian and the boy gave her a soft smile back. “You, you’re some hotshot enchanter?” She whispered out of breath. “It was you, not four feet from my eyes the entire time, and Jensen knew you all along?”

Dorian shuffled a bit awkwardly as Anita turned on the immortal, screamed a howl of frustration, and punched him hard on the arm. The immortal let out a laugh as he darted away, grabbing her and spinning her in the air as she screamed, his laughter echoing in the air.

“WE FOUND THE NINTH GENERAL!” He shouted, kissing her over and over on her cheek as she let out more awkward sounds, arms and feet flailing before she too collapsed in his embrace, laughing as the words sunk in. He was found, they were complete.

Sei Orlouge, Benjiro Taka, William Arcus, Zerith Dracosius, Kyla Orlouge, Duffy Bracken, Talen Shadowalker, Cassandra Remi, and now, at long last, Dorian Sesthal. They were complete, they were whole. They were a family. She fidgeted a bit as Jensen released her, her arms wrapping around herself for warmth as she grinned sheepishly, the woman she accused of being her general earlier giving them both an off stare as Dorian merely smiled.

“I know it’s you, Dorian, and trust me, I’ll make sure the arrangements are beneficial to you as well as us. It seems to me that you don’t know much about what you do, but this is a group of people who can give you the resources for experimenting,” Jensen said happily.

“Indeed, whatever you may need, my father will provide!” Anita said quickly, her head nodding. “Anything if you can just come back with us this instant!” There was a momentary pause in Dorian’s reply, but he spoke with confidence when he looked back to his new friend for a quick glance.

“I’ll come, but I won’t stay. To much to do!” He laughed. Anita nodded her head.

“I had a feeling not every member of the Nine would be able to keep under a roof for long, but still, to know you are our missing general, and have you on call when we need you most is all I can ask of you!”

“Come on Dorian, I want you to meet my family! I know, crazy right?” Jensen elbowed the boy with enthusiasm. “Who knew I had a kid, right?” Dorian did manage to lift an eyebrow at the knowledge he was just given, but smiled as he looked back to his partner. “Don’t worry, bitchy witch can come too, and I’ll give her a room in the caves where she can be alone until you two head out again.”

Jensen looked back to Anita, the girl’s eyes looking back to him and both beamed with a wild smile. The immortal lifted his hand up, patting Anita on the back and rubbing her shoulder, and she did likewise as the four began to walk home.

“So, like, that thing you talk to, is it like some sort of dog spirit ninja thing?” Jensen asked.

~*~*~

(Days later)

Jensen walked down the halls of the castle of the Ixian Knights, his jacket cleaned and pressed as he felt the softness of the new stitching he put into the coat, whistling to himself a soft light hearted song. In the absence of Cassandra Remi, it was the immortal’s job to carry out her missions, alongside Seth Dahlios to keep up a public image that indeed there were nine generals. With Dorian rarely staying in the castle, they still needed to keep the illusion up that they were at full strength.

He turned down a corridor, his favorite in the castle bar none for it was littered with all forms of floral and plant life, the vines and leaves spilling over the rock making a secret like garden along the stoned pathway. He had spent many days with Azza here, just watching her play and letting her talk as he thought back to his old friends, feeling a kinship for them each time he looked upon the beauty of the area.

He found Anita looking to a particular plant, her body draped in a pleasant spring dress as her heels turned swiftly, looking to the immortal with a warm smile. The immortal, strange enough, hadn’t seen the Orlouge heir at all since they returned home. He went back to training with Tobias and Ta’gaz, and she took Dorian to the tablet. When he gazed upon it, he felt something and spoke, confirming everyone’s hopes. He admitted that as weird as it sounded, he felt like he was part of the prophecy.

He was greeted with a heroes welcome, and he met his smiths and other members of the team he led. He was polite, always, but he never gave them orders. Instead, the boy asked them to do things, and appointed someone else to handle the tasks for him while he was out learning about his own strange craft, a tool he knew would be needed in the coming war. As for his girlfriend like lady, Jensen had no clue nor really cared.

“Hey you,” Anita said lightly.

“Hey, I’m off to visit Sei for our always amusing monthly meeting,” Jensen said crooking his elbow to allow Anita to take it. She did, and the two sauntered towards the meeting room in silence. When they neared the room Jensen looked to Anita, and spoke in a bored fashion.

“So, now what do you do with the prophecy all figured out? Sit on your ass?” Jensen joked. Anita shook her head firmly.

“No, I now tend to the administrative duties of the army. Apparently, though Papa is a military genius, he’s rather poor at the paperwork. Someone needs to keep track of everything, and I plan to do that now.”

“Still sounds like you’ll be sitting on your ass,” Jensen said again, laughing lightly. Anita gave him an indignant look, before they stopped at the doors leading to Sei’s mission room. She turned to face him, her body blocking the door as she looked up to the immortal’s eyes.

“You…“ She took a moment before she spoke. “Jensen, you are so infuriating at times I want to kill you. Ring your neck until the eyeballs in your head pop out and roll on the floor. You drive me nuts, you make me want to rip my hair out, and you say the rudest, most callous words as easily as one would drink water with no remorse nor regret for the other’s feelings.” She hesitated a moment, then leaned forwards and kissed him on the cheek, like she had done so long ago when the immortal had saved her life from a rampaging Berevar bear.

“That…was a little backwards, Anita. You don‘t kiss someone after you insult them,” Jensen said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. She smiled to him, patting him on the shoulder.

“You also are one of the most dedicated, passionate men in the world I know. You fear nothing, not death, not repercussions, not even Papa’s power to say what you mean, and you hold no punches when you do. When you know someone is capable of so much more, you demand them to rise to that level you hold them to. Because of you, the Nine are realized, and I thank you.” Jensen felt his cheeks flush as for once, the loudmouth immortal had nothing to say.

“So…uh…are you uh….asking me out?” Jensen said sheepishly. Anita rolled her eyes and turned towards the door.

“You also say the most inappropriate things, Mr. Amrbose,” She lifted her hand to the door. “Your crude, tasteless, talentless, and an eyesore.” She smiled before she turned the knob. “And there isn’t a thing about you I would change.” They both entered the meeting room, Sei lifting himself up to greet them as Talen and Jensen exchanged greetings, the immortal patting Zerith on the back before he took his seat where Dorian should have sat, looking at Seth tilt his head in greeting to the immortal in the seat reserved for Cassandra Remi. Anita sat a small desk, held aloft to the side as she pulled out paper and several pots of inks, getting to work as Sei opened the meeting with gentle greetings.

With the ninth general found, the Ixian Knights felt whole for the first time, and the immortal felt a peaceful, content feeling sink in as he looked back out the window. The tension in Corone was beginning to grow, and with the Knight’s of Dawn making more aggressive plays and the primordial enemy looming on the horizon the Ixian Knights would need to get ready.

But now that they were all together, Jensen felt confident in the prophecy to save Corone.

[Paragon]

Their imprints left holes in the snow, which in a few hours would be completely gone. The wind whistled through the abundant evergreens, the numerous pines, and the odd spruce. No one was more frustrated than Celesta, who was nearly weighed down by the extravagant furs on her person, paid for entirely by The Ixian Knights. She was also a member, after all, if only for the access to their rare enchanting materials.

It had been a couple weeks since they had left the castle, traveling all the way to Salvar and into the wintry northern forests. Assured by Dorian that their destination was warm, who only wore a jacket and scarf somehow in this weather, she kept him at his word. Fallow the black dragonling floated peacefully in mid-air near Dorian, his small wings only making the occasional flaps to keep him afloat.

"I- I need a break!" she protested. "T, this is insane, you know that? I'm w, wearing all this and I'm still sh, shivering!"

Dorian looked back, his clear face unblemished by the harsh winds. After all, he grew up in the mountains. To him, Celesta looked like a stack of furs with a small slit for vision.

He smiled, "Believe it or not, we're almost there. You would spend more time resting than the last leg of our journey."

"Don't. Don't call it a journey. I've had it up to here with you! I don't know why I put up with this. We're not all beasts of winter that can tolerate extreme cold! I'm starting to think I've been drugged and all this nonsense about dragons is just a hallucination and..."

The ends of Dorian's lips twitched. Every few hours she would explode into a diatribe, to which he could do nothing but profusely apologize until she finally calmed down enough to move on. Ever since they left the last vestige of civilization in Salvar, it was getting worse and worse. Thankfully, it was almost over.

"I'm sorry, Celesta. If there was any faster way to get here I would have taken it. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable."

"It's not a matter of comfort! It's- it's... oh forget it. If we're not there by nightfall I'm turning into the fastest thing I know of and flying away."

"Please forgive me," he bowed. She moved on through him and he sighed with relief.

It occurred to him that she must really hate people to endure this. It's not as if he hid the fact that they were going to spend some time in the deep forests. He noticed, though, how annoyed she was at their short stay in The Ixian Castle. She did not like the sounds, the smells, not even the sharing the very air breathed by the friendly people there. Maybe she felt some guilt for hurrying him along and therefore did not abandon him yet. He could feel she was nearing her limit, however.

He was intent on being completely honest with her, but there were some things that did not warrant mentioning. She was not told that the route they were taking was a very specific path laid out by Malanthar himself for when Dorian first left his sanctum. The Deep Forests of Salvar were a dangerous place for any traveler, and if it wasn't for The Navigator of his village, he wouldn't of gotten through it alive to get to the main part of the country. He did not know what sort of beasts and other dangers lurked all around him, but he knew that he was safe as long as he followed this route. He saw no reason to mortify her with the idea that they were mere kilometers away from vicious monsters. He adjusted the scarf on his neck and moved on.

They stopped at a familiar clearing, and Dorian bent down to clear some snow from what looked like a slippery descent.

Celesta was puzzled, "What is this? What are you doing?"

"We're here," Dorian said confidently. "Here, sit down."

He pointed her to the entrance and she sat down, looking around for some sort of clue as to what was going on.

"What is this? What am I sitting on?"

"A slide," he said, giving her a light push from behind.

Before she could complain, she felt herself slipping and descended into the darkness with screams. He could hear her disappearing voice all the way down, and when it stopped he sat down and Fallow flew into his lap.

"Here we go, little buddy!"

All he could see was darkness, the feeling of control leaving him for pure euphoric fright. The sensation of falling, the tightness of the air. It was a short experience, and he felt himself slowing before he reached the end. He was expecting to be chewed out by Celesta, but she was standing in awe.

In the gigantic cavern was a glowing white castle. It made the King's Palace look like a mere hut by comparison. Radiating warmth and light, its grand stone structure smoothed and engraved to make the whole place look like a work of art. The grand, golden gates were open, inviting the two inside. Walking through the gates, they were in the outer area of the castle, surrounded by walls and towers. The ground was smooth except for spots where cave fungi and luminous crystal would live in the cracks. However, neither of them were looking down. Once inside the outer area, they were blue skies with puffy white clouds rolling by. As if immune to gravity, several tower-like structures with cracked bases floated in the air right above the castle with several rocks floating alongside them. Flocks of dragons flew through the air, which made Dorian a bit wistful.

He told her that only two dragons lived in this place: Fallow and Malanthar. What they were looking at in the sky was Malanthar's Dream, although it may be his memories. The great black dragon, father of his entire brood, was a being trapped in the past. Only recently could he move past his great sorrow. They reached the inner doorway, which was also open. Inside, the bright hallways were also finely engraved, and large as well. Grand chandeliers were floating in the air, little lights and jewels lined the walls and moved around to accommodate the guests. The smell of spring filled the air, making them feel as if they were outside. The grand throne room was before them, and as they entered Dorian reminded her that Malanthar was... unusually large for his brood. She assured him that she understood but it didn't feel that way for him.

They walked inside, and she screamed.

A few days later, Dorian was prepared to leave the castle, but lamented the long travel time. If he was to meet Celesta's requests for material from The Ixians, he would spend most of his life going back and forth. There were many rare, valuable materials here for her experimenting, since Malanthar was a skilled enchanter himself.

Being somewhat privy to the thoughts of those who enter his domain, Malanthar told Dorian, "There is another way." He gave him an earring, said to be enchanted to give the same sort of link with Malanthar that Fallow had. "This is a different link. It is one that connects you to objects here. I have already allocated a room that was similarly enchanted, and you may obtain or deposit whatever you may wish."

"This works from anywhere in the world?" Dorian wondered, a bit taken back.

"You may reach into the air and draw from the room."

Dorian at first thought Malanthar mistook the question, but maybe he already explained it. He didn't quite understand, but he could see the possibilities were endless. He thanked Malanthar profusely, and then visited Celesta's new room. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!" came a voice from inside.

The young man walked in, and Celesta motioned to him to take off his shoes before stepping on the carpet.

And what a carpet it was. He couldn't tell where the tapestries started or ended. It looked like a mural on the floor. The walls had similar designs, but most importantly, everything had a pink tint to it. Several books floated in the air, all turned to specific pages. Drapes and sheets and curtains were everywhere, making him think the room used to belong to a spoiled princess. Several desks were laid out with bottles of material; some powdery, others liquid.

"I'd just like to thank you," he said.

"Ah, so you figured it out? That I gave him the idea?"

"It reminded me of your bottomless pouch."

The aforementioned pouch was connected to a pocket of space that allowed the tiny bag to hold an enormous amount of luggage. It was a powerful enchantment.

"Don't give me all the credit. I couldn't have specifically connected it to that room without his help. Who could have thought that a giant dragon could enchant?"

"So you're really fine staying here?"

"This is a dream come true! I've always wanted to be a true recluse, you know. Just me and my work. Malanthar has been very accommodating." Dorian neglected to mention the fact that the big dragon would've turned to incineration if her desires were nefarious. "Just don't forget to send me some real work, and our relationship will be peachy."

"That's good to hear."

He was about to leave when suddenly she leaped out from her chair and wrapped her arms around Fallow, who was trailing behind Dorian without him knowing.

"And don't think I won't miss you, cute little moochy-poochy~!"

"Dorian, help! She's choking me!"

Dorian laughed, which made the dragonling think he was heartless. The duo left Celesta to her work and walked down the grand hallway toward the throne room.

"Why don't you ever let me see your sleeping body? You self-conscious about your weight or something?"

"It's not that simple. If I break the psychic lock over the room, it would take several weeks to put it back up and occupy this body again. I really don't want to hold you back."

"You would never hold me back, no matter what you did. Don't sweat it."

The fact that it took weeks to set up that kind of spell made Dorian think that Malanthar had planned to somehow get Fallow into the outside world long before he actually met the young man. They entered Malanthar's chamber, with bright stained glass windows and colorful jewels floating listlessly in the air. The colors alternated in a subtle way, which made Dorian think he was in a dream.

"I'm- We're ready."

"Very well. Close your eyes."

He shut his eyes and stood upright. He half-expected Malanthar to give him another task, but he could always do that through Fallow at any time. The gentle warmness of the castle disappeared, replaced by a deafening silence and the chilly Salvaran air. Then, he heard the familiar whistling of the wind, and he opened his eyes to see that he was back outside, standing before the icy slide. Fallow was also on the ground, peering down into the darkness of the hole.

"Don't worry little buddy, we'll be back."

"I know."

"We'll always be back."

Requested Spoils:
Ability: Malanthar's Domain- ability to put and pull objects from his room in Malanthar's Castle, which includes equipment and items. It takes a couple seconds for the objects to materialize, and there must be an equal amount of space in the air to replace with the object. This ability is granted from an enchantment on a silver earring.
Pending Enchantment: Dragonet- Gives wearer accelerated jumping speed and height. Must be used on powerful/expensive piece of armor or Celesta won't do it. As of this writing the armor is not crafted yet.

[Silence Sei]

I wouldn’t normally do full rub/full com for just anybody, you know. :P Anyways…


Story (7/10): It was an odd tale, but a good one none the less. The different stories about Jensen and Anita trying to find their Ninth General, and Dorian trying to find his ‘master’ was a nice little cat-and-mouse chase you don’t often see on Althanas.

Continuity (8/10): You both did a really good job keeping up with the pace of the characters, and EI even did a good one with Anita, who isn’t even his own NPC! Paragon, you started off a little slow, but your wrap up posts made your continuity score stay high.

Setting (8/10): -Even minute details, down to which direction somebody ran, were covered really well in here. Paragon moreso than EI.

Creativity (6/10): It was a chase game with an odd twist, and the reasonings behind the respective chases were good, but overall, the thread didn’t spark to me as something that used a whole lot of imagination to do.

Character (8/10): Each of your NPCs were done wonderfully, and the only major issue was one post with EI; I never actually told you what Anita’s MP does. While I don’t mind what you did with it, you took a character belonging to someone else and did something you probably should have asked about first with them.

Interaction (8/10): All the dialogue and exchanges between the characters were quite excellent, and believable, though at times Anita’s dialogue seemed either overly polite, or not polite enough.

Strategy (6/10): I found it odd that you covered the whole ‘it’s actually dorian’ within 2-3 posts, and would have liked to have seen the both of you drag that out slightly longer. Taking Dorian to read the prophecy, where he would get the same feeling of obligation each of the other Generals had, for example.

Mechanics (4/10): All over this thread there were errors. From EI misusing ‘to’ when he meant ‘too, to Paragon’s excessive use of words like ‘couldn’t’, and ‘didn’t’. Next time Para, try to write ‘Could not’, and ‘did not’ when you’re using those words outside of your characters dialogue. EI, when you mean ‘as well’, the correct word is ‘too’.

Clarity (5/10): There were a couple of scenes I felt were unclear during the chase, and that was enough to keep your score even. Also, I sometimes couldn’t differentiate who was saying what until I re-read posts.

Wildcard (7/10): I really enjoyed this thread, and really could not think of much to tell either of your in terms of what to do for next time. Just try to take what advice I did give into consideration, and implement it in your next threads.

Final Score: 67/100

EI gets 2040 exp, 100 GP

Paragon gets 670 exp, and no GP, and his spoils needs to be RoG approved.

[Silence Sei]

Exp-GP added.