The Journey to Darkness

Beings of the shadow realm: https://twistedgenetics.forumotion.com/t33-shadow-realm-races

Jordel stumbled in the darkness, breathing heavily and walking with his arms straight out in front of him so as not to run into anything. "What is this place? Where am I?" He called out in the darkness. The silence would be all to answer back aside from the sound of his own breath. He finally stopped and felt along his body till he found a flint and small torch that he carried with him.. Striking the flint with his dagger caused a blinding light.

The noise of his struggle would keep him from hearing the soft hissing that was surrounding him. Finally the small torch caught fire and lit up, barely, the direct black ground he stood upon. "Hello?" The flickering and sparking of his torch being the only sound at first. Then the sound of sand against stone would start to circle around him. "Who's there?" he called out a bit more frantic. "Friend, where am I?"

He wouldn't see much at first, then the formation of something would start to waver in the darkness. His imagination starting to make shapes of it in an attempt to understand what it was he was seeing. Trees? Black trees.. black grass.. ashen nearly black ground? He could not seem to bring color to these images. The larger of the shadow however was not so innocent or common. Each time he managed to imagine features of something, they changed to something new. His heart started to pound as he would see features of a dragon, then a woman, then a wolf and then a large beast with many legs before the dragon again. Then he would see blood red orbs where the eyes should be, the dragon remaining.

"Stand back! I have slayed many a dragon!" he warned, though he had hoped that perhaps the dragon would light up the forest with its fire breath so he might be able to see better to fight. Then suddenly a cold cackling echo caused him to freeze in his footsteps.

"Calm yourself, shadow-mancer." The smoky female voice said. As she spoke her image would shift causing his eyes to strain and find her again. The red eyes touched by his torch light would be his only indication of where she stood. "You asked for information, I will give it to you." She stopped and he would see the female form again, but few if any friendly features on the dark skin.

"H-how.. who are you?" He stumbled trying to find words.

"Well, if that is your first question.. I am the mistress and guardian of this realm. I am Yantaria." As she spoke the surrounding area would spark up with conversation in whispers. Languages and dialects he had never heard and a few he had. He spun around with his torch looking around, seeing shadows that scattered from his torch light and soft clicking and cackling noises. "Your next question?" She could not help but smile.. or at least that was what he imagined upon her face with her tone of voice.

"Where am I?" He asked, a cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. Another hair raising cackle was heard. It did not seem to be coming from her.

"You are in -my- realm. My kingdom. You are in the darkness. This is where your abilities to manipulate shadows comes from." She licked her lips.. or at least he imagined that.. maybe she had done it? He again turned around, more shadows seeming to scatter.

"How did I get here and how do I get out?" He asked slowly turning to look for her and not finding her. Frantically he starts to spin around, his torch flickering with his frantic quick spinning in place. He held his dagger out for defense.

"All shadow-mancers can reach this place." Her voice spoke again. He paused listening to it intently. "This realm is always just a step away for those of the dark arts." She seemed to be right behind him. He spun around thrusting his dagger and found that not only his dagger went through her but part of his hand as well. He glared at her stomach in shock then slowly lifted his head to face those red orbs inches from his face. Slowly her head tilted up as she looked down her nose to him. "All tell their sins to the darkness.. We are absolution and redemption. We are the deathless death." His hand would feel a cold that bit so suddenly to the bone he let go of his dagger and pulled it back. The flesh upon it was untouched but the joints of his fingers and wrists felt arthritic with how intense the cold was.

"How do I get out of here?!" He said frantically stepping back away from Yantaria and her red orbs.. another flit of darkness of to his side then between them. As he looked into a sudden reflection of himself and his torch appeared. Yantaria bowed her head slightly and moved to stand to the side of the obsidian mirror resting her arm upon it.

"Why would you want to live.. We offer you freedom from your pain.. Join us. Besides, they are all dead because of you." As she spoke he would see images of his kingdom and village. Burning, destroyed because of him. His wife brutalized raped and murdered before his eyes. Yantaria would stand watching as his face contorted to one of true pain and sorrow.. then the sudden screaming of absolute agony that can only come from deep within one's heart as it is shattered. She watched as his torch faded and died. Then she watched as his lights faded one by one, the obsidian mirror seeming to chirp happily as it fed upon them.

Pushing off with a soft pet of the mirror she moved into the darkness as the light faded and died to leave nothing but blissful darkness. His lights stripped quicker than most, his scream fading to silence.

Yantaria traveled her realm, watching carefully those who entered and left the realm using their ability to shadow step. Constant lights flashing in the distances to quick for any to catch. Save for the few that fell into the darkness every now and again. Quickly their lights would be surrounded and devoured by hungry shadow beings. Each welcomed into the shadows after their light had gone. Few managed to escape, though either never to return or writing the realm off as a nightmare.

Though most of the lights were dim, as shadow-mancy requires at least some sort of giving to the darkness. There were a rare few that flitted through with such bright lights that it angered all within that realm. One particular annoyance was a bright blue light that tended to be flickering as shadows seemed to wrap around it.. but shadows that were captured, enslaved from this realm. Trapped shadows, formed and twisted by the mancer. This one plagued Yantaria. Each time the blinding blue light appeared it caused agony to the dark creatures eyes. One day she would catch this figure.. strip him of his power and feed upon his light source herself.

This night however, the blue light flashed then stayed. It was here, yet on a different plane. She watched it for a long moment, surprised at how quickly the day had come. She started to move quickly, as she did not want to miss this opportunity. Just as she started to reach this plane of which the light was upon another blinding light shocked her to silence. The pain from its strength causing her to close her eyes and turn her head. It was not just one light, but many carried by one being. She eventually attempted to force her eyes open, tears streaming from them as she tried to adjust to the strength as if looking into the sun. Her teeth bared as she wanted nothing more than to shatter that light. The voice would be heard.. and she moved in closer attempting to wrap herself around the light and dim it at least to protect the other's of her realm.

As she did so she listened to the male speaking, glaring at his light from within the female. It was only then she noticed that one of the lights was a violet. She knew this light somehow.. *Thump* She hissed.. no.. it couldn't be! Then a soft blue hinted light. *Thump* She snarled curling in on herself slightly. This creature... It was the Amethyst's somehow... her... offspring. Yantaria would start to search the darkness within this being as the male spoke.

Thurkear moved his hand to his mouth and coughed. " yes.. hyes... hmm.. "he averted her gaze and looked somewhere else for a moment before he even dared look back at her. " I erm.. " he smacked his lips. "well.. carry on? "

Fo'uh blinked looking up at him a moment then nodded without saying a word. She watched him for a moment before she would scoot closer to the wall for a support on her back while she looked over the list again.

Thurkear couldn't help but walk in front of her. Scritching his nose and beard uncomfortably., awkward. " why? " he asked her suddenly. Crossing his arms and looking at anywhere but her.

Fo'uh looked up from the parchment at his question and tilted her head. "Why what?"

Thurkear gazed into her eyes now with his only good eye. " you know what, you writing something  'good'about me when there is .. " his angered towered out of him when he spittled into her face. His voice loud and powerful "NOTHING.. ".. "but .. hate.. " he went more silent. Standing back .

~By now Yantaria found the darkness within Fo'uh. Her mother's abilities blocking the child from maturing and learning to be an adult.. but why? She snarled slightly. It was hard to search the child's mind with how much of a mess it had become. If not for Thurkear, Yantaria would not have been able to even enter the mind, so that was something.~

Fo'uh blinked as he seemed to lose his temper and bark at her. She could not back away from him, not with her back already against a corner.. She might be able to roll off the edge and fly away from him.. but with his words she furrowed her brow and shook her head. "You are a protector.. yeah you pick on me.. but..." she thought for a moment biting her bottom lip. "You do it in your own way. You're like.. an older brother.. thats lived his life." she smiled as she realized what she might write later. "You may want to hurt or tease or make me feel bad.. but in the end.. You would keep me from harm.. i believe that." She said crossing her arms over her parchment and resting them against her legs. Though at first her voice sounded a bit nervous speaking to him.. now it was more confident.. talking to him the way she would a family member. "Am I wrong to consider you family?" she asked tilting her head.

Thurkear let out a low growl as he gazed into her eyes still. " its true then... your words have meaning... what insanity is this.... are you.. talking about family and friendship? Well I offer none. That you stand here at the edge of the aerie only makes my work more difficult! " he flailed his hands upwards and turned around from her. Muttering under his breath. " That is all there is too it! "

~Yantaria found this amusing. Yes, she would take over now. As she had felt the slight flitter of the young dragon's heart. Fear was starting to well up within her.~

Fo'uh watched him, viewing him as she did now and could not help but smile. "I frustrate you the way my younger siblings frustrate me. I think i get now why they enjoy doing it so much. I am so much more work to you and yet.. I have been safe all this while. I go to classes, I train.. And i protect myself even when i do not have to." She looks at his hand. "Or even in some cases, do not know I have to. You'll just have to accept my love and acceptance of you, Brother Thurkear." she said smiling at him as he would rage on the inside.

The world seemed to darken as clouds gathered and he spoke in a more darker voice. The world seemed to shudder with every word he spoke " I am the black dragon that destroyed worlds upon worlds. Captain Emmett's words were that of fear the first time he saw me again. I am Nightroar. Thurkear Vebren in our language. He slowly turned his face. His handsome features showed. His beard had gone. But there only the red burning eyes that gazed deep into her part her soul. Naked as the day he was born. An aura of incredible power surrounded him. " training is not everything. It requires a lifetime of experience, EONS in the time that we live until you truly understand.. " he moved his hand out and a darkness trailed from it to form a map of worlds he had gone from. Each one of them full of life and when he passed. Only barren lifeless land had remained. " this is life... this is death... what seems for the humans a lifetime , is but a second to us.. "

Fo'uh watched, where normally she would shy away something felt safe here even as she stood without knowing it. Watching as everything darkened.. she was more entranced by it than afraid of it. She would feel the wind pick up and blow at her blue and purple colored locks and fixed her eyes upon his embodiment. She would not know exactly what was going on, and when she spoke it was a smoky voice, one he might have heard at some point in the distance, he would see shadows swirling at her feet, though there seemed to be no connection to her at all. "What you are, is what is loved. I never said you must change. Love life and death are all part of you. I accept that. It is what it is to be us." her eyes would widen as she heard her own voice and she blinked.. that.. was not her.. was it? She looked at the images he showed her of lands crashing and dying before him. She felt her heart pound and the distant sound of something calling to her. "Thurkear." she -seemed- to be speaking again, her blue eyes would turn and look directly into his. "You are glorious and you have lived long. Let me learn from you." Again she blinked.. was.. was she really saying these things? was..this real?

Thurkear turned in as though he had resignated. " My life is my life, a life filled with pain and horror in the search for the one I love the most.. " A blue light emitted from him for a short while. Showing he had shared his corruption with her, and another, and another and yet another, a child no less. Two of them, two eggs yet to hatch. His eyes saw her "first there was darkness.. then there was me... I was born through black magic, and abomination that was not meant to be. I had met Davros and Mia " their images appeared as well " they showed me love, and I rejected it time and again. Until only one... remained. " again that blue light "I  need only one. " he breathed smoke from his mouth. Seeing and hearing her voice was more confident, different than the girl he had seen. Now.. a woman? He stared towards her. The worlds that kept repeating in the background disappeared and his eyes, stared, as though they stared into the bottom of her soul. " The dead call to me.. that is what you hear.. you wish to be taught the manner of death, decay and that goes bump in the night? " he chuckled softly. " you have no choice in this matter... when i lay my eyes upon someone. With a good father, and a good mother " the images of her parents appeared beside her. "It is my mission to corrupt those that are young, and show them how life really is... "

~Yantaria felt her own lips curl slightly in a smile. Yes.. he could see the lights. He knew just how annoying they were in the darkness.. or if he did not then... She would show him.~

Fo'uh would feel her breath slow and steady. Why was she not afraid? She looked and turned to the images of her mother and then her father and looked back to him. As he told her he had intention of showing her what/how life really was, a new image would swirl between them. The shadows twisting and forming something grotesque and jagged. A body, frozen in time. At first Fo would not recognize it from her view point, then she would feel her mouth open to speak again. "You are too late. I already know." Her eyes looked from him to the image again.. and it hit her.. the being she had frozen in the caves so long ago.. the one that cracked the gem upon her cheek. There would be a cold chill around her, ice starting to form as she became aware that something very wrong was happening here. The image would fade.. and her normal voice would speak out. "And I would do it again.. to protect my own light." She sounded more determined and looked at him, thinking perhaps he was the one that brought that image to view.


Thurkear looked upon the image, but it was not him that had brought it forth. He narrowed his eyes. " you are not Fo'uh.. " he pointed an accused finger towards her. The ground disappeared and each was standing in a light of their own, like stage lights pouring down on the two. " I am Thurkear.  There is noone like me and you...  " his finger still pointed. "are something, that is not 'her' " he pointed downwards suddenly. A huddled figure scared of a black dragon that was about to attack her, to kill. His maw only inches from her face and ready to rend her to bits in her human form with him, in his full form. " she will know life, her parents are hiding her, and huddling her from the world. It is most... infuriating.. " he let the images move, with her image falling from the aerie. Spreading her wings and going out free into the world. With his eyes staring from the sky, his doing, his will having been done. Like he was looking out for her. His grin fading as it disappeared into the clouds from whence he watched. It all came back to the two that stared at each other from their respective position. The body frozen in time, still in the middle " protecting your own light... look at it! " the light that was lit upon her was dim. While his was in full flare. Almost blinding his form " I have become true dragon after everything i've gone through... you.. .are nothing "." hiding your form.. it shall be me that frees you.. "

~Yan sneered. He didn't know how annoying that light of his really was.. Fo'uh's should get the point across to him.~

Fo'uh started to shiver.. her own cold actually felt as if it was ebbing inward rather than out. Or was it her? Her mouth opened again. "~You're right, Thurkear.~" That smoky echo of a voice and an image started to rise out of the shadows from her feet. "~You and I do know more of life than she does.~" Fo'uh's eyes widened.. the darkness was cold.. but the moment it moved from Fo'uh her lights would shine bright, almost as much as Thurkear's. The soft blue of her father, the purple of her mother, the crystal of her sister and the darkness that remained of her brother.. all the lights a spectrum of colors nearly blinding.. a soft green light near her chest. Fo started to hyperventilate. She did not understand what she was seeing. She did not know this other figure or the voice.. that finally stopped puppet-ing her. Before Thurkear stood a large shadow of a dragon, its eyes opened and a brilliant red appeared within them. the color of blood in the sun. "~She is young, yet already corrupted.. Not by you.~" She spoke in a hissing whisper. "~Not by the world or the life she has lived.. but by another's sorrow.~" The shadows wings would snap open sharply. "~Until she is freed from the hold.. she is a gem to be kept safe. A flawed gem that will break if any interfere.. a gem.. that -I- guard. I have my reasons, dark one. She is not yours.. she is -mine-.~" The voice spoke yet the mouth never moved. She shifted through the shadows and though Fo was near tears the image was far more frightening than she had ever seen of Thurkear.. She felt so cold. Like she would never see the light again.. her eyes glazing over as she fell to her knees. "~Wake, Fo'uh, daughter of the amethyst.~" the voice hissed... "Th-THURKEAR!" Fo'uh stuttered as she became frightened.. It was his name she called out to for help.

Thurkear did nothing, but only listened. He put his hand in front of him the moment the light started to become more brighter and his eyes. Closed themselves, and only two horrible dark orbs were seen. No eyes at all, only the nightmare that existed that was him. It was then that he moved. The blind rage that destroyed all those countless of worlds. To move through the dark figure, towards Fo'uh and reach out his hand. Had he been family all along? He did not even know why he did it. Perhaps indeed just looking out for the young was an instinct to him. Even after he had killed and killed again, most of them were surface dwellers. Only the occasional dragon that just stood in his way. And this shadow one... stood in his way... . His shape had become reality and it was this face that stared up close towards her. Were those of the dead. Peering into both souls. " you should hold your blasphemous tongue. I have surpassed my limitation. You are nothing but a spirit, that haunts this young female. You mean nothing to me, and this child is no longer under your protection, but mine. "He clenched his fist "I take it... like her father and mother have... but not in their way... no.. ." he cackled. the insanity that poured out from him in the tendrils of darkness was enough to wake anyone up in a sudden bathing of sweat. As it rose... and rose.

Fo'uh gulped feeling as if she were dying. The dark shadow was easy to pass through, but death would feel death. The image shifted, facing him as he moved to help Fo'uh up. A hint of a dark grin, teeth that appeared to be rotted black and smoking. The shadow dragon would open her mouth and the sounds of horror would follow, rushing forward toward them both. The screams of the dying and the angered spirits would fill both of their minds. Thurkear's would be more personal, as he would remember each one of those he killed.. Fo'uh's would be more dreadful however.. as she would hear her own family screaming in pain. Fo'uh's eyes would flash white. She would sit up screaming loud enough to shake the Aerie, shattering the ice that had collected around her in her fitful nightmare. She backed up against the base of the alchemy lab, looking wildly around for Thurkear or even the dark shadow female. Neither were anywhere to be seen. She gasped, heart pounding so hard against her chest she felt it would explode at any moment; tears frozen to her face and eyes. that cold.. lingering causing her to wrap her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up.. her eyes falling down to the parchment.. it too shattered from the ice and the blast of her scream.. all that was readable was the name 'Thurkear-' left stuck to the stone. She would start to sob uncontrollably now.

~Yantaria would now have a moment away from Thurkear's influence to dig deeper within Fo'uh's mind. Finding all sorts of dark tricks and stories that the young one had tucked behind. However it was the memories that their mother shared with her of Yantaria that caused pain in the dark mistress' heart. Damned that Violet light. That guilt crawling through her blackened soul making her want to wretch. Sililuuth obviously loved her daughter.. as it seemed she desperately wanted to keep her young and innocent with how her mind was blocking change from Fo'uh's personality. Though Yantaria doubted it was on purpose, she felt the need to dig more.. blocking Fo'uh's new found ability to dream walk.. and inadvertently blocking the rest of her abilities along with it. She was doing this to protect Fo'uh's mind until she had a better understanding of how to.. unfortunately, help these beings of light and keep them out of her realm.~

Yantaria had felt Sili attempt to enter Fo'uh's mind. Rejecting her had caused instant pain in the dark dragoness' heart. Memories flooding her instantly causing her to fall and wither on the ground clutching her chest. A growl and hiss as a sudden *Thump* had made her feel the cold all around her. Whispers surrounding her of concerned shadow beings.

"I am fine." She lied to them and started to relax as the pain started to fade. She was angry now. Far more than she had ever been.

https://twistedgenetics.forumotion.com/t29-sili-a-mind-is-a-terrible-thing#51

Perhaps if she took Fo'uh out of the picture.. to 'save' the Amethyst's daughter should count for something.. right? Perhaps a ticket out of whatever hellish hold the Amethyst had upon her.

Yantaria hovered close by to Fo'uh for the next day. Listening in through the shadows enough to hear Sili's words to her. Yan would see things Fo'uh had missed. Such as the uncharacteristic sparks of lightening that traveled over Sililuuth's amethyst flesh, burning and marring the once beautiful dragoness.

She would listen in as Fo'uh attempted to explain to her sister and an emerald dragon what she had gone through in the nightmare with Thurkear. Yantaria would notice the pure white Ice dragoness that was eves dropping. And when Fo'uh worked upon her homework for unknown teacher, Yantaria would watch as Thurkear approached the otherwise tired and distracted youngling.

Fo'uh sat quietly. She stared at the new parchment she had managed to get.. the list was finished.. She folded it neatly and tucked it away and looked out in the distance seeing the familiar hue of her mother and wondered if she should attempt to speak with her. However she did not move.. the angered words her mother had said to her cut too deeply for now. She would just sit and watch from a distance.. just happy to know she was still around at least.

Thurkear approached from the east. He had caught her scent in the wind while he flew around on patrol. His stern face came into view while he hovered before her. "I remember now.... you cut through my hand.... did you *think* I would not come back to demand retribution? "  he spoke softly, quietly, slowly and very threatening. His eyes narrowed. A grin appeared on him. How he loved to be in power.

~Yantaria would frown, Fo'uh's heart began to chill at the sight of Thurkear and tremble at the sound of his voice. This would not do. The young dragoness was already fragile in her eyes. This would only make her more so.~

Fo'uh blinked and slowly turned to him. Though by every right she should be cowering in fear causing snow flurries and sheets of ice all over the place, she sat quietly and stared at him, then looked at his hand. ~You seem to have mended just fine.~ She said in a soft calm tone. Great.. was this another dream? She would question herself. Not sure if she had fallen asleep doing her homework yet again. She closed her eyes and sighed, unsure if she could handle another nightmare. Especially one that had the image of her mother in the background.

Thurkear 's eye twitched at her. Though what she would call calm, he called a snide remark " do not speak to me in that tone... young lady! " his brow furrowed. Spittle coming from his mouth. " You hurt the jailer of the aerie... and i've come to collect my... due... " he hovered closer towards her. In the same fashion like he did with her dream. His arm outstretched, his hand opened wide as if to catch her hand and rescue her from all the horrors.

~Yantaria frowned. She could feel Fo'uh's desire to take his hand and knew instantly he would sense her presence through Fo'uh. She had to stop it!~

Fo'uh looked up at his hand and for a moment she seemed tired, extremely tired.. But her hand would rise up as if to meet it waiting for the nightmare to begin. Only this time she would stand, her hand pulling away from him and she would lift her chin. She was not standing like a young girl who was being scolded.. no.. something was not right. ~Thurkear, why are you here? Do you want an apology for your hurt little paw?~ That voice.. just like the one from the nightmare. ~Perhaps you should learn to keep your hands to yourself unless -invited-.~ There was a small growl in her voice.

Thurkear was taken aback. His face grimaced. His teeth showed and His eyes looked her over. Anger written all over his face He bellowed with an accusing finger towards her " You are not the woman you were before... so young.... so fearful... " he with a blink of an eye remembered the dream like it had happened only the day before. He gasped. " YOuuuuuu... " his eyes widened and he grit his teeth. " you are nothing... " he remember what he last had said. Now exploring her face for any gems.

Fo'uh stood before him.. no confusion upon her face. The gems on her face seemed the same as before. One small crack in the gem upon her right cheek. It would be her eyes.. they would flash that sun lit red as he pointed out who she was. ~Yesss, dark one. I warned you.~ Fo was still there.. but in no control over anything that was going on. Her own mind racing as she wanted to get away from this nightmare. Attempting to scream or move or anything that might wake herself up. ~Do not interfere, Thurkear. There is more at work here than your ego.~ The voice hissed.

Thurkear grimace turned into a violent grin, cackling. "interfere... " he started analyzing her. Had he known her before somewhere in the way she spoke " the dead should not wear the body of the living.  " he was one to speak having arose from the dead twice. "I  know where you are... stuck between two worlds.. thinking you can... " he noticed the crack in the gem. He outstretched his hand once again. " I have a way... to make you live.... and not take this child's mind anymore... do you not want a proper form... instead of just... " he pointed towards her " .. that... which has already been taken? " he tried reasoning with her. Instead of outright attacking her. Thurkear has seen through some change.... indeed.

Fo'uh did not turn her gaze from him, his hand reaching out did not make her budge. At first it was a small curl of Fo's lips.. that went into an unsettling grin. One that did not fit the innocent face. ~You still do not get your own weakness.~ Her wings snapped open, the strange array of light caused by the un dampened crystals, there was no frost upon Fo's form. Her gems caught the light showing brightly and her body would start to lift.. only without the help of her wings.. slowly it lifted up arching back.. and Fo seemed to have closed her eyes. A dark shadow grew under her, dark hands of all sizes reaching up and taking hold of the girl's feet and dragging her seemingly into the stone itself. ~Until the sorrow is mended, -This- gem will stay with me.~ The voice sounded, only Fo's mouth would not deliver the message.

Thurkear would not allow it. Not anymore. He had seen enough death and the only darkness that would be here. Was him. "There is only space enough for one of us! " he growled a deep rumble from within him as he clenched his feet and hands together and from his back. An arrray of tendrils sprouted. Sweat sprouting from his forehead. The dark hero would send them towards Fo in an attempt to grab a hold of her and slap away the hands with his own darkness. Foiling the one that was attempting to grab her into the stone. " The weak one here... is you... probably just even awakened! " his eyes flew wide open as he tried to control with an intense concentration the amount of tentacles he send off on her.

Fo'uh would seem lifeless save for the slight rise and fall of her chest. The more tendrils he wrapped around Fo he would find it doing no good. He himself would start to be pulled into the shadows. He would hear and feel Fo's form start to crack from the pressure of the struggle. ~Either kill her or let her go, Thurkear. Either way, she will be with me.~ The voice seemed unmoved by his attempt. It did not seem to be angered or even as if it was struggling. Fo would sink further into the shadows, and to anyone else.. it would almost look as if Thurkear was the one pushing her in.

Usyraz had come in at the wrong time, it seemed. Seeing glimmers of blue that struck her as her sister and yet... not quite... she slowed to a stop several paces from them near her normal perch. Her head tilted to one side. All she could see were shadows - and something bizarre happening to her sister? Her eyes went wide as she tried to reach out through her bond to her mate, her body freezing in terror as she looked on helplessly.

Thurkear tried to snake more tendrils around her leg and arms and abdomen. Feeling he's being dragged in. He flapped his wings to try and get further away. But with a growl of stress he got lunged forward instead. Being forced to decide between killing and letting her go. His face was dripping with sweat. Trying to save family and being forced to release her. " NgHAAaaa... " he let out a loud growl out of frustration and finally undid his tendrils all at once." FO...!" he called out quickly. Again his hand reached out. Only to see the darkness boiling around the girl. He send out his own dark energy to sense what kind of darkness it is. Albeit black, death, for just a taste of what is to come for the next time he might fight her.

Fo'uh would disappear into the darkness. He would sense just that.. nothing.. darkness. much like his own. There would not be any more voice to taunt him or tease him. Fo herself gone.. Yet he would have a feeling that somehow she was still somewhere and still reachable by at least him.

Once in the darkness with Fo'uh's blinding array of lights, Yantaria would call to her shadows to block and dim the light as best as possible. Allowing the young Ice Amethyst dragon to sink into the darkness and turned to watch the blinking lights of shadow stepping mancers. No doubt Thurkear would be able to sense Fo'uh and Yantaria near by, but the question would remain.. Could and would he be willing to step into the darkness to try and retrieve her?

Yantaria circled around the dull lit image of Fo'uh floating. Shadows surrounded her, each taking its turn to heckle her and feed upon her lights. The blue light of Thurkear would flash again and again.. However it never stayed. Yantaria was starting to believe that the dark one could not enter the realm without guidance or a hint that it even existed. For now she would focus watching as Fo'uh's light began to dim.

Fo'uh looked around her.. Darkness everywhere she looked.. and somehow there was a light that only shown upon her. The voices whispered in her ear, horrible things. 'It is all your fault!' "What?" She would reply. 'They are all dead because of you.' "No, I have done nothing.. they are all alive. They would not die so easily." She would say back angrily. 'You left them. They are no longer protected. I watched them all die.' The voice would say and Fo'uh felt her heart skip a beat. "You're -lying-." she growled back twisting and turning trying to find a place to put her feet and yet unable to find one.

Yantaria could not help but smile. Her shadows were feasting well, even with Fo'uh fighting back, the light was becoming dimmer. "Yantaria-" Her eyes opened wide.. that voice.. *Thump* Yan quickly grabbed her chest and moved away from the image of Fo'uh. A hissing wisp of breath escaping her lips as the pain grew. At first she would ignore it.. but soon she found herself going to it. Summoned by it somehow.

https://twistedgenetics.forumotion.com/t32-riddles-spoken-by-shadows#55

As Yantaria returned to the darkness she peered from side to side.. the flash of Blue in the distance. Good, he did not find his way in while she was away. Her hand upon her chest, claws dug into her shadowy flesh as she attempted to will away the light from that damned Amethyst. As she made her way to look over Fo'uh she would see that her light had only somewhat faded.

~Bring the obsidian mirrors. Weaken her.. I miss our darkness.~ she growled. As Fo'uh looked around for the voice she found herself looking at the darkness and the images her mind created. Then she saw it, a faint glow of red eyes and her chest tightened while the rest of her tensed and went cold. No.. it couldn't be. Her own imagination starting to put the dark features, the white hair and armor onto the dark shadow she saw before her. He was alive!

She started to pant, and flail, attempting to change into her full form but somehow only changing into her elvin. As she caught a glimpse of something near her left foot she looked down. Instead of nothing she would see a reflection of herself in what seemed to be a black lake. Upon her chest looked to be glowing crystals that nearly blinded out her own features in the reflection.

By then it would be to late.. Her mind locked with an Obsidian mirror. She would now watch visions of horrible things. Of the white haired dark being with red eyes as he carved gem after gem from her sister's body. A light would visibly dim, the darkness slowly starting to creep further in. Yantaria would nod slightly. With Fo'uh's lights fading, Thurkear would eventually lose sense of where she even was. Then maybe his damned skipping through the realm would cease.

The chilling darkness was all around her now. Voices whispering horrible things that she did not want to believe. Slowly each of her lights would start to fade into the black lake.

A vision of her brother's dead body being sucked into the bottomless pit of Lyrica. Followed by another vision of Orcs in Vrek'mar finding out what her father did and murdering him for it. These visions were not real of course, but Fo'uh would start to believe it soon enough. She would watch as a darkness overtook the Aerie.. and then another vision would come.

Thurkear in this one, was attempting to strangle her sister to death. 'No... He.. he wouldn't. Dask would not allow that!' she thought to herself. The vision would shift.. Now he was strangling Dom'Ro and she screamed attempting to reach out to him. "NO! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" Another light would fade, this time those within the Aerie as she did not want to believe such things could happen.

Another vision would come to her mind. This of her mother Sililuuth. Of her casting Fo'uh aside. Of her casting Fo'uh from the Aerie. Of her turning her back to her and disowning her. Fo's heart would start to break. "You would choose Thurkear over me?" Sililuuth's words stung so deep. 'No! Dask! Never!' Fo'uh started to cry. Her words falling short as she watched her mother turn with a dagger against her chest. "DASK!" Fo'uh screamed only to watch as it plunged in.
"No!" she panted in the darkness. "No! None of this is real!"

The finale vision would be one of Fo'uh's own creation. A boat upon a black lake. Dom'Ro reaching down and waking her, pulling her from these nightmares. Slowly she would look up into his face and smile.. The darkness would not win. She knew that he would never leave her. That her sister and mother and father and brother could never leave her.. whatever this was.. she would push through it and find her way back to them.... And to him...

Yantaria circled around the realm watching as the blue light started to give up its chase, or so it seemed. He had been at it for days, eons. The light flashing in and out had caused many of the shadows to become disrupted and angry, till one day it finally stopped. When Yantaria made her way back to where Fo'uh's body was, she was pleased to find that the light had faded a considerable amount. Only five were left, taking a formation of crystals upon her chest. One amethyst, one ice crystal, one diamond looking crystal, one dark purple crystal and the brightly glowing emerald crystal just over her heart.

She reached forward and placed her hand upon the young dragon's chest, snaking it up and around her neck to turn her face to hers.

"~Why do you hold on so strongly to your lights? Do they not bring you unbearable pain?~" She questioned the wide blue hued eyes. There was a moment of link between Fo'uh and Yantaria where she could see the boat and the Emerald dragon that held her. "~I see. Innocent love. You truly believe that someone will come to save you. Poor child. The days have been counted down. Your mother is not coming. She has made her choice, and it was to cast you aside.~" Yantaria said looking down into the pained expression. Tears fell from Fo'uh's eyes and the amethyst crystal flickered and dimmed only slightly. She turned Fo'uh's face back to a new obsidian mirror.

In Fo'uh's mind, she would watch as her mother spoke with Yantaria. Selling Fo'uh's soul for Vetis'. She would listen to the words, tainted and twisted by the mirrors illusion and struggle harder to believe that was not her mother.

At first Yantaria would believe that she had indeed snuffed out that light. Then the mirror would crack, a hissing squee as it would retreat from Fo'uh and that strong violet light upon her chest. Yantaria spun then shielded her eyes and moved to look closely at Fo'uh.

Fo'uh would not and could not believe her mother would let her go, and in that she forced the vision to be of Sililuuth hugging Yantaria and returning to Fo'uh to hug her as well. The mirror had absorbed so much light that it nearly burst from being over fed.

"Mistress, she is strong." Said one of the shadows. Yantaria turned and glared at it. Fo'uh herself would start to see Yantaria's true features against the darkness.

A frail thin woman with hollow eyes dark skin covered in splintered scales. Fo'uh's light casting enough to show that of many who looked as if they had been in the dark for years. Skeletal beings with hollow eyes and pale skin. Men, women, children and beasts of every race that could ever have been. A new creature would move to stand in front of her, and she would see what could only be described as a once beautiful creature now turned gangly and dark.

The creature held up its hands to either side of its face and looked into Fo'uh's eyes. "Do not underestimate your mother." The shadow spoke. "She loved once, like you did your emerald. She killed him too. You think she wont take that chance to get him back?" In that moment Fo'uh would remember the bronze coins her mother always collected and hung from her horns. Instantly the light would dim and she would see a reflection of herself again as the creature turned into an obsidian mirror before her. Pulling her into more heartbreaking visions.

Yantaria stood for a long moment staring at Fo'uh as the shadows surrounded her once again.. and a tear would form upon her cheek, roll down her neck to her chest. The pain she felt was beautiful and horrid at the same time. It was as if she remembered Sililuuth.. even for just a moment. That pain she felt when her 'friend' had lost her mate.. and it reminded her of when she lost Taq'Kornari, the silver. A sudden shock went through her body and she dropped to the ground flailing and screaming ripping at the scales upon her chest. Curling in upon herself as memories started to flood in for just a moment. A shadow would wrap around her, and push her to face another Obsidian mirror. Her eyes locked upon it.. and slowly her pain would start to fade till she was no longer tensed or crying. Slowly the shadows let her go once again.

"~Thank you.~" She said softly, though she was not sure why. She relaxed and moved away from the harsh bright lights of Fo'uh as if to find a place to rest. A voice would whisper in a chain around the realm, speaking several languages all at once.

"One day left...."

~As the family of the Amethyst entered the portal, they were met with pure darkness. That any could see at all was a strain upon their eyesight to pull in the soft dim light in the distance. The portal's glow would cease the moment the last of them stepped through.. this would go unnoticed.~

Sililuuth finally kept herself nearer to the rest of the group with another deep breath as the portal brought them to a place devoid of any natural light: the Shadow Realm, someplace perhaps merely unsettling for some, cold and lifeless for others. Seeing in low light was no trouble for her, but pretty much -no- light was another story entirely. She couldn't yet see any signs of -anything- because of it, no matter how her eyes struggled to see; perhaps she was just looking in the wrong direction. The place was just as she remembered it. It sent an unnatural chill down her spine. But... if someone looked in the right direction... they could perhaps see the faintest, tiniest hint of light farther off in the distance...

Weloriesh stuck close to his mate as they flew, watching her, pondering her really. As he followed her through the portal, he landed with a soft tap on the ground and began to look around, willing his eyes to adjust to the darkness quickly. The more he looked around, the more his brow furrowed. "I sense something... evil by the feel of it... Did Yantaria really bring Fo here?" He searched the darkness, looking for Sili. "What has happened to cause her to bring the family of such a good friend to a place like this?"

Usyraz swallowed the nervous lump in her throat as she too struggled to look around. As her father spoke, she kept close to both Ki'fel and Dom'Ro as long as they both lingered near enough for her to do so. The hint of light caught her attention after a while, nearly making a sudden movement toward the source before she seemed to stop herself with uncertainty, a conflicted growl in her throat.

Ki'fel Inloilfrey had stuck close to Usy and the rest of the group. Offering to hold her hand as they went through the portal. Once through however he would reach out to her through their bond. Instantly he felt the disadvantage of losing his sight in this realm. His eyes would widen attempting to take in any light that he could. He could hear the other's around him and if any of them bumped into him they would know instantly by the soft clink of metal that they had run into a wall of Ki'fel. He felt Usy pull slightly and would not budge himself, his eyes not taking in the faint light in the distance right away. "Okay..." he said in a soft tone. "Anyone got a torch?"

Dom'Ro couldn't see out in the darkness. He shut his eyes for a moment and then slowly opened them to try to adjust them. He slowly spun around to try and see anything in the surrounding. His hand on the hilt of his sword ready for anything. After what he thought had made full circle, he couldn't make out anything in the darkness. He was starting to feel the anger inside him. 'She has to be here!' he thought to himself. He heard Ki'fel's voice and turned in the direction of the sound. "No. I don't." he answered quietly.

Yantaria moved quietly around the shadows till she found more light piling in than she had expected through the portal. Sili had come, and brought others. A soft growl in her throat formed seeing the small group then looked toward Fo'uh in thought. Sand shifting against stone would become louder and louder and the sounds of whispers would start to surround them. Only three would speak in a language they would understand. "Come closer." Spoken in Draconian, Common and Icelandic. Then Yantaria's voice would speak.. a language of her own kind that none of them would know. Only her voice would be recognizable. The shadows seemed to translate through several different languages till Common was spoken. "Have you made your decision, Amethyst?" Before the group would seem to lighten a path, though extremely dark gray with a subtle hint of glow leading to the distant faint light.

Fo'uh was that distant light, though they would not know it until they got a closer look, but it was the light of five crystals growing from the center of her chest. Her eyes, red rimmed and wide, fixed upon what seemed to be a large black mirror.

Sililuuth hissed in what she intended to be a gentle warning, her head turning enough to speak in the direction of Ki'fel's voice. "I would not advise that. The less attention we draw to ourselves, the better..." The sound of Yantaria's approach caught her attention and she went still, a collection of fear, anger, hatred... and dread filling her mind while she struggled to keep her own emotions in check. Her stomach turned as she too finally caught sight of the light, unable to make out more than tiny hints of color in the lights. Trying not to focus on it too much - not yet, anyway - she lifted her chin, squared her jaw, and stared instead into the shadows, keeping herself still. "I have..."

Weloriesh turned to Ki'fel and was about to offer him light by using the crystals on his horns. Luckily, Sili spoke first and thus, he kept his horns dimmed. This place was evil enough without drawing it all to them immediately. Best let it all stay impartial for now. He then turned and noticed the light and furrowed his brow. Something was both very strange... and very familiar. His attention was quickly shifted to the voices as he looked around for the source. At the mention of a choice, he turned and found Sili again and calmly asked, though a hint of restraint in his voice for that probably wouldve been helpful knowledge. "What choice is she talking about itov...?"

Usyraz kept hold of Ki'fel's hand and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at the sound of voices. Using her grasp as a guide, she shrank in closer to her mate, her eyes flitting around wildly to try to see signs of something - anything - in the darkness, that showed them what lurked around them. Talk of choice caught Usy's attention as well, and her father's question only spurred her on - an accusing chill in her tone that managed to somehow also drip with fear. "Yes, Dask - what -choice-?"

Ki'fel Inloilfrey held Usy tight to him, unable to see even Fo'uh's faint light or the glow of the path that lead to her, he would use his other senses on ultra alert. Not wanting anything to take Usy from him. He listened as the voice spoke, the scales along his spine prickling as they stood on end becoming spikes. He took a clam breath and listened, though the sound of sand against stone was causing his hearing to become somewhat difficult. He had been ready for pretty much anything, or so he thought.. not complete darkness.

Dom'Ro continued searching around in the shadows. He narrowed his eyes to try to focus on anything. His eyes starting to strain he caught something. Some sort of light but was really dimmed. He blinked a few to readjust and tried to stay focused on it. Trying to make out what it was. He heard a strange voice that he did not recognize but kept his focus on the dimmed light to not lose sight of it. The words 'decision' and 'choice' that he heard spoken by the strange voice and the others were swirling in his head. 'What decision? What choice? What choice is there to make? We are here to save Fo'uh damn it!' he thought to himself. He was getting confused to what was happening which only caused the anger inside him grow more. His emerald eyes starting to faintly grow. He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl. He kept silent and just stared at the dimmed light, shifting his feet to be ready.

Yantaria listened to them talking and shifted closer to the path. She heard the question from her mate and her daughter and could not help but shake her head slightly. Ignoring them she spoke again. "Then come forward, Amethyst. Reap the repercussions of your choice." Again the shadows would translate that unknown language to them. Yantaria's eyes would appear in the darkness, that sun lit blood color that seemed to glow brightest in the darkness hovering slightly over the small light where Fo'uh hung. Though they had no indication exactly who she was looking at, each could assume it was them. However, they were set upon the emerald that had a soft blue hue of light mixed with purple. Ideas forming in her head depending upon what the Amethyst had chosen.

Fo'uh remained still in her state fixed upon the black mirror in front of her. She would not see anyone, but something did cause the pained expression to lighten slightly from her face. Not that any would see this other than Yantaria.

Sililuuth quietly added guilt to her mind once more as both her mate and her daughter's question stung her. Her chin dipped and her head turned, but she did not answer them. It seemed she was having difficulty actually giving voice to the decision she'd made before they'd even stepped in the portal... but still, she moved to take a few steps forward... unless she was stopped.

Weloriesh stepped forward and placed a hand on Silis shoulder. Yantarias statement had sent fear through him that showed in his eyes and could be heard in his voice. Frantically, he began to speak. "Sili, svabol choice ui jaciv ukrisir zahae? svabol ui gethrisjir shafaer? visp ve zyak batobot yth shilta douhvy ulnaus si drekik wux..." ((Sili, what choice is she talking about? What is going on? Tell me so that we can decide together I beg you...)) In his panic, he had drifted back out of the common tongue to draconic as he looked from Sili, towards the light, to the pair of eyes that he assumed was Silis old friend and back again, trying hard to piece together what was happening.

Usyraz straightened, but never strayed from Ki'fel at that moment. Not terribly different from how Dom stood, she too was ready to move... her mind on the verge of panic. Her breathing became shallow, her eyes straining to see them - only able to look in the directions of their voices. Her eyes welled at her father's pleading, a lump once again forming in her throat.

Ki'fel Inloilfrey gritted his teeth attempting to move with Usy only slightly. He did not want to lose the ground upon which they stood. He had given up on trying to see things now and closed his eyes focusing on sound touch and smell. Though he could smell nothing.. literally nothing. Not even his mate, which had him slightly panic feeling inside. He heard Welo's plee with Sili and squared his jaw. His heart went out to him, not sure of what would happen.

Dom'Ro continued his focus on the light. His hand gripped firmly on the hilt of his sword that his hand started to ache. He forced himself to ignore it and keep his full attention on that faint light. He barely heard Welo's frantic words to his mate and felt sorry for the old man. He dug his feet into the ground, waiting.

Yantaria waited patiently. The sound of chirping and chittering would start to surround them but not to closely. Though no one would see, Yantaria's large talons rested upon the top of the floating obsidian mirror as if ready to move it away from Fo'uh. The sound of Welo's voice would trigger the shadows to whisper and translate to Yantaria what he was saying, and a slow tilt of her head would happen before she pressed the Mirror closer to Fo'uh causing her visions to become slightly more intense. Hoping to make the young dragon scream or cry to get her point across.

Fo'uh seemed to relax more until the obsidian mirror was pressed closer.. in her vision a hand of fire grasping her neck did cause her to squirm, though at first she thought it would be just that.. a vision of it. However the burning sensation would cause her eyes to widen once more and her mouth to open with a startled pained yelp. No mark would be upon her.. and the mirror would slowly back away from her leaving her shuddering and whimpering.

Sililuuth paused her blind, careful footsteps as she felt a hand on her arm. A pained look formed on her face as she spoke an apology, even if the look on her face could not be seen by them. "Onelka ve, Weloriesh..." (Forgive me.) With that, she withdrew from the grip on his arm if she could. "This is something we cannot decide together..." She sucked in a deep breath and spoke. "I have-..." The wind left her at the sound of her daughter's yelp, having to pause and compose herself to prevent a crack in her voice. "... I have already prepared myself ..." She wouldn't be able to handle hearing much more of that. Her lips pressed together into a pained expression. "... Release my daughter, -myvish-... Please."

Weloriesh felt tears well up a bit at Silis words and anguish as she pulled her arm from his. At the sound of Fo's scream, his hands balled up into fists and his teeth bared as he looked towards the light, now understanding what it was. Not knowing what else to do, he hung back for now, ready to leap in if he felt he needed to. He sent three words towards Sili with his mind. <I trust you.>

Usyraz had taken to gripping her mate's arm as a result of her own fear - both of the general unknown and of the uncertainty she felt. But as the sound reached her ears, she recoiled into him once again, turning and even trying to hide her face in an 'I can't look' moment... convenient, since there wasn't really much of anything to be able to see anyway...

Ki'fel Inloilfrey had a good hold of Usy and understanding of where she was. Yantaria's voice however, along with the whispers, were harder to choose a direction of. Just as he was starting to feel useless he opened the bond with his mate only to be shocked into action the moment he heard Fo'uh scream. If Usy allowed, she would be spun from him in the direction of her father.. or at least where his voice had been coming from. Soft thunks of his footsteps would be heard as he made his way crashing through some branches in the direction of Fo'uh's whimpering. "Dom, NOW!" He did not have the patience to wait for Sili to make a choice. He wanted all of them out of this horrid place as soon as possible... however running blindly was probably a bad idea.. until he noted a faint light growing the closer he got to it.. then those Red eyes would have him stop dead in his tracks. The faint sound of growling could be heard as well.

Dom'Ro kept his sight on the light as his body was still as could be. His foot twitch to the sound of a yelp that seemed to have come in the direction of the light. He caught the words 'release my daughter' from Sili as she spoke. His ears twitched to those words and he lowered his stance, ready for whatever happens next. He heard rustling and then the shout from Ki'fel. Without thinking he sprang from his stance running towards the light. His heart racing as he was getting closer to the light. He seen an outline of a figure and planted his feet in front of him, skidding to a stop. He realized it was Ki'fel and wondered why he had stopped. He looked over to his side and caught the red eyes in the darkness. 'Is this the being that took my ltov?' he asked himself. He gripped his sword and had it partly out of its sheath. The anger growing more as his eyes were starting to glow brightly.

Yantaria would tilt her head back the other way. Then her eyes would flash before a sudden cackling flowed through the whispers. Though unseen, Yan's lip would curl to reveal dark obsidian teeth as she snarled at being called such a thing. The cackling would stop, as it was not coming from Yantaria. "I am not your myvish. I am Mistress of this realm. Your light is not welcome here. Your decision. Now." Her voice demanding, though the whispers would not carry the weight that hers did in her own language. The whispers silenced as the crashing of Ki'fel could be heard and seen by all of the realm. Yantaria would lean in slightly as she called upon the beasts to stand between him and Fo'uh. She would not allow anything to attack him just yet, as she had no fear of him really, but it was Sili's decision that mattered here. Her decision alone would decide the fate of all who dared to follow her here. She would lean her talon upon the mirror once again, almost as if she was giving it permission. Fo'uh would squirm and curl in upon herself but unable to turn her eyes or close them from the mirrors images. She could not hear the voices speaking around her.. only those within her vision. Yantaria would lean further in till they would almost be able to imagine features upon the silhouette she cast between them and Fo'uh's light. More chirping would be heard followed by an ape like hooting and thumping in the darkness near by.

Fo'uh indeed curled in upon her self. Her visions becoming more intense as she would smell the burning flesh of her siblings as that dark figure with red eyes and white hair attempted to pry stone by stone the gems from their bodies. She could not help but start to cry again, though she had no more tears left in her eyes.. so instead would be gulps and soft sobs.

Sililuuth glared defiantly at Yantaria's snarling; having to traverse the Shadow Realm as a result of the Black scales actions had caused a flare in her own temper. "But you were. You were my friend once... but now I see; now I understand..." Of course... Sili hadn't expected Ki'fel to suddenly spring into action and spur Dom'Ro along with him. Startled and finally too panicked for her to contain it, a brief moment passed where she lost her composure, sending another searing sensation of electrical energy surging over her in that moment of distress - the worst she'd experienced. Old wounds opened and she doubled over with a pained roar, her ears ringing and her heart racing. She spoke in a mumble, as if torn between wanting to be heard and wanting to go unnoticed. "I'm sorry... Vetis..." She seemed to be talking to herself again for several minutes, frantically this time, trying to drown out the sounds of her daughter's anguish; the approaching creatures; everything. Her rationality finally forced a breakthrough... and she forced herself upright. "ENOUGH!" The pain in her own voice sounded, a more concrete declaration of her decision coming forth. "As if there was ever a choice! I SAID RELEASE MY DAUGHTER! She does not belong here... and NEVER should have been brought here to begin with."

Weloriesh caught Usy with a startled look as the two other males charged forward. But it was over before it really begun so he didn't join them. Instead, he grasped Usy tightly as he listened to Fo's sobs, Yan's threats, and Sili's declaration. At the latter, he finally turned his eyes towards Sili as understanding began to take hold on him. He gave a small look to Usy and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her forehead. If she moved with him, he wouldn't stop her. But at this time, he was needed by Sili. Even if she wouldn't admit it. He stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Sililuuth's shoulder as a sign of support.

Usyraz couldn't help but flail a little as she suddenly found herself pushed toward her father with a startled squeak... but she didn't stop Ki'fel OR Dom from their movement, instead going tense as everything continued. Too afraid to remain on her own, she pretty much tried to take hold of Welo's arm, wing, something so she didn't lose track of herself or anyone else. She hadn't followed after him so closely since she was a mere hatchling... and as she did, her eyes scanned frantically in the darkness, trying to catch sight of the Steel and the Emerald. The moment had come and passed so quickly and everything happened so abruptly that the decision hadn't even registered in her mind; she only stood stiffly near the remainder of her family, her shallow, panicked breathing continuing.

Ki'fel Inloilfrey watched as those red eyes lowered down, unable to take his eyes from the silhouette as the features started to come into play. The hint of gold scales would cause him to rest his hands upon the hilts of his blades and let out a low growl.. that was echoed at something closer to the ground than that dragon. Slowly his eyes lowered till he could see the silhouette of a very large dog like creature, squinting one of his eyes and thinking to himself 'really?' He heard Sili's choice, and a burden seemed to be lifted from his heart.. he would await for Fo'uh to be released to him and Dom.

Dom'Ro stared at the red eyes. Waiting for any signs of movement in case need to fully withdraw his sword and engage. His foot twitching into the ground as his heart beating faster than ever. His ears perked when he heard Sili's definite choice. Slowly the anger inside him lessened as hope started to rise. 'Yes, this will soon be over and can finally get Fo out of here.' he thought to himself.

Yantaria had been so focused upon the two in front of her that when the small spark lit around Sili she had not been prepared. Flinching and closing those blood red eyes to shield them from the sudden spark. She tilted her head looking back toward the three near the portal and started to move, the obsidian mirror taken from Fo'uh, but leaving her in a floating state. There would be the shift of sand against stone once again, the red eyes blurring into streaks as they moved to converge upon the three near the portal, ignoring the two left by Fo'uh for now. The beasts left to guard. Sili would be the one to see Yan the clearest as she came so close. Then a mirror, much like the one she had seen attack Soumia the first time they had attempted to find Yantaria. "~Then look into this mirror.. and let him go. He deserves to rest in piece as much as you and your family deserve to live and prosper..~" Yantaria's smoky voice spoke in common, clear enough for all to hear. The whispers seemed to scatter upon the ground  moving away from the group. Though there would be chirping and chitters still heard near Dom'Ro. Hissing voices thumping and gasping and hooting at each other. One word would be spoken enough to comprehend. =Sprites!=

Fo'uh felt the visions being pulled from her and blinked her eyes. They burned.. stung hurt. whatever.. she felt as if she had not closed them in years. She covered them for a moment and rubbed carefully at them. 'That voice!' they would quickly open and she would pear around seeing dimmed lights.. Some matching the ones upon her chest though, they seemed darker. She squinted a moment and tried to break free from the strange floating situation she was in, flailing her arms as if she was afraid she was falling and did not have her wings out.. then blinking as she could not see a ground below her or a sky above her.

Sililuuth gave a wince at the touch to her shoulder, the pain having begun to register in ways it hadn't before... as if her mind was finally aware that it was not normal - that this was not something her body was supposed to handle. As Yantaria came forth and presented the mirror, her eyes pooled. She remembered the mirror; remembered what had happened to Soumia, though she might not have been able to see that it had been the cause of Fo's cries. Torn, she turned her head in her mate and her youngest's direction; she honestly didn't know what to expect anymore, after realizing the change in the Blackscale she used to call her friend. "Should anything go wrong and take me from you... I am sorry..." And with that, she braced herself... and looked into the mirror.

Weloriesh watched as Yantaria handed Sili the mirror and heard what the final -test- was. As his mate looked towards him and spoke, tears formed in his eyes as he moved his head forward and kissed her. It was both to help encourage her that she belonged in the present with him and their daughters, and just in case all went bad. As she turned to look into the mirror, he hugged his youngest to him and whispered in Sili's direction. "I love you itov..." With that, he began to silently pray to whatever god would happen to listen.

Usyraz couldn't for the life of her understand or figure out what was happening or where. She kept hold of her father, her confusion becoming frantic as she heard the words of her mother in the midst of it all. The word 'Sprites' hadn't registered; she was trying to make sense of what was happening near her. "What...? Why? Why would-...?" She swallowed the lump in her throat, shuddering... and hoping desperately that they could all escape soon. Safely.

Ki'fel Inloilfrey found himself watching as the dark gold dragon moved from Fo'uh and toward the darkness disappearing in the direction of the rest of his family. He gritted his teeth, feeling Usy's sudden fright and sadness though he did not hear Sili's words. <Usy? What is happening? Do i need to come back?> he would speak to her through the bond. His swords would be drawn slightly as he readied himself to go flailing into the darkness to rescue her and leave Fo'uh behind for Dom to deal with. He almost didn't register the word 'Sprite' spoken either.. but it made him pause and look around confused.. 'What in the hell would sprites be doing here?' he thought.

Dom'Ro narrowed his eyes as the red eyes moved away from them and then vanished into the darkness. He looked around for a moment ready in case it would come back to attack. When there was nothing he relaxed. He could hear the strange noises but didn't know what they were nor could see them. He ignored them for the moment and turned in direction to Fo was and took a step forward. He stopped as he noticed the two beasts guarding in front of her. "What now, brother?" as he pointed towards the beasts.

Yantaria kept her talons upon the mirror though allowed Sili to hold it within her hands. Once she looked into the mirror, Yan would turn her red gaze back towards Fo'uh. The beasts would turn and leave and the shield would drop.. as would Fo'uh to the dark ground. She would then allow enough light that they might all be able to see each other, including that of Sili looking into a reflection of herself in a dark glass. Her red gaze going from each of them back to Sili as she waited. From the brush six yellow eyes would be seen peering out at the emerald. Their features pure black but the sudden chirping and excited grunts would die down and they would seem to look at each other before slinking further into the shadows and disappearing.

Fo'uh fell to her knees with a soft grunt and thud. Blinking as she looked up and was able to see first Ki'fel then Dom behind him. Was this another vision? Did it matter.. She felt she was able to move now and would rush to them afraid that some strange force would cause them to hurt each other in front of her.. rushing to Dom and wrapping her arms around his chest if he let her.. burying her face against his chest only to realize.. If this was indeed a vision, it was a strong one. "Please don't fight!"

Sililuuth failed to notice the change in lighting... and for the moment couldn't hear what went on around her, from Fo's spoken words to the confusion mere paces from her. As she looked into the mirror, the effect was different for her. While a fearful part of her had expected to see something heavily traumatizing and gut-wrenching, she was surprised to see an image of Vetis... at peace... reassuring her that everything was okay. She did not speak - and while her eyes remained locked on the mirror, pent-up tears fell, but the look on her face was one of stunned silence - not pain. Her jaw went slack and she only listened to the words spoken to her, the tension gradually leaving her body. There was closure... there was a goodbye that she never properly gave.

Weloriesh noticed how the area lit up and saw Fo rush to the emerald. He let out a sigh of relief that his oldest daughter was safe. She let her be with the emerald for now. He would check up on her once they got out of there since she had someone to check on her beforehand. As he noticed the facial expressions on Sili, he tensed. When she began to cry, he squeezed her shoulder lightly to show that he was there if she needed him.

Usyraz heard Ki'fel's words through their bond and answered him in kind, nervously. <I don't know... Dask... she made her look into something and now she's just-...> She paused as she looked between her parents... but then she heard her sister's voice. Torn between the two, she shifted anxiously in her place and even paced, not sure which way to really go. "Fo?!"

Ki'fel Inloilfrey was unsure of how to respond to the emerald. It was far more complicated here than he could have imagined or prepared for. He blinked and squinted his eyes as the lights seemed to have been turned on, though no searing pain came to his eyes. It was not blinding or painful as one would expect after being in such a darkness for so long. It was still in darkness but he was able to see the others. Seeing Usy was alright he relaxed some until he heard Fo'uh and turned almost fully drawing his sword. He had managed to stop then blinked as if she had suggested something crazy.. "Fight?" he raised an eyebrow.. however seeing her wrap her arms around Dom he turned his gaze back to Usy hearing her call out to Fo'uh and sidestepped a bit closer to see what was going on with Sili.

Dom'Ro watched as the beasts moved away and the shield disappearing causing Fo to drop to the ground. When she got up and started rushing towards him, the remaining anger inside him instantly withdrew and was full of joy. He let go of his sword and it fell back into its place. As she wrapped her arms around him he instantly wrapped his around her and held her tight. "There is no fight. You are safe now. You are safe now." Tears begin to well and voice starting to crackle as he repeated saying to her 'You are safe now'.

Yantaria watched Sili's eyes fill with tears and there was a moment that her own chest started to ache.. why? She turned away from the sight allowing her to continue her release and looked at the others. "~Do not stray from one another.. Stay close. Come here with your family and be ready to go back from where you came.~" She spoke to them. The portal would glow a soft purple and black swirling in a different direction from when they came in.

Fo'uh wanted to cry.. his arms were warm, his body solid. She looked up into his face as he spoke and reached for it in an attempt to touch the tears that fell. This was not a vision.. Her sister's voice would make her blue eyes break from Dom's green as she looked around in the darkness and noticed Ki'fel's eyes upon something. That voice spoke again and she moved to take Dom's hand in hers as she would lean to see where her sister's voice was coming from and where they should be heading.. though her eyes would flicker back to Dom.. those feelings.. they made sense now... she was no longer confused.. If Dom allowed it she would try to pull him along with her as she went to greet the rest of her family.. though Ki'fel seemed to be a stranger to her at the moment.. she knew her sister Dask and Op were close by.

Sililuuth came free from the images within the mirror after another moment, blinking away the last of her tears. An odd quiet overcame her as she tried once more to adjust her eyes to the area; low lighting was something she could see well in, at least. Her eyes flitted from person to person to do a head count, as if entirely unaware of what had just happened and where they were... until her gaze rested on her eldest seeming to hold tightly to the Emerald. A neutral stare was replaced by pure relief, and she quickly waved them over as she took a couple of steps back toward the portal.... only passing a strangely unfamiliar stare toward the Black Dragoness, or whatever she could make of her - whether it was more definition of a more draconic figure or if it was merely a red pair of eyes lurking in shadows. "Yes, come on... we need to get out of here..."

Weloriesh felt relieved as he had his entire family back. Seeing Fo walk over to the rest of them and Sili move away from that cursed mirror caused his worry to greatly diminish. He turned to Usy and with a tilt of his head towards Sili, urged her silently to join her mother. He waited for the rest of the group to catch up before giving one last curious look at the figure that started all this. He had a really hard time of distinguishing if she was a foe, or if in her own twisted way, she still truly cared for her old friend. He tore his eyes away and followed the group towards the portal.

Usyraz looked stubbornly toward her father, a classic 'but Dad' stare forming as she looked in the direction the rest had come in. She moved after her mother reluctantly... her steps slow, likely to wait for the gap between the two halves of the group to lessen.

Ki'fel Inloilfrey would usher both Fo'uh and Dom ahead of him to bring up the back, taking a moment to pause as something seemed different about Sili now. He turned and looked at the red eyes for a moment. "She loved you once.. and you love her still..." he said.. An observation spoken.. he would then make sure each had gone through the portal though reaching for Usy to be near her when they went. Not wanting to have any break between them.

Dom'Ro held Fo's hand as he stared at her. He thought to himself that he never wants to lose her again. He watched her starting to walk towards her family and he naturally moved along with her with his other hand on top of theirs. He would go with her through the portal.

Yantaria watched as the family moved to leave. When the steel stood before her and spoke she froze in her place.. then watched as he too left. She felt a sinking feeling.. almost as if she did not want them to go... Then a harsh jab to her chest that would cause her to collapse to the darkness and curl in upon herself... pulling the mirror up to her own face and peering at her reflection until once again the pain went away... she would then look to the portal, while holding her chest, and will it to close. Once they were threw to the other side.. the portal would disappear. She would finally be left to the bliss of her darkness.