Semira looked out on the chaos
"So you are saying this is all my fault?"
she looked back at Maraud
"And how in the hell is this all my fault, you were the one who brought us all here, dragged them here as well"


Amelia looked over at Jokan
"he doesn't look to well brother"
she walked over and tapped him on the shoulder
"Are you ok?"


"And when will that day come?"
she went back to sketching
"If it was me I would have chosen my child above all else, what kind of parent doesn't choose their child? their own flesh and blood?"

Maraud's eyes met hers and they were steely yet callous.
"I told you and Sauriel finding your child would not be easy nor pleasant. You were adamant I continue. So, I have got you the path you must follow. Paved with the blood of innocent men and the cries of widowed mothers."

Jokan looked like he was going to faint, unable to look away from the battle with a kind of horrified fascination.
"I knew all those men. Men with hopes, dreams, families... dead, dying, already dead, about to die. I think I might be sick."

Rookspawn coughed a little, and blood speckled the white spaces of the chessboard.
He hurriedly wiped it away.
"What if the only way to protect your child was to be apart from them?" he said, quietly.

"What was I doing? I live out here, I find the silence has an unnatural serenity. I'm not sure if you saw the tree which seemed to glow, I raised that tree."
He continued following her without difficulty whilst chuckling at the thought of humanity.

"This was the only way. And you would have told me to find another one. Which would have been impossible and as such it was simpler to skip to this point."
Maraud's eyes were dull and black now, watching the bloodshed.
"And as for my conscience, it died when my heart stopped beating."

Semira looked at Sauriel when he spoke and agreed to what he said then hear Maraud speak
"then it isnt exactly our fault this happened, you didn't have to drag them into it, it could have just been the tree of us. not them as well"

"would you like me to get you anything?"
Amelia looked at him with concern then looked at her brother for help


"Why would being apart from your child protect them"
she looked over her sketchpad again


Victoria shook her head
"I did not see the tree I was looking for someone and wasn't  paying attention until i caught your scent"
she stopped in the middle of nowhere
"Odd"
she looked around
"the scent stops here but its quite strong"

Decoda nodded. "Well, we could either fly off on our own, or we could try to find allies, just in case they come back." Decoda suggested.

"If it was only the three of us, Moloch would never have looked twice in our direction. We needed an offering, and these men fit the bill."
Jokan looked hateful at these words, and was shaking in his seat with anger.
"You two would have done anything to see your child again. But better your souls not be stained than my void be filled with sin."
Jokan put an arm on Amelia's shoulder. "I - I don't think you can do anything for me right now, but thank you for asking."

Rookspawn coughed again, and his hand shook as he wiped his mouth.
"In case forces were coming either after you and you wanted the child to be safe, or after the child and you needed somewhere to hide her. Maybe you'd put them in the care of someone you trusted..."
He fell silent, wondering if she'd get it.

"Niku! Niku!" Rail said, moving around on Tybalt's back ,trying to get his attention. She pantomimed writing on something when he turned his head to look at her.

"These men knew that they would die on the field of battle eventually," Jokan said quietly.
"These men knew that they would die fighting in the name of a cause that would allow their families to spend the rest of their lives in peace. Where is that cause now!?"
A lazy smile curled over Maraud's face.
"Now that you mention it..."
Jokan glared at the vampire.
"Spit it out!"

Maraud smirked.
"To dumb it down, I saw a way to please everyone. Not without sacrifices, mind, but a way to save them all. Moloch is the demon lord in charge of sending the main invasion forces to Earth. He churns out fodder from his arenas, sparing them from death in exchange for slaughtering humans. But if we stop him now, in his realm, and tear it down to the ground and burn the ashes, we can send a message. A message that roars, as loud as the thunderclap, "NO MORE.""
Cryth looked suspicious. "So how does that benefit everyone?"
"Semira and Sauriel get their child. Jokan gets his wish of everyone being safe from demons back on Earth. You get your wish of keeping your beloved -"
He cocked his head. A look of confusion flitted over his face, but then it returned to it's masterful blankness.
"...sister...safe, and everyone wins."
"And what do you get?" Jokan asked, quietly.
Maraud's eyes flickered red. "REVENGE."

Rookspawn coughed down his front and blood stained his shirt.
"...Yes, Nadia. I do."

Nejat looks around, lifting his hands to cast light illumination to the surrounding area, "That seems strange."
He releases a spawn yawn, covering his mouth slightly.

Decoda shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, I don't have any-"
Siren handed Rail a piece of paper and a pen, before Decoda could finish her sentence. "I always carry a notepad." She said bluntly.

Amelia looked up at her brother when Maraud looked at them with confusion
"Why did he look at us like that?"
she said quietly, she then looked back at Maraud
"Do we actually have to fight?"
amelia voice was a bit shaken when she asked about them having to fight

Nadia placed her pad down and approached her guardian
"You knew who she was all this time and you never once told me anything about her?"
she noticed the blood on his clothes
"Are you ok? "

Victoria looked back at him
"Are you tired?"
she looked back and circled where the scent disappeared
"Its like I can still pick up a strong scent but it vanishes right here"
she moved her hand around
"there has to be something here"

"Aye, I haven't slept since the rise of the previous blue moon, I just 'nap' occasionally to pass the time. As you do, I have a mission to get off of this god forsaken planet and return to where I belong."
He heard some scuttling within some near by bushes as a rabbit hopped out, twiddling its nose and sticking out its small, pink tongue before leaving.

Maraud said nothing in response to Amelia, instead turning and leaving the box.

Cryth held Amelia close.
"Yes," he said gently. "We will. But we'll WIN."

Rookspawn looked at Nadia, blood dripping down his chin.
"If I tell you, you won't listen. Find her, Nadia. Her name is Semira, and she brought you to me when you were barely a day old."
He smiled, another trickle of blood joining the first.
"You were so beautiful..."

Amelia looked down
"But I don't want to have to fight"
she walked over and slowly sat down in a seat staring off
"why did he look at us that way brother"
she looked up at Cryth
"did you not see the way he looked at us?"




"Tell me please I promise I'll listen"
she wiped the blood from his chin
"whats wrong why are you bleeding?"
a look of concern and sadness



Victoria heard the noise as well but ignored the rabbit, she was more focused on figuring out how the scent disappeared. She started poking at the air a little which might have looked weird until the one area she poked seemed to ripple
"there is something here"
she poked it again and it rippled but this time a portal opened which caused her to jump back and hiss at it standing in a defensive position
"What is that thing?"

Nejat regained his focus, walking towards the portal and trying to touch it.
"It seems like a portal, hidden using some sort of magic..."
His face seemed to distort as he continued to look at the portal.
"It seems strangely pulling."

He followed through soon yet once he was on the other side he had what seemed like a surfboard in hand made of constantly moving light. Nejat lowers it to the ground before stepping on it.
"Where now?"
He chuckles, the board slightly raising off the ground.

"A little something I learnt to do a couple hundred years back."
The board slowly heads forward as visible light push at the back of the board.
"Let's go."

Cryth shrugged.
"I don't know. No reason why he would, is there?" he asked, confused like she was.

Rookspawn didn't stop smiling, even as more blood spilled from his mouth and onto the chessboard.
"She would have killed me if I'd told you, a bit pointless now, hahaha..."
Blood spurted and he broke out coughing.
"H-her name is Semira. I protected you for her sake. I'll let her explain it when you find her."
His eyes glazed a little.
"Shouldn't... be... too long... now..."

Victoria started following the scent as it got stronger and stronger. leading them to some sort of arena. She stood outside of the door studying it
"The scent is in here"
she cracked open the door and peeked in, when the coast was clear she slipped in the door leaving it open for him to get through
"Soo close, I can almost taste it, He is here somewhere"
she followed the scent hoping it would lead her to the one who turned her

Amelia looked in the direction Maraud went
"I guess not, he just looked at us strangely"
she looked up at her brother
"should we ask him why?"

Nadia shook him
"Rook.....Pa, please whats wrong, what do you mean shouldn't be to long"
she shook him some more tears welling up in her eyes
"please don't leave me"