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A Hero Tale: Lystra

Zelriane's strike was more than enough to gravely injure Lystra's wrist. Although the knife was flung out of her grasp by the force of her blow, he felt something collide with his abdomen, pressing uncomfortably against his diaphragm. Too fast?! Zelriane thought as milliseconds passed in his brain. He saw it coming. He saw it all with those mysterious green eyes of his. But this time, once again, he'd been unable to dodge. His body buckled back and his arms cocked back in pain. Within a second, Lystra's kick sent a surge through his entire body, pushing him away from her with tremendous force. His feet skid against the ground, and he fell forward, onto one knee, with his right fist planted firmly in the dirt. With a single heavy huff, hunched over roughly 10 feet from where he was struck, Zelriane felt defeated.

"There is no pride to be restored in killing you now," He spat, staring down at the ground in shame and grasping at the earth. "Kalen," He said quietly, standing up straight and regaining his composure, "We are leaving. Now." Kalen looked to Lystra hopefully despite nodding to Zelriane's initial order. There was a spark of hope in his eyes, hope that she could defeat his new master with her newly unlocked power. But neither of them knew just how strong he actually was. Unexpected however, was his following statement.

"Consider this your victory, landing a single blow, albeit at my own fault for treating you like a rat.You will not die today, but know, if we meet again, I will not hold a shred of my abilities back. From the start." Just then, a group of nomads rushed onto the scene, stopping short of Zelriane, Lystra, and Kalen. Kalen looked to them and nodded, and within seconds, they were upon their chief, tending to his wound as best they could. Zelriane stared at Lystra intently, or rather, the shield that she wielded. There was no way a mortal could have so much power without some kind of aid. Their souls were frail, and magic was lost to their impudent little minds, or so he'd though. That shield, albeit a valuable artifact for his purpose, was not his to take. Zelriane may have been a number of things, but he was still bound by his code of honor, regardless of how shady it might have been.

A Hero Tale: Victor

Victor's path lead him to Vermont's building quicker than he might've expected. The Alleys were clear at night, save for a stray cat or two, and there wasn't much to impede his path. He ran, the cool morning air slowly fading at sunlight crept past building silhouettes. The air might've gripped others, but Victor seemed adamant in his resolve. Something was about to happen, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Upon arriving at Vermont's home, everything seemed calm. Though, the front door was left unlocked, and ajar. Vermont was known to air out his lab from time to time, but this early in the morning? This was suspicious. There were not many civilian mages out and about yet, and it would offer Victor plenty of time to sneak his way into Vermont's home without being detected if he wished to do so. But looking closer, he may have noticed a thin trail of blood starting just within the doorway, underneath the bottom of the door. Even worse, something peeked around the door frame ever so slightly.

A limp hand.

A Hero Tale: Mikhael

Ezekial opened his mouth to speak, but an echoed cackle sounded throughout the woods before he could utter a single word. Suddenly, a snaking mist, invisible to Ezekial once again, moved to snatch Luke's body from his grasp, winding up from beneath a set of brambles and roots.

"A trap! A Trap! That's what you've stumbled upon, a trap! You six, all six! Ingredients for a tasty treat, oh ye-he-hes!" The voice was high pitched, and echoed from every direction, as if Ezekial and Mikhael were trapped in a sound-sealed bubble. But aside from the looping surroundings, nothing else seemed off. What kind of magic was this? And powerful enough to ensnare both Mikhael and Ezekial so easily? "No talk, you will tire fast!"

"What in blazes is that?" Ezekial blurted, as the snake-like mist began to encompass Lucas' foot.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"Almost there," The tall man said quietly, just loud enough for Jenso to hear. Their center member nodded and chuckled.

"Told ya we'd make it! It's just a little further, and Charles- CHARLES!" He shouted to the shorter man. It appeared that he was actually tearing into something with his mouth. "Man, at the rate you put away meat, you're going to bankrupt us!"

"Shut it, we're here to win money, remember?" Charles snapped, gulping down another chunk of meat. "Besides, you're gonna win the grand prize, ain'chya?" The middle man chuckled and began rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Well- ah, haha.. Who knows. I'm more excited about what kind of strength we'll be up against. And I don't want to end up fighting any of you in the bracket.."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 49 ~

_{Road To The White Castle}

Jenso traveled far after crossing the bridge, far enough that the uneven landscape began to flatten, and the plains were once again visible from the path itself. He could even notice peaceful fauna, like squirrels and deer, the further he got from the rocky steppes. In fact, as he grew closer to the giant walled off nation, everything seemed to get more tranquil, and less chaotic. Something about all of this was oddly comforting, but was it really safe? After so much pain and danger, this seemed unreal. But were there really places that were untouched by the chaos around him? Who knew.

Before he was close to the building however, he came across a group of three men. They all seemed to be rather casual in their clothing. One was about Jenso's height and bulk, almost identical to him in appearance from behind, including his spiky black hair that flowed opposite to Jenso's. The man on his left was a little shorter, and seemed to wield two sheathed daggers. His hair was blue, oddly enough. The last one, was much taller than both of them, but skinny, and had brown hair that stopped just above his neck. Their clothing was similar to the types of clothes he saw in Orobo and Arcadia, which means they must have hailed from some village to the west. They were also headed to the white castle, at a slightly slower pace.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale snickered and spun towards the edge of the chasm. "Ah, what a wonderful morning... I wonder how he'll fare against those who do not threaten his safety?" Vale whispered to himself, moments before he hopped off the edge of the chasm and into the darkness below.

---

~ End Of Chapter 48~

Scattered Shades: Arcadia Chronicles

Do we have a status check on the current players?

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale lower his blade to the round and huffed with a smile. "Why yes, yes it is!" He admitted, "Though, I can never know which stream, branch, or river will take shape despite the hundreds, thousands, millions, trillions of possibilities! If I interfere with fate, what would that make me? A god, of course! I have no wish to play with the paths of mortals. Watching, standing back, it's such fun! Although my help may even be a nuisance, Deadly perhaps, that might discourage me as well, or does it really? Haha, who knows, who knows!" Vale withdrew his blade and clapped his hands together with a chuckle. "Perhaps your next destination will teach you more than I ever could! Run along, little Jenso, I'll be trailing closely behind, a rat, no a cat! Meow!!!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"If you want to survive, wouldn't you know, you've made quite an unfortunate name for yourself, Adarine especially seems to have quite the obsession with you now, though I cannot reveal much! Haha! Your path guides you far, safe maybe but for a small while, you will know in time where this might lead you. Off to the east now, is it?" Vale asked quickly, looking past Jenso with a grin.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"Please," Vale wretched, spitting on the ground and cringing vividly, "I wouldn't associate myself with the likes of chaotic criminals, Such behavior is reprehensible, My Neutrality retains order and form! Lest you believe me or no, I've little mind for it." Vale shook his head and smiled. "The next time we meet, perhaps, perhaps we'll have a discussion as equals, but for now!" Vale drew his sword, and revealed the black steel to Jenso. Two white circles of steel were glowing at even spots near the center. "You've learned to harness your arcane energy, what a splendid turn of events, albeit to a lesser degree than most. Your aptitude knows no bounds, golden boy. But despite your Ki's raw amount of power, your control is weak, unrefined, for lack of a better term, sloppy! You shape it like water, but water cannot be shaped!"