[@Belle]

Tyme fully turned and dropped his bag when she ran at him, his hands holding her waist as they shared one final kiss, something he would remember from that moment on. He closed his eyes as their foreheads touched, [color=lightblue]"I promise, I'll come back to you alive, Lyona."[/color] he whispered softly to her. When he finally pulled away, he turned and picked up his bag, putting it over his shoulder as he made his way through the gate. Little did Tyme know he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to his beloved, that fate had another plan for him, and that he would be at the center of many things. Tyme was gone for seven years, there was no trace of him, as if he had simply popped out of existence. Those he left behind were now older, different, and one in particular hated him for what he had done to her. It was his fault Lyona turned out the way she did, however, she had become significantly stronger for it. Then it happened, the day of the incident. She had finally failed the King. She had been ordered to assist the 42nd Armored Division to prevent the escape of the valuable subject, though all she had been able to do was catch a glance of something for a brief moment. Scaled wings. By the time she would blink, whatever it was, was long gone.

[hr]

[@Ezmeralda]

Tyme stood at the edge of the small boat that was pulling in, his attire had changed in the seven years since he left Lyona. He no longer wore his typical red vest and blue pants, he now wore a black vest with black pants, his shiny gunblade strapped to his leg had extra length on the hilt. The sun gleamed off it, causing Tyme to squint his eyes, making a mental note to find sunglasses at some point. He patted the weapon, which he had named after his sister, in honor of her. As the boat came to a stop, he stepped off it, almost bumping into a worker. After apologizing, he made his way down the pier to the main area of the docks, amazed to see how happy the people of Tormin were, despite how the fact there was rumor of war on the horizon. He sighed, it had been seven years already and he hadn't returned to her...and he wasn't strong enough yet. How was he going to return to her now? His promise was broken.

Shaking his head, he made his way towards the structure in the center, only to be stopped by a pair of angry looking people. "Avenasian scum, go back to your filthy Empire, dirtbag!" the one on the left said. The one on the right simply smirked, revealing the dagger hidden under his robes, [color=lightblue]"H-hey, listen fellas, I don't want any trouble."[/color] he said, backing up. The one with the hidden dagger looked at his friend, "You hear that James? He doesn't want trouble." he turned his head back to Tyme, "Too bad, but trouble found you, boy." he said, pulling out his dagger. Before Tyme could react, he had already felt the searing pain of being stabbed in the stomach, his hand twitching as he was mere inches from his gunblade. The man on the right drew it out, watching as it unfolded, "Ooh, look at this Zar, he has a folding gunblade. Never seen one of these before, thanks for the new toy, boy." he said with a laugh, looking it over. Tyme stared at the men, holding his stomach, [color=lightblue]"Give...it...back..."[/color] he said lowly.

The men looked away from each other and to him, "What did you just say?" the one holding Azure asked. Tyme's hand outstretched, his eyes glowing brightly, [color=lightblue]"I...said...give...it...back!"[/color] he shouted, bolts of flames shooting from his hand. The one who stabbed him was hit first, setting his shirt ablaze, his partner staring in disbelief. The gunblade clattered against the stone walkway loudly, causing everyone to stare at the bleeding man who had easily overpowered two fully grown men. Reaching for his gunblade, he finally lost consciousness, falling forward. The men had decided to take the chance and flee, leaving the gunblade and the boy behind, his index finger the only part of him that made it to the weapon.

[hr]

[@Skelace]

Faet nodded, [color=blue]"Correct. It seems the magical spell Thunder was used the instant the dispelling barrier was down. I am pleased to see you have kept your studying up, despite what happened, and with the commotion of new recruits coming in right now. I was right to make you my apprentice. Now, as for your question, my men have been asking all who were involved in the guarding of the main gate. I learned something interesting, apparently King Armond directly ordered Lyona Stormrider himself to assist in the 42nd Armored Division's job. After having my men question her, she told them she saw one thing; a pair of scaled wings."[/color] he replied. He turned from the compound and headed in the direction of the main gate, [color=blue]"Our job is to follow this lead and report on anything we find. I hope you've memorized your spells, you'll need them. If any Behemoths come our way, let me handle them, anything else, you can deal with."[/color] he instructed his apprentice. The pair left the main gate, the General slowing down by this point, taking into consideration the wellbeing of his apprentice. He may put on pressure when it came to training, but when they were out in the world like this, he had to ensure the boy was kept safe and protected. What use was a dead apprentice to him after all? The General spotted tracks in the distance, [color=blue]"It appears that our spy and the subject were together."[/color] he said, crouching down.

As he studied both sets of footprints, he spoke, [color=blue]"One clawed set, our spy no doubt. The other is human, which you can plainly see."[/color] he motioned to each set. He stood, seeing the path the clawed footprints took, [color=blue]"The subject was weak still, I guess that spell took what strength they had left, meaning the spy had to assist them the rest of the way."[/color] he said as he noticed a drag mark here or there. He followed the trail until they came to an abandoned hut along the beach, [color=blue]"It's as I feared, the subject crossed the ocean. It knows we can't follow. It appears there's nothing we can do about the subject for now, however, we will investigate the spy. I have an inkling as to whom it may be, but without solid evidence, I cannot do anything. That's where you come in, Alex. You've proven yourself more than resourceful since coming here from Tormin, I need you to use your skills and observe the hybrid named Shirok. He is part dragon, and though he is also from Tormin like yourself, he has gained King Armond's favor. As such, any move I make myself will be seen as treason and I will be executed on the spot. It is vitally important you [i]do not[/i] let him discover what you're doing, or the dragon either. I am placing a great deal of trust in you, Alex. Do. Not. Fail."[/color] he told him.