Since Verial had arrived in Aleris, he had heard no word from King Alerion - no meeting, no audience, no simple chatter. Nothing. The only time he had ever corresponded with the King Alerion, though Verial had never actually written back, was the single letter the king sent Verial asking him to take leave of Msytra-Amor and come to Aleris. That was it.

Months had passed without so much as a fleeting sight of the king or even some recognizable hair on his head. His citizens were starting to get worried; the city was big and small scale battles were breaking out from the infamous Maxim Redmont. People were worried and so were the Aleris soldiers. Though they tried their best from their captains' orders, they still had no official voice.

And all throughout this, Verial wandered the halls a guest in the Aleris palace circling the courtyard, the marble baths or any other place he fancied without being disturbed. But it was coming to the point where Verial wanted to be disturbed. Verial wanted the king to give him some sign - some inkling that he had some importance besides being on the same level as the other rich Aleris folk. Verial was rich by no means, but he was a king in the past and some people still watched him starry eyed or curiously as if he still were.

So waiting was all he could sit and opt to do, until the yesterday. Verial had finally, at what seemed long last, received another letter right before turning in to a restless slumber. There was a knock at the door and a servant girl held out a scroll of neatly rolled parchment with near shaking fingers. Verial took it and she glided back down the hallway quietly like some haunted spirit.

The cursive writing was familiar even though Verial had only seen it once before. The letter from King Alerion was much shorter this time and straight to the point. It was so matter of fact that Verial hoped there would be no reason for the man to stray from his words - that he really meant to meet Verial this time.

---

Verial Akilara,

A thousand apologies for having kept you waiting. Please meet me tomorrow in my study three hours past sunset. I am sure you know where it is. I have heard you were seen around there...

Farewell,

King Alerion

---

The letter had come at a perfect, although curious timing. On one hand, Verial was glad to possibly be meeting the king of Aleris, but on the other... he had another matter he needed to find a solution too. Calamaya Everness, his travelling companion, had gone missing. It was like someone had reached down out of thin air and plucked her right out beneath his nose. She was utterly gone with no trace. The king went missing and now she had disappeared.

Verial could not fathom any reason why she would have left Aleris; she seemed to adore being here and in the presence of every soul that lingered the halls of the castle. Some part of him thought that perhaps his morose and brooding nature finally got to her. Maybe she left because of him and after all, he did not deserve her word of leave if she had just packed up and gone. Verial thought rather grimly that he should have treated her better - more honestly at least.

Then again, it wasn't as if she had just packed up and left either. Calamaya's things were still in the room they shared, untouched and in the same fashion they were in when he last saw her. Verial had done what he could as far as looking for her. He had questioned nearly a hundred people inside and outside the castle and none of them seemed to have seen the blonde haired girl he described. No one had seen his Calamaya.

Verial could have sat there and put the blame on himself all night, that her disappearance was undoubtedly his fault. However, he knew damn well that it wasn't. Somewhere in his mind up until know, he knew that she still was in love with him just as much as the day they had first met. Because of this, Verial held her at a distance this entire time.

There was only one time in a moment of his stubborn and protective nature he had admitted to caring for her in an argument shortly after Tehran made a guest appearance. After this, he did not mention anything else and tried to construct those carefully built walls again. Now that she was gone, the walls were falling down faster once more. It hurt not to have her around for some reason and he could not figure out why or would not allow himself to admit the answer he was mulling around.

His luck was running out ever since he stepped foot into this forsaken land. Sending a letter to his family had done no good; Verial heard a word back from no one. Not his mother, not Kyrian, not even his brother. Verial did not blame them if they did not want to respond after he just packed up and left, but it did add on to his already empty feeling. They would not come, and Calamaya was gone. He had no one else to turn to right now and Verial had half a mind to go back to the Villas. This would bring him no further answers, but at least he would be somewhere that he knew a friendly face.

If there only wasn't less than an hour left before meeting the king, Verial would have took off from here. Black dragon wings spreading into the sky without a single glance behind him, he would have been gone. But Calamaya had found him once again, and he owed her. Verial owed her the task of finding her, whether alive or (though he did not want to think of it) dead. As much as he could try and hold himself back, it wasn't just the favor of finding her to be done, but he was hopelessly falling for her again and would never be able to forgive himself if something terrible had happened to Calamaya.

Thinking back, there was some difference Verial had noticed between Calamaya and Necia. While Necia grew up with him as his best friend and seemingly what he thought was the love of his live, she did not need him. Necia was as fleeting as the wind; in life and death, she was there one moment and gone just as quick the next. No matter how secure she could feel with Verial, she would take flight and leave. On the other hand, Calamaya had needed him and had come back for him. She put up with him and smiled when nearly no one else had. Even though Verial would try and subconsciously push her away, she still never let him go.

Verial moved away from the window sill he was sitting at in their castle suite. Feather black wings stretched out rustling behind his back. Stepping away from the moonlight that shone down through the window, Verial turned towards the door, pausing for a moment to look at the murals on the ceiling of the room. Once he had been bothered by the paintings, but slowly Calamaya had helped him overcome that. Now without her, he realized how quiet it was and how much the paintings seemed to be watching him once again.

"Don't worry," Verial whispered in the silence of the room. Though Calamaya was not here, Verial hoped somewhere she would be able to hear him. "I will find you. I promise."

The door shut behind Verial and he was down the familiar path at long last to meet the king. The king was right in that Verial knew where the study was quite well; he had lingered there a few times. The walk he took to the study was almost without notice. There were a few people here and there, but once he reached the wing were the royal bedroom chambers were, it was empty. When Verial came to face the study, he had made up his mind. At this point, he did not care what the king wanted, as long as Alerion could help him find Calamaya. That was all Verial wanted and if there was nothing of interest in what the king had to say, he would continue his search for Calamaya without the aid of this man.

Verial lifted a hand to the large door made from thick walnut and knocked twice softly. There he waited for something, but with hope, wanting to believe the voice he had longed to hear would answer back.

Post originally by Character_Calypso

The fallen king of Oneiro and his lady had been an interesting pair to follow when they had arrived. She had never quite lost tabs on them either. So when she noticed the distress of Verial while present in the palace one day, she took the time to figure out what was happening with he and Lady Calamaya.

What she found out instantly annoyed her. Defenses had been breached. She had instantly began addressing that issue. It was not an army issue, this had been a magical problem. So it is a couple days later that she actually realizes that Verial needed answers.

There is no announcement. She is simply there in front of him in an instant. Blonde hair framing down around a seemingly delicate face. Plump lips tilt in a smile that matches her slow, swaying walk to his side. She runs her hand up his arm, simply to see if she could bring a blush to his cheeks. Tilting her head, she places her glossy mouth next to his ear.

“The lady did not leave you,” one of her hand comes up to cup his face. Her body leans into his as if they are embracing rather than she simply giving the information he craves. “The white dragons still mourn the loss of you. They thought one more try was warranted. They followed you across the realms and seas. It took them a long time to find you here in Aleris. And during that time they decided the best way to get a reaction from you was to take her.”

Her thumb slides under his bottom lip, her gaze watching his face.

“She seems to be rather prone to the damsel in distress situation, hmm?”

Blushing was hardly the reaction Verial had in response to the Goddess of Death. Verial was not entirely aware that the woman was actually Calypso, though he had heard the name spoken around. Never a religious person after the events in Oneiro, Verial was not one to go poking around in churches of worshipping any gods. Verial was sure there was something odd about the woman; not just because she had appeared out of a veil of misted air, but because the touch she laid across his arm was from icy fingertips.

Verial's eyes narrowed, impatience already growing from this woman separating him and his destination behind the door. Moving his arm away from her proved little success in putting distance between the two. Calypso now had her lips a mere inch away from Verial's pointed ear, whispering into that sharp elvish hearing of his.

"What?" Verial said as Calypso's haunting words lingered in his ears. For a moment, Verial did not reject her sly touches and the way she leaned against him in the dim hallway. From the view of another person, one might think they were lovers. Verial was perhaps too focused on her words, her clues of Calamaya's where abouts, that he didn't really care about her advancements.

The white dragons had taken Calamaya from him? Ever the pessimist, Verial let his mind play tricks on him, convincing him that there was something wrong about Aleris ever since he stepped foot here. That is, until Calamaya turned him away from the notion. However, now he was being told otherwise... that he was right. How he wished he wasn't right.

Calypso's finger ran across the bottom of Verial's lip and it was in this moment that he snatched her arm back rather roughly. Taking control of the situation for now, Verial pushed Calypso back against the wall next to the thick walnut door of the king's study. His hand reached up and grabbed onto her chin.

"Why would you know about any of this?" Verial began and his grip on her face tightened ever so slightly. His head tilted just a bit, watching the goddess with curiosity. "And... why would I even trust you? After all, you seem to have the knowledge she's been a 'damsel in distress' lately. It could have been your hand that assisted in her capture."

Post originally by Character_Calypso

Was it always so obvious that she had an alternative motive? She was going to have to work on her being so transparent…

Verial slams her back against the wall. She allows it simply because not only was it amusing, it was also sexually stimulating. When his hand begins to tighten on her face, she can no longer repress the smile that slides across her lips. She lifts a shoulder in a shrug.

“I did not arrange her capture. Yet whether I did or not is a useless argument. You are the only one that can rescue her from the grips of the white dragons.” Bored with his physical dominance now, a burst of energy wells up in between them and blows him back several feet across the floor. Normally she wasn’t exactly cruel, but she realized that Verial needed to realize the urgency of the situation. Plus she was too impatient to wait and arrange exactly what she will benefit from this situation. She turns and holds her hand palm upward.

The air suspends above her hand. It appears as if the air itself frosts over, swirling together until a smooth surface is formed in the mist of a frosted circle. The image of a pale man kneeling in front of a chained Calamaya suddenly appears. Her voice can be heard, a pained raspy sound. I will tell you nothing….

Calypso’s stormy gaze turns to Verial’s face as the scene plays for him to view. “There is your lady. You cannot contact her. Even one that is as strong telepathically as Lady Calamaya cannot overcome the white dragon’s firm magic.”

As Verial takes in the scene before him, she lifts her eyes to view out in the corridor. The one that she had summoned had arrived, a little more quickly than would have been convenient. Exair remained in the shadows, thankfully. But she quickly makes a motion with her eyes for him to hide. It would do no good for Verial to realize that he was there.

Verial would have a more formal meeting with Exair later.

“You must travel to Oneiro once more, good King.” And quickly… before Alerion caught onto how much Calypso had been manipulating these poor people’s lives.

Verial was sure he did not have total control over Calypso when he pushed her body up against the wall forcefully. Having been through many battles throughout his life, he always expected the unexpected in his foes and never underestimated what they could do. In this way, he was always prepared for the worst that could happen during a fight.

However, his lack of faith did not prepare him for the spiritual energy Calypso had as the Goddess of Death. He was caught off guard when the magic swelled between them in the air, the force making him stumble backwards against the opposite wall. His feather wings are momentarily crushed when they hit the marble wall of the hallway and he pushes himself off with them. Verial breathes in a sigh, not one of defeat, but one to catch his breath. He could definitely be stubborn at certain times, but he was willing to admit there was something unearthly about Calypso, something godlike.

The time to ask questions had already passed and Verial remains silent in the hallway while a glazed orb surfaces above Calypso's head. The air comes together and ices over in motion, hovering there in the hallway like some lost spirit. Verial was somewhat taken aback by the sudden glow of the orb in the dark hallway and for a moment he shields his eyes until he was drawn into the image displayed in its pearly depths.

It was not only as if he could stare into the scene that was being shown to him from somewhere far away, but he also could feel it. If it wasn't for the sensation of minimal pain he felt when gazing at Calamaya's bruised and fatigued body, he would have believed this was another hocus pocus trick for the Goddess to get whatever it was she wanted out of him. Verial wanted answers alright, but he did not want to see Calamaya in such a vulnerable and distressed condition, especially not one that was being led by his enemies.

They were using her to go to him.

I will tell you nothing...

The words echoed in his mind before the glowing orb had vanished from view. Verial felt a shock of pain and he leaned forward as if doubling over. His hands reached into his raven hair and cupped over his pointed ears, fingers grabbing as he tried to flush out Calamaya's haunting words.

"Ahh," Verial growled, his voice a restrained hiss in the shadows of the royal hallway.

I will tell you nothing...

I don't want to go back, Verial thought feeling like a lone child in a world much too big for him.

But we have to, said that deep mystical voice of his dragon inside him. We need to...

I know. I... know.

Verial is not looking when Calypso turns back to him, but by the time the orb had flickered back into whatever realm it was conjured out of, he is pulling himself back together, straightening his posture. Calypso mentions something to him about Calamaya not being able to contact him, not even telepathically. Well there was something he did not know about Calamaya. A twinge of guilt danced along his heart for a moment and he wondered just how much she tried to hide things from him; or how much she had sacrificed not telling him in order to help him with his selfish need for constant reassurance.

There is instantly both a sense of a hatred and urgency welling up inside of him. Calypso's mission, her words, were like daggers against him. He swore he would never have any reason to turn to Oneiro. Yet just as quickly he is abandoning his oath and signing a new contract. For what? To owe Calamaya a favor?

No... because I owe her my life as she has saved me so many times before.

There was no admitting whether the goddess was right or wrong just yet. If Verial found she was toying with him, that her visions were incorrect, he didn't care which powers she possessed - he would make her suffer for any possible treacherous lies.

As for now, all he could say to Calypso was, "Damn you..." his voice a firm, but tortured whispered. Damn her for pointing him back to Oneiro and damn the white dragons for capturing his beloved. Verial was but a pawn in this whole thing. To save Calamaya was one thing, but to save himself from being possessed again was another. He was treading on very dangerous grounds.

He had promised himself that no matter where Calamaya was, he would find her. So it was without another word to the Goddess of Death that Verial headed down the hallway, leaving the audience with the king behind once more. It was time to leave Aleris, but to the land he once called home - to the land he hoped had perished forever.

There was little time to prepare before he left. Nevertheless, once he was back in his room in the palace, gathering things he needed he took a moment to focus his thoughts. It was a similar hidden secret between the two of them, he and Calamaya, that both could telepathically communicate. Though according to Calypso, Calamaya was stronger in it that he was, he still had the ability when needed. Verial had sealed off his mind some time ago to shield off the intrusive thoughts of others, but here he unlocked it.

Verial did not waste time with a long message. Calamaya was not in any position to hear anyone's thoughts for a long period of time. Truthfully, he was not sure if she could hear anything with the bounds she wore. But Verial thought of his sister Maiwen and how she broke through to him in a time of crisis when she needed guidance. Somehow, despite all his barriers, she had shattered the walls within him.

I'm on my way...

Post originally by Character_Exair Sol


A visit from the Goddess of Death was the last thing Exair Sol had been expecting. He had sent countless souls to meet her, but he never had the pleasure (or pain) of meeting her face to face. That all changed when she honored him with a visit and requested his aid in something 'very important' to her. How could he decline?

Now, days later, the elf was moving deliberately through the castle halls. Despite instructions, he was drawing close to the king's study and the meeting that was to take place outside it. The sun had set hours earlier, leaving the hallways draped in shadows ideal for staying unnoticed. It was within a darkened corner that Exair positioned himself after drawing his cloak's hood over his head; pointed ears at attention.

This wasn't the type of thing he liked getting himself involved in. The affairs of dragons weren't something to trifle with in his experience. For a brief second he contemplated slinking away, leaving Calypso to find another poor sod to do her dirty work. That likely wouldn't work out in his favor, however, for the Goddess of Death was likely very unforgiving.

Unsatisfied with mere conversation, Exair braved a peak around the corner to get a look at the person the goddess was speaking to. It was in that second that Calypso's gaze fell on him for that brief second before he vanished back into shadow. His arms rose to cross over his chest and his shoulder fell against the wall where he leaned casually, waiting for the two to wrap up their conversation.

"Damn you..."

An amused smirk formed on the elf's lips as Verial cursed the goddess. Already, the elf king had proven his humanity. Moments after Verial took off down the hall, Exair emerged from the shadows to greet the goddess. His hands rose to draw his hood back, revealing the fair complexion of an elf that had been ruined by years of conflict.

"You said nothing about dragons," said the assassin; venom laced within his words as an accusing index finger pointed at her. It would have been quite the scene were anyone watching; a mortal scolding a goddess. Dragons were likely the least of Exair's worries at this point.

Post originally by Character_Calypso

Watching the expressions that had rolled across Verial’s face had been fascinating. Dread, guilt and irritation had flicked back and forth, warring with the other to be the one to hold dominance over his features. She found she was not even angered when he cursed her. In fact, she is forced to make an effort not to laugh at the tortured man’s desperate face, for she saw this working out in his benefit should everything work out well. His Lady would once again think of him as charging in on a white horse to her rescue. It would give him more years of complete devotion from the fiercely loyal Calamaya.

After Verial’s departure, she turns her head to the elven brute who she had called upon to carry out the plan that Maxim had not completed. The first words out of his mouth instantly made her roll her eyes. “The White Dragons will not harm you, especially if they see that your intent is to hinder Verial.”

She falls silent for a moment, her hand lightly caressing up Exair’s arm, as if giving him a final judgment. Finally she nods.

“The Oneiro King that you just saw me speaking with has a dragonic heritage. He will take a dragon form when he is in the kind of situation where he will need to fight. What I think will happen is that he will secure Calamaya before anything. But he knows that going into this, he will have to fight the dragons once more. The white dragons want him because if he bonds and breeds with him, they will be stronger.”

She breaks off for a brief moment and turns, her hand on Exair’s arm, and begins to lead them out of the hallway they were standing in. On the off chance that Alerion’s staff was around, she wished to get to more seclusion.

After guiding the both of them into the Throne Room, she situates them close to the musicians that are always playing there. She slides her body up against Exairs and loops her arms around his neck as if they are sharing a loving embrace. Her frosty lips lay against his ear.

“What I need from you is simpler than it sounds. Follow Verial. After he makes his form change to a dragon, quickly slice off one of the claws on his front paw. You needn’t remove the toe. The nails are softer at the very base. But you will have to make it with one clean whack because it is very tender and Verial will be very aware that you are doing it. After you have obtained the nail, it would be well done of you to remain and be an extra pair of eyes protecting Lady Calamaya. But that is not required of you.”

She leans back, sliding her hand across his scarred cheek. “Do this, and I will reward you greatly.”

Post originally by Character_Exair Sol


The elf's accusing finger dropped as soon as Calypso explained that the White Dragons would leave him providing his actions would benefit them. That information would likely come in handy later on. Instead his arms crossed over his chest as he stood there stoicly, ignoring the touch of her hand against his arm.

"Cala-who?" he asked.

His question went unanswered as Calypso took his arm and led him away from the king's study. After a few steps he pulled his arm away from her and followed of his own accord. As her arms wrap around his neck, he eases his back up against the wall and rests his hands on her waist to complete the illusion.

As the goddess spoke, Exair couldn't help but consider how ridiculous her request was. She made getting a dragon's toenail, as she so aptly put it, sound like child's play. He said nothing, however, knowing better than to lead a client to believe he couldn't pull off a job.

"Who is Calamaya, and what is she worth to you?" he asked bluntly, not wanting to protect something not worth his time. He was ultimately a businessman, afterall.

He was growing tired of Calypso's seductive nature, but prospect of 'great rewards' from a goddess brought a grin to his face nonetheless.

Post originally by Character_Calypso

The blonde lady had fallen inexplicably silent for a considerable amount of time. When she does seem to become aware of Exair again, she quickly mutters a curse and storms out of the Throne Room. The members of court seem to suddenly notice her presence. Some stumble back out of the way in fear while others dip their heads in respect to the Goddess that they have pledged themselves to. Her fingers do lift to skim across the faces of some that are honoring her, but it’s a brief contact and she is soon departed from the room, waving Exair to follow her.

“My Templar is in need of my attention,” she tells Exair quietly as she propels herself through the corridor once more. “He will be the one that obtains the claw from Verial, as he should have already done. He has been distracted too long with his own family conflicts. Now I must ask for your focus to be on Lady Calamaya.”

The seductive nature which had been annoying the elf beside her had suddenly been switched off. And while she is speaking to him pleasantly, it is obvious that there is some irritation in her demeanor towards something else.

Alerion was catching onto her scheme.

She did not know where or when he had begun to catch on. The man was rarely actually within the Palace. He spent most of his time in a private location outside of the kingdom. But somehow, somewhere… someone had let him know about the royal guests that were residing in the kingdom.

Verial and his lady had arrived at what they thought was an invitation from Alerion himself. It had in fact been from Calypso, in Alerion’s name. Who would answer the summons of a Goddess of Death in an unknown realm? No one. She was unsure if Alerion had even been aware of their presence until now. Yet now that he knows, he was coming to investigate what exactly was going on in his kingdom. He had always been very strict about how foreign dignitaries should be treated, and when he finds out how Calypso has used Calamaya and Verial, she will hear his blustering for weeks.

A very human like grunt of annoyance sounds in her throat as she turns back to Exair. “Lady Calamaya is actually as important as the claw that must be acquired. If she does not make it back alive…” Her sentence trails off.

“Calamaya is being held underneath the ruined Temple in Oneiro. Even as we speak she is being used violently by the demons that follow the White Dragon’s rule. They will leave her unguarded once Verial has arrived. Such is their confidence that no one will be able to make it to her. But you, my dear elf, should be able to easily slip past such clumsy demon’s line of vision to reach her. Verial will not be able to reach her before the white dragons and Maxim find him.”

She turns, reaching out and placing her hand on his shoulder. The touch is warm, a sharp contrast to the normally frigid aura that surrounds her. “I cannot convey in words how important it is that you pull Calamaya out of the dungeon. If at any time the White Dragons realize that Verial is winning, they will surely kill Calamaya for revenge. And Verial will win. I am sending an army behind him.”

They walk out of a door that leads out into the practice yard that the royal guard uses. Before them stand the royal guard, 200 strong. Behind them, close to 500 of the kingdom’s professional soldiers. Medora Desiderio, the head of the royal guard and general for this pending battle, stands at the front of them all, waiting for Calypso.

Calypso’s eyes scan them all. She raises her fist out in front of her, and all the soldiers begin fist pumping in the air, letting out guttural war cries. They were magnificent, her men of war. “I will be watching over each step you take.” She speaks softly, but her voice flows in on the breeze from every direction so that each man can hear her clearly. Their war cries rise into the air again as she turns to Exair and motions to four men standing separately to their right.

After walking over to them and quickly informing them of their change in objective, to save Calamaya instead of obtain a claw from Verial, she speaks to Exair again. “These four will lead your charge into the Temple. They are the Grand Duke’s personal body guard, four of our most elite soldiers. You may not need them, but just incase you meet resistance from some of the demons as you make your way in, they will remove the problem. They will follow your every order. Each of these men would gladly rescue Calamaya themselves, but none of them have your stealth. If any of the demon guards or white dragons catch onto the fact that someone is making their way to Calamaya, she will be killed.” She touches each of the body guards on their shoulders before nodding at them all. “You may proceed to the Oneiro gate. You will have an easier time of it if you go first before the army floods through.”



As they walk away, she tips her head back and closes her eyes. Maxim… come to me.

Time was really beginning to grow short. Alerion’s return was coming closer.

She turns to Medora and gives the Amazon a nod of respect. “This army is yours to command. Flush out the demon infestation of Oneiro. Our kingdom is lending King Verial and his family aide. King Verial is already on his way, and he rides into danger. Keep him alive. Bring all of them he cares about back alive.” She holds out her hand for Medora to take, and once their hands clasp, Calypso gives the only bow of respect she ever makes…. To the heads of her armies. “Lead them well, Lady Medora.”