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As morning came Ellowyn and Ashimaru once more found themselves in the same body as Varren transformed back to his normal self, giving them both a fanged grin at their activities in his body. Once they had finished preparing for the morning the three left the inn before the sun rose so that the drow could become dragon once again. At this point the process was near instantaneous, and once they were finished with their transformation they waited on the ground floor for some message from their mage, which had stayed behind in the temple of the Guardian Spirits in order to study them more closely now that he could actually see them. They didn't have to wait long, the two just finished breakfast when they got a mental alarm from Alexandre to tell them to get back to the temple as soon as possible.

Once the last of them had arrived the mage, who had turned back to a dragon during the night, informed them that the Guardian Spirits had found an area that was completely warded against any type of astral intrusion. As they described the building it became clear this was their target, not only was it a large building in an isolated area, but the supposedly empty space also seemed to have a lot of activity going on inside it. The group thanked them for their efforts and immediately began to move their way towards the destination given to them. Unfortunately the going was slow, even after Kriss gave Alexandre the ingredient to turn him into a more easily mobile anthro, the crowds were packed into the main streets.

"This is impossible," Kriss growled as he was once more shoved by several passersby, keeping a grip on his cloak to prevent his monstrous features from being seen. "By the time we get through the crowd to the other side of the capital it will be too late. I could just reveal myself and scare us a path..."

"Don't you dare, pup," Gavios rebuked with a growl of his own that caused the werewolf to lower his head and whisper a yes sir. "I do agree, though, we need to pick up the pace."

The rest of them agreed, and as they tried to find an alternate solution, Ellowyn looked up at the rooftops and suggested the others do the same. "You sure about that?" Varren asked as they approached the nearest building. "We're going to draw quite a bit of attention to ourselves, especially by the town guard. Plus, if he sees us coming he could begin his plan early, and there's little we could do to stop him."

"Ellowyn's right, though," Gavios stated. "If we're going to make it through these crowds before the festival starts at sunset, we need a quicker way to travel. Between our wings and legs I think that will do it, hopefully the guards are too distracted by the crowd below to look above."

Despite some reservations from the others they decided to take their chances and slowly climbed up to the roof as covertly as they could. Thankfully it appeared that the lavion's predictions were correct and no one seemed to pay them any attention as they got to the top of the building. With the crowds gone they found their travel speed greatly increased, but it still took nearly the entire day for them to reach the storage building. As they all hopped down from their last roof onto a nearby grassy hill, the blue sky had begun to turn orange and the crowds in the street grew even louder.

"Hope the spirits were right on this one," Kriss whispered as they approached the building. "If this isn't right we won't have time to search anywhere else." The others merely nodded in agreement, the mood between them tense as the thought of them failing caused a pit in their stomach.

Just as they got to the alley behind the building, Gavios stopped them with a hand and sniffed the air. "I know that smell," he said as his mane seemed to bristle and the air around him radiated with heat. "Dwarven powder... my clan's powder. I never realized it had such a distinct smell until now... I smell other stuff, too, seems he's broadened his stock since then."

"He's building another bomb?" Ellowyn asked in confusion. "But we saw what happened in that farming village, the force of the explosion seems to kill people more than change them to monsters."

"We're going to need someone to go up ahead and scout it for us," Kriss suggested. "With it almost being dusk I think it would be best if two hulking creatures didn't go. So it looks like Varren and Alex to start, and then Ashimaru can join up once he transforms back. I mean, if you think that's a good idea, Gavios."

The lavion nodded as the demonic drow and mage drake carefully snaked their way along the alley until they disappeared out of sight. Soon those who were left behind were surrounded by silence as the world around them grew darker, and it wasn't long until Ellowyn's draconic form shrank back down into that of a drow. "Now remember what to do if you guys get in trouble," Gavios instructed Ashimaru as he put his clothes back on. "Just kick up any sort of hollar, with these ears we'll be sure to hear you."

Ashimaru thanked them both, and once he had fully equipped himself, moved down the same path as the others. Once he turned the corner and saw the building proper he could hear very loud noises coming from it, as well as multiple voices that sounded garbled and distorted. When he began to move towards the front of it he heard a low hissing noise above him, which turned out to be Varren and Alexandre as they pointed to an area he could get up to them with. Their way up turned out to be a stack of partially rotten crates, and more than once Ashimaru felt his foot sink into the soft wood before he finally gained enough of a bearing to jump up and reach the others that were huddled around a skylight.

"You're not going to believe this," Varren whispered as Ashimaru approached the window. "I think we now know how he's going to expose everyone to the fallen star."

The drow's eyes widened as he looked down to see ghoulish creatures that might have once been some sort of humanoid shuffled about the floor. On one end of the building was a large container of sparking black dust, which Ashimaru was quick to assume was the corrupted fallen star completely ground down, and those creatures took buckets full of it and dumped them into other vats filled with black powder. At the same time on the other end, more of those things appeared to grind up the carcasses of various monsters into powder while others took it and poured it into the mixture. What stunned the drow the most was that those in the middle took tubes and loaded the mix into it before they capped it and added a fuse.

"Fireworks..." Alexandre muttered as they continued to watch. "Ingenious plan, really... they shoot up and explode in the air with the others, and when the dust falls back down it will have dispersed over the entire capital. They even have the different powders segregated so they can cover the city with each one for maximum chaos. They have dragon, werewolf, gryphon, ogre, demon... where did they manage to collect them all?"

"The demon hunter's temple," Varren replied with a sigh. "Looks like he took more than their armory, those disgusting creatures down there must have stripped that place bare. Also explains how they managed to stay ahead of us since he had likely had a whole caravan moving day and night with those things."

"So now what do we do?" Ashimaru asked. "He's already got most of the ordinance he needs, and it isn't long now until the festival begins."

Alexandre appeared to be deep in thought, chewing on a claw as he thought of a plan. "There's no arcane way to deactivate the powder," he explained. "Thankfully very little of it is actually loose, most of it seems to be packed up already. Our best way to prevent this from getting out is to take down everyone inside and take the explosives to a place where they can be detonated without exposing anyone to it."

"Oh, is that all?" Varren replied sarcastically before he sighed. "This would be a lot easier if we weren't assaulting a warehouse filled with blasting powder while having a fire lion hells bent on revenge. Can Ellowyn go back and get Kriss while telling Gavios to stay there?"

"Actually Ellowyn is staying inside for the moment," Ashimaru explained. "We're not sure if the wards that are meant to keep out the guardian spirits will affect him too, so we're playing it safe unless absolutely necessary. But speaking of Gavios' revenge, where is our primary target?"

"I see him..." Varren said through gritted teeth. "He's on the back catwalk."

Ashimaru gazed over to the location that the demon described and heard Ellowyn gasp in his mind at what they saw. While neither of them knew what to expect, they were shocked nonetheless as the normal-looking drow that stood there. He looked exactly how Varren had described he looked like before he left the drow encampment to summon the falling star. Though it was possible he had somehow hidden his mutations, Ashimaru couldn't sense any of the magic that had touched them on his body, a baffling bit of data that neither he nor Alex could understand. It was impossible, they reasoned, that someone in such close proximity could remain themselves while the mere touch of its dust triggered a transformation.

Luckily for them the mage had figured it out and pointed to something around the drow's neck. "He has some very powerful protective spells on that pendant he wears," Alexandre explained. "My guess is he spent a lot of time and energy producing something like that if can resist the powerful effects of the fallen star while still influencing it. If his plan comes to fruition then he will be the only humanoid left in a city of monsters, possibly in control of them considering how those he's already mutated to do his bidding follow him like slaves."

"Well let's make sure it doesn't come to that, then," Ashimaru replied. "Since I don't know how safe it is to keep crossing over the wards with Ellowyn, why don't you go back, Varren, and grab the others while Alex and I... Varren?" Ashimaru stopped suddenly when he turned to his side and noticed the other drow had vanished, though a quick scan quickly spotted the other male heading towards the skylight on the other side of the building. "Varren!"

Before either of the two could do anything the incubus jumped in the air and crashed through the glass, causing everyone in the warehouse below to look up as he dropped down onto the catwalk a few feet away from where the other drow stood. "Kaldrun!" he shouted in rage, blade already unsheathed and pointed at the surprised male. "You have disrespected our clan and killed our elder, and for that alone you shall be put to death!"

"Damnit!" Ashimaru cursed as he stood up. "Signal the others, I'll help Varren... hopefully."

Alexandre nodded and ran towards the corner of the roof to shout as Ashimaru turned his attention once again to the confrontation between the two drow, only to see Kaldrun calmly looking over at Varren while his minions began to gather around him. Even though the look of hatred was clear on the demonic creature's face, the other looked more inquisitive than scared as his eyes widen. "By the ancestors, is that you, Calivara?' Valdrun asked, which only caused Varren to grit his teeth and tighten the grip on his blades. "I suspected that I'd have one of your caste on my tail once I did what I did, but I would never expect it to have changed you so... dramatically. I'm guessing you caught my trail at the demon hunter's temple, but why didn't you turn into a raving monster like the others?"

Ashimaru decided to answer the question himself as he crashed through the skylight on his side of the building, landing on the catwalk as Ellowyn appeared next to him. All eyes were suddenly on him for a few seconds, and as one attempted to charge him, he took the arrow he had already notched and buried it into the creature's head. "That would be our doing," Ashimaru said as the rest of the minions slowly stepped away as their comrade oozed black blood onto the floor. "So I can see now why Varren wouldn't mention your name until now, seeing the hatred it brings to the surface."

"Now, you are interesting..." Kaldrun mused with a small grin. "No wonder she... he?... was able to keep their sanity, you must have absorbed the power straight at the source. Had I known that was possible I would have considered doing that instead of pouring years of research into the magics necessary to capture and contain such magic, but such is life. With you at my right hand we could control my new children with such absolution that we could spread them out like a plague, show these humans what it's like-"

Kaldrun was suddenly interrupted as Ashimaru pivoted towards Varren and let loose an arrow straight towards him. By the time it landed square in the chest of the minion that had attempted to sneak behind the demonic drow, he already had another one ready and pointed at the drow. "Sorry, you were saying?" he asked with a smirk. "I'm guessing the only reason Varren hasn't sliced into you yet is due to some sort of magical protection, though you yourself are not a mage, otherwise you'd be slinging magic at us. But your minions are clearly not battle-ready and we are, so perhaps it's time for you to give up?"

Ashimaru's smirk disappeared as Kaldrun snapped his fingers and nearly two dozen armed soldiers came out of the woodwork, both him and Varren looking at each other worriedly as they took battle positions and aimed their bows and swords at them. "I'm sorry, you were saying?" Kaldrun shot back. "Last offer, you give up willingly and I will enslave both you and Varren, otherwise you both die."

"And how long do I have to consider your generous offer?" Ashimaru asked as he tried to weigh his options. Ellowyn could take care of the minions since it seemed their astral forms could interact with those changed by the dust of the fallen star, but the soldiers looked unaffected and would have to be taken out by normal means. Without their mage handy it was hard to know what would affect Kaldrun and what would possibly harm him, which meant they had one real chance of getting out of this alive...

"Since I'm rather pressed for time I can only give you about... ten seconds to choose," Kaldrun replied, raising his arm which caused the soldiers to ready their weapons and for the minions to begin to approach. "Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four..."

A loud roar suddenly pierced the air and the door where two minions were unfortunate enough to be standing exploded outwards as Kriss barreled through it. Once he was inside he roared again and began to charge at the nearest enemies, and as the soldiers turned to engage him, another door was busted it off its hinges and Gavios walked through, the wood smoldering underneath his feet as he walked in. As the entire warehouse erupted into chaos Ashimaru and Varren took advantage to take their shots at Kaldrun, only to have the arrow bounce off a shield of invisible force and for Varren to suddenly get pushed back. "Calvary's here!" Ashimaru heard shouted above him before Alexandre dropped down next to him.

"Varren needs your help!" Ashimaru shouted as he saw Ellowyn smack one of the minions aside with his tail that had tried to approach them. "You find a way to get rid of the enchantments on the drow, I'll keep you guys covered!" The amethyst-scaled dragon nodded and slowly began to cast a spell of his own, his eyes glowing a deep blue as he channeled magic into them. Ashimaru told Ellowyn to try and take out as many minions as he could while he dealt with those the dragon could not, mainly the soldiers that had focused their attention on the two rampaging monsters that were attacking them. Despite their combined strength, though, the archers managed to get a few arrows that pierced their thick hide, which started to become stained with blood as they took blows to their body.

Ashimaru managed to down three of their archers before they got wise to him and began to fire back, the drow just able to duck down behind one of the cauldrons as their shots clanged against the metal sides. As he took a second to catch his breath and reload he looked down to see the bits of monster that had gone into that batch of gunpowder, then his gaze went down the line while an idea formed to mind. He shouted for the two to push them towards his direction as he darted from vat to vat, firing an arrow occasionally as he struggled to make his way towards the other side of the warehouse. Once he had reached his destination he looked up to find that the werewolf and lionman had managed to make a push forward to drive them back to where Ashimaru needed them, and thankfully without the lavion's fire as the battle raged under him.

After saying a silent prayer Ashimaru got on his back and pushed the vat as hard as he could, the metal container and the hastily made wooden supports underneath it groaning as the drow struggled. After nearly a minute of dedicated pushing he heard a snap like a crack of lightning, followed by several more as he dislodged the container from its stand. The soldiers heard this, as well, and could only back away a few feet before it clanged to the stone floor and dumped its contents out in a plume of smoke. "You missed!" Gavios shouted, though as he and Kriss stood there, they realized what was happening as they were no longer being attacked by the soldiers.

It became very clear what was happening as the humanoid creatures began to strip themselves of their armor; hair and muscle growing on their bodies as they yelled and groaned. Some of them tried to continued to fight on, but swords were dropped and bowstrings snapped in their clawed hands as their armor popped from their bodies. In very short order after tails stopped growing, ears stopped stretching into points, and muzzles and teeth stopped expanding, there were two dozen naked werewolves all staring at each other. As Ashimaru looked over the edge he saw that the newly created monsters appeared to want to fight, but as soon as they all looked at the alpha werewolf snarling in front of them, they all tucked their tails between their legs and drooped their ears in submission.

As the newly created creatures continued to show their newfound submission to their alpha Ashimaru turned his attention to Kaldrun and Varren, Varren's twin blades clashed against Kaldrun's two-handed sword. Behind them Alexandre continued to try and cast magic while Ellowyn kept him covered from the minions that tried to assault him. "Why aren't my blows landing, Alex?!" Varren shouted as he scored a hit with one of his weapons, only for the blade to bounce off.

"I can't dispel everything!" Alexandre shouted back as he threw another bolt of pure magic at Kaldrun, only to have it dissipate upon contact. "He's using the raw magic of the star, it's too powerful even for us!"

Ashimaru could see that their mage had casted protection magics of his own on Varren, but with each passing second he could see the arcane field crack with every blow, and after one particularly hard shot, it opened a wound on his side. The demon was also starting to get winded, his blows slower and his guards harder to put up. The drow knew it was his chance to try and get a shot off, and as he brought up his pulled back bowstring to fire, he hoped his theory was correct. Unfortunately just as Ashimaru let go of the bowstring the other dark elf turned his head and saw him, dodging out of the way as the arrow hit the wall behind them.

There was a slight lull in the fight as Varren's eyes widen when Kaldrun put his hand to his face, his fingers touching the warm blood that oozed from the fresh slash in his cheek. Their foe turned and stared daggers at Ashimaru before he pushed the injured demon away and jumped upwards towards the skylight. As Kaldrun did his boots glowed and he was propelled all the way up through the broken glass to the roof before Alexandre could dispel whatever enchantment was on them. As Ashimaru ran towards the open portal he called over Kriss, and once they were close enough, the drow shouted for the werewolf to give him a boost before he jumped over the edge of the railing.

The canine reacted with split second timing as he cupped his hands just in time to catch the drow's foot, slowing his momentum down before every muscle in his fur-covered arms bulged as he launched him back into the air. As he flew upwards towards the open skylight Ashimaru called Ellowyn to him and the spectral dragon disappeared before he heard his voice in his mind. With their mental link the drow explained his plan before he even passed through the hole in the roof, and though Ellowyn expressed his reservations about attempting such a thing, he nonetheless agreed and both consciousnesses began to focus...

Outside the warehouse the air was filled with the sound of celebration as the entire capital was out for the festival, including one drow that stood on the roof as he looked out at the crowds of people that could be seen. His attention was soon turned back though as something shot through the skylight that he had just exited through, himself, and watched as an obsidian-scaled anthro creature landed on the roof with a loud thud. "Well, aren't you beautiful!" Kaldrun exclaimed with a laugh.

"It's over, Kaldrun!" the transformed voice of the two merged creatures said as their huge form stood up. They took a second to look over their draconic humanoid form, amazed that they were able to do what had been only accidental before. They no longer needed to communicate with one another, for the time they were one voice and mind that called themselves Ashorwyn as they pointed straight at the drow. "We're here to stop you once and for all, no one else is going to suffer at your hands!"

"Big words..." the drow replied as he walked away from the edge, the emerald draconic eyes watching him. "You think once this is all over they're just going to let you walk around like that? You wield the power of the heavens themselves, and those who don't try to kill you outright are going to want to take that power from you! You don't even have to submit, just join me and together we could be the king of monsters!"

"Why?!" Ashorwyn roared, his rage causing the nearby windows to tremble. "Look at the chaos you made! The death you rendered already! For what purpose was all this?!"

There was a moment of silence, a tiny waft of a breeze passed between the two of them as the drow looked down in a moment of true reflection. "These people... these people are the monsters..." Kaldrun said in a voice so low it was hard to hear even with the dragon's hearing. "When my clan needed the kingdom's help to defend it from a wildland incursion, those troops that had been promised to us... PROMISED TO US... were directed to an area with, and I quote, more strategic significance. My kind fought for days to hold off the scourge, an endless struggle to defend our people. When they finally did come they found only twelve of us still alive... twelve, from a defense force of over five hundred dark elves, my friends and family, and once they were done they had the nerve to demand payment for their services! Everyone here is a monster... I'm just letting their outsides finally reflect that."

Ashorwyn hardly had time to process the story when Kaldrun charged him with exceptional speed, twin daggers in his hands as though summoned. The dragon took a step back and parried the first one with his claws, then once more to avoid the second slash. His opponent fought like a man possessed, and it wasn't long until the manic drow had pushed him all the way back to the roof. Though Ashorwyn had the more powerful form it was clear the warrior's experience in hand-to-hand combat proved superior, forcing him to open his wings and retreat up into the night sky.

As Ashorwyn flapped the drow just smirked and turned back towards the open skylight. His mind raced as he tried to think of how to defeat their foe, with his shielding he was the only one who could bypass his defenses, but he couldn't get close to the deadly drow and he didn't have a ranged weapon... until a thought occurred to him. He immediately disliked it and wasn't even sure it would work, and even if it did he only had one shot, but if Kaldrun got back into the warehouse his friends would be in danger. Ashorwyn flapped a little higher to get some altitude, then focused all his energies inward as his scales began to glow.

The sudden increase in light caught Kaldrun's attention just in time to see the creature shine brightly in the air before he opened his mouth. The intense beam of light hit the drow just as he managed to get his arms up and a shield of darkness appeared from it. Even with the protection the dark elf was brought down to one knee from the sheer force of the power as the metal around him began to warp and melt. The assault only lasted a few seconds, though, the radiant beam dissipating and the light reverted back to darkness as Kaldrun shook his head to get the last of the spots from his eyes while laughing from his survival.

"Is that the best-" Kaldrun's sentence ended in a gasp when his sight returned to normal and his vision was filled with a black-scaled fist that punched him square in the face. When the drow stumbled back and hit the roof, the already weakened panels gave out and he shouted as it fell out from under him. Metal and wood rained down on the floor as Kaldrun crashed into a pile of the transformative fireworks, a plume of powder rose up as the rest of the group on the ground level turned to look.

"You think... this will stop me..." Kaldrun coughed as he struggled to get up in the mess of smashed paper and powder. "I know how to make the stars fall... I'll find another and then... then you'll see monsters..."

"Well I can say this," Ashorwyn said as he dangled down the medallion in his claws, the drow's eyes widening in surprise as his hands went up to his chest to find it missing. "You're right about the last part."

Kaldrun's shocked expression turned to pure rage as he tried to reach up towards the medallion, only to watch as extra digits began to form on hands before they split down the middle. His black skin turned thick and leathery as both sets of arms grew gigantic before their eyes, a similar situation happening to his legs as he let out a strangled roar with a mouth filled with growing teeth. His body continued to twist and grow as it packed on even more muscle than its expanding frame could handle as his features became an amalgamation of monstrous parts. As the former drow continued to howl and snarlm Varren ran up to it and swung her blade down on one of the monster's arms, only to have her blade break off in the tough flesh before she was smacked by one of Kaldrun's meaty fists and flung across the room like a rag doll.

"Alright boys..." Kriss said as his newly acquired pack frothed at the muzzle. "Let's rip him to shreds!"

Before the werewolves had a chance to swarm the still transforming creature, the lion man stepped in front of them and held their hand to them. "Even your claws and teeth will be no match for that hide he's sporting," Gavios said stoically. "Get everyone out... I know how to handle this."

The others began to protest, but as a snake-headed tail of the massive monster crashed into the wall and nearly brought down the building, they quickly acquiesced to Gavios' order. Ashorwyn flew down and picked up the unconscious incubus while the werewolves made a run for it along with Alexandre. Once they had left the building Gavios snarled loudly and ran straight forward Kaldrun, whose last vestiges of being an elf on his face were erased with a muzzle that split along the lower and upper jaw. The only thing left were the eyes, and that's what the Lavion focused on as he lept into the air with his claws extended.

As he flew towards his target his momentum was stopped by two pairs of hands that gripped tightly around him, causing him to cry out in pain as they tightened around his body like it was nothing. "You think you could stop me?!" The monster roared out as its twin tongues writhed in the air from the mutated muzzle. "If I can't create a city of monsters, I will destroy it as a monster! Starting... with you..."

Gavios let out another gasp as the grip tightened around his body once again, though once he was able to slightly catch his breath he managed to let out a strangled laugh that caused the monster to pause. "You don't know me..." the lavion managed to gasp out between pained breaths. "But my clan is the one... you slaughtered for that blast powder you're covered in. Now... it's my clan that will destroy you, and I get the luxury of spitting in your face to do so!"

Kaldrun's head twitched both in confusion and and pain from the multiple horns that had sprouted from his skull, and by the time he put two and two together the lavion was already taking in as deep a breath as possible. A deep orange glow could be seen in Gavios' throat as he expanded as far as he could and waves of heat poured out of his maw. The monstrous male let out a loud screech and attempted to throw the fire lion down, but before he could do so Gavios spat a gout of fire that sped straight towards Kaldrun's blasting powder-covered face...

Outside of the warehouse Ashorwyn landed with Varren on the street next to Alexandre moments before they were all knocked forward by the massive explosion that erupted from the building they just exited. Every wall was blown outwards from the sheer force as everyone fell to the ground from the shockwave. When everyone turned towards it flaming debris had already started to rain down as the fireball continued to push up into the air and even parted the clouds. "Gavios!" Ashorwyn shouted as he stood back up and stared at the inferno in front of them.

As the rest of the group slowly began to regain their composure, Varren included as he cupped his bleeding side, the draconic creature's mind raced on how to possibly help his friend until the mage interrupted. "I think you'll find that he's quite alright," Alexandre explained. "Lavions are fireproof after all, I've heard tail of them swimming across a river of magma just to get to its prey. In fact, I do believe he's coming out now."

It didn't take long for Ashorwyn to see what the mage was talking about as a shadow emerged from the roaring flames that slowly grew bigger. When Gavios emerged the clothing he had managed to scrounge to cover himself had been completely burned away, but his fur looked as soft and silken as ever. Despite his swagger, though, he only managed to get a few feet before he fell to his knees, which prompted Kriss and the other werewolves to run to his aid and pull him away from the ruins.

As Alexandre went over to tend to the lavion's wounds, Ashorwyn felt the presence of the fallen star in the air. He held out his hands and could see the dust swirl around it, the black crystalline powder turning white as it neared him. "Alex," Ashorwyn said. "The dust, it's-"

"I know..." the mage said with a sigh as he bandaged Gavios' wounds. "Even without it exploding in the air there was enough stardust charged with Kaldrun's hatred in that warehouse to still infect half the city on the winds. There's not enough time for you to purify it all, either... so I honestly don't know what to do. Gods help us..."

The draconic creature let out a heavy sigh and let down his hand and the cloud of star particles continued to hover around it as he looked at Alexandre. "You've lived here Alex," Ashorwyn asked. "What's the highest point in this area?"

"Um... that would be the North Light Cathedral up over on the nearby hill," the mage replied after a few seconds of thought. "Why?" By the time the amethyst-scaled anthro had looked up and asked; however, the other draconic creature was gone, a dot in the night sky.

By the time the two landed on the bell tower of the cathedral Ashimaru and Ellowyn had been released from their merged state, the ghostly dragon landing next to their still draconic body. Even without their ability to sense the power of the fallen star they could see it glittering everywhere, a cloud of pure chaos that quickly drifted downwards toward the partygoers below that had stopped when the explosion happened.. From what they observed it hadn't reached the crowds yet, though they did watch as several that had decided to investigate the matter were stopped dead in their tracks as their bodies convulsed and twisted into monstrous forms when the cloud passed over them, but that would quickly change in a matter of minutes. The stardust carried the last corruptive will of Kaldrun, a wish that the two knew could not be fulfilled.

"Are you sure we have no other choice?" Ellowyn asked nervously. "I mean, I know there isn't, but are we sure this is the best plan? We don't even know this is going to work."

"It worked in that destroyed farming town," Ashimaru replied, his hands shaking despite himself as he brought them up to his chest.

"You also saw what started to happen to us..." Ellowyn stated as he looked away. "If we do it this time, with this much dust, it's going to be permanent." There was a moment of pause between the two as they looked at each other, a forlorn smile forming on their faces before Ellowyn nodded. "Right then, no point in prolonging it any longer, let's get started."

Ashimaru watched the dragon disappear, feeling him rejoin their shared body, then they both began to concentrate their energy inwards. Once again their scales began to glow, but instead of focusing it into a single beam they let it radiated out in a field around them. As the area around the tower began to light up the cloud of black stardust ceased to fall, hanging there above those that it had been about to change before it started to reverse direction. The more energy they used, the more stardust they attracted until it swirled around their bodies like dust in a whirlpool.

"Ash..." Ashimaru heard Ellowyn's voice mentally. "Our hands..."

Their draconic snout tipped down and looked to see veins of white and black crystal appear on the otherwise black scales of his hands. As Ashimaru tried to flex his fingers they felt stiff, and even as he watched his claws completely converted to star crystal before their eyes. "It is happening," Ashimaru replied mentally. "I'm sorry Ellowyn."

"Don't be sorry Ash," Ellowyn said, his voice confident despite the tremor of fear that ran through it. "We knew this could possibly happen, and no matter what we had an amazing adventure despite everything. If this is it, then I'm happy."

Ashimaru tried to wipe the wetness from his face but found his crystalline fingers completely unresponsive and his arms unable to reach up as the crystal continued to assimilate his flesh. Both were thankful that the process was at least painless, instead feeling a numbness in their limbs as the tips of their feet, nose, and ears grew shiny. "I'm not happy..." he said mentally. "I only wish I known earlier what it was like to be with you, and though I treasure our friendship, I wish I knew it could have been so much more."

"Better late than never," Ellowyn replied in a softer voice as the cloud of stardust continued to continued to condense around them. "At last we can say it now..."

"...I love you, Ellowyn..."

"...and I love you, Ashimaru..."

For the briefest of seconds they felt their hold on the stardust slip and immediately had to refocus as the pressure of the powerful magic pressed down on them. It reminded them both of the first time the star had come into their lives, back when they were just an elf and a dragon on a cliff, a pleasant memory to distract them from the feeling of their heart no longer pumping blood, or their lungs no longer drawing breath. They felt the connection to their form slipping, fading away like their living form as it turned to crystal.

"Ash..." Ellowyn's voice managed to call out telepathically, though it sounded like he said it underwater. "Ash..."

"Yeah?" Ashimaru managed to call out back.

For a second there was no answer, and though the drow clung to their form he began to wonder if the dragon no longer did the same until finally he heard his voice. "...how much do you think you'd get if you sold us as art?" the dragon joked, their laughter the last thing that echoed in the mental space of their body before the last of the stardust surrounded a statue of black and white crystal.

The tower suddenly became quiet as the storm of magic and starlight faded away, remaining silent until the wooden door that led up to it was smashed open. Kriss barreled through to the other side and stopped himself short of hitting the bell itself as Gavios, Varren, and Alexandre came in behind him. Once they all filed in they all shared looks of shock as they saw a black and white crystal statue of Ellowyn and Ashimaru's combined form. For a while no one dared to approach the statue or speak of it until finally Varren moved up towards it and put a hand against the frozen muzzle.

"You can do something, right Alex?" Kriss asked as he looked back at the mage who continued to stare at the crystal in awe. "You know this magical stuff, you must be able to do perform a ritual or a spell or something!"

"Calm yourself, pup," Gavios said in a surprisingly soft voice as he walked up to Varren and put his hands on his shoulders. "They're gone, aren't they?" After a few moments Varren numbly nodded his head, causing the other two to gasp.

"I should have done something..." Alexandre spoke up. "I should have figured out how he was going to disperse the magic and I could have... I don't know... more..."

"We'll be having none of that!" Gavios suddenly said with a fierceness that caused everyone to jump before he gestured for the werewolf to get next to him. "The time for mourning is not right now, we still have work to do and I'll be damned if I let it go unfinished! You take the legs, pup, I got the head."

Varren's face twisted in anger and frustration as he saw the two hulking creatures huff and lift the statue up. "What in the hells are you doing!?" he shouted at them.

"We still have a potentially dangerous chunk of star crystal here, right mage?" Gavios called back, the purple dragon swallowing hard and nodding. "Well we need to put this in a safe place, and I'm not letting our friend sit up here like a lark until some priest or mage finds it and does gods only know what to it! So we're going to take him to the safest place in the capital, and only once it's there can we be allowed to do what we need to do."

"What's the safest place in the capital?" Kriss asked, the fire lion just nodding to the mage as a look of realization dawned on his face before they all left down the tower.

*******************************

At the shrine of the Guardian Spirits four figures entered into the wide space, which despite the festival going on around it, was empty by design. A year had passed since the incident with Kaldrun and the fallen star, which despite multiple deaths had resulted in the salvation of the entire capital and possibly the kingdom from a blight of monsters from its heart. Varren and Alexandre walked in first, followed by Gavios and Kriss with their arms loaded in various foodstuffs and other such supplies.

"Tell me again why the pup and I had to carry all this?" Gavios asked as he set down everything with a thud.

"Because you guys are so much stronger than us," Alexandre replied as he tried to stifle a grin, hearing a loud huff behind him as he lit several candles. "Oh, Guardian Spirits! We beseech you to hear us-"

"You know you don't have to do that in order to call us," a voice rang out through the emptiness before two ethereal figures appeared next to their group, forming into black and white translucent dragons that smirked at them. "Especially since we planned this, after all."

"Ellowyn! Ash!" Varren exclaimed happily as he walked over to them. "It's so good to see you guys again! I see you're rocking the dragon look there Ashimaru, abandoning your drow form?"

"Not entirely," Ashimaru replied with a slight blush. "But with being together with Ellowyn we thought it would be best if we matched sizes, so sometimes he goes elf and other times I go dragon, as you can see. Before we get too far into it, though, thank you for hiding our form, you guys did an amazing job."

Their gaze shifted to the statue of their draconic form, the star crystal completely covered with a thick layer of clay. "It was the least we could do after what you guys did," Varren replied. "It just sucks we can only see you guys during the festival, though I guess it's better than nothing. How are you guys adjusting to being Guardian Spirits now?"

"Well you know how it is, protect the city and such," Ellowyn said as he waved a forepaw. "We're happy to do so since the other spirits brought us back from wandering aimlessly and becoming some arcanist's enchantment... no offense, Alexandre." The purple dragon chewed what was left of his sandwich and waved it off. "But what about you guys, what have you all been doing?"

"I went back to my clan," Varren stated first. "Now that Kaldrun is dead I've been helping our shamans to keep our secrets better protected. Needless to say they were a little shocked at what I had become, but once they realized that I was incapable of sucking out their souls or whatever, they were more than happy to study my new magics, and I've had more than a few scholars study my new body... very intimately."

"Speaking of scholarly pursuits," Alexandre spoke up now that his mouth was empty. "I've been working with a number of masters of the arcane and they've been fascinated with my research thus far. The dragons have also shown an interest, too, so I've been flying all over the place. I have to say that my new form has been very useful to me, if not a bit bulky at times."

"Don't worry," Kriss spoke up with a smirk. "I'm always here to give you that 'special ingredient' you need to get yourself back down to reasonable size."

Alexandre blushed as the rest of them laughed. "Well, always glad to accept a helping paw," the dragon replied. "Course now you have all manner of tails to raise to sate you ever since the kingdom let you keep all those werewolves as your own army regiment."

"Having a whole squad of loyal creatures that hang on my every word does have its perks," Kriss boasted as he looked at his claws.

"What about you, Gavios?" Ellowyn asked the lavion. "You the captain over his, squad then?"

Gavios chuckled at that as the werewolf lowered his ears slightly, small licks of fire coming out of the feline's mouth. "Once our work here was done in the capital I let our pup here off the hook," he said as he gave a playful swat to the canine's cheeks that caused him to yelp. "I went back to the dwarven citadel in order to keep the representation for my fallen clan and got offered work at the forges. Turns out they have great use for someone who's fireproof."

The group continued to talk well into the night and for the rest of the festival, Ashimaru and Ellowyn moving with the rest of them. Despite their incorporeal nature the others made sure to include them on everything, even though they got strange looks from those who could not see the Guardian Spirits. Once the festival was over they all said their last goodbyes and set off in their separate directions, save for Ellowyn and Ashimaru who sat on the roof of the shrine.

"Dragon does suit you very well, you know," Ellowyn commented as they watched the sun rise, causing Ashimaru to laugh.

"I'm glad you adore it, love," Ashimaru replied as he flared out his wings. "A shame I couldn't feel what it was actually like to fly with you, I imagine it would have been a lot of fun."

"Well then, looks like we'll have to find something else that we can do that is equally exciting..." Ellowyn replied as he grinned suggestively, the other dragon matching it before they took off into the air. The two swirled around one another until the first rays of light peeked their way over the hill and onto the city, their forms vanishing into the aether to be with one another, forever.