"Let me make this as clear as I possibly can" Frederick begins, "we are going on a quest because this hybrid here has a terrible gut feeling?"

"Freddie, the volcano erupted and the Fallen attacked which is something we haven't witnessed in several hundred years"

Vivian sits quietly, though she was visibly frustrated with all the questions Freddie was asking about their journey.

"She had a premonition, you could say" Alana glances at Vivian, briefly wondering if she was allowed to say that. Vivian merely rolls her eyes, stepping forward into the dim light of the almost empty training area.

"I have the gift and curse of foresight, just as my mother has. I am partly of Angel descent, and so my visions clearer and the accuracy of these visions are far beyond that of my mother's. This is no gut feeling, as you have called it; Arraila is in danger and it will fall into darkness if your princess chooses to sit back and do nothing" Vivian glances at Alana, "I have heard great things about you, Alana Flare, so it would be in your best interest not disappoint me, much less your people"

"Much less the world" Alana mutters.

Chase growls at Vivian, not liking the tone she used with Alana. "You can't just dump all of that responsibility onto her and expect her to succeed on her own. Freddie and I are not as strong, nor as old as Alana is-" "She will not be on her own. Besides us three, there are two more waiting on the outskirts of Tandour, and the prince of Thalaree will be with them soon enough"

"Fantastic, another noble" Freddie rolled her eyes, "and what is he going to be like?"

"Shy, a little skittish, and maybe traumatized if he'd gone through the old forest outside the border of Thalaree. He would have run into those terrifying druid creatures"

"Even so, I do not like the picture you paint of this prince" Alana frowns, "especially considering you did not tell me that there would be others accompanying me besides my closest friends"

"Most apologies for that, though if you had known to start with, I doubt you would have accepted this quest"

"If it meant the world was in danger, I would have gone to the Underground and back to save it" Alana stands up, glaring at Vivian, "so who are you to tell me what I would and would not do?"

A silence falls over them, Vivian feeling a little stupid for assuming how Alana thinks. As Alana turns back to her friends, Vivian takes it upon herself to leave the training area. Once she's outside, she allows herself to take a deep breath in and out as she mentally prepares for the journey ahead. Vivian had no clue how this war would end, but she could foresee some amount of blood being spilled.

Only time would tell who will die, and who will live to see the future...

***

Daevina and Wyntar sit around the fire, paying no mind to the squelching noises of boots wandering around the mounds of mud. They were far enough in the cave that the Tandour soldiers wouldn't be able to notice the light emitting from the fire. Daevina inspects Wyntar's hands, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"See, your hands are already shriveled from being in the water so long" Daevina says with a shake of her head.

Wyntar pulls his hands away from her, raising an eyebrow. "At least I don't look like an old man"

"But you are old in the scheme of things" Daevina smirks.

"As are you, but you don't hear me saying anything about it, now do you?" Wyntar snaps back.

"Calm your horses, I was only joking. You really can't take a joke, can you?"

"If it's in regard to my age, no"

Daevina scoffs, muttering something about 'grumpy old men' before she turns her head to the entrance of the cave. They can still hear the squelching coming from most of the soldiers wandering around the muddy expanse of the outskirts, however there were now two new sounds; heavy boots stomping on rock.

"Two of them are in the cave" Wyntar growls.

Daevina hums, turning her attention to Wyntar. "Do you want to deal with them, or shall I?"

"You've already dealt with one, I'll deal with these idiots"

Wyntar stands up, grabbing the sword that was sat just behind him. Even with one arm, he could still fight as well as someone who still had both arms.

"Be careful" Daevina says almost incoherently.

"Always am. Wouldn't still be alive if I wasn't"

As much as Wyntar thought Tandour soldiers were beyond dunderheads, he could begrudgingly admit that they were trained under some of the best captains in Tandour, if not the whole of Arraila. They had skill, and though Wyntar had lived for over 1,600 years, he wouldn't allow himself to get cocky.

When you get cocky, you die. This was the one downfall of all Tandour's soldiers; they were so confident that they were better than anyone that they let it get to their heads and they'd die within their first or second fight.

"There! Someone's coming towards us!" Wyntar hears one of the soldiers shout.

These soldiers looked as if they were in their early 20s; still a whole life ahead of them. Wyntar hates cutting lives such as young as theirs short, but if they were hunting him, then he would have no choice.

"Halt! And drop your weapon!"

Wyntar sighs, shaking his head. "The why don't you drop your weapons?"

"We aren't looking for you Wyntar" the solider to Wyntar's left spits.

Wyntar stops, narrowing his eyes. These weren't ordinary soliders; these boys were part of the King's guard.

"Then whom are you looking for?"

"We're looking for a dragon hybrid. Her name is Daevina Carvour" The one on the right says, "and we have reason to believe you may no where she is"

"I haven't seen her in several centuries" Wyntar lies as he lowers his weapon, but doesn't drop it, "why would you suspect she is here, then?"

"Our king has reason to believe he saw her sneak through Tandour" The soldier to Wyntar's right speaks wit an air of confidence.

"Our king hears and sees all, so there will be no comfortable death for you if it is discovered you lied" The soldier on the left growls, standing taller as if to appear more intimidating.

Wyntar blinks, his eyes showing annoyance at their utter stupidity. "Your king is a fool; a bastard one at that. He orders you here to look for a woman he thinks he saw sneaking through his kingdom and sends young boys such as yourselves to their death"

"Is that a threat, Wyntar?"

Wyntar smirks; a smirk that shows his jagged, yellowed teeth. "I don't do threats"

Wyntar raises his one good arm, swinging the sword in a diagonal motion. This sword is his personal fvourite, and to show for it, he sharpens it every day. The soldier who stood to his right is now sliced in half diagonally as a result. Wyntar pays no mind as dark blood spurts out onto his face, but he makes sure to close his eyes to reduce the risk of it getting into them. The other soldier goes to strike, but his sword is quickly stopped. A red mist encases the sword, and the soldier soon sees the red rim around the iris of Wyntar's eye.

"Y-you-"

"I'd wager the king did not tell you just how in tune I am with my demonic blood, though you will not be the first to discover what I am able to do"

The process is slow and painful for the soldier. First, his blood runs hot; so hot he boils from the inside. This lasts for several minutes before his body exploded and small parts of his body go flying and the soldiers blood decorates the already stained cave. Wyntar groans in distaste, knowing he'd have to scrub the wall at some point, though he really couldn't be bothered in that moment.

He breathes a heavy sigh, turning and walking back to Daevina. He briefly glances back, wondering if any other soldiers dared to enter his cave. Upon discovering that he could no longer hear boots stomping around in the mud outside the cave, he walks back into the dark of the cave...

***

Vivian stands alone out in the open before Alana decides to join her. Without looking, Vivian senses Alana beside her, the princess releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"I have already made up my mind about this quest, however my friend's are more hesitant to join me"

"If they want to be true to their future ruler" Vivian began, "they will accompany you to the Underground and back, as that is our exact destination"

Alana was taken aback by those words, an now knowing the end destination, her mind swam with question.

"Why?" Alana simply asks, though Vivian could almost hear her mind asking all the questions that she left unspoken.

"My vision warned me of the bloodshed that will soon come if the God Mikaelis is not stopped. He is once more becoming powerful; drawing power from the Crows that kill and maim. It's funny, to think that the God of the Dead would draw power from the violent deaths of the world, but he does" Vivian turns to Alana, her gaze hardening, "his current power overshadows Mihaela's; overshadows even those that came before him. He must not be allowed free, Alana Flare. He was trapped in that realm for a reason"

Alana's mind wanders envisioning the war that split the world; divided them into the four kingdoms. Mikaelis had nearly burned the entire continent of Arraila to the ground, and now he is seeking revenge.

"I will not force my friends—my family—to accompany me on this dangerous quest if they do not wish to, though I must ask; what would occur if I was to go alone"

A beat of silence.

"You would die unsuccessfully, and the world would burn as it did in The Divide"