Ragin spotted Lake Isenstar through ever darkening clouds. He pressed his desire to land into Vaela's mind, and the white dragon pulled into an exhausted spiral, the blue sky above disappearing into darkness. It wasn't raining yet, but the winds were becoming rather strong, signifying the approaching storm.

As they approached the ground Ragin slipped his small dagger into the sheath in his sleeve. He had spent the week enchanting and enforcing it with every spell he knew. If he was going to kill Tharin, he would need to think of everything. The man was likely surrounded in wards. The only way to hurt him would be either breaking his mind or figuring out a way through those wards.

Vaela landed heavily on the beach of the river, heaving at the effort it had taken to fly against the growing wind. She had quickly folded her wings as close to her sides as she could, trying to keep them from being torn open by the wind again. There was a grove of trees to our left that were being bent and thrown around by the wind, but it would give them some shelter. Ragin gestured for the white dragon to follow him, and she did, neither speaking.

She was just small enough to fit through the gaps in the trees, at a bit of a push anyway. As soon as the wind no longer bothered her she collapsed to the ground, her sides heaving from the effort of getting here. Ragin had pushed her hard in order to reach Lake Isenstar within the week, especially considering it had taken nearly twice the time to fly the same distance on the way to New Doru Araeba.

'Is... is that the Lake?' Vaela drearily asked, finding it difficult to hold back the wave of exhaustion that came with the words.

'Yes,' Ragin said, and after a moment's hesitation, 'Thank you.'

She snorted indignantly, choosing not to reply. Instead she lay her head against the ground, her breathing slowly calming as she relaxed for the first time in a number of days. The dark rider sat down near her, resting his own weary body. When he wasn't enchanting his dagger he had been gifting his own energy to the flying dragon and attempting to soothe her aching wings. Unlike before, he wasn't too worried about the effects of healing sore muscles. He had just wanted to get to the lake as quick as possible.

That being said, he couldn't help but feel a grudging admiration for the white dragon. He knew she wasn't overly fond of him, but she had understood the situation enough to at least forgive him for what he had done, which made him feel all the more guilty about what he was about to do. As her breathing slowed Ragin gently cast a spell over the already sleepy dragoness.

"Slytha," he whispered.

Vaela only had time to rumble in surprise before her tiredness and the spell overwhelmed her. Her head hit her paws, and her soft snoring followed soon after. He watched her for a moment, before letting out a soft sigh. He pulled his bag from his pack, opening it. Vaela's turquoise green egg was nestled neatly inside it. After a moment of admiring the shell he put his hand inside and pulled out the mirror that was his contact with Tharin.

He cast a quick scrying spell over it and watched as the mirror darkened into the image of the man he hated most.

"Ragin," Tharin said, a hint of a smirk on his face, "I take the white dragon we spotted was with you?"

"Yes," the rider replied, "I will meet you on the banks of the Isenstar around where we landed. I assume you know where that is."

"Can you not fly your new dragon over here?"

"I've already cast a sleeping spell on her, and the egg I stole is hers. She doesn't know that I am going to give it to you."

Tharin raised an eyebrow, "I must say Ragin, I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you."

"I was part of the Black Hand Tharin," the dark rider grunted, "There aren't many things I won't do to get what I want."

"I guess not," Tharin chuckled darkly, "I will meet you soon then."

Ragin nodded his head then released the spell on the mirror, allowing it to go dark once again. He stowed it away in his bag and had one final glance at the sleeping Vaela, before heading off through the grove of trees. He situated himself in bushes, watching as the wind whipped up waves. It wasn't long before a slight sprinkle of rain touched his skin. In the distance he could see a wall of water, but he guessed it wouldn't reach him for another hour or so. He would hopefully be done with this mission by then.

When he spotted a small barge rocking across the waves toward his side of Isenstar Lake he slipped the ring over his finger and made his way onto the beach. He waved at the barge, assuming that it was Tharin's vessel. He watched as it slowly made its way across the water, wondering if it would make it back if the weather got much worse. Not that that would make much of a difference. Tharin wasn't going back either way.

The barge moored a short distance away from the beach. A ramp at the front fell down, revealing a row boat, which was quickly shoved into the heaving mass of water. The rowboat had three figures in it that Ragin couldn't quite make out. Two of the figures grabbed the oars and began to move out over the water toward the banks of the lake.

The waves didn't seem to be a problem for them, and after a couple of minutes of rowing they made it to the shore. Ragin watched as the three men pulled themselves from the boat and began to walk toward him. The men on the outside wore dappled grey and black with swords at their hips and some other holster that looked to be made for that strange projectile weapon. It was the man in the middle that really drew Ragin's attention.

Tharin Foeswarn was as intimidating as the thief remembered. He had abandoned his usual cloak and instead wore a vest made from rich black leather. His mop of brown hair was flayed about by the wind, and all he had by his side was the strange weapon he was so fond of. Tharin's eyes focused in on Ragin, hard and cruel, followed by the hint of a smirk on his lips. The rider scowled back.

"Ragin! My friend. I am surprised you made it here... on time nonetheless," Tharin said in a cheery tone with a hint of malice.

"I always complete my job," Ragin replied stoically, struggling to not let his hate for the man drip into his words.

"You are very reliable," Tharin agreed, "Still, I wonder how you managed to escape. Your ability to disappear stumped even my spies."

The thief shrugged, "I'm sure you could figure it out if you thought hard enough."

The man raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure. But enough of these pleasantries. Do you have what I asked for?"

Ragin hoisted the sack up and tossed it into the sand about halfway to Tharin, "Here is your egg."

Tharin gestured toward one of his body guards, and the guard walked over to the bag. He opened it and pulled out the turquoise coloured egg. It was a rather odd sight, considering the blackening sky, grey water, dull forest and camouflaged humans around it. Ragin saw Tharin's eyes glint with glee when he saw the egg. The guard walked back to his master and placed the egg in his hands.

Foeswarn studied the egg with a practiced eye, looking all over it with a grand satisfaction, "Again, well done Ragin. Stealing a dragon egg right from under the noses of arguably the most influential group in the world. For a second time."

"What are you going to do with it?" Ragin asked, using the distraction of the egg to slowly slip his knife from his sleeve, hiding it behind his arm.

"That is none of your concern."

"Are you going to give it the same powers you gave Akaysha?"

"Again, none of your concern," Tharin sighed, handing the egg to one of his guards and turning back to Ragin, causing the thief to frown, gripping the handle of his knife harder. He couldn't throw it yet. The guards would notice and stop him. He needed to wait until they turned their backs.

"However," Tharin continued, "If you swore your allegiance to me I would be happy to give you an insight into my grand plan."

The offer startled Ragin so much that he couldn't help but lash out, "You would seriously ask me that? After what you've done?"

"Consider it a formality," Tharin laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The slight was beginning to grow heavier, the wind whipping drops into the humans standing below. A drop in Ragin's eye forced him to blink, and the instant he did Tharin moved, pulling out his weapon in a single fluid movement. Thunder crashed in the distance. Ragin froze, his eyes narrowing at the man in front of him, who still wore a slight smirk as he aimed the weapon toward Ragin.

The thief's mind worked quickly, taking in the situation before him. He wouldn't be able to outrun the weapon. Any movement on his part would make Tharin pull the trigger. He wouldn't be able to dodge out of the way. He couldn't retaliate with an attack of his own the same way he would be able to if his enemy had a bow. Maybe one of the words from the enchanted language would give him the speed to dodge it, but judging from how fast the previous projectiles had been no word would make him fast enough.

"We had a deal," Ragin eventually said slowly.

"Yes we did," Tharin replied, "I said I wouldn't harm Akaysha and in return you would give me the dragon egg."

"Killing me would kill her as well," Ragin gritted through his teeth, trying to find a way out of his situation, "That would harm her."

The man holding the weapon laughed, "And that is my problem how? Her death through you is purely coincidental. I have nothing to do with it."

Ragin gritted his teeth angrily, his mind flinging ideas at him almost as quickly as he discontinued them. How could he have missed this. Of course Tharin would want to kill him. There was no way the man would let someone as dangerous as Ragin survive. There was too much at stake, too many ways in which Ragin could get in the way. He should have thrown the dagger sooner. At least then he may have had a chance.

"Why?" the thief asked, knowing the answer but trying to stall, trying to think of a way out.

"You know the answer... my friend," Tharin grinned, "It's nothing personal. I mean, you do have a way of well... getting in the way. And while you are useful, you are too much of a wildcard. Plus there is a problem of a certain dragon which coincidentally also goes away at your death. Tying up loose ends, if you will."

"I hate you."

"My, my. Do you really want those to be your last words? You really are a sad man Ragin," Tharin sighed, "You know, it really is a shame. You had so much potential."

"Wait, Tha-!"

BANG!

* * *

Akaysha flew hard, her wings pumping at her sides as she pushed herself harder than she ever had before. She had just reached the Hadarac desert, but still there was no sign of her rider. It was like he had disappeared from the face of the earth. The riders that had flown out from Alageasia trying to find him had completely missed him, and those that had left before her hadn't found him yet either.

She was exhausted, but the need to find her rider kept her going. There was nothing else on her mind. She only needed to find him. Once that had happened, then she could rest. It didn't help that she felt as though she had been completely blocked off from him. There was not even the usual pull that she felt when they were too far apart to talk to each other. She had felt it occasionally during their flight, but that ring he had hid him very well. She had no idea where he would be.

She had managed to catch up to her fellow dragons at the town, she forgot what it was called, that was the gateway into Alageasia. Since then she had been flying with them, hoping beyond all hope to find her partner of her heart and mind. She knew something was wrong, she just knew it. If she didn't find him soon then...

Suddenly an intense and burning pain shot through her chest. She let out a startled scream as her wings seized up. It felt like a spear had gone through her heart. Her wings fluttered once, before she fell, not able to hold herself in the air. Cries of alarm surrounded her. But she didn't hear them. The world began to loose focus as the desert below got closer and closer until all that she could see was the sand.

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Hey guys! New chapter! Finally! This chapter took much longer than I expected to complete, but hopefully it was worth it. I know it was a bit shorter, but it kind of needed to be. So vote and comment what you thought of it. What do you think will happen now? Is there any way they could get out of this? You'll just have to wait and see. I'm gonna be trying to get out chapters a lot quicker now, especially considering the story speeds up quite substantially in the next couple of chapters. So we'll see what you think. Next one will be out as soon as I can get it. See Ya!

Pennator^^