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"Hello Liki..." A gruff sounding voice answered him as he stepped through the doorway, "Or should we go with Fa'vor while you're with your lady friend close behind you?"

"Master..." Liki said softly as he entered the opposite side of the doorway, nearly lost for words he had believed he knew he could say. Standing before him, no longer the old, slightly feeble wolf he had always known him as, was his Master Uriay. In the realm of the dead, his appearance had been restored to what he himself believed was his absolute peak of physical health. His fur shined brightly in the light of his chosen home in the realm, and although most in it went nude, Uriay still wore the uniform of the Shadow, the same tan and gray leather outfit Liki had been proud to wear. His cowl was pulled up, perky ears pointing from the top of the hood from holes, and a pair of red and black swords Liki had never seen before hung on his waist.

The younger Shadow looked around then, and he realized something and grinned.

"You...choose here?" Liki whispered softly as he looked out to the sea, and his gaze surveyed the island to come to a stop at the dark looking forest on the far edge of it. Even in the realm of the dead, the dark forest seemed forbidding and evil.

Uriay chuckled, taking a few steps forward, just as Jaklya stepped from the doorway right behind Liki. "Yes, you...my one and only student, were my only home, and most of our lives were spent here. I spent most of my life in the war with the Grey Circle, and this island, where we both lived, was the longest I had ever spent in one place. I consider it my home, and home is where I made it here in this plane to." Uriay stepped aside slightly, and let Liki look behind himself.

Liki saw in front of him then as well, two more Beasts, one of which made his heart skip a few beats as he stared at her.

Uni, his lost childhood crush, stood before him, donned entirely in full plate armor trimmed with gold, a kite shield the size of her body on her back, and a silver shining sword hanging on her waist. In her death, she was finally able to be what she had wanted to become, a paladin. She had grown to become a very beautiful female, but her own training had shaped her body to a much more masculine frame. Of course though, it was how she had always imagined she would look like when she finally reached her best.

Beside her, was his adoptive father, Kyle Wolfspirit, who took Liki in when he had been just a small child, and gave him the right to carry his family name along side Shadey. Dressed in a simple fisherman jacket and plain slacks, he was able to continue on with his desires to provide for others and protect his home from neighboring threats.

"You knew I was coming..." Liki said again lightly, Jaklya leaving his side silently, for she was used to seeing such reunions and believed she wouldn't miss much, and knew it was usually better to give privacy. Liki was thankful for this, for it was then as her back turned that the wolf flung himself at his teacher, hugging him fiercely and eyes closed tightly.

Uriay balked a moment in surprise, but quickly smiled and his arms wrapped around his student to return the hug. "Well, Death gave me a little bit of an advanced warning, but I felt your presence rather quickly." he chuckled again as he patted the back of Liki's head, who slowly released Uriay.

Liki turned first to Kyle, "Dad..." Liki couldn't help but to call him that, wondering first if it was really okay. The last time he had talked to Kyle had been so long ago, he didn't know if the title really meant anything anymore.

"Easy son." Kyle answered him assuringly. "I know if you knew their names, you'd probably visit your real parents, but well...I hope my family and I proved a good foster for you."

"You did...how...how is Shadey?" Liki asked lightly, his mind wondering to his step brother.

"Looking for you." Kyle answered, and Liki blinked in surprise. The Fangren continued, "Shadey recently found himself a mate, who ironically was also looking for you at first. She settled on the island to wait for you and eventually warmed up to Shadey. They became mates, but not soon after, she took ill."

"Is she alive?" Liki asked, worry for his brother creeping at him.

Kyle nodded, "So far, but she doesn't have much time, the druids estimated she'd only have a year to live, and seven months have passed since Shadey left in search of you. He's been following your trail of heroic deeds, trying to catch up to you."

"Why is he looking for me? I don't know any healing magic, how could I-" Liki started, but Uni interrupted, looking a little impatient that he hadn't spoken to her before Kyle.

"He's looking for your mate, the big druid. Kaz." She spoke hotly, folding her arms, but her grinned remained.

Liki grinned back, "I was only saving the best for last." He shot back at her happily while walking up to her, and he embraced her as well. His bare body pressed up against smooth metal, and he heard it clanking a bit as she hugged him back. His ears twitched as he heard her murring, and he started to murr back.

"If only I could've saved you..." He whispered softly and she shook her head.

"Knowing me, I probably would've shunned you for life for stealing what I wanted." She smiled and stepped back from him, paws on his shoulders as she looked at him. "And I would never have got to see this handsome wolf in front of me...You've become a fine wolf, and all while being alive, unlike me. I'm like this only because it's how I want to be..."

He blushed heavily, and he felt that slight twinge of arousal as he realized he was naked in front of his lost love. His tail folded up between his legs to hide himself as he groaned, "That doesn't matter, I still loved you, and still do and always have...you know...given all the relationships I've had since I lost you, I think you ruined me for other women." He stuck his tongue out at her and she then punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"As long as you're straight for me, I think I can deal with that, just as long as Kaz keeps up to that promise he made about letting you get with one, course, that will still have to wait for years huh, Fo'var?" She giggled, winking as she carefully used the fake name. "And yes, I'm certain that you'll be back to the living, there is no worry about that."

"Oh sure, you react for her but not for me?" Jaklya now called out, jeering at Liki playfully with her back still turned away.

Liki blushed again as he chuckled with Uni, each staring into the others eyes before Uriay was the one to interrupt the spell of silence.

"Fo'var, there's something you came to discuss, wasn't there?"

Liki nodded lightly, staring still at Uni, "Yeah...there is." He turned his gaze to his Master, "I need to talk with you...about everything...I need to know your advice..."

"And as your teacher, I will give it. Come, you'll find home the same as its always been." Uriay smiled and he walked around Liki, towards a large makeshift tent pitched up in the ground with a larger, more appropriate house in the background.

Liki almost felt like a little kid again, it all looked exactly the same as it had in the living world. His home, Mushroom Isle, was home for a reason, it would never change.

__________________________________

*Kaz, five days before Liki's death*

Kaz cursed to himself in anger, sweat dripping down his face as he and several other druids were all standing in a line, arms waving up and down, paws all glowing green as they used their druidic magics to halt the advance of the Rot from snaking down the pathway to the coast.

For the last thirteen hours, he and the assembled non-Borian druids of Heartwood had been on constant duty, working to keep the Rot from advancing. But while Kaz's strength held strong, and he believed he could go much longer as long as he had the strength of the healthy forest behind him as aid, the strength of his companions was waning. Their rather easy lifestyle and workload in the city and at the enclave was not up to par with what they were attempting now. Each of them were exhausted, their arms falling to their sides occasionally as they panted, eyes furrowed and shadowed as they panted heavily, before they would seem to gather enough spirit to start waving their arms again.

The Borians were a few hundred yards behind them, at the port town of Rashar, gathering themselves onto their boats and attempting to flee, but it was taking far, far too long.

"Tibber!" Kaz called to the large Ursan general who had remained vigilant with him, though all he could do was watch and provide encouragement to the druids.

"Yes?" The big bear called to the wolf, doing a lumbering sprint to him.

"We can't keep this up much longer." Kaz said, and just then, the first of the druids, an Anura, finally collapsed to his exhaustion, his green skin pale and his breathing shallow from all the energy he had spent. The Rot instantly crawled under his body, reaching in through the gap in the druids barrier, contaminating the healthy grass, almost instantly turning it a sickly brown.

"Close the gap! Fall back till we cover it!" Kaz called, and he and the druids began to take steps backwards. A few more druids fell, unable to even get the strength to step backwards.

"Come on!" Kaz shouted again, "Don't give up! For Gaia's sake do not give in!"

The rest of the druids remained, their faces gritted in bloody determination, hands glowing as brightly as they could to keep the rot from advancing in the gap until they fell back enough to safely cover the gap left by the fallen druids and return back to normal output.

Kaz took in the situation. Four druids had fallen, Tibber's men were already advancing and picking up the fallen Beasts as they were slowly recovering, carrying them back to town quickly, for now they would take on a different task; keeping the Rot from taking over the Borian King.

The rest of the druids were definitely on their last legs now, Kaz realized as he now had to give much more of his own effort into keeping their barrier alive.

"Tibber!" He called again, "Find out what's taking them so long! They have to get out to the sea, now!"

The bear lumbered off quickly, just as another of the druids fell to one knee, but he remained waving his arms, breathing heavily.

Tibbers ran into the port town to find much of everything in disarray. With their king ill and possibly going to soon become a Rotted, and in such an odd place and rushing, their chain of command had mostly broken. The villagers of the small port were not helping much, adding to the confusion with their own rushing to either aid or try to get out of town themselves.

Tibber put a stop to a thief who was trying to take advantage of the emergency, sneaking off with as many gems as he could carry from the Borians, before he could even try to start looking for commanding officers.

"Captain!" He roared out as he finally managed to spot the captain of the Borian Guard, who was looking rather tired, even for a tree.

"What the hell is going on here!? What is taking so long? The druids cannot hold the Rot back much longer!" He shouted as he marched up on the tree quickly.

"We are trying our best!" The Borian answered respectfully, sitting down a chest he had been carrying and seeming almost grateful that the big bear was there, "My men are only so many, and we have much we need if we are to survive the journey." He motioned to where many Borians were digging through the still healthy earth, removing soil and grass and trees all together, carrying them in pails and wheelbarrows to the awaiting ships.

"We need soil, we need a forest around us to survive, and sunlight above. We are trees, not Beasts. Preparing these ships to accommodate us takes time, we are only barely half way done."

"You need to work faster." Tibber growled loudly, rubbing his forehead. His own soldiers were exhausted as well though, and he himself running back and forth checking on Kaz and loading the ships, but he didn't know about this dirt and tree thing until just now.

"Unless there are closer places you would have us go to..." The Borian said hopefully, "Surely King Arthur would not mind that we use the forests of Anglorum to-"

"No!" The Ursan answered, "We already went over this, the forests in Anglorum are too small, there is not enough space there for your people to build a new home."

"Not a new home!" The Borian shouted, now angry, "Just somewhere to stay until this can be repaired!"

"Heartwood will take years, centuries, to repair, Kaz told you this and I believe him cause he's the best fucking druid I've ever seen! Heartwood is miles long, a single acre of rot takes four months to cleanse, with full teams of druids. A cleansing of Heartwood will take a generation of you tress to do, and once that is done, you will not want to leave your new home if you don't have to. I know how you trees think. You might walk on legs, but you get your roots in the ground somewhere long enough and you don't want to move; and you will not set them in Anglorum!"

The Borian could only stutter as Tibbers towered over him, "Now get your people moving! Now!"

"Perhaps!" A sudden voice called over the yelling, and both of the two Beasts looked beside themselves to see a black Fangren with red eyes, wearing a tan leather outfit. Tibbers stared aghast, for he recognized the uniform he was wearing.

"Perhaps," The wolf said again, lighter this time that he had the two's attention, "This situation you are in calls for a more creative solution."

Tibbers turned to the Fangren, staring at him, "And...who are you?" He wasn't Liki or Blackpaw that was for sure, but he wore the same uniform armor.

The wolf held his paw out to the bear, "I am Shadey Wolfspirit, the leader of Mushroom Isle. I've just arrived on my ship...and it looks like you need some help."

_______________________

"The forest in Anglorum is not big enough for your entire people." Tibbers repeated to the Borian captain a little bit later, nodding to Shadey, "What he is suggesting is taking half of your people to one place, and the other half to another."

"You cannot be serious." The Borian said, chuckling and half grinning, as he looked between the two Beasts, but as they both remained very silent and stared at him, he became flustered, "You can't honestly believe that we can split up our people and...do this, no!" He waved his arm like tree branches, "We will not be splitting up families!"

"It is either that, or watch them get turned in Rotted." Shadey added, pointedly watching one of Tibbers men carrying in another weakened druid who had fallen, "The druids can't last any longer. You have stored enough Earth to sustain your people on the boats for half the journey required, you do not have enough time to gather the rest. You have enough to be carried to Anglorum, and to Mushroom Isle. It is your only choice."

The Borian was silent, green colored eyes peering between each of them again. "I can't make such decisions on my own...this is something for the king to decide."

"The king is out of commission. You cannot pass off this responsibility to him to avoid it. This has to be decided now, or not at all. If your people are to even have the chance of seeing Heartwood restored, or to create new homes at all, you must leave. Now. Otherwise, the Rot will soon over take this town and you all turn into Rotted." Shadey told him sternly, eyes narrowing and folding his arms over his chest. "My ship can lead four of the eight ships you have here to Mushroom Isle, Tibber's men can pilot the other four to Anglorum. Each forest is large enough to sustain half the population I believe, would you agree?" The wolf asked, turning his gaze to the Ursan.

"Yes, I can agree to this, the forests of Anglorum could readily support half the Borian population, but not the whole."

"What...what if we...just leave half of them here and-"

"You would leave half to die, but not split them up onto the ships so that all of them could survive?!" Shadey barked, "Why?! Just because you refuse to accept having to leave this forest at all, or is it you refuse taking the responsibility, or blame, of splitting your people apart so they can all survive? You Borians really are fucking dense, your brains must also be of wood. You refuse to adapt to a changing world. Like actual trees, you could go centuries without moving an inch."

"Now see here-" The Borian started, for he had had time to devise a retort from Tibber's earlier taunts.

"No, you see here!" Shadey said, interrupting the Captain before he could start, and he stepped forward, japping his finger at the tree, his claw biting into his bark. "Years ago you pleaded with the Beast Kingdom to give you aid against the Rot, and they've given it, much more so than they probably needed or should have had to. Not a single plan was made to get into the Rotted Maze and kill the Rotted King by the Borians, who said they would take care of it!"

The wolf growled, "I'm the leader of an independent island, I know damn well everything that goes on in the rest of the world, I have to so I can prepare and protect my own home. You've sat and waited in your precious forest, coveting it and hiding behind the protection given to you by the rest of the world. No more! Your city is gone! Your forest? GONE! You waited too long, and now, we will uproot you from the earth and FORCE you to move if you do not do so yourself. Have I made myself clear yet?!" He yowled, nearly spitting in the Borian's face as he did.

The Borian was again stunned, and Tibber had to admit, he was impressed, not even he had been able to scare the green out of the tree peoples faces, but the Captain was clearly losing color in his bark.

"V-very well..." The tree sputtered, "I will split my people up onto the ships...and leave the half to your care..."

"You have nothing to worry about, I will make sure they find a good home on Mushroom Isle, and that they are able to freely stay in contact with you and the King. However, understand, when your King recovers, or if he should be replaced, that this does not make my island a part of your kingdom. I am helping you out of the necessity that this is the only way to save them, your people are guests, nothing more." Shadey growled lowly again, and he flung about to face Tibber.

"We need to get the docks prepared, and the ships ready to sail while he gets the Borians on board, take me to the druids so I can get a feel on how much time we have."

Tibber nodded, not arguing with this Fangren, who like those who wore his same uniform, had an affinity for taking charge of dire situations. The Borian Captain returned to instructing his people, beginning the difficult task of splitting up a race who had so far, always remained together.

Tibber took Shadey to Kaz quickly. Now however, the druids were lined just outside the town, only eight of them now standing between the Borians and the Rot that had now covered the entire western land of Europe. Thirty druids had been what they had started with, and to be knocked down to so little a number over the course of a few hours was troubling, they were falling quickly.

Tibber approached the large half feral druid, who was still waving his arms as hurriedly and stubbornly as he had always been, but the amount of effort he was now having to give to hold off the Rot was large. The other druids were all done for. While still standing, their hands or paws barely glowed at all, and their legs shook with effort.

"What's going on...?" Kaz panted out as he turned his head to both, and the moment he saw Shadey he yelped, "Liki?!" For a brief moment, the Rot came forward about an inch before the druid could reign in his focus.

"What?" Shadey barked, looking around, "Where?" Then, the wolf stopped, and he looked at Kaz.

"Wait...you're Kaz...aren't you?" He said lightly, and the large half feral nodded.

"Yes, I am Kaz...I'm sorry, I saw your outfit and thought a moment that you were Liki, but you aren't. Your black fur and red eyes, you must his step brother Shadey."

"Yes!" Shadey barked in excitement, "I finally found you!" He came up beside the large wolf, "Where is Liki?! Why isn't he here helping them?"

"Liki took the rest of our team to the Rotted Maze to kill the Rotted King...but that was days ago, and the Rot is still spreading..." Kaz grimaced, eyes closing as he recalled once again that the Shadow Barrier Liki and Blackpaw had placed in Heartwood had broken, which was not possible unless one of them died or got separated from the other a great distance.

"I see..." Shadey said lightly, he too fearing the worst, before he shook his head, "I've spoken to the Captain, and we've come up with a plan, how much longer can you keep this up?"

"Two hours...three at the most..." The large wolf stated, looking back and forth between the remaining druids, "And that's just with the conditions as they are, if I end up doing this all alone I can't hold it off by myself, it'll slowly creep forward and I'll start having to walk backwards."

"That's good enough, have Tibber's men keep me posted please." He turned to the bear, "I need you in the town with me though, keep that captain in check, make sure he does what we need him to. Half his people in four, half in the other."

Tibber nodded and he started to lumber off quickly, and Shadey called after him. "If he's still trying to load up dirt and trees, slap him so hard the bark splinters!"

Kaz could only chuckle loudly, and the smaller Fangren looked at him with a puzzled look, "What?"

"You really are his brother...you came into a situation of complete chaos and took direct control. Not a single Beast is questioning your orders and just taking them, you have that same authoritative control Liki can get when he wants it."

Shadey smiled lightly, "Well, my brother taught me some minor use of the Shadows before he left...enough to get a feel for a Beasts emotions, or what makes them tick. Just got to push the right buttons."

The Fangren rogue dashed off then, returning to the town to take his own command and help get the Borians on their way.

____________________________

*Loran, four days before Liki's death*

It took longer than expected to return to the Lizardian village, with Loran injured and the otter having to help him across the desert. When they finally got close enough that Blackpaw sensed them arriving, it was the middle of their second day walking. The Fangren marched towards them both quickly, at first looking furious, until he noticed Loran's injuries and his gait slowed until the met halfway.

"What the heck happened to you?" He asked first, eyes narrowing at Loran. "You said you'd be right back."

"Complications arose..." Loran muttered.

"I didn't really help the situation." Skip admitted, and Blackpaw stared at him a moment, eyes slowly focusing as he studied the Aquari.

"Skip...?" Blackpaw slowly recognized him.

"Aye...nice to see ya too." The otter grunted, shifting Loran's arm from his shoulder that he had been using to help the fox walk.

"Met up with him...mistook him for Salvis and kinda beat him silly...my fault not his."

"I see..." Blackpaw stared at Loran again, "Did you find out where Salvis or Liki are?"

"No...but I do know now where the other two facilities in this desert are, he could be in any one of them...and also I found out my real name..."

"Your real name?" The wolf tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"The name given to me by my brother...not One-Eye, but rather-"

"Loran." A dark voice finished, and all three of them turned to the source, staring up into the sky.

"Brother!" Loran shouted as he saw Salvis floating down to them, floating in the air with his dark magics, looking exactly like Loran save the augmenting suit he wore and his opposite eyeball.

"You!" Skip shouted, instantly biting down on his lip with his teeth to enter his berserker state.

Blackpaw only readied his daggers, silently watching Salvis, this being the first time he got to see him.

"Relearned who you truly are then, have you brother? Did you have a nice trip down memory lane in our place of birth?" Salvis said lightly, eye staring down at him.

"Where is Liki brother?" Loran asked, though he instantly knew it was pointless.

"He's enjoying his time alone, chained up and being tortured."

"You'll never break through the Shadows defenses!" Blackpaw yelled up at him.

"Ohhhhh, the Shadows aren't defending him from this torture." Salvis grinned at the wolf, "You must be his student...blasted rogues." The evil fox's gaze shifted to the otter, who was now nearly foaming at the mouth as he breathed heavily, eyes fixated on Salvis.

"Skiiiiiiiip." Salvis chimed as if he was meeting a long old friend, "How nice it is to see you again, been hiding out this whole time in that blasted facility? Never thought to look there."

"You're lucky you didn't or your throat would already have been ripped out!" The otter retorted back, spittle flying form his mouth, and the fox chuckled.

"Ohhhhh a bit feisty aren't we? How's your sister doing?"

At this, Skip lost control, and he crouched down low and launched himself at the fox flying over him.

"Skip no!" Loran shouted, but too late, as the otter took a swipe at the floating fox. Casually, Salvis dodged, spinning in the air, he took hold of Skip's arm with his paw. His suit made a loud whirring noise as it came to life, the many lights turning on as it increased his strength and speed.

"Take a nap boy!" Salvis shouted, and he spun, flinging Skip in a circle in the air a few times at an unnatural speed before throwing him to the ground under him. Skip impacted at such a high speed, it made the earth tremble around Loran and Blackpaw, and dust flowed over them from the shockwave.

As the dust settled, Salvis touched down in between the two standing Beasts and the one now laying face down in the dirt.

"That should keep him out of commission for awhile." Salvis commented as he clapped his paws as if wiping them clean.

"What do you want Salvis?" Loran asked, "Why are you here?"

"Well to stop you of course, duh. I can't have you saving Liki before I finish killing him. He's the only one of you who could stop me right now. Well, him..." Salvis said slowly, his katana sword appearing and he readied it in the air above his head at a low angle, "And this other rogue here."

"Why do you target us?" Blackpaw had to ask.

"The Shadows." Loran answered, his own two handed sword had already appeared in his paws, and he held it out in front of himself, paws gripping the handle tightly.

"The Shadows are the only thing that can harm him, that can penetrate through his dark master's magic and injure him."

Salvis briefly moved his arm, showing them both an injury on his side, a horrible looking burn from when Liki's flames had hit him back in the Rotted Maze.

"Normally this would have healed by now, but that blasted magic you and your Master both use are my bane. We are soldiers on two very different sides of the struggle."

"What struggle?" Loran asked.

"The struggle between Gaia and Ragnora, you know the history, the tales, do you not?"

Both Beasts looked confused and Salvis slapped his own forehead.

"Oh! Of course you don't know brother! I never gave you those memories and knowledge. Well, let me tell you a tale then."

Salvis began walking back along the path as he started talking, "Many millenia ago, Earth was the domain of the Titan Kronos, and his wife Helga. They had many subjects, their most primary being the Faerie. The population of the Faerie grew to such a size, that they rebelled against Kronos. Their leader, Agalarna, was exiled for her rebellion by Kronos, and sent into space on a comet, but her people were spared. Over the next millenia, Agalarna's rage and anger at her punishment attracted a very malevolent being from another realm. Ragnora, the Dark Lord."

"When the comet returned to Earth, Ragnora possessed Agalarna and used her to trick the Titans into a portal to the plane of Tartarus in search of greater power, but she then closed the portal behind them, trapping them forever in another dimension. However, one Titan did not fall for the trap. Gaia, the Mother of Earth."

"Gaia and Ragnora waged war against each other. Gaia unleashed the Gods, lesser beings of power, but still powerful, to fight against Ragnora and the Faerie he had taken control over. Many lives were lost in the battles, and Earth nearly destroyed from the forces. The Faerie abandoned their possessed ruler in the final battle, retreating through another portal to a realm known as Otherworld, and Agalarna fell to the hands of the Gods."

"Gaia wept, for her Earth was singed, injured, and the people Kronos and Helga had once ruled wiped out. The Gods lost most of their power in the war, and Ragnora was left with no more power without more hate to pray upon. So, they reached an accord with each other. Ragnora wanted to rule the world with subjects still in it, so he agreed to the terms laid out by what became known as The Deal of Lost Ages."

"The deals terms were as this: Gaia and Ragnora could no longer take direct action against each other, nor could the Gods interfere with Ragnora's schemes. They would wage their war through intermediaries, meaning..." Salvis glanced over at Blackpaw and Loran, "Beasts such as you and I, given blessings and powers by them, to battle each other. When it is deemed that there has finally been a victor, either Gaia or Ragnora will submit to the other, and let themselves be killed."

Salvis continued, "After the Deal of Lost Ages was struck, the following millenia saw the rise of Gaia's "Beasts", which she created in the image of the various animals that inhabited Earth. Ragnora responded by creating the "Undead", Beasts whom he tricked into believing Gaia was dead, and robbing them of their life essence, the same way zombies and undead are created today."

"The Beasts fought against Ragnora's undead hordes throughout the ages. You see though, Gaia was fickle, giving her creations free will, it allowed Ragnora the free range to corrupt her people and turn them to his side of the conflict, to become Necromancers. The lure of the only magic known in the world was strong, and Ragnora was slowly gaining the upper hand, so Gaia took a leap of faith. She unleashed magic unto Beast kind."

"Ferals have it right, Gaia never intended for Beasts to use magic. However, with the release of magic, intelligence in the Beasts quickly grew, and seven particular individuals quickly became very powerful. One eventually created the Shadow Creature, a being made of the darkest of essence, yet infused with the light of pure souls to counteract that darkness. With this being, he created the magic of Shadows, and taught it to others. With his students, and the other six powerful Beasts at his side, he took the war against Ragnora to new levels."

"The seven Beasts were killed in the following battles, but their students continued on, and eventually won the war. Ragnora's undead horde was destroyed, the act of creating an undead is now a forbidden art, and the teachings of the seven Beasts continued, their stories fading to legends, and the era of the war became known as the Age of Legends. The following twenty three generations are considered a golden age for Gaia and Beasts, until Ragnora finally found and latched onto another vessel he could use, the Primals, elementals that had formed over the ocean and seas, unseen, from the left over residues of the battles against the undead. They stormed Europe in chaotic waves, and began to slaughter Gaia's people."

"Gaia's only hope, as she was unable to stop the attacks herself now, was to strike a deal with the Faerie, who returned to repel the Primals with their greater magics before returning to the Otherworld. This is now why Beasts hunt down elementals when they first form or are spotted, to prevent another incident like the Primals from happening again. The details of the deal Gaia made with the Faerie are unknown, as it did not seem as if they had even gained anything in return for their efforts."

"The Faerie however, during their stay on Earth, did something Gaia did not expect, they freely and openly practiced necromancy, and eventually created the very first vampire, Vinga. Vinga became Ragnora's new vessal, and with his power, she openly challenged and rebelled against the Beast Kingdom and established the Blood Kingdom in Eastern Europe. You know her city now as Bremen. The Beasts were very vulnerable to Vinga, as she was able to turn them with a single bite. Her kingdom, left unchallenged, would quickly seize the world. In response, Gaia took a tree, and she gave it arms and legs. She created the first of the Borians. That Borian made seedlings, and those seeds made seedlings, and so on and so forth. By that time, Vinga had conquered all of Europe except for what was now known as the Borian home, Heartwood."

"The Borians held an advantage over Vinga, they were trees, not Beasts, and could not be turned into undead the same way she had turned most of Europe. They were also not easily killed by means of weapons, their bark skin sturdy and strong. However, Gaia again blundered in letting her creations have too much free will. Borians are stubborn, and they were content to simply fight off Vinga, locked in an unending stalemate with her kingdom. It wasn't until a Beast known as Atan, whose race is unknown, rose up. He learned secret magical arts left behind by one of the seven beasts from the Age of Legends, and with his followers, stormed Vinga's domain and killed her."

"Again, Gaia and Beasts enjoyed a golden age for a few hundred years, until greed and overpopulation led to the next tragedy." Salvis paused a moment for a bit of emphasis, looking over at Loran and Blackpaw, both listening intently to the story, "Another Beast killing another Beast." Salvis grinned as he stared walking again, "The murderers were Man. Up till this point, mankind was just like any other Beast, but man started to take Gaia's gift of magic and...twist it. They created Science. Gaia's leap of faith back in the Age of Legend finally was coming back to bite her, and she had to react. She saw that man would dominate Earth with their twisted magic."

"Ragnora was not using mankind, he didn't need to, their own greed and lust for power through Science was enough to eventually bring the world to an end. Gaia would have ended up doing his job for him for her blunder, but she intervened, deeming that since he had not personally made anyone in mankind his vessel the situation was now a private affair between her and her people."

"He could've won if he choose vessals and just let mankind eliminate the world, but he waited and let her do as she wanted. Gaia locked all Beasts but man away inside special realms called "Groves" and then watched."

Salvis waved his paw, "Well, you know how this part goes. Since it was deemed an "Internal Affair." the Gods were able to get involved, and they tried to guide man towards a brighter future. Over the course of a few thousand years, of course this turned out a failure. Man destroyed themselves, their science killing them all off with missiles and nuclear meltdown."

"Still deeming it an internal affair, the Gods called upon the Maar to cleanse the Earth and Atmosphere, and while they succeeded, the chemicals corrupted them and they became the Goliaths. Gaia destroyed the Maar out of pity, and then released the Beasts from the Grooves. This ended the Era of Man."

"What we now live in is what is known as the Era of Beast." Salvis finished, "And our battle is this era's struggle between Gaia and Ragnora."

Blackpaw and Loran looked only more puzzled and a little shocked, "You're saying...we're part of eternal war between two super cosmic powers..." The wolf said slowly, slightly unable to believe it all.

"This is the truth of it." Salvis said, nodding, "We are but pawns in a struggle between two powerful beings. The Rot is my counter to Gaia's Borians, and it has worked marvelously. The Borians have been forced to move out from Heartwood on ships, wooden ships, and if my calculations are correct, soon the Borian King will become the new Rotted King, and the ship he is on will become infested with Rot. The Borian's stubborn nature will be their undoing, as they try to rescue their king, they too will become infected, and the Borians will become Ragnora's new undead horde, indestructible and unstoppable. They will spread throughout the world, and infect all of Earth with the plague. The trees and plants will shrivel to nothingness, and without them, the world will slowly asphyxiate and all will die from the lack of oxygen. Gaia will lose, and she will submit to The Dark Lord and accept her death, there is nothing she can do to stop the Rot."

"Why did he not stop her from separating Beast from Man then?" Blackpaw asked, "He could've won right then and there."

"I think he knew, that Man would also leave behind some relics. The Eiffel Tower in Heartwood. Big Ben in Camelot. This suit, and all the hidden places underneath our feet...Eventually, someone stumbled upon something or other, and it leads us to our present. I am Ragnora's agent now, and I carry out his will."

Skip moaned behind Salvis then, and the fox grimaced. "I think we have spoken long enough, if that otter is already moving." He brought his katana back to a ready stance, and both Loran and Blackpaw jumped, for they had become relaxed in the conversation.

"Prepare to die, Champions of Gaia!" Salvis cried as he swung his blade, white streams of energy blasting from it.

Loran was able to dodge, but apparently, his brother was not aiming at him, but Blackpaw instead. The wolf was not fast enough like his Master had been, but a barrier of his Shadows materialized from the air around him, the flashes of white cascading around the defense. Blackpaw rolled away as the attack was being rebelled, only just realizing he had narrowly avoided being sliced apart.

"Blasted Shadows!" Salvis yelled and he turned his attention to Loran instead now. "I'll deal with you first then!"

Salvis flew at Loran at high speed, his abilities maximized by his high tech suit. His katana clashed against his claymore, looking for all reasons that it should really snap apart against the large blade.

Loran stared down Salvis from behind his blade, before seeing his brother pull back one of his paws, a cloud of black forming in his palm before he pushed under their locked blades and hit Loran in the gut with the ball of dark magic.

Loran yelled as he was pushed up into the air, flying over Salvis to land close to Skip, his back snapping as he gasped out. "Gah-ha!"

His sword vanished in its usual puff of smoke, as he laid on the ground, stunned and broken. He heard Blackpaw yell, and the clashing of blades as the rogue tried to defend himself from Salvis alone now. If Salvis managed to grab hold of him like he had done Liki, he'd vanish with the rogue and subject him to the same torture Liki was suffering through right now...

Loran however, only stared up at the sky, his mind started to fade. His brother was too strong...hope wasn't worth the effort.

"Never...give up hope..." Skip grumbled next to him, and Loran turned his head to the otter, who was also staring at him, blood dribbling down from his mouth.

"You...should know better...if you really were...saved by him..." Skip mumbled still, his voice cracking a few times. "Or can't you hear it...? The voice...it calls out your name..."

His name? Loran wondered to himself, and then he heard it, for the first time, a whisper in his ears, an echoing sound on the wind.

Loran...Loran...

"What?" He answered the call in his head.

Never Give Up.

The voice, it sounded like Liki, but the distinct echoing quality to it was clearly not him.

"It's the Shadow Creature..." Skip told him, and Loran stared at the otter, who grinned at him. "Listen...I...I'm probably not going to make it...when he grabbed my arm...he took away my power...I can't regenerate..."

Loran went wide eyed, and Skip continued, "Don't ya worry about me, I'll finally get to go see Jakky..." The Aquari smiled brightly, "But you...you got different, much better reasons to stop him than I do for pity revenge. So...I'm not gonna give up the hope...that you can stop him..." Skip grunted, the sound of Blackpaw fighting Salvis still echoing in the background as the otter managed to turn himself over and crawl toward the Foxen.

He leaned over him, and he dabbed at the blood on his face a moment with his fingers, "This is the last thing I can do here...the last of the power I still have...I give it to you..." Skip shakily brought his bloodied finger to Loran's forehead, and slowly and carefully drew a symbol upon his fur. Instantly, Loran gasped as his body felt a rush of energy, and he quickly rose up to a sitting position, staring at his paws as he felt power flood through him the likes he had only felt when Salvis had deemed fit to give it to him. This was Blood Magic, power given to him through the blood sacrifice of another Beast. It required the death of another Beast to work though, he quickly remembered.

He looked quickly to Skip at this realization, but the otter had already passed on, laying flat in the dirt of the pathway, blood still oozing from his mouth and head, eyes closed with a peaceful expression that he had managed his last act.

Loran felt, for the first time, his heart break. For the first time, he felt remorse for the death of another Beast. Slowly, his eyes brimmed with tears, and then, his face contorted in anger.

"Salvis..." His growled, his fist balling up in the dirt as tears landed down close to Skip's still extended paw. He rose, trembling, the two Beasts still clashing behind him, not seeing him rise.

"SALVIS!" He roared, and now, they did notice him, the clashing of metal stopping.

Loran spun, his blade reappearing in his paws, and it now glowed a bright green.

"What is-?" Salvis began to question, but didn't get to as his Foxen brother swung his massive blade down against the ground. A pinpoint shockwave erupted from the point of contact, flowing across the ground straight at Salvis at a fast speed.

"Graraaa!" Salvis roared as the attack exploded under his feet, unable to react to this sudden surge of power, knocking him up into the air. Loran was already waiting in the air for his brother, hovering with the same magical force that Salvis had.

Loran slashed down with his sword again, his blade slashing against Salvis, and cutting into his suit. Electricity surged through the air, as Loran finished his swing and sent Salvis slamming back down to the ground at an even faster rate than he had Skip.

Loran landed beside Blackpaw, the Fangren watching in awe as the Foxen floated down slowly next to him, and waited as the dust settled. Salvis coughed, encased in a small crater in the ground, paw on his side where Loran had cut into him, blood covering his fur and leaking slowly down his suit.

Slowly, Salvis picked himself up from the crater, holding his side still as he stared at Loran.

"Where." He growled, gritting his teeth. "Did you get that power...?"

"You will pay for all that you've done Salvis...you are not my brother anymore." Loran returned, ignoring the question. "Tell me where Liki is now."

The evil twin merely grinned, spitting upon the ground once, "As if..." His body began to fade, as he said, "This isn't over...Loran..." and with that, he vanished, leaving Loran and Blackpaw standing alone, with Skip's broken body laying in front of them.