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POV Bodey

August 22nd, 1100. Outskirts of Tatego, Bælan.

There were few things more satisfying than the action of pulling the last branch of leafy obstruction away from in front of me and seeing the broad landscape of the city. Civilization: A place filled to the brim with people that I didn't know and didn't care to know either; and yet, after being trapped in the woods of enemy territory for a week with nobody but an obnoxious little mage to keep me company, I felt quite animated at that moment.

"Well. We're here," came the chipper voice from next to me. I sighed and said, "Yeah, about time." We began our stroll over to the distant cityscape.

The past few days had been somewhat quiet, but not as much as I had expected. Even though I was pretty confident that my harsh disparage from four days ago would be enough to quiet the young wolf down, he still continued to talk. Whether it was to me, himself, or the nature around him, I was not sure. He would mostly just tell little anecdotes about magical encounters or other dumb little adventures that he had been on in his life. Despite my occasional urge to shove a large rock down his throat, I decided to keep to myself, as for some strange reason, I actually found a few of his stories to be rather entertaining to listen to.

Other than that and a strange dream that I had one night, there was nothing too out of the ordinary. We observed a few more enemy soldiers from a safe distance, and to our fortune, the weather had remained mostly calm.

After all that, we had now come to find ourselves back in friendly territory. I had to give one major prop to Aiko, though: his navigation was quite excellently planned, and we managed to avoid all major occupied settlements and keep hidden within our voyage through captured Bælan with relative ease.

The morning sun shone high above in the sky, but a threatening cloudfront that slowly maneuvered its way from the south gave me the impression that we might receive some rather intense downpour soon.

"Halt! Drop your weapons!" Several Bælanian soldiers clad in gray uniforms with their signature yellow and scarlet highlights came running towards us with weapons drawn; two of them archers, with arrows poised back in a fire-ready position. I unclipped the strap that kept my sheath attached to my back, which then fell and clattered to the ground. Aiko stood motionless, not having anything items of danger to dispose of.

"We're friendlies. I'm an Uthalian knight; he's a local from the occupied west. We mean you no harm," I said calmly, attempting to negotiate. The five soldiers eyed each other suspiciously, unsure of whether my words possessed validity. Then, the fox in the middle who appeared to be the leader of the pentad stepped forward and spoke. "Alright then. We'll guide you into our military facility to get checked out. Understood?"

"Crystal clear. And be careful with that," I added as the fox picked up my blade from the ground and turned around to guide us into town. "Yeah, sure, I will." He pulled the weapon out of it's sheath just by a small margin, as to see the handle and a few inches of the blade. "It's a beauty sword. What's with it anyways, some kind of family heirloom?"

"Something like that."

The soldiers guided us down the hill that we emerged from and over to the military facility on the southern side of town. To my surprise, Aiko was as silent as ever; perhaps to absorbed in the beauty of seeing structures so up close and personal that weren't prison cells. We entered through the main building's large double doors to greeted by a very familiar face.

"My my, if it isn't Bodey Aráshvahr!" proclaimed the jet black panther, his lime green eyes wide with excitement. "It is agreeable to see that you are unhar-...er, that you're alive," he said, changing his mind on his choice of adjectives after taking a moment to observe our condition. "The same to you, sir," I replied.

"Ah, gentlemen," Uhruan said, addressing our escorts. "Please return him his blade. I assure you, he is of no harm to us. And that will be all."

Reluctantly, the fox handed me my sword and ushered his accomplices back to their sentry duties behind him. Uhruan and the slender weasel that stood next to him guided the two of us into the building. Although I didn't recognize the other figure, the forage cap and four gold pins that accompanied his Bælanian uniform were telltale enough to state the he was a general, just like Uhruan. "So Bodey, who might this other young man that you've become acquainted with be?"

Aiko opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "His name is Aiko. I rescued him from Windstrom."

Uhruan guided the three of us into a small office, where we all took seats. "General Louskayous" was carved into the sign by the door, which I assumed was the name of the other general. Being the last one to enter, I closed the door behind us.

"That was a rhetorical question. We know who he is," Louskayous explained. He wore a troubled expression on his face as he glanced at Uhruan. He seemed to be persuading him to explain the scenario in the place of himself. "Do you?" I asked, surprised by the proclamation.

"Yes, we do. And we'd like to apologize for sending you through all the trouble of excavating Windstrom's prison," Uhruan said. "You see, some members of our taskforce were infiltrated with false information from 'family members' of this young wolf, who were trying to use us in a deliberate ploy to save him after they received word from the events of his abduction in Tempest."

I looked over to Aiko. He simply sat on the wooden chair with his muzzle wide open, dumbfounded by the information that he had just received. Uhruan looked down upon Aiko with obvious hostility. "If it weren't for such a petty and unorthodox pit stop, Python Battalion might have seen a better fate than the Scorpions did. We should have captured those kids earlier."

Now it was my time to be confused by unexpected intel. "Wait, what do you mean, sir? What happened to Scorpion Battalion?" I asked him. I glanced between the two generals, both of whom were silent. "General, what happened to my battalion?"

"Scorpion Battalion was completely wiped out. We saw some of it for ourselves; it wasn't pretty," Louskayous stated quickly. "Apparently, the northern alliance has assembled a large group of powerful fire mages that completely bombarded their forces, and likely others to. They're called 'Company 103'."

Company 103...they must be the same ones that took down the forest!

"As for Python Battalion..." Uhruan continued, darkly. "I imagine that most of them were wiped out. You're the only one that we've seen." Shit! I thought to myself.

"Where are they!?" Aiko suddenly shouted, getting up from his chair and facing the two generals. They each studied the hostile wolf with vexation, but said nothing. "Tell me where they are! What did you do with them!?" Uhruan spoke; a clearly annoyed and angry tone hide amongst his voice. "You're hardly in the position to be making demands, little one."

"Excuse me," I stated coldly, speaking up for a reason that I didn't understand at that particular moment. "Just because he has friends in Bælan who helped him out behind his back like that doesn't make him objectively guilty, sir. As far as I know about Aiko, he wouldn't deliberately put others at risk like that: not his friends, and certainly not a large quantity of people like those of the Battalion. I think-"

"Bodey, shut the hell up!" Uhruan ordered me, his words pouncing on my being. I ignored him and continued.

"Despite his importance being a ruse, I still believe that he might possess some information that you'll want to hear in detail, sir!"

The room fell silent. Aiko, seeing himself at a new disposition, seated himself once more. Uhruan looked to the snowy ball of fluff. "Alright then," he said in a slightly more calm voice. "What might you have to say?"

"First, tell me where they are. I wanna know that they're all safe," Aiko questioned.

Louskayous reluctantly answered, "Under my orders, they've been sent down to Eda, by the Uthalian border. I assure you, they will perfectly safe there."

"Alright," Aiko replied after a moment of thought, apparently satisfied with the answer. "It's been brought to my attention that Polimatus and Orrako have staged this war in an attempt to try and locate the ancient Liaran artifact, as to use it for the betterment of their own power and eventually, the conquering of all of Theria," the canine explained, making his explanation short and simple. Both of the generals began to show signs of interest. Uhruan removed his cap and scratched his head. "Alright...and how might you have come in contact with this intel?"

"They abducted me because I'm a mage; as such, I've got quite a bit of understanding as far as the subject goes. The relics of old Liaran society have always been an interest of mine, you see," Aiko explained, adding on a fabrication that I knew to be a grasp for straws. "They're just not quite sure of its precise whereabouts."

"It's place of asylum is not recorded anywhere, I presume?" Louskayous asked.

"No," the wolf replied. "There are only small hints and allusions to it in the form of written text, nothing more. Other than that, only certain people know how to find it. I, unfortunately, am not among them."

Aiko provided them with a moment to contemplate the information, then continued with something that I hadn't previously heard. "Additionally, you should know that I was placed in a situation where I had to force-feed the interrogator some false information. At least for the time being, they are under the temporary impression that a large piece of this puzzle lies hidden within an unoccupied location, north-west of the main ruins."

"I see," General Uhruan mumbled. "Aiko, perhaps it would be best if we continued this conversation in detail, at a later time. You and Bodey both have some extensive injuries, so I best have the two of you brought to the medical facility." Neither of us put up any argument, and obediently followed the general out of the room, who paired us with yet another Bælanian officer, who then guided us back out of the complex and to wherever the medical facility was located.

As we tottered along, Aiko walked up beside me. "Hey, umm...thanks. For what you did back there, I mean," he said in a quiet voice.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't mention it, kid..."

So, after all that complaining you did about that "dumb, obnoxious kid" you went as far as to speak up for him? Sounds like you're finally warming up to the poor guy.

No! That wasn't like that...I was just trying to make a statement. What he knew about the artifact was important for the generals to hear. I was just making sure that it was heard.

Perhaps. But you also spoke up because you felt it was unfair, the way they were treating him off of pure bias. You wanted to help him.

Actually, I didn't. Now stop bothering me!

Why are you being so resilient? What is this, that you're feeling...

It's nothing. Now get the hell out of my mind.

POV Aiko

1300.

I was lost in a deep haze of thoughts as the nurse attended to my wounds. As a rather rare sight around in this part of the world, she was a spotted hyena; she had lightly colored fur, blue eyes, a slender and trim body and a very gentle voice that put me at ease. Her name, as she had told me earlier, was Daisy. Unfortunately, her attempts at conversation weren't quite breaking through my barrier of intense pondering, requiring her to repeat herself to even ask a simple question. "How does that feel?" she asked, wrapping a bandage around the stitches that she had just completed. She received no response.

"Aiko?"

"Oh, umm...sorry. What now? Yes, it feels better, thank you..."

"Alright. I will take care of some of your burns now, okay?"

"Of course. Thank you; you're very kind." She smiled at my compliment.

As she continued to attend to my wounds, I laid back and gazed at the ceiling. The room was small and comfortable, and I was laying on a small white mattress, half-naked and covered in bandages. Despite the ideal circumstances that otherwise would have made me feel quite at home, all I could do was continue to stress about my situation. I knew that my family was safe, but at the expense of what they did to help me, I still felt worried about them. The military would hardly let their actions go unnoticed; especially since they were effectively just a group of orphans.

Orphans. We were all orphans; we never got the chance to live with a family of our own, rest myself, who illegally lived under a foster parent for the better part of my life after my parents were murdered for little more reason than that of their heritage. So, we formed our own family. Maybe that's why people like Bodey and Uhruan treat me like an unwanted pest. That's what we are, as defined by the words of some cruel, higher deity that we can't see; that we can't control. We're just puppets.

"You're a mage, aren't you?" the nurse asked me. I nodded, both to reply to her question and to shake myself back into reality. "I don't suppose you know any kind of healing spells, or anything like that?"

I was intrigued by her question. "Well, not off the top of my head. Healing was never really my specialty." I chuckled to myself, causing her to grin. "It's not the easiest branch of magic, and it's even harder if you're trying to use it on yourself. Sorry I can't help."

"Oh, no, it's fine!" she replied. "I was just curious. Powers like that sure would be helpful around here!"

"Hey, there's no reason why you can't start now," I suggested.

The nurse shrugged. "Well, I do like to keep myself open to possibilities. That's part of the reason why I came here, to Bælan," she explained.

"Ah, and you are from somewhere in the Baukaun area, I presume?"

"Yup, I grew up in Tikala, Yëya. It was so beautiful there...I wish I could go back to visit, sometime."

Her remark left me with a hint of confusion. "Why can't you go back?" I asked concernedly.

"Well, it's my parents. When I was young, my dad was thrown in prison, as he was suspected of treason by the Queen. For the next while, it was hard for my mother and I to gather what we needed to survive...my mom ended up getting thrown in prison as well, after she was charged with larceny for stealing the food we needed. I was old enough to leave on my own by then...so I hitched a ride on a ferry over to here, and began to study medicine."

I laid there, wondering whether I was more saddened by her life story, or astounded by how calmly she spoke about it. Even though her fur was as clean and colorful as it could look, I still could see the metaphorical scars that ran across her face in the wake of the mentality. "I'm very sorry, that sounds horrible..." I said, sympathizing.

"Nah, it's fine, I'm over it. It's nice here, and I like the work I do. It's just annoying sometime...General Louskayous never trusts me with anything too important, since I'm a foreigner and all." I frowned, and she paused for a brief moment before changing the subject. "So using magic...it doesn't require any special blood, or anything?"

"Nope! Just a brave soul and a willing spirit."

"Oh...fascinating!" she marveled with enthusiasm.

"Well, if you ever need someone to help teach you the ropes, you're more than welcome to come find me. That is, sometime when I haven't gotten my hands tied in other business," I added with a chuckle. I gave her a wide smile. She returned it and then vacated the room, although only for the temporary purpose of fetching some additionally medical supplies. Once again alone, I tilted my head back towards the barren ceiling, an action that brought discomfort to my sore neck. Sticking to old habits, I pondered away from the pleasant part of our conversation and continued my internal monologue from before.

We're all puppets...

POV Bodey

1400.

From outside the building, I could hear the sound of thousands of small pounding noises, banging against the ceiling that conveniently protected me from getting wet. Although with shame, I was fervently enjoying the comfort of being trapped in the warm building, especially with a particularly quiet, benevolent (and quite attractive) ferrat that cared for my wounds. She possessed many redeeming qualities, but quiet was the one that I had decided to be my favorite.

"Sounds like the storm is coming in," the nurse observed. Her feminine voice slurred the words out in a way that made my ears tingle every time she spoke.

"Yeah. It's nice to not be trapped in the heart of it with no form of shelter for once," I recalled. "I've gone through that episode more times that I can count."

"Haha, I bet," she remarked. Upon her touching a sensitive spot on my midsection, I twitched.

"Try to hold still and relax. It'll only take a few more minutes to finish this stitch, but I wouldn't want to make it worse. It's a pretty large gash," she warned me.

"Alright."

Just like that, the minutes rolled by. The process wasn't horribly painstaking, so my patience still had some reservatory tanks left to burn off. This is...surprisingly pleasant I thought to myself, grinning.

The nurse gave me a gentle pat on the back and handing me some pure white, clean, unscathed clothing. "All done! Thanks for being patient," she credited.

"Why of course. Thank you too, Aiko."

"...who's Aiko?" The nurse looked at my strangely as I finished dressing myself. I looked up at her, confused as to where her dubiety was emanating from. Then I came to the slow realization of what had just happened.

"Oh! Umm...sorry, I meant, uhh...w-what's your name again?" I stuttered out in disbelief.

"My name is Clara."

"Right, Clara...that's what I meant. T-thank you, Clara." I quickly grabbed the remainder of my things and scurried out of the room, not wanting to see any further context of her reaction. At the door, I ran into yet another nurse, who I only then noticed had been there for several minutes, watching as he waited for an opportunity to speak with Clara. He gave me yet another questionable glare, and at that point I was certain that my face must have been bright red with embarrassment. I scuttled down the hallway towards the guest quarters, where I had been assigned a temporary room.

I didn't say that. It was a misunderstanding. People are always talking about my accent...it was probably just that! Talk about a language barrier, huh?

Umm...okay? Whatever floats your boat...

It didn't happen! That's all there is to it.

In an odd fit of frustration, confusion and tiredness, I entered my quarters, plopped down on the bed and dozed off into an early sleep.

POV Eris

August 23rd, 1600. T'vhürvha, Uthalia.

In the haze of hours within the library, an amount of knowledge the pleaded within reach of my fingertips did little more than fade in and out in an endless cycle before my eyes. We'd been searching for days, but knowledge about Liara in an Uthalian library was like searching for a piece of hay in a stack of needles: just as difficult as it's counterpart, but with the added quality of being extremely painful.

"Found anything?" I asked. The mink shook his head from across the table, which was wrapped up in a book in a similar fashion to myself. "Nope."

His name was Caden, and out of the clad of those that accompanied me, he seemed to be the one chosen to speak for all three of them. That said, he still said and incredibly slim amount. I've never met anyone so boring and senseless in my life. And now I suddenly find three of them? What's the deal with these guys?

"You know, you don't have to be so quiet," I reminded him. "We're all friends here."

Caden flipped a page and remained silent. I waited for a response, then turned back to my mind-numbing research. Whoopity doo.

After a few minutes, one of my other agents who was previously stationed by the entrance of the library as a sentry trotted up the stairs to our floor of the library. He whispered something in Caden's ear; which was an action that slightly angered me from his resilience to speak to me himself. Caden listened and then informed me of his news. "It would appear that this establishment has received a rather unexpected guest."

My ears perked up. "Who are we talking about?"

"It's Prince Pazifal."

The prince? What the devil could he be doing here? "Are you certain?" I asked.

"He's a certain as he'll ever be!" came a voice that I had never heard before. Upon looking up, I learned that it was no other than the subject of our small conversation himself. The spotted feline had a moderate build and was dressed in black robes. The grin on his face was both passionate and sinister as he glared upon me and my fellow subjects.

"What's that you're reading?" he asked as he trotted up behind me. I tried to fold the book out of his view, but to no avail as he commented, "Oh! Books about Ancient Liara! That must be quite the fascinating read!" he exclaimed. He pulled up the empty chair next to me to sit down, and placed a paw on my shoulder, as if to purposefully make me feel uncomfortable. What in the world is happening?

"Umm...it's an honor, prince?" I said, unable to conceive any other ideas of what to say. Pairs of eyes from all across the room were looking at us with confusion. Caden and his friend simply watched with blank faces.

"Ah, why thank you!" he exclaimed. He temporarily removed the giddiness from his face as he glanced at the remaining sets of watchful eyes with a harsh expression, tempting them to resume their lives. Once he was content, he once again smiled and looked back to me. "However, you and I both know that I'm not your prince."

"Well, yes...me and my associates are from Suria. We were simply-"

"Ah, of course, Suria! A beautiful little neighbor of ours, if I must say," he commented, cutting me off. He changed his voice to a whisper and leaned over to me with his arm around my shoulder; his face was close enough for me to see all the fine details of his mango-colored eyes, which bore a malevolent fire in them. "I've also been led to know that you're searching for a very special mythical object from Liara...am I correct?"

Dammit! How could he know all this? This isn't good. "And what, if I may ask, led you to that conclusion?" I asked.

"The same reason I know everything else I know," he answered slyly, almost hissing out his words. "All it takes is a little bit of asking around and some basic intuition. I seem to be quite experienced at finding things...or people, for that matter." He slowly traced a clawed digit around the cover of my book, almost mocking my ignorance.

I sighed and attempted to push him away from his grip on me. "Well then I'm sure that you also know that we're not the only ones."

"Correct again!" he exclaimed, once again resuming his loud, verbose manner of speaking, although only for the one, brief line of speech. "And by the looks of it, you and your roadies seem to be a tad bit stuck...yes?"

I grimaced at his realization, but nonetheless nodded in confirmation.

"Well, perhaps I can assist you, hmm?" Pazifal asked. "Just meet me at the Krako's Diner on the other side of town, on friday night at 1800 hours. I'll meet you there with some information that you might find...accommodating." Without allowing any time for me to ask questions or even ponder his credibilty, the prince walked away and back down the stairs. I looked at Caden, who simply shrugged and picked his book back up, as if the incident was as trivial as the everyday pedestrian.

"I guess we've got some time to kill until friday night, over some burgers of course," I noted. Nobody replied.

POV Aiko

1. Tatego, Bælan.

From the quiet and cool air that accompanied the darkness of my quarters, there was a light rapping noise on the door. My ears perked up at the sound of it; thankfully, I had yet to fall asleep. "Hello?" I answered weakly.

"Aiko?" came Uhruan's voice in the form of a chilling whisper. He had gently pushed the door open just a sliver. I opened my eyes to see the tip of his muzzle poking through the slit. "I hope this isn't a bad time."

"No, it's fine. Please, come it."

Carrying a small lamp that served as the only source of light, he opened the door and quietly closed it behind him. The jet-black feline's fur blended in perfectly with the night. To my surprise, he lacked his formal attire which I at the time had yet to see him without; he now wore a simple dark gray t-shirt and similarly colored pants. He took a seat in the wooden chair next to my bed, and I sat up to face him.

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked me. Through a tired outlook, I chuckled and said, "Yeah, a little. Slept like a rock last night, though. I guess I've just had a lot on mind lately, despite the fact that this is the first real bed I've had in weeks."

"Ah, I see. It is fine, I can empathize," he said. "Anyways, I thought that I would give you some updates and some of my personal thoughts, seeing as we're both being kept late to wakefulness." I nodded, not wanting to exhaust the energy of speaking. Earlier that day, Uhruan and I had engrossed ourselves in the second and much longer of conversations regarding the information that I had shared. After exposing every detail that didn't endanger my own safety to his behalf, he had left me with the simple note of his ongoing consideration for what I had said.

"First and foremost, Aiko, I believe that it's very important that we have this matter looked into. I've consulted with your king, and he has agreed to see us tomorrow morning, at 0900 hours sharp. I'm sure that you haven't any other plans scheduled?"

"I don't believe I do, sir."

"Excellent. It is agreed. You'll also be glad to know that I had your letter sent. It will reach your friends in Eda in a few days."

"Thank you, sir," I replied.

Uhruan stood up slowly and cracked his back. "And Aiko," he added, looking back to me. I sat and awaited his response.

"I'd like to apologize. If I, or anyone else from my staff has been rude to you...we shouldn't have. I understand you've been through alot, and we shouldn't have judged you based off of the actions of those friends of yours."

I was surprised by the general's words. He came here at 2300...to tell me this? "Why thank you, sir. It's very appreciated, and gladly accepted."

Uhruan smiled lightly. "I say that on the untold behalf of Bodey, as well. I understand that he can be quite...arduous," he said, then added with a chuckle, "If ya'd like, I can give him a good kick-in-the-ass for you."

"Nah, it's fine. You don't have to. I actually rather enjoyed his company, when he wasn't busy being so 'arduous' "

"Alright then. I will allow you to rest now. Goodnight, Aiko." Uhruan exited the room with as much stealth as he had originally used to enter, once again leaving me in the darkness. With one parting thought, I drifted off into a comfortable sleep. Maybe some strings aren't so bad to have.