[quote]Anise closed her eyes and relaxed. She let the power of the dragon flow through her and guide her. I do not want to hurt her, but please help me stop her. Then together we can complete you and bring back the sun to save this forest.

She called the wind within the funnel of the now forming tornado to rotate in the opposite direction. Her goal was to destabilize the tornado and render it useless.[/quote]

The Dragon initially resisted, responding to her with a cold indifference, almost scoffing at her plea to assist without destroying her opponent. The Dragon very much preferred to fry the Witch to a charcoal crisp, had the red Lantern been present.

The winds whipped around Anise, forcing her to cling tight to the tree and to the Lanterns if she wanted to avoid being flung away on the winds and skewered on the branches, despite the best efforts of the white Lantern. What's more, Anise hadn't slept in the equivalent of three days, and she'd eaten nothing except for a bowl of stew at the imaginary inn. Her grip was not the strongest it could have been.

As Anise's hands began to slip, and the white Lantern blew sideways in her grip, the Dragon conceded. The white Lantern glowed brightly, and Anise would feel the strain of the wind as the Lantern forced the tornado to slow and move in the opposite direction.

Now, it was a battle between the strength of the Witch's power and that of the Lanterns.

The Witch doubled her efforts, pouring her energy into her spell, calling upon the wind to spin faster, more furiously. Branches broke off the white tree, nearly splitting Anise's head in two as they whipped past; pieces of the ship below ripped away and spun like projectile weapons through the tornado.

As long as Anise concentrated on the wind, it wavered and widened; those pieces of wood spun and flung out into the lake. The wind spewed out in all directions, and though the funnel disappeared it was still plenty dangerous. Finally, a gust of ferocious wind picked up the Witch and flung her head-over-heels into the water.

Immediately, the wind hushed and died altogether.

On the shore, Reus had laid down on top of Peck. At the absence of the wind, Reus raised his head and peered up at Anise. Peck poked his head out from under Reus' chest and gasped for breath. [b]"Ya big mutt, git off!"[/b] Reus wagged his tail slowly.

[hr][quote]She followed after the man down the hill, squinting against the building wind storm. Eventually she found herself in a cave. Artemis opened her mouth to say something, a stream of words running through her mind. A quip about how it was rude to leave a conversation, or a question of what that'd really been and who he was, or what the hell a blood-rat was. But instead –

"You've seen the sun before." She was still a bit breathless from the soot and the chase. Her voice lacked its usual slickness. She hadn't intended to say that. "When?"[/quote]

The gryphon followed close on Artemis' heels, keeping its wings pressed back and still barely able to walk in a straight line. It skidded its way down the hill, and right behind her it pushed into the cave with shiver and a shuddering mewl.

The man, meanwhile, shifted to make room for them both; he sat against the rock with a leg outstretched, and he waited for both Artemis and her trusty steed to settle themselves in the cool quiet of the cavern. The wind howled outside, and bits of wood and plantlife flung past.

[b]"Oh, I dunno."[/b] He looked upward, thoughtfully, remembering. [b]"Must've been a couple hundred years ago by now."[/b] He grinned and tipped his head at Artemis. [b]"Man, I'm an old geezer. You'd think I would've gone senile by now, huh? Well, I'm just too sharp."[/b] He tapped his skull, then extended his hand across to Artemis. [b]"People call me Lord of the Flame, but you can call me Oseely. Now, I know everyone on this island, and I don't know you, so that means you're new. Welcome to nightmare island, I hope you're enjoying your stay."[/b]

The wind outside suddenly died down, and all the bits and branches that had been swinging around in the air clattered to the sooty ground. What should have been a windstorm quickly faded into the silence of the dark.

[hr][quote]"Hello? Are you looking for Cod??"

Her voice didn't carry far because of the wind, her arm was still protectively wrapped around the small boy as her other hand clenched on tighter to the lantern. Whatever was going on, it seemed that her having the lantern gave her some leverage if nothing else she could create with it without having to put in effort. Her thoughts still wavered on where to trust the unknown power she was carrying or not.[/quote]

Cod clung to Aslynn for dear life, his eyes squeezed shut against the wind. The trees around them creaked and moved in unnatural ways; the darkness was only pierced by the violet light of the Lantern.

At least a part of Aslynn's voice had reached the search party, because their footsteps grew faster. [b]"Hello?"[/b] a feminine voice cried out. A small, dark woman in leather armor and a warm cloak whipping in the wind appeared from behind the trees, holding a very average, fire-filled lantern over her head.

Cod's eyes lit up. [b]"Rhea!"[/b] he called out, bouncing up and down, waving with one hand and holding onto Aslynn's shirt with the other.

Rhea smiled broadly in relief as she caught sight of Cod -- then her eyes moved to Aslynn and the violet Lantern she held -- but it was hard to be suspicious against the person who had brought the little boy back safe and sound. Rhea jogged closer, and just as Cod released Aslynn in happiness, Rhea gave him a swift smack upside the head.

[b]"What do you think you were doing, running off like that? [i]stealing?[/i] Not only could you have got yourself killed, you could've put the whole village in danger. That Lantern is very old and very important! You're lucky you weren't burned or turned into a shadowblight!"[/b] She glared down at the kid until she was sure Cod looked as sorry and miserable as he possibly could, then she got down on her knees and drew him into a tight embrace. [b]"But I'm glad you're safe. Don't do it again."[/b]

The wind suddenly died, and the resulting stillness was broken by Cod's wailing sobs of guilt. Rhea sighed, ran a hand through her windswept hair, and stood up, letting Cod hold onto her tightly. By this time, three other armored men approached from the trees, each holding a lantern in one hand and a weapon in the other. Their faces were all smiling.

Finally, Rhea looked up to Aslynn. [b]"Thank you,"[/b] she said earnestly. [b]"Are you hurt? Were you followed? We thought we saw an explosion earlier."[/b]

[b]"Miss Aslynn made the sun!"[/b] Cod said suddenly, though tears still streaked his face. [b]"It was so bright I couldn't see it!"[/b]

Rhea immediately looked at the violet Lantern, then back to Aslynn, her expression solemn. [b]"I see. You must have just arrived, then. I'm Rhea, captain of the third outpost. Please, accept our hospitality and come back with us to the roost. I'm sure you have questions."[/b]

Cod bounced again, eagerly, having entirely forgotten that he'd been crying a moment ago. He looked up at Aslynn hopefully, his fingers gripping Rhea's cloak.