Chapter 15.5: Rage

Okay, this is another addition to my original manuscript.  I wanted to flesh out the Gollia arc just a little bit, so this was necessary.  Originally, the main villain was an aristocratic teythen who happened to be looking for soldiers for an army, but...the premise fell flat when I revisited it.  Gollians are all about family, so no one would willingly go with him.  Poachers hunting apocra makes for a more plausible explanation.  Plus, we've seen nal-vey who are normal folks through the post men.  Here are nal-vey who have become evil.  The point is to not paint one race as more good, more evil, weaker, or more superior than the others.  They all have the power for good or for evil.  Plus, I wanted to explore Nerise's emotional reaction to all this and how the girls viewed combat and death.  This chapter does end on a cliffhanger, fair warning, but...it probably isn't going where you think it is.  This took way too long due to all the revisions I needed to make, but it's done now and I hope you all enjoy.

Here's Chapter 15.5: Rage

Mina and the others followed Nerise and the creature called Granny down the cobbled streets of Gollia back towards the entrance of the city.  Along the way, the cart Vincent had brought to the city was pushed past them by half a dozen burly apocra and a few bare-chested jela-vey.  When they arrived at the entrance, a large number of vey, teythens, apocra, neeg, and humans were gathered around Aeon and another figure.

            "Make way!" Granny grunted, clacking her wooden cane on the ground as she went.  The crowd cleared a path, revealing a winded creature who bore the upper torso of a human man and the lower torso of a lanky six legged apocra with short fur, hooves, and a tail of coarse, brown hair.  The man's lower body contorted slightly before seemingly melting into his torso, making him look completely human.

            "Is he a therian?" Daryl whispered to Mina and wrinkled her nose. 

            "Yeah.  I'd say he's got slepneir blood in him," Mina whispered back as the young man staggered to his feet.

            One of the other humans handed him a pair of burlap pants, which he quickly slid on before kneeling in front of Granny.  "I have a report!" the man sputtered, still gulping in air.  "I saw them while I was out scouting!  They're on their way here!  Ten...maybe twenty minutes at their current pace.  I don't think they saw me."

            "Did you see any of our brethren?" Granny sucked in her breath.

            "I couldn't make out faces, but there was a lamia couple in chains along with a troll and a myrmecoleon being dragged behind them," the young man said.  "I think there were more that I couldn't see, but-"

            "There should be more than just the four..." Aeon mused.

            "Granny...what's going on?" Nerise mumbled, clutching tightly to the stitched together creature.

            "Well...in the last few weeks, we've run afoul of some poachers," Granny bowed her head.  "They've...taken a few of us."

            "Taken?!" Mina and Celine exclaimed in unison.  "That's horrible!" Mina added, aghast.

            "Goddess...poachers kidnapping apocra can only mean one-argh!" Daryl let out a grunt of pain as Celine stomped down on her bare foot.  "What was that for, vagabo-?!" she started to say, but stopped when Celine pointed at Nerise, whose eyes had grown very large.

            A shudder ran through Mina's body as Nerise sniffled and scrunched her eyes shut.  Tears streamed down her cheeks and her face twisted into an angry scowl as she furiously wiped at her eyes.  Her body trembled as a choked sob broke free of her lips.

            Stepping over Vincent and the three girls, Weiss knelt down next to Nerise and gingerly touched her cheek with one of his massive hands.  Wiping her nose on a sleeve, Nerise looked up at Weiss and hugged his hand for support.  "Do not grieve, Nerise," Weiss murmured, narrowing his green eyes.  "You know those who have gone as well as those who remain would not want that."

            Nerise was silent for a moment before nodding weakly, the anger rapidly draining from her face.  "So..." she said, barely above a whisper.  "What are we going to do about these...poachers," she spat out the last word and glanced over at Aeon.

            The lich shrugged.  "Nothing."

            Silence hung in the air for a moment, heavy and foul, as if Aeon's words had become a cloud of poisonous mist.  Then, gathering her courage, Daryl stammered, "N-Nothing?!  Aren't these your friends and family?!  How can you just...?"

            "This was not my decision," Aeon murmured, green flames flickering to life in his eyeless sockets.  "It was theirs," he turned back to the Gollians assembled around him.

            A humanoid creature with skin so silvery pale that it appeared to be snow white with short, equally silver hair stepped forward.  The creature had yellowish eyes and was quite well muscled underneath his green tunic and burlap pants.  A scar ran across his lips and down his left cheek.

            "Sel-vey," Mina whispered to no one in particular.

            Nodding to Nerise and Granny, the white skinned man turned to Daryl, who was transfixed by his gaze.  "Young lady," The sel-vey's voice was stern, but not cruel.  "We appreciate your concern but we are not helpless.  We have whittled away at these poachers since their first attack and soon they will be no more.   You should not let our situation trouble you."

            "Hmmm..." Vincent stroked his chin, "You don't want us to interfere, do you, Nail?"

            "Kaius," the sel-vey named Nail ignored Vincent's question and instead turned to the therian scout.  "About how many would you say remain?"

            "Hard to say," Kaius mumbled, "A little over two dozen?  Nal-vey, humans, and a few teythens.  There were more this time than the last time I checked, so I think they might have gotten some new recruits."

            "Even so," a large, grey skinned apocra with one eye in its head wearing a blue cotton tunic snorted, "That few'll be easy pickings for us."

            "But...but...!" Nerise stamped her feet about in impotent rage and the assembled Gollians all took a step back.  Finally, she let out a sigh and slumped in place.  "Okay...fine..." she grunted, wiping her runny nose on the sleeve of her robe, "But you have to promise to save our friends!  And if I think things are getting bad, I wanna help too!"

            "Hehe, of course you do," Nail snickered and ruffled Nerise's hair.  "I wouldn't expect anything less, Neri."

            "Kaius," Granny broke in and nodded to the therian, "Hugo and Ceresa have told everyone to return to their homes while we discussed this matter.  However, now that we know they're on their way though, I want you to join them and sound the alarm.  We should have enough here to settle things," she glanced up at the dozens of Gollians assembled behind Aeon, "But prepare some reinforcements, just in case.  Have our doctors ready to treat the wounded and tell the others to stay indoors.  Understand?"

            The therian nodded, with some hesitance.  Stripping out of his pants, Kaius closed his eyes and got down on all fours.  Two hoofed legs burst out of either side of him, covered in brown fur, and his fingers and toes merged together to form hooves.  His hair grew longer, into a mane of brown hair and his face elongated, until he no longer looked even vaguely human.  Raising himself up until he was even taller than Aeon, Kaius snorted and leapt over Mina and the others before galloping up the cobbled streets and disappearing from sight.

            "Take up your positions," Aeon nodded to the assembled Gollians.  "Are there any mages on duty upstairs?" 

            Nail looked to the others before shaking his head.  "No.  I think they were dismissed after Vincent arrived."

            "Of course..." Vincent let out a low sigh.  "Well, take half a dozen jela-vey up there and leave just as many down here.  Even if they know we're ready, they'll still have to get through the archway to take their precious apocra skins," he spat.  "Make them work for it."

            Nail nodded and signaled for several golden haired jela-vey who had gathered with the others to follow him.  He brushed past Mina and the others before taking one of the spiraling roads to higher ground and disappearing from sight.

            "The rest of you, form up," Aeon said to the remaining Gollians.  "You know these opponents better than we do, so I'll leave the battle formation up to you."

            "Is there anything we can do to help?" Mina stammered.

            "You can stay with us and keep out of danger," Aeon replied.  "For the moment, this conflict does not involve us."

            "C'mon, you can't just tell us to go back inside and pretend as if there's not gonna be fighting down here in like five minutes," Celine grunted.

            "Would you rather watch?" Vincent raised a single eyebrow.  "This isn't going to be like what you read about in books.  The Lord Prophet won't banish the Lich King from time and space and everyone will live happily ever after.  There's going to be blood and corpses."

            Mina saw Daryl shiver, but neither she nor Celine said anything.  Briefly, she caught Aeon staring at her with something that resembled sympathy before turning to Granny.

            "Is the eyrie still in use?" he murmured.

            "Only rarely," Granny replied, "But it's clean at least and there are some furs to sit on.  It'll give us a clear view of the battle right up to the entrance of Gollia."

            "Then we shall watch from there."

            "In case we need to step in," Nerise added grimly.  She allowed Weiss to lift her up in his glassy black hand and carry her along one of the winding cobblestone roads.  Granny and Vincent turned to follow them.

            Mina and her friends were about to join them when Aeon caught her shoulder with his hand.  "My apologies," he murmured, "I had not expected conflict when I allowed you to join us."

            "Heh, maybe she brings it with her," Celine snorted and nudged Mina in the side.

            "Celi..." Mina groaned and rolled her eyes.

            "Will...will everyone here be okay?" Daryl mumbled, fidgeting in place.

            "Perhaps," Aeon mused, "Are you worried?"

            "O-of course I am?!" Daryl stammered, averting her eyes from the lich.  "I mean...even if they look different from us, they're still people.  And I don't want to see them get hurt."

            "None of us do, princess," Celine said, clapping her arm around Daryl's shoulder.  "Now come on.  They'll have a better chance if we're not underfoot."

            "Indeed," Aeon said, leading the three of them along one of the roads.  This road curved upwards, around the entrance, to an alcove carved out of rock that had a heavy wooden door in front of it.  There were no visible windows, but the door was ajar and judging from the light Mina could make out through the cracks, there was a fire going inside.

            A shiver ran through Mina's body and she remembered that despite drying herself earlier, she was still cold from the rain, barefoot, and had mud plastering much of her clothing.  Her friends were not much better.  So, when Aeon pushed the door open, the three of them huddled around the fire pit in the center of the room, taking seats on warm fur rugs and pillows which had been laid out around the fire.  The room itself was largely bare, save for a table with a map on it in a corner and a few bookshelves.  Nerise was in front of the fire, with her arms around her legs.  Weiss sat cross legged behind her, like a giant shadow.  Aeon floated past the fire to join Vincent and Granny, who were staring out a set of glass windows overlooking the entrance to Gollia.

            Blowing on her hands, Mina let out a contented sigh as the fire's warmth briefly made her forget about the coming battle.  Judging from Daryl and Celine's expressions, they were feeling the same way.  She noticed Nerise glancing over at them out of the corner of her eye, but when Mina turned to speak to her, she quickly averted her gaze from Mina and her friends.  The little girl sat cradling her legs in her arms for a few minutes before wordlessly stumbling to her feet and joining Aeon, Granny, and Vincent by the window.

            Time passed slowly and an oppressive silence filled the room, broken only by the crackling of the embers in the fire pit.  Glancing from the grim spectators at the window to her worried friends, Mina shook her head and took a deep breath.  Cupping her hands together, she tried to gather energy into her palms.  Leyline energy rose from within her stomach, eliciting a groan of hunger from her belly, and flowed into her chest.  Dividing the energy in two, Mina guided it through her arms and stilled it within her palms.  At first, Mina pictured wind swirling about in a spiral in her mind.  However, as she stared at her nicked fingers, still wrapped in strips of cloth torn from Nerise's robe, she imagined the spiral of wind slowly being compressed until it was squashed flat.  Mina kept her mind focused on this one image until she could feel wind twisting around inside her palms.  Pulling her cupped hands apart, Mina saw a spiral of wind so flat it may as well have been a disc.  The wind began to spin faster and faster, drawing ash and dust into it from the fire pit and painting the disc a dull grey.  Rapidly gathering Leyline energy in her stomach, Mina poured it into her palms to try and keep the wind steady in her hands.

            Out of the corner of her eye, Mina saw Celine glance over at what she was holding in her hands.  "Okay...that's new," Celine mumbled.

            Not daring to tear her eyes away from the disc of wind, which was spinning so quickly that she could hear it hum, Mina managed to keep the disc balanced between her two palms.  Seconds ticked by and her hands began to tremble from the strain of keeping the disc from bursting or spinning out of control.  As the disc of wind began to tip forward, Mina frantically touched the edges of her palm together and thrust the disc of wind against the stone floor.  When she let go of the disc, she felt it briefly leave her hands, then vanish.  Pulling back her trembling hands, Mina saw a shallow cut in the stone floor a few inches across, almost as if someone had dragged a very sharp knife over the rock.

            Celine let out a low whistle.  "Did you just make a blade out of the wind?"

            "I...thought I'd try something new," Mina whispered, flexing her fingers.

            "Is this really the time for that?" Daryl hissed.  "I mean...the fighting could start at any minute!"

            "I know that!" Mina retorted, "I'm just trying to stay cal-"

            "They are here," Aeon cut in.

            Mina and the others were at the windows in an instant, looking down over the darkened landscape with questing eyes.  The sky was still black with rain clouds, but the occasional flashes of lightning lit up the landscape.  There was no sign of any invading force amidst the grassy plains, but just within the mouth of the rock formation that made up Gollia, Mina saw a line of Gollians lying in wait.

            "I...don't see them," Mina mumbled.

            "Me either...are you sure, they're-" Daryl started.

            "They're in the grass," Celine cut in.  "Looks like they're trying to use it to conceal themselves."

            "How quaint," Weiss stroked his glassy black chin.  "It would appear they do not realize they have been found out."

            "Maybe..." Nerise mused, "But that also means they probably won't have the prisoners with them."

            "We can sort that out later," Vincent said.  "Look.  They're nearly at our gates."

            Focusing her gaze on the stretch of grass right below them, Mina saw a few patches of green moving slightly, edging their way forward.  By squinting her eyes, she was able to make out more patches of grass moving against the wind.  Though their progress was slow, the Gollians below made no indication that they had seen the moving grass.  Then, suddenly, a row of earthen spikes shot out of the muddy ground, perforating three patches of grass and hauling the corpses of three men, with knives and nets still clutched in their hands, into the air.  Half a dozen figures jumped up from the ground and dodged out of the way as more spikes shot up around them.  The six who had avoided being impaled backed out of range of the spikes as nearly two dozen creatures rose out of the grass around them.  Though most of them had human silhouettes, save for a house sized creature which was little more than a long, winding tail with a large elongated head bearing a distinctive crest, it was too dark for Mina to make out what the individual poachers looked like.

            The poachers quickly formed a line and charged the entrance to Gollia.  More spikes shot out of the muddy ground, but the small regiment of hunters were ready and, save for two unfortunate figures who were impaled, managed to dodge out of the spike's path.  Earthen bullets fired down at them from above the entrance to Gollia, but three poachers ran ahead of the rest and held out their hands in front of them.  The air distorted and the stone missiles crashed against an invisible shield before clattering harmlessly to the ground.

            "Teythens..." Vincent ground his teeth.

            "Do you know them?" Granny mused.

            "No...the scent of their blood is unfamiliar to me," Vincent replied, "But it turns my stomach to see them using their powers for something like this."

            The Gollians that Mina had seen assembled below surged onto the field to meet the poachers.  A few of them seemed to radiate silvery light as they ran.  Mina saw one of their arms erupt with flames, however rather than just being coated with the fire, it appeared as if his arm was made of the flames itself.  Veins of fire and lava seemed to course out of it and the man knelt down before leaping into the teythen's barrier and slamming his fiery fist against the invisible wall of force.  He made a little progress before the barrier started to push him back, however a few of the Gollian teythens appeared behind him and threw out their hands, pushing the man forward.

            "Never seen anything like that before," Celine murmured, eyes glued to the man with the fiery arm.

            "What kind of magic is that?!" Daryl whispered, before glancing over at Aeon.

            "That's Selvarian Archonis," Vincent snorted, "It's a power only the sel-vey can use.  It allows them to take dominion over Leyline energy and become one with it, increasing their strength, speed, and versatility many times over."

            "They can also use it to disrupt the Leyline energy of others.  Even the teythens' blood arts," Weiss noted.

            "However, it comes at a cost," Aeon added, pointing to the man with the fiery fist.  He had crashed through the teythen poachers' barrier and scattered them, but lay on the ground, panting and holding his arm.  "It puts a large strain on their bodies and opens them up to new weaknesses, like rain on fire.  Those who do not devote themselves to it entirely cannot use the power for long."

            "Nail..." Nerise whispered, pulling at the cuffs of her robe, leaving them frayed and tattered.

            A figure Mina assumed to be a poacher appeared before the downed sel-vey and raised a wicked looking sword over his head, but was tackled to the ground by a burly apocra with green skin, arms nearly twice the length of its legs.  The apocra picked up the sel-vey and carried him back inside as more Gollians rushed out to join the battle.

            A few of the poachers turned to run, but giant stone spikes formed around the edge of the battlefield, locking them in.  Furrowing her brow, Mina glanced over at the tight jawed Nerise and Vincent.  "Why're they trapping the poachers inside?" she blurted out without thinking.

            "Because it's ending tonight," Nerise growled, her jaw twisting into a hideous scowl.  "They treated my friends like...like...things!  They're bad men!" 

            Aeon glanced down at Nerise and patted her head, the flames in his eye sockets suddenly growing very bright.  "Nerise..." he murmured.

            "You're just going to let them slaughter those poachers?!" Daryl exclaimed, giving voice to the nasty little thought that had been hiding in the back of Mina's mind.  "I...I mean I know what they've done is wrong, but-"

            "If we let them go, they'll be back," Vincent said.  "You think after suffering a defeat like this, they'll just turn tail, run, and give up on poaching and trapping?  No...they'll want revenge."

            "But..." Daryl glanced from the cold faces of their hosts over to Mina, who shared her concern.

            "Sometimes...there's nothing for it," Celine let out a bitter snort.

            "H-how can you say that, vagabond?!" Daryl stammered.

            "Because I know what it's like be treated like an object..." Celine mumbled, feeling the scars on the backs of her ears before glancing over at Mina, who had lowered her eyes. "I know I wouldn't let the neeg who enslaved me walk free if I had the chance."

            "Celi..." Mina squeezed her friend's hand before glancing over at Aeon.  "Even so, I think Daryl's got a point.  This isn't like what happened with Denad.  Some of them might just be trying to feed their families, or-"

            "Your compassion is admirable," Aeon cut her off, "But we must all answer for the choices we make.  To kill an apocra, or anything else, out of hunger, or in self defense, or out of greed does not change the fact that you have killed it.  And that its family may retaliate.  If you are going to take a life, you had best be prepared for the consequences."

            A loud roar from the battlefield interrupted their discussion and everyone's eyes snapped to the windows.  The giant creature the poachers had brought with them was writhing around on it's back, held down by countless Gollians.  From where she sat, Mina was able to make out beholders, griffons and manticores attacking the creature's face while the others held it down.  However, every few seconds the creature's eyes would flash and each time they did, one of the apocra fell off it, motionless.

            "Wonder how they got a basilisk to help them," Vincent mused.  "Even if there are nal-vey amongst these poachers, they aren't easy to tame."

            "It is of no concern," Aeon pointed to a large feathery creature waddling out of the entrance to Gollia.  It was nearly the same size as the basilisk, but covered in downy white feathers and bearing a crest similar to the basilisk's on its head. 

            Through the windows, Mina could see it's three eyes flashing with an unearthly green light.  "Cockatrice," she whispered.

            "A big 'un too," Celine nodded.  "Much bigger than what we've got back at the village."

            "It's...not...blindfolded!" Daryl murmured, unwilling to blink.

            "Course not," Granny snorted.  "That's Scarble.  He ain't a pet or a monster, he's one of us.  He knows not to petrify his family."

            "Petrify?" Mina repeated.

            "A cockatrice's size dictates how dangerous their eyes can be, Minava," Aeon said.  "You got off easy when you snuck a glance at a small one and fainted for a few minutes.  Scarble can turn those he gazes at to stone."

            No sooner had Aeon spoken than a flash of light illuminated the battlefield.  The cockatrice, Scarble, had fixed his gaze on the basilisk and his eyes were shining like an emerald torch in the darkness.  A beam of green radiance engulfed the basilisk and when the light died down, Mina saw the basilisk frozen in place, his body completely turned to stone.  The cockatrice seemed to motion at the basilisk and the apocra who had been attacking it began to drag the petrified creature towards Gollia.

            Nerise let out a long sigh and unclenched her hands.  "It's done," she solemnly murmured.  Weiss put his hand to her shoulder and she managed a tiny smile.

            "Come.  No doubt Nail and the others have prisoners.  They will tell us where our comrades are," Aeon said, floating over towards the exit.

            Nerise and Weiss followed after him, however Vincent and Granny tarried a bit.  "Sorry bout all this," Granny sighed.  "If I'd known we were havin guests, maybe-"

            "What?" Celine grunted and shook her head.  "Maybe you'd ask the poachers to come back another time?" the tan skinned girl nodded to Vincent and Granny.  "It ain't pretty, but it had to be done."

            "We must be cursed," Vincent managed a chuckle.  "Three outings, three battles."

            "To be fair, it's only mine and the vagabond's second outing," Daryl sighed and wiped at her eyes.

            "Will you be okay, Daryl?" Mina whispered, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder.

            "I have to be..." she sniffled, "What Aeon said reminded me of something Angelo told me when I started my training.  He said the path to joining the clergy wouldn't always be pretty.  I thought I knew what that meant, but-"

            "Do you want to see how this ends?" Vincent murmured, meeting Daryl's gaze.  This time, she didn't look away. 

            After hesitating for a moment, she nodded at the teythen.  "I...yeah.  I mean yes!  This is something I need to do."

            "Let's go then," Vincent took Daryl's hand and led her outside.

            "What about you, eh?" Granny mumbled, fixing her eerie orange eyes on Mina.  "You don't seem as skiddish or naive as your friend, but I gotta wonder..."

            "Just because I know it had to be done, doesn't mean I enjoy seeing people die," Mina interrupted Granny's musings, "It'd be easier if they were all bastards undeserving of any pity..." she furrowed her brow, "But it's never that simple."

            "True enough..."Granny nodded at her and headed out of the room, motioning for the two girls to follow.  "True enough."

            Taking Celine's hand, Mina nodded at her friend and together, the three of them headed down the spiraling road to the entrance of Gollia, where the assembled Gollians had parted to allow Aeon and the others through.  In front of them, a set of torches, wrapped in oily cloth to keep them from going out in the rain, had been set up around three men who were bound in a pillory made of stone. 

            When Mina, Celine, and Granny reached the end of the road, she got her first good look at what remained of the poachers.  Each of them was dressed in studded leather armor, with boots and gauntlets adorning their feet and hands respectively.  One of the three was a human man with only a tiny bit of stubble under his chin and dark blue hair.  His body was muscular, but he was sniffling back tears and didn't seem much older than Deminos.  Next to the young man was a teythen whot did not even bother to hide his pallid skin or fangs.  His orange hair was cut in a large mohawk and his eyes were carefully bound with a cloth.  He was quiet and composed, despite being beaten and bloodied.  The final poacher had dark purple skin and short black hair.  This man was the only one to face Aeon.  Despite being bound, he fixed the lich with a disdainful glare.

            "Well?!" the nal-vey spat.  "If you're going to do it, then do it!  Get it over with!"

            "Watch your tongue!" Nail snarled at the chained up poacher.  "You have no right to be barking orders here!  You slunk into our home and kidnapped our friends!  Even after two weeks of scrapping you still thought to steal into Gollia and take us for our skins!  We ought to take yours as recom-"

            "Nail!" Aeon's voice sliced through Nail's like a butcher's knife through a fatty cut of aurox meat and the sel-vey instantly fell silent.  As Mina approached him and the others, she felt cold air radiating off of Aeon with such intensity that she had to suppress a shiver. 

            "I can appreciate your anger, Nail," Aeon murmured, fixing the flames which filled his eye sockets on the poachers, "But this is not the time.  There are still things we need from these men."

            "Y-yes..." Nail bowed his head and stepped back, amidst discontented murmuring from the other Gollians.

            "Quiet, you lot!" Granny snapped, tapping her wooden cane on the ground for added effect.  "I know ye're all still angry, but just wait a minute."  Turning to Aeon, the grotesque old woman nodded.  "Go on, dearie."

            "Thank you," Aeon said, without turning away from the nal-vey poacher.  "Now.  I have some questions that need answering."

            The purple-skinned man spat in Aeon's face.  "Bite me, lich!"

            "I see," Aeon wiped the spittle from his skull.  "Vincent."

            "Right," Vincent stepped over to the poacher and knelt down so that he was eye to eye with him.  Mina saw his eyes flash red and all the rage suddenly left the nal-vey's face and he slumped in the stocks.

            "Oh, goddess..." Daryl put a hand over her mouth and took a step back.  "Did...did you just entrance him?!  Vincent did not reply.  He merely retreated behind Aeon without meeting Daryl's gaze.

            "What's she talking about?" Celine whispered in Mina's ear.

            "It's a kind of magic that only teythens can use," Mina whispered back.  "When I was on the road, my teythen friends called it blood arts."

            "Where are those that you have kidnapped?" Aeon spoke up, silencing everyone else present.

            Without raising his head to look at Aeon, the nal-vey poacher said in a toneless voice, "Six of them are with our leader, Baran.  The rest are dead."

            When the poacher spoke, Mina could hear Nerise inhale sharply.  She glanced over at her and saw the little girl trembling.  Next to her, Daryl headed towards the black haired girl.  "Hey, Neri-" Daryl started to say, but Celine put a hand on the purple haired girl's shoulder and shook her head.

            "I doubt either of us can understand what she's going through, princess..." Celine whispered.  "But she's got someone who does," the tan skinned girl nodded at Weiss, who was as close to Nerise as a shadow.  "Just...give her some time right now, okay?"

            "Why has this Baran spared six of my comrades?" Aeon went on, seemingly oblivious to Nerise's distress.

            "He will use them to empower himself using the nal-vey's forbidden power."

            "Hmmm..." Aeon stroked his bony chin.  "How many more poachers remain besides Baran?"

            "Six," the entranced nal-vey mumbled.

            I see..." Aeon mused, "If you do not return, will Baran come here himself?"

            "If we do not return with apocra, he will.  Baran cares nothing for his hunters, but he will come to recoup his losses."

            "Good," Aeon said, his voice containing just the slightest hint of anger.  "You may release him, Vincent."

            Mina saw the teythen's eyes flash bright red for a moment and the poacher's eyes focused.  "Wh-what did you just do to me?!" he screamed, glancing about at those assembled around him.

            "He made you talk, fool," the teythen poacher next to him sighed.  "Our lives are forfeit."

            "Wh-what?!" the human poacher shrieked.  "B-but I don't want to die!  I...I just joined this outfit so I could eat!  I don't want-"

            "If you're going to kill people and treat them like objects then you don't get to complain about the consequences!" Nerise growled, biting her lip so hard that she drew blood.  "You took my friends away...maybe I should take you away..."

            "I'm with you on that, Neri," Nail mumbled.  "Before that, though, shouldn't we send out a rescue party to save our-"

            "There's no point anymore," Granny sighed and pointed to the horizon.  The stone spikes which had been raised to prevent the poachers from escaping were suddenly torn asunder and a figure, obscured by all the rain, walked forward.  "Take these three and the basilisk inside," Granny gestured at the poachers.  "Justice will have to wait until we solve this problem."

            "But we wanna fight!  This is our home and-" one of the apocra called from behind.

            "Your first duty is to protect your family," Aeon cut in.  "And as things stand, the only ones who can save those captured by this Baran are myself, Granny, Weiss, and Nerise.  If you try, you will only hurt your friends.  The best thing that you can do for those who have been taken is go inside and wait.  Understand?"

            Nail and the others gritted their teeth but bowed their heads in submission.  "Fine..." he grunted.  "We'll...fall back.  But if things get too crazy, we'll be here!  Just give us a call!"

            Mina and Celine stepped aside and joined Daryl as the assembled Gollians took down the pilloried poachers and dragged the petrified basilisk inside.  Within a few moments, they were gone, leaving only Aeon and his closest friends to face the approaching figure, who was now flanked by six others, each dragging something behind them.

            "I see you're waiting for me, Frozen Shade," the lead figure called out.  It bore the voice of an aging man, world weary and tired, but still confident enough to not lose his composure at the sight of Aeon and his allies.  When the silhouette stepped up into the torchlight, Mina and the girls had to suppress a slew of gasps.  Before them was a middle aged man with faded purple skin, garbed in studded leather armor, with a simple whip curled around his waist, almost as an afterthought.  The man's face had wrinkles around his eyes and cheekbones, a greying black beard, and a receding hairline, which was also streaked with grey.  However what caught their eyes the most was that he bore a gigantic, muscled green arm that was almost as tall as he was on his right, while his left arm was covered in thick blue scales.  Running his scaly fingers through his hair, the man sighed and shook his head.  "I see now why my hunters were so late in returning.  We should have moved on before Gollia's master returned, it would seem."

            "You three," Aeon muttered, glancing back at Mina, Celine, and Daryl.  "Head inside with the others."

            "Wait!" Daryl called, looking straight at Aeon without wavering.  "Please let us stay!  I...I want to see how this ends."

            "We aren't going to be gentle with him, Daryl," Vincent said, without turning his head.  "You sure you can take it?"

            Mina clasped Daryl's hand and nodded.  She saw Celine do the same.  Daryl managed a weak smile and said, "I...I think so."

            "We'll stay out of the way, so do what you have to," Celine mumbled, pulling the other two girls a few steps backwards.

            "Granny," Nerise mumbled.

            "Right, right...but that means I'm counting on you lot to get the job done," Granny sighed and joined the girls, staying a little ways in front of them.

            "Now that that's settled," the middle-aged nal-vey raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. 

            Six nal-vey, all garbed in crude leather armor and looking as young or even younger than Deminos, stepped forward, each dragging a chained up apocra behind them.  Among them, Mina recognized a female lamia, a male creature with the same body type as the lamia, a troll, a myrmecoleon, a bandersnatch, and a gargoyle.

            "Frozen Shade," the middle aged nal-vey muttered, "My name is Baran Bow and I am a business man above all other things.  I know you want these apocra.  I had planned to take their strength for my own, but if you will compensate me for my slain hunters, I will release them to you.  There need not be any more bloodshed."

            "Hmmm..." Aeon glared directly at the purple-skinned man.  "After what you have done, you have no right to speak as such.  Here is my counter offer, Baran Bow.  Release my comrades and surrender yourself to our judgment.  If you do so, I guarantee your life and the lives of your compatriots."

            Baran scratched his graying hair and chuckled.  "And if I refuse, our lives are forfeit, are they?"

            "Correct."

            Shaking his head, the nal-vey let out a long sigh.  "I suppose there's nothing else for it then."  Reaching out with his long, muscular, green arm, Baran dragged the myrmecoleon in front of him. "You know..." he grasped the myrmecoleon's mane and the creature began to writhe and roar in terror.  Its fur stood on end at the front and it's segmented legs flailed about at the back as Baran spoke.  "Most nal-vey think this power...our power...is an ugly thing.  It's forbidden, for those who indulge it will either lose their mind or their heart.  But for me..." a sinister grin crossed the man's weathered features, "It's the only thing that makes me feel truly alive!"

            Mina, Celine, and Daryl watched in wide eyed horror as the man thrust the myrmecoleon's head into his stomach.  Rather than biting into the tough leather armor, the myrmecoleon began to be drawn into the nal-vey, as if he were hollow inside.  First the head and mane disappeared.  Then the paws.  Finally, the segmented legs and thorax at the back vanished into him.

            "By the goddess..." Daryl stammered, holding her hands over her mouth.

            "Leopun!" Nerise shrieked.

            "Ahhhh..." Baran let out a sigh and his skin began to twist and writhe.  His legs split apart and formed into four segmented appendages.  The myrmecoleon's thorax shot out of his back as segmented armor covered his lower body.  A mane of yellow-orange fur sprouted around Baran's neck as his body almost doubled in size.  "That's better..." the nal-vey purred.

            "Vincent, Nerise, Weiss," Aeon quickly barked out.  "See to the prisoners.  I shall-" before he could finish, Nerise shot past Aeon, with her toy scepter raised.  It extended to the size of a quarter staff and she leapt at Baran. 

            The little girl's staff whistled past Baran's head as he moved with inhuman speed to dodge.  The instant Nerise overshot him, he back handed her into the ground with his scaly left arm.

            "Aeon!" Vincent muttered through gritted teeth.

            "The prisoners take priority!" Aeon yelled.  "Now move!"  The air sang as Aeon, Vincent, and Weiss flew towards three of the five remaining apocra. 

            The poacher with the chained up bandersnatch raised a hand to attack Weiss, but the nihilon disintegrated into a puddle of black slime before sprouting a dozen spiked tentacles and impaling the poacher upon them.  He left the bleeding man on the ground and oozed onto the bandersnatch, covering it in a glassy black shell.  After he did so, tendrils sprang out of the apocra's back and sliced through its chains.  Once it was free, the bandersnatch darted for the entrance to Gollia.

            Vincent flew over to the poacher holding the lamia prisoner.  Mina and the others were unable to see him from such a great distance, but the poacher seemed to drop to his knees in a stupor as the teythen hauled the lamia over his shoulder and flew away.

            Aeon merely flew up to the poacher with the troll, grabbed his head, and encased him in ice.  The lich ran his fingers over the chains and they froze solid.  The troll broke free of its brittle metal bonds and ran for Gollia while Aeon floated over to the male lamia, encasing the poacher who had held the myrmecoleon in ice with a wave of his hand as he passed.

            "Guard the prizes, you fools!" Baran yelled, swatting Nerise aside once again as she tried to grab a hunk of his flesh.  He dodged the black haired little girl's attack and skittered over to the nal-vey poacher with the gargoyle.

            "Yurick!" Nerise squealed, tears sprouting from her eyes even as she ran towards Baran.

            The poacher merely smirked at her before thrusting the gargoyle against his torso.  The apocra was swallowed up almost immediately.  Nerise slammed her staff against the head of the poacher who had watched over the gargoyle, laying him out with a single blow.  Spinning around, she swung her staff at Baran, however he blocked it with his arm, which had become hard and rocky.  Two wings sprouted from his back and the poacher grew even larger.

            "Begone, child!" he snorted, flinging Nerise aside just as Aeon froze the last poacher and hefted the male lamia over his shoulder.

            Baran got between Aeon and the entrance to Gollia.  "You know...it's been whispered that nal-vey who absorb the right apocra have power that can put even a lich to shame..."

            As he spoke, Vincent and Weiss stopped next to Granny, Mina, Celine, and Daryl.  They released the captured prisoners and Daryl wordlessly ran her hands over the bruised flesh where the chains had bitten into them.  Her hand sparked with white light and she began to heal the apocra, while Celine and Mina massaged their weary muscles.

            "Granny..." the lamia whimpered.  "I thought...I thought we'd never...oh!" her eyes snapped back to Aeon and Baran.  "Raja's still out there!"

            "Easy Lia...you've been through a lot," Granny wiped at the lamia's unshed tears.  "Leave this to Aeon and Nerise."

            "Nerise..." Weiss murmured.

            "I've never seen her that angry," Mina whispered, rubbing at the bruises on the lamia named Lia's wrists.

            "Me either," Celine added, nudging the bandersnatch through the archway and into Gollia.  "Will she be alright?"

            Vincent narrowed his eyes.  "I'd be more concerned for Baran.  Nerise knows cruelty better than anyone, so she usually tries to avoid it.  But her anger has been roused."

            "Let's hope that's all that's awake within her," Granny muttered.

            "What do you mean?" Mina mumbled.

            "It is nothing," Weiss hissed, turning his emerald eyes back to the battle.  The girls did the same.

            "You know, don't you, Frozen Shade?!  This power of ours...that's why they scar us at birth!  Because they fear us.  The vey fear us...we who can commune with the apocra!" Baran howled.  As he spoke, gigantic claws of bone sprouted out of the ground and grabbed him around the waist.

            Everyone's eyes snapped to Nerise, who had her hand pressed against the muddy ground.  "Go!" she yelled at Aeon, who was already zipping around Baran.

            He tried to catch Aeon with his gigantic green arm, but Nerise was on him.  Her hand glowed an unearthly black that seemed to banish all light from her flesh.  Coiling around his green arm with her legs, Nerise plunged her sable fingers into Baran's skin.  The nal-vey let out a shriek of pain and flung Nerise off, but when he sent the little girl flying, something else flew out of him as well.

            Nerise landed next to Granny, just as Aeon set the male lamia down next to Lia.  Clutched in Nerise's hand was the leg of a gigantic apocra with green skin who bore three long arms and two heads.

            "You...what did you do to me?!" Baran growled, his right hand briefly reverting to it's usual purple color before blue scales matching his left arm poured over it.

            "I pulled your 'spare parts' out of you," Nerise dragged out the words with a sneer so full of rage that it made Mina and the others wince.  The normally jovial girl was a trembling bundle of anger.  "My papa and I are good at that...we're good at keeping things in and pulling things out."

            "Nerise," Aeon put his hand on the girl's shoulder.  "You should stop now.  I can feel the anger swirling within you.  If you let it all out then-"

            "I'll be fine!" Nerise snapped.  "This isn't like last time, papa!"

            Before Aeon could protest, Nerise darted over to Baran, who was trying to extricate himself from the enormous skeletal claws that held him.  More skeletal hands sprang out of the muddy ground, and held the thrashing nal-vey in place, as he cracked through the bones holding him one by one.

            With practiced grace, Nerise dodged his searching hands and each time he reached out to strike at her, she would dip her blackened fingers into Baran.  She pulled free the gargoyle and threw him out behind her, ridding the nal-vey of his wings and rocky skin.  Despite shrinking in size, Baran managed to break free of his skeletal bonds and swiped his thorax at Nerise.  The little girl leapt over it and pulled, dragging the myrmecoleon out from him.

            Now almost his normal size, Baran grunted and lunged at Nerise, but she tapped her scepter on the ground and in front of her, the dirt collapsed into a giant puddle of quicksand.  With deliberate slowness, she reached out and dug her fingers into Baran's skull.  The nal-vey shrieked and screamed in agony as Nerise pulled out a tiny apocra that bore a set of claws, but also gills and fins on its side and back.  The creature flopped about uselessly on the ground, letting out muted cries of pain.  Holding out her hand, Nerise created a small orb of water above her and gingerly lifted the apocra into it.  The creature began to breathe easier and a tiny smile crossed her lips.

            The apocra she had pulled out of Baran were helping each other into Gollia while the others watched the nal-vey poacher struggle to extricate himself from the quicksand.  "That one belongs to me," Baran panted, uncoiling his whip and pointing to the sphere of water hovering over Nerise's hand.  "I caught him well before coming here!  Give him back!"

            "Is he serious?!" Celine cocked an eye at the nal-vey and her face twisted into a look of disgust.

            "He knows he's dead," Vincent snorted.  "Let him be arrogant if he wants."

            "He brought this on himself...didn't he?" Mina turned to Aeon, but the lich did not respond.  The flames in his eye sockets were fixed on Neris.

            Shrinking her scepter back down to size, the little girl turned to face the man and pointed it at him.  A mix of black and white energies swirled around her fingers before coalescing into a thin layer of light around her hand and scepter.  She slammed the butt of her glowing scepter into the ground and the quicksand seemed to ripple.

            Oblivious to what Nerise had done, Baran managed grabbed the grass next to the quicksand and was about to pull himself out, when a rotted hand, covered in bandages, shot out of the sand and dragged him back in.  Five decaying figures rose out of the sand, swathed in bandages and circled around the sinking nal-vey.

            "Their bite's pretty nasty," Nerise stuck her tongue out at the trapped man.  "I'd avoid it if I were you."

            "Goddess..." Daryl clasped her hands over her mouth.

            "What in the Goetian hells are those things?!" Celine exclaimed.

            "Mummies..."  Vincent hissed and furrowed his brow, "That's a little excessive, isn't it, Neri?"

            As he spoke, Baran put his fist through one of the mummy's chest.  When he pulled it out, the hole filled itself almost immediately from the sand surrounding it.  Then the mummy bit down on his left shoulder.  The nal-vey refrained from screaming out, but instantly, a black bruise formed on his shoulder and began to spread outward.

            "Serves you right," Nerise spat in Baran's direction.

            "That...doesn't seem normal for Nerise," Mina whispered.

            "No...it is not," Aeon agreed.  "Nerise.  You should end it.  I taught you better than that," he called out to the little girl.

            "It'll be done soon," Nerise shrugged, turning away from Baran and heading for the entrance to Gollia, "Let him suffer for-accck!" Nerise's voice was cut off by a thin, supple piece of leather that had wrapped itself around her throat.  Mina's eyes widened and she followed the path of the whip back to Baran.  Even though his left arm hung limp at his side, and two mummies were gnawing at his legs, the poacher held up his right arm, which he had tied his whip around, and jerked back, pulling it taught.

            Mina felt her voice catch in her throat, even as Daryl, Celine, and the others screamed at the tops of their lungs.  "NERISE!!!" all around her the chorus erupted from everyone's throat save Aeon's.  The lich was already half way to Nerise and raised his hand in her direction.  The air began to ripple and ice spread out over the ground, however before it could reach the whip, a look of pyrrhic triumph crossed Baran's lips.

            With one forceful tug of his whip, the nal-vey snapped Nerise's neck.