“It was said that these stones had a great power to them; not only did they mean the people of Virenheim could do anything without needing sunlight but that they could clear the air of the poisons left by the Orcreich. One holding the stones could pass through the mountains as a prophet once did to bring a book of history to the other side to teach them to train birds to fly over the mountains and to learn how to battle Orcreich. It is believed that as Virenheim is the only place where every Deep Elf can use magic, the stones influence their birth and magical abilities so that they can fight the demons specifically. It is also believed and has been documented that the stones protect Virenheim from the First Ones as long as all twelve stones are present, that the stones when put in a special device produce a strong shield that surrounds Orcreich and stops all bad things from getting through… but as ten of the stones have disappeared the current two remaining only produce enough power to protect the King’s palace. It is also thought that the stones will reveal the true identity of beings hidden by dark magic or that have been cursed.”

- “The Kingdom of Virenheim” by Ronvaldo Hilosa

“Karayan? Karayan I heard someone screaming for my sister – please snap out of it I need your help!” Anouk had never been so panicked in her life! The bright light had made her head scream but water entering her mouth had brought her back to life. Coughing and spluttering to get the rancid soup of misbegotten vermin from her maw, she’d yanked herself out of a deep patch of marsh in search of the light. Her eyes had caught the faintest gleam up ahead near the Goblin Meadows and she knew it would only take ten minutes in a frenzied gallop to crash through to the mud pools and she had heard screaming that way!

However, her wish to just carry on to save her sister was tempered by a need to help the Karayan. The dark figure lay prone in the water, unmoving and she was not even sure if he was breathing at all! Lifeless he appeared little more then black driftwood floating on the bog and from the noises about them, the scavengers were coming in. If it were anyone else right now, Anouk knew she would have abandoned him for the sake of her sister and the greater good, despite the moral arguments that had always prevented such an act before. Yet she felt compelled to keep him at her side and desperately she slapped at his face and begged him to wake up and help her… frantic to have his help.

She had never needed someone so much in her life before… at least, since her grandfather’s death.

For the Karayan though, everything had stopped and he’d realised where he stood in the world as darkness had enveloped him and drawn his soul upwards from the earth though his body remained motionless. Perhaps the sight of the light had been too much for him and he was now dying, but if that were so why was he being drawn to the sun? His mind was already throbbing with the primitive tribal sounds and songs of his people, the Great Eye itself no longer the burning sun but the black ink spirals of art he recalled in his youth. In his mind he heard the screaming sounds and the wagging tongue gestures of the tribe he’d been born to and as he seemed to reach the great opening eye it practically hissed at him.

Born of the dark that captured the light, born of the dragon and the primal might…

Karayan blinked at the strange noise to reach his ears and then he heard Anouk screaming for him to get up. He felt something within his body change, something painful clawing through the membrane of his soul as if it had been sealed away for the danger and power that resided within. At the desperation in her voice his heart gave a hefty thump and the image of Nabuto was shattered and instead it flooded his mind with every memory he’d ever had. The shards of black ink smeared his face, reawakening the truth within him that had been hidden away and the strands of spell that had warped him were cut, but his body did not change from it. Instead he felt his soul fall crashing down back into his body and he jerked upwards with a snarl of anger. Anouk turned to him to speak but had no chance before he stood up and grabbed her at the waist, throwing her over his shoulder as he began to run with her towards the grasses. She managed a few swears of anger but they only seemed to make him chuckle.

“By the way I’m calling that Dreggling Bumble and he’s never going to fight for anyone’s entertainment!”

“But that’s got nothing to do with right now you… you idiot!” Anouk snapped but before she could protest further he was on the move. The Karayan had found a new zest for life it would seem and his heart thundered as if it had been slapped by a bolt of lightning. His limbs pumped with blood smothered in this new energy as he galloped onwards to the long strands of grass in ignorance of the beasts it might contain. Anouk could do nothing but grasp him and smirk at the staring figures of the horrid little swamp scavengers that had been lured by the promise of a corpse and yet found nothing. It was curiously satisfying to witness.

Damara held the sword tightly in her hands but grimaced with fear as the creature slowly stepped toward her. Ynvirius was no longer an elf but somehow he’d opened himself up to a demon and willingly allowed a deadly possession by whatever kind of creature this was. She had never seen this kind of thing before, only heard of the possessions and no description had ever mentioned the addition of a mouth in the chest and eyes in the belly – it was so disjointed and wrong and it made her feel quite sick. But she was not sure how she was supposed to be able to fight something with two faces and an evil laugh that was clearly tormenting her and scratching its way into her brain!

“You’re hardly worth the effort, no fun to just kill. Get your friend to leave the stone and you can all run away with nightmares but breathing.” Despite the fact a hideous monster was telling them such things the voice was soothing, charming and trustworthy as if it were her father asking her to do something. But Damara shook her head and stepped back towards Karani, unsure why the monster did not just charge her as it snapped its crooked jaws in fascination as if it had not breathed or tasted air before. Yet the fact it did not address Karani, did not appear to want to fight Jarl and focused on Damara alone was frustrating. Was it because her reaction to the Hive Demon had made her appear weak… or was it because the creature might actually be scared of her?

“Karani… you and Jarl need to get back…. If you brought any help with you Jarl please got to it. I’ll stand and fight.” Damara could hardly believe her own words but doubting them would make her weakened. She knew it was the Benaga way to show such self-sacrifice but it was also a little terrifying to be left alone. Still, she encouraged the ice magic into the blade and prepared to lunge. The creature turned its head towards Jarl, its other eyes blinking mischievously towards Damara and in that moment she charged with a roar.

Jarl had not been willing to leave with Karani and thankfully she did not want to go either. When Damara charged Jarl darted forward with his rapier, he prodded at an eye on the belly before darting back, making all the eyes turn to him as Damara was able to swing. She held the blade tightly, unwilling to let it go as the metal wheezed with the cold droplets cutting into the monstrous form. She slapped the beast just above the hip, stabbing into the mouth as it began a hideous series of whirring alarm-like barks before its tongue froze and fell out. The demon head screeched as Damara tried to pull the sword out but realised with horror that the cold had stuck to the flesh and frozen the blade in place. She could not tug it free and her feet were loosing grip in the slippery swamp mud.

As the demon clasped the cold blade with the only hand it seemed to have, Jarl lunged again. He stabbed straight into one of the eyes, piercing the pocket so black fluid spurted out in a hissing shriek. The creature produced a gut bending roar of agony as it swung its stump at Jarl with a violent jet of red steam pouring from its nostril like slits! Suddenly the great stump began to shudder and vibrate at a speed that made it blur to their eyes and then a long bony finger with a massive black claw shot out in a bloody spray through stump’s scales to try and snatch the fabric of the young man’s clothing. Damara did not want to let go of the blade now but she could not seem to disconnect her powers; the more she became fearful the cold increased and the blade swelled in the demon’s grasp. Eventually the talons managed to hook themselves into the flexing lines of the metal caused by the extreme cold and with this knowledge if began to squeeze, its eyes still focused upon Jarl. Finally with a sound like a cough, the sword fractured and Damara skidded over to the demon’s feet.

The great heavy clawed pads stepped up from the mud and slammed into Damara’s back as she fell forward onto her knees. With a choking gasp she was smashed into the mud and permitted to bounce upward thanks to her bulging chest and gasp for help. Jarl’s attention was lost and yet he managed to dodge the swing of the claw and instead produced a sudden ball of light. With a bark for eyes to close the demon attempted to do so and when it did to try and avoid the pain of the light, Jarl used the distraction to swing his sword and hit the foot. The creature tumbled over with a shriek as the ball of light burst into a swirling spiral of wind to grasp the creature and throw it backwards into the mud. Jarl grasped Damara by the shoulder and yanked her painfully up, practically dragging her over to Karani and pushing the women away as the demon tried to fight the wind form slapping at him.

“Hang on kids!” From out of nowhere the remaining eye on the belly was speared three times by small sharp arrows. The creature gave a squeal of pain and wobbled about, unwilling to try and pull itself up as it swam about in the mud. It did not get a chance however as a massive hulk suddenly threw itself upon the beast, ignoring the stabbing hook of its stump and grasping its head hard. The youngsters realised that it was Alard and he was trying to twist the head off the creature as Ling emerged from the shadows with a bloody scratch upon her bare legs chuckling evilly. “You know what… by the blood of Mala I should have known something fishy had happened when Kaloon was killed. But come on little ones, if we don’t start getting through the grass then when Anouk turns up she’s going to realise you were fighting something and I’m going to loose my scalp!”

“Ling… can you stop jabbering and help me out!” Alard roared angrily, the massive Aeron locking his arms around the head of the demon that was slowly being ripped upward. Sinews and scales locking this head to the body snapped and pinged off gently, the creature was groaning from the agony of loosing its stomach eyes and mouth, but still the claw and the talons of the monster scratched at him. Although Alard’s species meant he could not be killed by the demon’s magic, he was not strong enough to tackle the creature completely on his own and his companion came rushing over. She pulled a dagger from within her clothing and quickly stabbed the creature in the neck, twisting the blade and starting to saw her way through the connection. Alard noticed the youngsters still watching and gave a bark of annoyance at them. “Get going… Anouk should be on her way!”

The two figures continued to attempt to remove the head and Damara grasped her companions by the wrists. She did not care about weapons now and even though she did not want to abandon the two figures, she knew that Ling and Alard were more experienced in battle then her. Plus the warning that Anouk was on her way encouraged the scraped and bruised elf maiden to drag Karani by the wrist through the grasses with Jarl running ahead of them ready for battle. Their ears strained outward to catch the sound of the enemies but it was clear that the presence of the stone in their hands was keeping the monsters at bay as the dove through the grasslands.

Meanwhile Ling’s blade had managed to severe a few more lines of tendon and gristle before the head began to flop back and forth. At this Ling grasped the head by the holes in the head she assumed to be ears and began to pull upwards as Alard dropped his position to secure the swinging arms. Ling was trying to dodge the claws but each time they seemed to get too close she strung another small dart to her wrist and shot the hands and arm of the figure. Once she could see the gyrations of the arms had slowed and Alard had full control of the body, Ling tugged upwards with a swift clean jerk to hear the sudden cracking sound of the head dislocating and falling off. The moment the head was free Ling grabbed it by the ears again and swung it in a bowling motion straight to the pile of bones beside the signpost before she kicked the body. Quickly the golden elf pulled out a burning ball of a chemical mixture that would explode the moment it contacted air, she ushered Alard to start running off after the kids before throwing the ball and letting the body burn, but she had a horrible feeling that this was not the end.

“Didn’t Anouk say a possessed thing has to have the skull split in half?” Alard questioned as he grasped Ling by the waist and carried her off. She gave a shout of surprise at his man handling but she was grateful for it all the same, especially when the wound on her leg was really starting to bleed now. Her ability to fight any more this morning was gone and she needed to make sure the kids had escaped, but nothing was going to be so easy. Although the two figures reached the edge of the grass the moment the three youngsters did, something horrifying came scuttling out of the grass after them on tentacles produced from the tendrils Ling had severed.

“Oh gods is that Ynvirius’ head scuttling after us?” Karani whimpered as the strange scaled heap suddenly bolted in front of them and hissed aggressively. The group all froze in horror, unsure how to react or what was going to happen next as the hideous head with no remaining eyes suddenly shoved itself down into the swamp water. The five figures stood on the massive stones, too afraid to try and run any further now as they watched the murky water bubble and the head rise up with a new body made of all the pieces of corpse left to rot and decay for the snatching pond suckers at the bottom of the bog.

“Give me the stone!” The being hissed through its mouth, spitting bloodied chunks of flesh at them as it stretched out its long hands formed of dead fish skeletons and lumps of beetle larvae. The stench it produced was so foul that the group fell backward with a dizzy desire to vomit but Karani gave out a scream. She was not willing to give the stone up and swiftly one of her balls of light shot out and smacked the creature in the face. The action caused the flesh parts to drop straight off and leave the head sitting on an over-extended skeleton that belonged more to a mix of boar and horse and should not have been standing on hind feet. Claws were formed from extra ribs and teeth were strapped to the creature’s knuckles as it snarled at them all again, but thankfully the reinforcements suddenly smashed through the ribs.

The body doubled backward, loosing balance and nearly falling back down into the mud before its powers pulled the bones back into position. Anouk and Karayan sat on the other side of the creature and the moment the head spun about to view them Anouk yelled at the others to run for it! The group of five remained far too startled by the slower speed of the bones gathering and Karani grasped tightly to Alard for protection. The group were not eager to move at all until they could see that the demon bag of bones was enraged by the presence of the Benaga lord and eager to squash her as Karayan gave a snort.

“What’s the plan to get rid of this creature?” The Karayan growled in frustration as he stepped toward the large creature that seemed to stare at him, frozen to the spot with fear. With this distraction, Alard was able to start running again and the others began to follow him. When the creature gave a sudden sharp screech of irritation at the reaction the abomination rushed forward and then suddenly its stretching bone hands were wrapped in a silver chain. The creature felt its arm being yanked backward and it spun its head all the way around on the flicking neck bones to face Anouk and sneer at her. When it twisted other parts of the bones to face her as much as possible, the figure stretched out its other hand and snatched them about the top of Anouk’s head. She’d ducked at the last minute but she was not going to let go of the claws wrapped about in her blade’s chain.

“Foolish mortal female...” The eye sockets suddenly flashed angrily and it pulled its hand backward, letting the bones shatter as the chain fell to the ground but Anouk was swift to call the metal back into her hand and leap across into a bed of reeds before she could be slashed. As the creature slipped forward to try and grab her, Anouk then darted straight past the demon and under its skeleton form, causing it to fall forward into the muck again. As bones came pinging off the horrendous skeletal being, the Karayan lunged forward and grasped the creature’s rib cage. Yanking out and snapping bones he tried to throw the carcass about the swamp to slow its ability to heal as Anouk then whipped her scythe blade above her head and shot it out towards the squealing head. The blade sliced cleanly across the top of the scales, causing the scale layer of skin to slough off and reveal the pulsating brain that was veined in strange black lines.

“Damn it... the brain’s completely infected with the demon; the only way we can deal with it is fire.” Anouk snarled and the Karayan froze at her words.

“Fire?” Suddenly a long femur swung out into his form and cast the being straight across the swamp back towards where Alard and the others were running. There were sudden screams of terror from the youngsters who stared out at the mud soaked and groaning black-clad friend. Karayan gave a roar of anger as he pulled himself out of the mud, wrenching long reeds off his body that had tried to latch onto him and pull him down into the water. Karayan heard Anouk call out to him to check he was alright and he gave a soft little chuckle of amusement and called back to her. “Watch for yourself Lord Benaga...”

Anouk was quite aware of the fact she had to be careful and she was quite frustrated that her companion had been so careless. It startled her how he’d survived strolling through the Orcreich considering his seeming natural ability to get hit! But she had noticed how the demon was not keen on trying to touch the Karayan and even now she could see that the bones that had made contact with the shroud were crumbling away. Seeing the weakness Anouk swung the scythe back around to snap the bone and cause the figure to fumble back down into the mud and try to pull itself out. Its reactions were sluggish and pained, probably because the bones were so heavy and the brain was now in contact with the slight sunlight. If they could keep this figure out long enough for the brain to dry in the sun, they could kill the creature easily but the demon was still desperate for the stone and its focus was no longer turned to its attackers but onward toward the group. Anouk panicked that it might just manage to snatch her friends and swiftly she rushed over to the side of the creature, packing her blade back into the belt of her robes and decided to kick straight into the remaining arm of the figure, forcing it to turn around and snarl at her.

Anouk allowed herself to be grasped sharply around the waist by the great creature and with a roar it stretched out its head, adding extra bones to the neck to reach out and bite her head. Anouk knew she was in trouble but she was quick to produce a sharp whistle that Ling, even though she was rushing away from the situation, recognised. There was a sudden trio of high pitched pinging sounds as the darts from the crossbow snapped straight into the writhing grey mass of the creature’s brain. It froze suddenly, groaning and mumbling in agony as its hand opened and she was dropped straight out into the mud. Anouk then swung her scythe out to hit into the brain again before yanking it out and taking a chunk of the pulsating mass.

“Karayan do you know how to make fire from thin air?” Anouk questioned, turning to face where he was stomping back over but the head suddenly turned about and this time the jaw shot outwards. Anouk’s legs were snapped into its mouth, locking onto them and pulling them upward as she screamed and roared in agony at the pinching and bone crunching that was ripping one of her legs badly. The sound forced Alard to freeze and turn back, eager to go and help out thanks to his oath but he was slapped harshly by Ling with a sneer.

“You know the rules with the boss… if her sister is in trouble that’s who you’re supposed to protect. We’re too far gone now to stop and turn back – we’ve got to get home big boy.” Ling stated with a frustrating grimace as she slapped at his shoulder a little more kindly. Alard’s expression was iron, he wanted to return and rescue his friend but with Karani starting to whimper from the pain of the stone pressing against the fabric of her clothes he shook his head. He did not like the idea of this abandonment but Ling was right and Damara needed his serious help to get home.

As the five figures galloped off the Karayan managed to reach the bone collection as he lunged forward and grasped her body. Anouk gave a scream of agony as the demon tried to twist its head about to pop her leg off, but the Karayan pulled out his axe from within his shrouds to smack the blade against the slit-like nostrils. As Anouk continued to scream from the pain, she noticed that the sunlight was breaking through the grey clouds brought by the mountains and was falling directly over the skull of the figure. The brain was bubbling and popping in little watery, slimy bubbles as it began to boil in the heat, her tactic to keep the demon busy was working but she did not want to loose her leg in this kind of battle and pulled her dagger out to assist the Karayan in stabbing at the creature. The demon just seemed to keep chuckling at her as its teeth clamped tighter, even though the rest of its body was locking up and freezing as the venom of possession evaporated.

“Help me Karayan… please… I can’t get my left leg out of its jaw! Please… wedge the axe into its mouth so I can pull myself out!” Anouk hissed bitterly through clenched teeth as she tried to keep stabbing into the beast’s facial tissue to get it to release her. Instead of trying to open it’s mouth to scream for the pain as her actions split nerves, muscles and blood vessels the creature remained biting down blindly. But the Karayan understood what she requested of him and he stopped hitting it with the axe. With the bones practically frozen from the boiling fizzing pool that was its brain now, he gently stretched a hand into the mouth of the creature to swiftly put his revealed claws onto her flesh. When she gave a soft whine of pain, he told her to remain calm as he shifted his fingers around the closing chunks of teeth to find how punctured Anouk’s leg was.

He knew he could not just pull the teeth out of her leg in case a vein or artery had been impaled and she might bleed to death. Karayan had a sensation in his mind that no matter what happened to her she would survive; he would make sure of it but also that he could burn this being. He did not know how that would happen but he knew he was strong enough to pull the head of the creature in half and nervously he felt the first puncture wound with a grimace of frustration.

“That one’s down deep… wrap your chain tightly around the top of your leg and be prepared for a lot of pain.” He growled fiercely as he tried to probe his finger down into the wound, noticing the creaking sensation of the monster’s jaw and the pain visible on Anouk’s face. Although she was trying to hold back tears to stop herself appearing feminine, she was certainly not afraid and had done enough to defeat this being so long as they could destroy it with fire after she was free. The demon was in fact completely frozen to the spot it would seem, the brain melted in the sunlight to a liquid slosh, but it was still throbbing with black veins. If it got dark any time soon then the brain would start to reform and the figure would become even stronger then it had been inside the body of Ynvirius. Even so Anouk was pleased with herself for having given her sister the chance to escape with a stone and she nodded her head gently before swinging about with her chain, whispering to it instructions to make the chain glow and then wrap itself about her thigh.

The chain bit painfully into her body, but the moment she began to feel numbness overcome it she nodded her head to the Karayan. With a swift bob of his head, the shrouded figure hooked an arm about the woman with a firm sigh and then shoved his claws away from her wounds and grasped the top jaw of the skull. If he could break the top half then the bottom half would just drop off and with a low groan he heaved in a strong breath before slowly beginning to exhale and push upward. With his talons stabbing firmly into the calcium of the bones the form began to fracture and splinter as he breathed out. With the final push of air he was able to pop the jaw up and in the movement the skull crumbled into pieces and Anouk let out such a loud scream it echoed about the swamp.

Birds lunged into the air that had remained watching and the sound touched the group who were already at the barges. They froze in fear, their heads snapping back towards the grass and the terrifying sound that forced Damara to wail in upset. Before anyone could react properly to the sound of Anouk in such agony, Damara had stretched her hand into Karani’s hood, grasped the stone that made her arm feel numb and then galloped onward. She turned back into the swamp and screamed out for her sister, begging for Anouk to still be alive. Alard gave a bark and bolted out after the young woman, unwilling to let her get killed as well if that had been Anouk’s death cry.

Damara was not going to stop however, if her sister was dying then it was all her fault and despite her hopes of the whole scenario, Damara did not think the stone was worth it! Nothing was worth loosing the only family member she had left and with tears dribbling out of her eyes and the stone swirling bright blue within her hands, Damara prepared herself to join battle and destroy the creature with them.

Anouk however was hanging limply in the Karayan’s arms, completely passed out from the pain and the release of the jaw. The Karayan held her tenderly as he waded through the thick seemingly motionless waters towards the stones and tenderly lay her down. She remained with her eyes closed; her breath light and her body juddering from the shock of it all as he slowly unwound the chain on her thigh and ripped the fabric away from the worst affected leg. He grimaced as he looked to great bruised and swollen patches where the bones had been crunched and then that one massive hole within her leg that was still spurting blood despite the chain’s efforts. He was displeased to see that fresh look of this brilliant crimson, knowing it that meant her artery had been damaged and she was likely to bleed to death!

“I did not understand my powers at first… but I know I can heal you…” The Karayan whispered fearfully towards the prone figure whose soft purple skin was starting to turn a hideous white. She looked to be turning into a statue before his eyes and the stranger was not going to allow it as he tentatively pulled down the top of her robes enough to reveal the bare, naked flesh of the woman within and he gulped heavily at the thought of this action. She would kill him if she had any idea what he was about to do, but thankfully she would not wake up until after it was done.

As he lifted the fabrics of her dark blue robes aside he reached the pallid grey vest beneath and straightaway he noticed the great hideous edge of a ragged scar. He understood what she had meant now about her father’s decision as he peered at the badly knit together skin, still partially healing as if it had been constantly opened and sealed again. In fact, the look of the wound was frustrating and the stranger was quite sure that the tissue had been tampered with as he followed the line as it slashed down her chest, had cut her breast open, split the nipple and continued with a slight jump across her abdomen to her hip on the opposite side. It was such a massive wound that the cause seemed so unlikely… whoever had caused it had probably slashed her once to get her to the floor and then taken the time to cut her open to ensure she should have bled to death.

A deep and violent growl like that of a beast formed within the Karayan’s throat at such a wounding to someone so noble and so obviously willing to die for the sake her sister. He shook the anger from his head, knowing that it was time to heal and not to think as his great sharp talons touched the wound nearest the bottom of her stomach and then swiftly he slashed it so finely that the skin fell aside and pink and red blood oozed toward his eyes. The Karayan then turned to his own body; he pulled the shroud aside from his own stomach and then split his own belly. There was a sudden hot spray as an acid like fountain of brilliant pink blood spewed from within his body and filled the fresh wound upon Anouk. The Karayan then clamped his wound together, the tanned skin beneath stitching back together with a jet of steam as he then looked toward the wound upon his sponsor. His strange fluids had sunk in deep, stitched the wound up neater then before as if it had never been scarred and then there were hissing sounds from her leg.

The Karayan turned about to face the scene of Anouk’s bloodied and bruised leg and breathed a sigh of relief as clouds of steam erupted from the hole. There were painful, sharp popping and hissing sounds as the bruising shrank and bone cracked back into place and with a gurgling sound the damaged blood vessel within the leg began to spit blood as it slowly re-grew. Finally it managed to reconnect itself before it sealed itself up tightly and the limb looked barely bashed. Karayan breathed a sigh of relief, covering his flesh, covering hers and then gently stroking Anouk’s soft forehead before turning back towards the wheezing noises produced by the veins bubbling within the opened bowl that remained of the demon’s skull. When the Karayan approached it the veins seemed to squeal in fear and he understood that they knew exactly what he was, even if he had only just found it out himself.

With a soft, deep breath the Karayan slowly removed the mask from his mouth to reveal the soft pink lips and the terrifying black-blue ink tattooed to look almost like the writhing tentacles of an octopus upon his mouth. He opened his mouth with a low growl as he took in as much air as possible, great jutting tusks pushing his lips upward in a crooked snarl before his sharp, fanged teeth were visible to the squirming lines within the bony brain bowl. The Karayan’s citron eyes flashed a hideous red, the pupils disappearing as if they had exploded with blood as he gave another hideous almost burping roar and a jet of white and golden fire leapt from his mouth.

There was a high pitched scream that caused Anouk to sit up in surprise on the stone before the Karayan swiftly covered his mouth before she could see. He held the black shroud over his mouth nervously as he turned to her, gasping and telling her nervously that the creature was burnt and Anouk was stunned. She remained perfectly still upon the rock however as she watched the bones burn away into blackened ash, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. Her mind began to ping with questions as she realised just how much she was feeling good despite the fact she should have been close to death. Anouk only had to look down at her slightly ragged clothes to realise that someone had healed her… rage bubbled white in her heart as she realised some fool had dared touch her flesh but before she could loose her temper, Damara appeared screaming.

“Anouk! Anouk! I thought you were dead! You saved her Karayan… thank you!” Tears were spilling out of Damara’s big blue eyes, smearing down her mud coated face as she ran with the stone stretched out towards them. She rushed straight to her sister on the rock and wrapped her arms about her with a whimper of sorrow. Anouk was able to give her a gentle hug but to Damara’s surprise, though Anouk’s body touched the stone, she gave no reaction to it and gently shook her head at her sister. The Karayan then stepped towards them both lifting his hands gently as he watched Anouk’s soft greyish eyebrows knot together with her anger.

“It was necessary to save your life… I did not do anything else… now we should go back to Virenheim so your sister can present her find.” Karayan stated, making Anouk grimace in frustration as she tried hard not to grind her teeth together. Her rage was starting to boil over at the idea that Damara was going to openly be throwing the stone to the fools and making herself a target for the nobles Anouk did not want to touch her sister. Anouk’s brain began to ping in frustration as the rage finally reached her and she pushed her sister away to scream at Karayan.

“Necessary? I’m willing to die for the sake of my king… you should not have done something that would prevent my sister from getting to the kingdom faster! You should have gone with them not stuck around to fuss over me!” Anouk snarled angrily, lunging forward to stand before the shrouded figure as if she might just punch him. However, she retained the physical wish to hurt him for the fact her body felt a little strange and swiftly she snapped one more time. “You’re an ignorant monster who has no idea the rules and traditions of our people – why don’t you just go back to where you came from?”

Damara was shocked, she had never heard her sister act so angrily before and by the laws of their kingdom she should be punished for speaking up against a man. But as Damara realised that the Karayan must have had to do something pretty embarrassing to have caused such comments, she shook her head gently. She tried to turn to the Karayan and apologise for her sister but there was an evident fury in his yellowed eyes as he turned about and strolled off. Damara, realising that the figure was upset and the danger over, suddenly turned about to her sister with a vicious glare.

“Why did you say that? He had nowhere to go but here… he’s been kind to us Anouk and he just saved your life! Stop acting like you’ve got a stick up your backside and apologise now!” Damara barked almost wanting to slap her sister as Anouk finally slid off the stone. Anouk grasped her sister by the wrist and tugged her to go towards the others. She wanted to give her sister a lecture but she knew it was not going to be fair and with a sigh she rushed after the Karayan, ignoring the squelchy manner of the swamp as he marched toward the trembling figures in the distance.

“Wait Karayan… I’m sorry… I was being ridiculous!” As she hurried after him there was a sound from nearby that warned of other beings approaching. Anouk froze for a moment until she realised that it was in fact a group of the guards heading towards them and would mean the fountain of praise would fall upon Damara for being with the stone. In that moment Anouk realised that there was a hidden benefit here that would keep Damara safe from unwanted attention and help Anouk’s overall wish for change within Virenheim. Swiftly she caught up to the Karayan’s stomping form and stated her apology again until he turned about to stare at her.

“I didn’t come here to be insulted by you, I came because you asked me to help you and I have helped you find your sister. If that’s all you wanted from me then I will gladly leave!” Karayan snarled, but there was a bitter edge in his voice as if the hurt was more then just surface irritation. As he shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave them all to the matter at hand, Anouk knew she had to stop him. Although the contact was forbidden and she would be seen and scolded for it later by everyone that dared to speak to her, Anouk bolted to his side and grasped his arm. The moment she touched him an electric fizz jolted within her body and she became very afraid.

The giant froze at the sensation of her touch, turning about steadily to look at her. Anouk was fearful as she held him, grimacing as she realised that she was feeling things she really should not. As she released his arm gently, Anouk gulped heavily as she looked into the curious citron eyes of the stranger. For a moment he bent down towards her, not sure if he wanted to attack her for grabbing him or perhaps something else. Karayan could feel himself wanting to ignore precedent and grasp the strange, volatile woman to his body and press his lips against hers. He had been longing for such closeness between them since the moment he’d seen her but swiftly Anouk turned around and straightened herself with a grunt.

“I mean… the way things are going I want this place to change and become more open to everyone, so its best you take the credit here… not me and not Damara.” Damara almost screamed in upset at the words before rushing to Anouk’s side, gently tapping her shoulder and giving a soft growl. She was about to tell Anouk something about it when she noticed the way Karayan’s eyes had softened. In fact, the moment she realised that the figure was looking at them both with a sadness and delight as if it was the first time he’d been permitted such praise, Damara lowered her head. She fussed at her sister to keep encouraging as Karayan seemed to make a muttering sound as if to disagree with them both. “Even Damara agrees and she has great faith in you. She chose well to sponsor you Karayan; we’ve needed someone like you around.”

“If that’s what you want… and if you don’t mind me saying I took Karani and Damara out so their trouble can fall on me…” The Karayan began but gently Damara pushed the stone towards him and he seemed a little cautious. Damara noticed this and swiftly she grasped Anouk’s scarf from her sister’s robe pocket, making Anouk snarl with the realisation it had been there all along, and wrapped it about the stone before slowly placing it into the Karayan’s great talons. The figure gave a grunt of surprise but there was a hollering sound from nearby as Alard called them over. Anouk gave a sigh before grasping the Karayan’s arm once more and looking up towards the figure with a curiously soft expression.

“I mean it Karayan… it’s good to have you around.”