Artemis was starting to get real tired of this stupid island and its stupid lords. She didn't even want to know how the Lord of the Wood had ended up shackled and disguised as a Kith girl. At least she hadn't offended the all-powerful forest lord. That would've sucked – but not as much as seeing the dragon shatter its way through a crumbling mountain sucked. Because that shit sucked [i]hard[/i].

She was half-hysterical (she blamed that on the new burst of divine energy zipping through her blood) as she stared, wide-eyed, at the midnight dragon claw its way over bits of mountain and forest. Spiderwebs of black ichor trailed from its claws and wings. It let out a roar like death, shaking the very air. As if in response, the earth quaked and shattered beneath her, great waves of water crashing through the brittle trees. When had the great trees, the predatory monsters that made up the forest, become so fragile?

A piercing cry escaped Nura, just as frantic as Artemis felt. She was following after the other gryphons.

[color=darkturquoise]"Shit [i]shit[/i] no, Nura!"[/color] Artemis pleaded, but her voice was lost in the chaos. She was only holding on with one hand, the other wrapped tightly around the staff held behind her. Her torso was pressed entirely against the gryphon's back. She tried pushing on Nura's side with her feet, but it had no effect. She still had no idea how to steer a gryphon. And either way, Nura was too panicked to listen to any commands – instead, she was falling back on familiarity, following the other gryphons to the roost.

Which meant Artemis was about to be surrounded by a bunch of panicked Pirates while wearing a Kith mask, riding a stolen gryphon, wearing stolen clothes, wielding a stolen staff, and carrying stolen loot.

[color=darkturquoise][i]Oh, shit in a shoe.[/i][/color]

Artemis squeezed her eyes shut, her mind spinning with all the ways she was about to get murdered. A plan. She needed a plan.

By the time the people and buildings on the mountain were clearly visible, Artemis still didn't have a plan. She had a terrible, half-formed idea. But that was usually how her plans started. So she had the beginnings of a plan, she tried to assure herself.

She didn't feel very assured.

Nura landed at the edge of the Roost, just inside of the sigils. A crowd of gryphon riders was surrounding her, along with other people frantically going to the riders for answers. What happened to Oyagun Nai? What're all the earthquakes about? Did you see the dragon? Was it real? Is it awake? With all the commotion, Artemis could almost fool herself into thinking she could go by unnoticed.

She dropped off of Nura's back.

[b]"Kith!"[/b]

The rabbit mask (traitorous thing) at least gave her the presence of mind to dodge to the right, away from Nura, when a sword stabbed in her direction. More and more eyes turned in her direction – and more weapons followed. A sword swung down at her. Her heart skipped and without thinking, Artemis spun her staff at it, deflecting it to the side and down as the blade followed its arc. The Pirate who'd swung at her was thrown off balance by the redirection, and Artemis took the opportunity to hit him in the temple with the other side of her staff. He went toppling to the side as three more Pirates rushed at her. A few were reaching for the pistols at their sides.

[color=darkturquoise]"[i]Enough![/i]"[/color] She shouted, giving her staff a quick spin before slamming one end into the ground. Light sparked through the runes and lightning exploded out of it, arcing through the air and cutting through the panic. The Pirates all jumped back, seemingly stunned by the display – apparently the Witch's runes coupled with Artemis' own slapdash magic was a formidable combination. Nura squawked and took off into the air to circle overhead, a gust of wind billowing the ends of Artemis' coat. The man she'd knocked to the ground had scuttled backwards at the shock of lightning, his hand still gripped tight around his sword. The rest were now standing in a loose semi-circle around her, still tense and wary, and ready to gut her like a fish. But now they regarded her with a new sort of caution. Like she was something to be taken seriously.

Artemis… kind of felt like a badass. Sure, she would've died without the mask, the Lord of the Wood's energy, and over a decade of dance lessons, but still. That had been pretty goddamn cool.

She was panting, her muscles still tensed around the staff. Not releasing her grip, she straightened her spine and raised her chin in a haughty tilt. Her eyes flitted between the different people around her as she fought to gather her scattered thoughts. Plan. She had a plan. She picked an accent to wrap around herself as she opened her mouth. 'Exotic' accents always did wonders for cons that relied on her perceived mysticism.

[color=darkturquoise]"Perhaps we may talk now? Like [i]civilized[/i] folk?"[/color] Praise the heavens for the singing lessons that she'd been forced through that had given her the ability to project her voice without shouting. The music of her words, all rounded vowels and soft consonants, echoed through the stunned, silent crowd. There was some sort of movement at the back as heads bobbed to the side, parting for a newcomer. [color=darkturquoise]"I am no Kith, nor am I a Pirate."[/color] An old grouch of a man leaning on a walking stick forced his way to the front of the crowd, shoving aside a woman much larger than himself. He reminded Artemis of the Witch. She really freaking hoped the Witch wasn't here. Or the guy whose gryphon she'd stolen.

[b]"Alright, what's this new mess to deal with?"[/b] the old man grumbled. His eyes landed on Artemis and she forced herself not to move under his stare. She knew how to survive scrutiny – she'd spent most of her life practicing. [b]"And who're you supposed to be?"[/b]

[color=darkturquoise]"I am the Marid,"[/color] she announced, like a declaration of right, [color=darkturquoise]"servant to the Lords and Ladies of the forest."[/color] He didn't look impressed. But Artemis had committed to this lunacy, and [i]damnit[/i] there was no going back now.

A woman's voice shouted from the crowd, [b]"A [i]what[/i]? A married? She's just some loon, I ain't never heard of no married!"[/b] There were a few murmurs of agreement.

[color=darkturquoise]"My role is to serve, not to be known by [i]you[/i]."[/color] She didn't bother to look at who'd spoken. Instead she kept her gaze on the old man – the one with the real power here.

[b]"Nah,"[/b] an armored rider said, shaking his head, [b]"nah nah [i]nah[/i], she's some Kith spy or something who figured out a way around runes! She's a fake!"[/b]

Murmurs started to build to shouts of agreement.

Artemis raised her right hand above her head, the green rune on her palm glowing. [color=darkturquoise]"And who will step forward to demonstrate my falsehood?"[/color] Artemis' voice rang with challenge. She willed the trees into motion behind her, and they swayed, branches bending and creeping towards the edge of the sigil-barrier. Some of the Pirates snapped their gazes up and their eyes widened as they stumbled backwards. At once the voices were silent. [color=darkturquoise][i]Please don't actually test me, I will fail spectacularly.[/i][/color] The old man did not move.

[b]"We've already had some upstart sun-child goin' on about her supposed title, and we sure as hell don't need another. Look where that one got us."[/b] He waved the end of his walking stick in the vague direction of the still shattering mountain. [b]"Who's to say you're any more of a 'servant' than that whelp was the Lady of Light?"[/b]

There was another Lady of Light??? Artemis' mind spun to work this new information in. She lowered her hand back to her side.

[color=darkturquoise]"The girl is not my mistress,"[/color] she said, her mother's nobility and her father's command in her voice. The trees stilled behind her, still moving, as if breathing or being nudged by the wind, but no longer with any discernible intent. She softened her voice, almost thoughtful as she said, [color=darkturquoise]"And it has been a very long time since I was a child of the sun."[/color] [color=darkturquoise][i]Give the mark enough to think he's figured you out, but keep him interested in figuring out more.[/i][/color] That was a laugh. He looked wholly uninterested in learning more about her. But he might be interested in what she had to offer.

[b]"Then what're you doing here, hmm? After the Lanterns, t–"[/b]

[color=darkturquoise]"[i]I want nothing to do with your lanterns![/i]"[/color] Flames danced around her left hand, still clutched around the staff in front of her, before flickering out of existence. But it was the ferocity in her words that seemed to give him pause. Artemis squeezed her eyes shut and worked her jaw. She took in a breath before looking at the old man again. [color=darkturquoise]"They are not my responsibility."[/color] Another breath. Artemis fought to reign herself back, straightening her spine.

[color=darkturquoise]"I've been sent here with a message,"[/color] she said, pitching her voice out so the entire crowd could hear. [color=darkturquoise][i]Yes, that's totally why I'm here, not because my gryphon which is actually your gryphon dragged me here or anything.[/i][/color] Nura, apparently tired of flying in circles above Artemis' head, finally landed in a gust of wind and dirt behind Artemis.

[b]"I'm sure."[/b]

Artemis pretended she hadn't heard him. [color=darkturquoise]"What you see crawling out of the earth is a shade. The Lord of Shadow has kept the dragon weak."[/color]

[b]"The [i]who[/i]?!"[/b] a man Artemis' age shouted out.

[b]"She's on his side! She–"[/b]

Artemis slammed her staff on the ground again, another jolt of lighting sparking around her. The crowd was silent as Nura gave another indignant squawk. But she stayed on the ground.

[color=darkturquoise]"The night is your salvation, not your prison. As long as the sun is hidden, the dragon cannot reclaim full power."[/color] The entire crowd seemed stunned, like they didn't know what to do with this information. But the old man just kept watching her.

[b]"Yeah but it just leveled a bleedin' [i]mountain[/i] without being at full power. So it still seems pretty catastrophic."[/b] The child who'd shouted was swatted on the head before being pulled back by her mother.

[color=darkturquoise]"It's far from powerless. But if you have any hope of imprisoning it again, you have it now. This false Lady of Light will be working against you. If she fights for the sun, then she fights for the dragon. You're mistaken about what happened to the sun – the dragon didn't bring this eternal night. When it was sealed away, the Lord of Shadow was chosen as the lesser of two evils. The lives of everyone on this island, both Kith and Pirate, were chosen over the Lady of Light. As long as there is darkness, the Lord of Shadow can claim the souls of the dead, and the dragon cannot."[/color] Who the hell knew if Oseely had been telling the truth about all of this, but it saved Artemis the trouble of making something up. [color=darkturquoise]"That's how it survived, by sapping the life from the island like vines strangling a–"[/color]

Her words caught in her throat. The old man's gaze sharpened and he leaned forward the slightest bit. At last, there was a spark of interest.

[color=darkturquoise]"–a tree..."[/color] Her heart was pounding in her ears so loud that the frantic drumbeat was all she could hear.

[quote][i]"And even after he was sealed up and cut off from the Kith, he just started sucking life out of people in other worlds. Probably your world, too."[/i][/quote]
Artemis suddenly felt very cold. Her lips parted. She wouldn't dare think the thought that had just occurred to her – but there it sat, at the edges of her mind, daring her to look.

Her eyes finally refocussed on her reality. They darted between the faces of strangers surrounding her. Her breath suddenly seemed much shallower than it'd been just moments before. Finally she found the old man again, solid and still and ever watchful. His head was tilted to the side slightly as he watched her, like he'd finally decided there was actually something worth looking at in her.

Artemis focused on him. She let the sight of him ground her. She wasn't done here.

A deep, shaking breath. Her hand clenched around the staff, weathered wood and cold metal on her skin. With practiced care, she took her emotions, her thoughts, her [i]family[/i], and sealed them away until they were buried like their bodies. Licking her lips, she opened her mouth again. Shut it. Another breath. Her heart was still hammering in her chest.

When she spoke her voice was less affected, less regal. She didn't have the presence of mind or the care to sell it anymore. She was quieter, but her voice still carried like a warning. If there was a slight quiver to it, a thickness that didn't belong, Artemis fought to ignore it.

[color=darkturquoise]"The Lords and Ladies thought that by sealing the dragon away from the lives of this world, they'd keep it imprisoned. But instead the dragon found a way to steal lives from other worlds. It has a fraction of its power back now. But if the dragon is able to claim the souls of the island again, [i]then[/i] you will know catastrophe. The Lord of Shadow is a tyrant. But tyrants can be overthrown. Regimes crumble and fade."[/color] The old man finally looked away from her, turning his gaze down to his hands resting on top of his cane. Artemis felt a weight lift that she hadn't realized she'd been holding, a sort of tension in her back and shoulders. [color=darkturquoise]"The dragon is death."[/color]

He was quiet for a long moment, breathing out a heavy sigh. [b]"That it then? The gist of your 'message'?"[/b] He looked back up to her, but this time his stare wasn't as intent, as chilling. Artemis gave a small, halting nod, not sure what else to do. [b]"We'll take it into consideration."[/b] he said, already turning away from her. Artemis blinked. [b]"Go on, then. Go run back to wherever you're holed up"[/b] The rest of the crowd blinked, too. And then they sprang into a commotion.

[b]"Wait, [i]what[/i]?!"[/b]

[b]"You can't be serious, she just –."[/b]

[b]"Isn't that Kep's gryphon?"[/b]

[b]"Wait, if she really works for the Lords, shouldn't we –"[/b]

The old man's grumbling voice cut through them all, [b]"Let 'er go."[/b] He turned slightly to look back at her over her shoulder. Artemis felt small again, not knowing what to do with herself but frantic for direction. [b]"She's just a girl. Not a threat to us. We've got bigger things to worry about."[/b] The crowd looked from the old man back to Artemis to see a strange, willowy woman in a Kith mask with a runed weapon, who could apparently control the very elements and ride one of their gryphons. She very much looked like a threat. A few murmurs of displeasure sounded from the crowd. But it seemed they trusted the old man more than they feared her.

Artemis, frozen, finally forced herself to move. She turned on her heel and made short work of swinging herself onto Nura's back as the gryphon bowed for her. It seemed practice and a pair of pants made perfect. As soon as her legs were tight around Nura, one hand gripping the shining armor on the back of her neck, they took off into the crumbling night.