"round one to you FEYR" snarls FENRIR as he leaps back into the darkness to snap and bite wildly in the hopes of finding purchase with his jaws "There is nowhere for us to run now darkling" HOWLS FENRIR !! " THIS ENDS NOW !!" ... as the knights gather torches to drive back the ink black night the noises of the battle between the great wolf and the unknown voice send tremors to the legs of even the most disciplined veterans within the ranks of the assembled company of seasoned warriors ....
" FLY !! " snarls FENRIR through the tumult of melee with the darkling feyr "this foe is beyond me and therefor beyond you as well fly for your very souls are in mortal peril here " the tumult of battle goes silent with a whimper and whine of a dying wolf as the darkness closes around the dying of the light ...
Fenrir howled, and arrow lodged in his thigh. He growled, and charged on of the guardians, who was caught off guard, Fenrir pinned him to the ground, mauling his face.
Sir John reached out, pulling himself forward, out of the lake of blood. He rolled over, gasping for air, the arrow, luckily, had struck his shoulder blade, but the fighting continued around him. The blue blood of the guardians mixed with the red blood of the knights mixed, creating a vulgar concoction of purply paste.
Suddenly, the darkness erupted, the other traveling knights riding in on horses, whirling maces and wielding swords, cleaving off the wings and limbs of the guardians, the retreated, clearly outnumbered, all that is, except for the guardian of the night, he stood his ground, imposing fear into the hearts of even the most contagious knights. he wielded no weapons, his menacing glare was enough alone. One knight, gathering his strength, charged the guardian, the guardian extended his claws, he slashed the knights faced, gouging his eyes out, the knight stumbled backwards, and the guardian tore his hart out, blood dripping down his hand, the guardian hissed with an insane pleasure.
Sir John felt himself being dragged through the dirt, he couldn't see whatever was carrying him, his eyelids refused to open, it seemed as though his muscles had given up, and crawled into a corner to die. He could faintly hear screeching, roaring, and not to mention clanging as the Traveling knight's swords faced off with the guardian's scaly hides. Sir John let out a labored groan, but the dragger didn't seem to notice, or didn't care. The giant spider that had dispatched the soldiers had seemed to paralyze him and the other soldiers, fear had enveloped them, and darkness encasing them. With that, John lost consciousness again.
What's going on? thought Cecil, Wait, I'm not supposed to be conscious when I'm asleep. then he realized that he wasn't asleep, the darkness had literally encapsulated him, surrounding and chilling him to the bone. Cecil whirled around, he knew what this meant, the Great beast of the shadow lands, Ophidian, she was here. Cecil quickly blocked his mind, the creature would take the forms of whatever frightened you the most, If she couldn't see what he feared, Ophidian wouldn't be able to intimidate him. "Come out sister, I know you are there." said Cecil calmly.
Unable to find what feared him, Ophidian appeared out of the darkness as her true self. A large serpent, who, unto itself, was quite terrifying. "My brother", she hissed "Why do you not welcome me with kindness?"
"Why are you here Ophidian?" growled Cecil, deciding not to answer the question.
Ophidian circled around him, hissing and curling, Cecil was dwarfed by her enormous stature, and Cecil lost control of himself for a split second, glancing at the scaly body twisting around him, Ophidian quickly took advantage of his momentary weakness, and, like the snake that she was, she struck, latching her fangs onto his greatest fears. Cecils eyes widened in shock, before being temporarily paralyzed, not just physically, but mentally too, once the procedure was finished, he would have no memory of it having happened. Ophidian melted, quickly being replaced by a tyrant king, the one that had captured him as a cub, enslaving and abusing him through his childhood after wiping out his Pride.
Ophidian retreated from Cecil's mind, and he gasped back into reality. Before him stood the tormentor of his childhood, and he knew what Ophidian had done.
Sir John's eyes burst open, he was in a dark room, faintly illuminated by a whole in the roof, moon light filtered through, basking John's face in pure white. His wounds seemed to have healed, a task that would have taken months based of of their severity.
Sudden'y a voice called from the darkness, "Listen, John, listen to the sound of silence."
John stifled a gasp, the voice screeched along like a knife on a chalkboard.
"Hello Johnny!" came the voice from the darkness.
"Who are you?" shouted John.
"I have been called by many names, the beast, the morning star, the Lord of the Flies, Lucifer, Satan, the serpent, Mara, Nidhogg, Shaitan, the devil."
"You are Ophidian?" asked John.
"That is one of my many titles, yes." laughed Ophidian.
"What do you want from me?"
Suddenly John was paralyzed, a great green, scaly body wrapped around him, and a voice hissed into his ear, "My dear, sweet child, I do not want anything from you."
John burst out laughing, "We all no that isn't true Ophidian, otherwise I would've been your lunch a long time ago."
Ophidian's body morphed, melting into the shape of a young woman, her face was elegant and striking, her movement graceful, in other words, beautiful. John's draw dropped, he stared at the woman that the ugly Ophidian had changed into.
"Like it?" asked Ophidian's harmonious voice, "You can have it, but under one condition," then she leaned in, and whispered into John's ear.
A shimmering beast squatted, hunched into a tight, indistinguishable ball. Suddenly he stood, unfurling great, leathery wings and shimmering scales of greens and purples. Deadly talons protruded from his hands.
"What are our orders sir?" asked a scratchy voice behind him.
"Ophidian wishes us to return to the sword in the stone." boomed the scaly creature.
Cecil glanced down at the parchment, as though he were lost in thought. Suddenly he glanced up ask asked the knight a question, but he was gone, he'd left Cecil in the last, fading rays of the sun. The footprint of the strange man was soon blown away, following the knight in his strange quest.
Where did he even come from? wondered Cecil, had just appeared out of thin air, he'd disappeared the same way, without a trace. Even Cecil's trained hearing didn't detect his arrival.
A lone knight strode down the stone streets of the palace. Bustling traders and merchants rushed around him, racing to be the fist to win the gold from the rich customer. The blood stained flag of war waved above their heads, the image of a sun shone in the center . The knight emerged from the congested metropolis, a great collection of spires greeted him, and he ascended the stairs to the palace.
Sir John stopped in the hall before he entered the throne room, "Why are we stopping?" asked his horse Ophidian.
Sir John grinned, "I think, that before we make our dramatic entrance, we should ruin his floors, don't you think?"
Ophidian grinned back, "Good idea."
The two strode into the throne room, leaving a pile of horse dung in the hallways behind them. Nobles and royal guards turned to face them in dismay, "What was a lowly traveling knight doing here?" they wondered.
Sir John didn't pay any heed to their gawking faces, his eyes were fixed solely on the Lord on the throne. He had long brown hair, chestnut eyes, and a scruffy beard. His wife sat besides him on a similar throne. She had blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. The king wore a golden circlet around his head, decorated with the purest rubies, the queen bore a similar tiara.
Sir John hopped off of his horse, red capes flowing around him. He lifted his helmet off of his head, revealing his own blond beard and messy tangle of blond hair. He knelt down to the floor, his shiny armor shimmering in the sunlight that filtered through the stained glass. "Greetings Negan the invincible." boomed John. Ophidian tapped at the stone floor with her hoof behind him, "I am Sir John, the leader of the-" suddenly Lord Negan cut him off.
"I know who you are, what do you want?"
"I was beginning to worry that you did not recognize me."
"You are the leader of the thousand and one Traveling Knights, I do remember you, you served me for some time."
"Three months of torture and torment, I would have rather died."
"I can arrange that."
"Is that a threat?"
"I have every right to threaten you, this is my throne room!"
Deciding to cut to the chase, John changed the subject, "You and I have unfinished business."
Negan stood to his full height, "You dare to threaten me?"
"You don't know what you're dealing with." warned John.
"Are you threatening me?" growled Negan.
"You an choose to look at it that way."
Negan sat back into his throne, he and his wife had a short, silent dialogue, then he yelled, "Guards, seize him!"
The nobles screamed and ran as the guards jumped into action, hoisting their lances.
Sir John laughed, "I warned you!" then the horse behind him melted and reformed into a giant snake, the guards froze in fear, and Lord Negan shrank back into his throne, but he stood fast.
"Ohidian, you and I once worked together, what has happened since that time?"
"I realized what you were doing." hissed the snake.
Suddenly he turned to John, "Do not trust her boy, she will help you get what you want then leave you for dead."
Sir John laughed. One of the guards unfroze, and pointed his cross bow straight at John, then he fired, the bolt flew through the air, straight at John's heart, but it never made it's target. Ohidian slithered in front of it, and it thunked into her scaly hide.
Sir John turned angrily, pulling out a knife, he yelled, "This is for Rey!" and he through the knife, it tumbled end over end, it's shiny blade glistening, and it struck Negan in the throat. He collapsed into his throne, blood cascading around him like a water fall. Ophidian twisted and coiled, plowing through the guards.Then John drew his sword, and jumped off of the carpet. He ran through the palace, hunting and killing every single noble who stood in his way.
The Queen took cover behind her dead husband's throne, gasping for breath through her sobs. Ophidian slithered down the great halls of the palace, her massive frame nearly blocking the whole hall. Men and women alike screamed in petrified fear at the sight of the giant scaly beast.
Sir John placed the key to the dungeon into it's lock. The dead guard next to him smiled at him with empty eyes. Sir John stepped into the darkness.
The palace burned down, it's stone arches and spires crumbling to the ground, the giant snake burst from the great flames, into the streets of the city. Merchants, peasants, and hunters alike fled in terror, emptying out of the city's gate. Guards massed together in front of Ophidian. And Sir John slid off of her back. Negan's stood behind him, rescued from the dungeon, now loyal to Sir John. They'd armed themselves with the weapons of fallen soldiers, ready to fight for and die for Sir John if necessary. Ophidian coiled up, preparing to strike, and the soldiers backed away nervously.
"I have liberated you!" shouted John, "Negan is dead, you are now free!"
The knights looked at one another, then one of them stepped forward, "If that is so, then our loyalties still lie with the Kingdom of Neph!" he shouted.
Sir John smiled wickedly, "Kill them." he ordered, and Ophidian launched herself forward, biting the soldier in half. The liberated prisoners ran forward after the great beast.

Ophidian hissed, and shot down the stone street, coiling herself around the great white wolf, "How ironic that Fenrir would come to the aid of the general of Neph." she hissed. A malevolent smile took shape on her scaly lips, "How is it that the Wolf of Winter War found himself this fa south of his northern territories?"
Cecil stared into the distance, a twisting, foreboding feeling snaked its way through his gut. Suddenly he roared, the snarl echoed for miles around, bouncing off of the mountains of the Thorn Kingdom, and spreading across the fast savannas around him. The call of the great beast, it had not been signaled in millennium, not since the great fires of the first Necromancer had engulfed the world. It was a summoning of all the great beasts, both good and bad, any whom were able were respond to it. Cecil roared again once again, it was time to call a meeting.
Fay perched in his great tree, plucking through his plumage. His majestic form shimmered in the millions of spotlights formed from the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Monkeys danced around him, chattering and screeching as they fought over their food. Birds sat, staring boringly at the wild apes, tearing through the great tree. Several young maidens, with long pointy ears stood in full battle armor in the branches, guarding the great beast of the air. Suddenly the entire jungle of the Storm Islands went silent. Fay perked up, letting his plumage alone. The elves perked their ears, and the moneys paused mid screech, all listening for the sound to come again. When it did, the great beast spread his magnificent wings, and took flight, millions of other birds zipped off through the air, calling after him as though to say farewell. The monkeys resumed their rowdy behavior below.
Seine flicked his pearly white tail, the icy cold waters bubbled around him. His great spiral tooth pointed out in front of him, parting the darkness that engulfed him. The sea of the Blade Coast was his home, and never wound he leave it. Suddenly a noise pierced the darkness, it seemed almost otherworldly to Seine, it didn't belong in these waters. Seine turned around, and swam straight up, the light above him multiplied a thousandfold as he broke the surface, startling two desert fishermen, who'd lost their way in the ocean, they shouted in angry Arabic, obviously not believing the giant Narwhal before their eyes.


