Sights Unseen (IC)

Sights Unseen

In a dark, relentless storm, a gigantic shape darted through the sky. In the few flashes of lightning that followed in its wake, one could make out the silhouette of a massive bird as it flew overhead. It's wing beats pulled the clouds together, forcing rain from their depths, and when the wings met, twisted arcs of lightning coursed from them, accompanied by a crack of thunder. It seemed as though the bird was unharmed by the falling torrent, and as if nothing could possibly injure it.

Kyle could only gaze at it through the clouds and grit his teeth at the miserable conditions. His clothing was waterproof, but his hair and face was no exception. He was still soaked with rain. He had chased after this Thunderbird for three years, and had yet to even get close to it. Somehow, the creature had managed to detect him whenever he began to draw near, and it eluded him every time, generating storms in its wake to further hinder his progress. With every failure, his desire to destroy the beast grew. This creature, along with all of its kind, was a threat. All of them would die. All except for Honeycomb.

Honeycomb, his tiny Amphisbaena companion, was wrapped around his neck like a scarf, as usual. Among all the creatures Kyle had faced, she was the only exception to his rule. He had not been able to bring himself to kill her. By now, she had been his pet for a long time. It amazed him, how no matter how many mythical creatures he killed, the little double-headed serpent never tried to flee from him. They were close, and each was as in tune with the other as though connected by an invisible thread. Right now, though, the focus was the Thunderbird.

He looked into the sky, as it began to fly away, and started running. He couldn't let it get away this time. He thought he could sense Honeycomb's concern for his health, in a way. He got the feeling she was worried he would catch a cold. "I'm fine," He muttered, partially to himself, "I don't plan to get sick." With this in mind, he continued the chase.


Somewhere, at the edge of the storm, yet another massive shape approached. It was far larger than a Thunderbird, and it's wings blotted out the sky as it moved. Glowing amber eyes shone like signal beams through the gloom, and the beast looked ahead, seemingly focused on something that only it could see. "How much further? I cannot breathe fire in this weather." Iris said, speaking to Saul, the Seer who was riding on her back, via a special bond that they shared. "Not much further. They're up ahead. We need to catch them before the storm ends." Saul sent back, "Also, can't you just switch to ice?" He asked. "Do you really want to ride me, knowing that my scales would radiate cold?" She shot back. "You know very well that while you are immune to my fire, my cold still burns you upon contact." Saul, sensing his companion and partner was becoming agitated, decided to change the topic, "Do you think you can handle the Thunderbird without injuring it?" He asked.

The dragon gave a snort, "I would not worry about it. Rather, can you handle the Seer chasing her?" Iris did not doubt her power in a fight. Saul was another story. He was so thin and non-muscular, one punch could probably knock him out cold. He picked up on it, "He's a Seer, and a strong one, at that, but he lacks training. I am more worried about the creature that seems to be with him. It feels like he's already paired up with a mythical companion. It could pose problems." There was a long pause. "...I see...." Iris mused, and continued flying, silent.

At the conclusion of the evening festivities - when Father and Daughter had recited their thanks for supper and retired, exhausted from the day's work - the Mother alone lingered in the kitchen of the Mistress of the House, a title which did not - factually - reside with herself.

This Mother, with a witty smile and a half-knowing, half-unintentional glance at a certain spot under the stove, was wont to leave on the dilapidated dining table of hardy maple a small glass of milk, two carrots, and a sample of her acclaimed Borscht in one of her finest ceramic bowls. This she did with trained efficiency before taking her own leave, as she was most probably more worn from household activities than either of her two house-mates combined.

Of course, to assume that there were only three house-mates total would be woefully misinformed, and to claim that the fourth - the Mistress of the House - did indeed live under the stove would be notably insulting.

The Mistress Kamina Barabashkavna merely took the stove as one would a partiality of a hangout, and she often lurked beneath it to hear of the family affairs at breakfast, and to lend her low, paradoxically haggard and soothing voice to their prayers at supper's conclusion. She now slid forth from the cramped shadows beneath the stove, and happily partook of the Mother's offered feast.

It should be at this point noted that, of the many things that drove Kamina Barabashkavna to irritation, high ruler of the collective was the unwelcome presence of an intruder. Accordingly, it is vital to note that the domovaya classified intruders as one might books or movies into their various genres - and those she both hated and feared more than all were those known as Seers.

They had been eyeing the House for thirteen months now, and Kamina Barabashkavna was most dismayed to sense the presence of the magic-that-should-not-host-magic moments before the offender's shoes plonked into place upon the welcome mat that lay on the House's front steps, and a deceptively timid knock-knock broke the tender silence of the night.

Kyle was gaining on the Thunderbird, and was about to unleash an spell to stop it from escaping, when a sudden roar filled the sky. It was terrifying, and it felt like it was rattling the very core of his being. Next thing he knew, something far larger than what he was chasing emerged from the clouds. It's enormous wings blotted out the stormy horizon, making a shadow fall over the already dark landscape.

Aella, the Thunderbird generating the storm, had been chased by the one Seer and his Amphisbaena partner for three years. She hated that little creature he had wrapped around his neck. Not only had she betrayed her kind, but because of the magical protection that resulted from her actions, there was no guarantee that Aella could strike a lethal wound. She was about to escape when a black form blotted out her view. It's roar stated what it was, and why it was here. A dragon had just arrived, and she was dominant, and she meant business.

Aella's pride got the best of her when it began to chase her. She decided she would prove to this thing just who was the fastest creature in the skies. She took off, with laughter in her mind as she imagined the dragon's face. When she looked over her shoulder, she expected to see the dragon a distant dot, but instead, it was hot on her tail, and gaining, fast. Aella then realized her mistake. Her own wingspan was about twice her body length, while this dragon's wings were probably four times its own length. A creature with large wings was made for air combat, and in addition, the larger the wings were compared to the body, the faster it was. This dragon had a very small body compared to its massive wings.

Aella desperately tried to fly up into the sky, but she flew into a solid wall of dark black scales. She somehow noted that they were faintly patterned with blue and red shades, but for the most part, there wasn't any visible color. But while she took her time to note the scales, much to her horror, she found herself pinned down. The dragon's talons, were like swords or razors in sharpness, and glinted like steel. They were wickedly curved and hooked, and formed a huge cage over her torso. As she saw the shape of another something...a Seer!...jump off the dragon's back, a large, white face, which eerily reminded her of a skull, roared directly at her.


For a moment, Kyle thought the Seer on the dragon's back was trying to stop it, but when he ran up and attached an inhibitor spell on his forehead and on one of Honeycomb's wings, he realized that this man wasn't here to help him. The two tumbled to the ground, and Kyle and his partner would have torn off the seals and attacked, but their limbs were frozen. As the man rushed over and placed another seal on the Thunderbird, the sky cleared to reveal a starry night sky. The dragon snorted and took its talons off the creature, while Kyle glared in anger, as well as jealousy. Not only had they attacked him, but in a few minutes had defeated the creature he had chased for three years! What was going on here.

The dragon picked up the Thunderbird carefully by the neck. It screeched in protest, but could not do anything else. It came over and deposited the creature in a sitting position next to Kyle, while the Seer arranged him in a similar manner. The two conquerors stood before them now. The Seer cleared his throat, "I would like to begin by apologizing to both of you for our little greeting." The young man said. His voice was surprisingly clear and strong, for someone who looked so scrawny. "But we needed to get the three of you before you went off the radar, and we needed you in one place.

Kyle's face contorted into a snarl, "Who are you!? What are you doing with a dragon!?" He shouted. The dragon started to bare its teeth, but the man put his hand on it's side, and it stopped. "Iris, is not entirely a dragon. And why do you accuse me of anything wrong when you appear to have a companion as well? Ask the Amphisbaena around your neck what my partner is." He said. Kyle saw images flash in his mind. A female woman, a Seer, something that looked like a blue bearded man with huge feet and white hair. Then, a dragon, one that looked sort of like the one standing next to his captor, only without the white markings, and finally, a demon.

Kyle didn't understand, "Honeycomb? What did you just show me?" He asked. The little creature just glared at the dragon and hissed, her tongue flickering. The dragon growled in response, as though insulted. The Seer put his hand to the dragon's side again, and Kyle realized that he seemed to be restraining it. "Well, then, perhaps we need a second opinion?" He asked. He walked up and placed a new seal on the Thunderbird, one Kyle hadn't seen before, and the bird dissolved into a human shape. The girl had dark olive skin, and wore a wooden mask like the bird that had once been in her place. A feathery cloak was draped around her shoulders.


Aella glared at the Seer through the mask. "Who are you, Seer?" She hissed, "And when you keep company with creatures, why with a mixed breed?" She said the words 'mixed breed' with disgust. The dragon seemed to take incredible offense, and immediately began to move forward, but the man restrained her. "Iris, is my companion, and if you had not focused so much on opposing each other, you would have realized that Seers and Creatures are not the worst threat to be faced." The man said. Aella glanced at the Seer next to her, and realized they were both asking the same questions. She faced the Seer, eyes narrowed, "What threat?" She asked.


Saul nodded, "You may or may not know, but I hope you are familiar with the Egyptain deity Ammit?" He asked. The Thunderbird's eyes narrowed, and without noticing, the Seer and his partner were doing the same. "I am familiar." the Thunderbird said. "Well, you can choose not to believe me, but the Devourer of Hearts has broken free from her prison." the Seer seemed to gasp a little, "But I thought that was all a myth! You mean that legend is true? Ammit really exists?" He asked. Saul nodded, "Yes, I am afraid so, and thanks to little scraps that occur because of the re-emergence of Seers, the negative energy broke the seal that has kept her dormant for centuries. She's free." He pulled what appeared to be a glowing blue orb the size of a golf ball from his pocket. He rolled it around in his hand. "Now, this brings me to why my companion and I are here." He looked at the three, "Are you willing to set aside your differences to help fight Ammit? Day by day, her army is stronger, so we've been putting a little force together."


Kyle exchanged glances with the Thunderbird. He hated her, and he could see that she felt the same. Funny, he thought it was a male until it transformed. He turned back to the Seer, "I still hate creatures," He said, "But I'll go, even though it's just a bunch of nonsense. I probably don't have a choice, anyway." The man smiled a bit, he turned to the Thunderbird, "And you?" He asked. She averted her gaze, seemingly defeated, "Fine, whatever." The man smiled even wider. "Excellent choice." He said. He threw the orb at the ground, and it shattered, forming into a portal. Meanwhile, Kyle felt the seal inhibiting him dissolve. "Come on! We don't have all day!" the Seer said. With this, he stepped through the portal, his dragon following.

Kyle and the Thunderbird exchanged confused glances mixed with hatred again, before following. Today was just getting weirder and weirder.

The suspicious domovaya wrinkled her stately nose in disgust. This was a Seer that she recognized, a visitor almost frequent to the humble House. He came whenever society allowed, sniffing at the groundworks of the supernatural like a blind dog in muck.

This time, however, was different; Kamina Barabshkavna discerned as much after a second whiff of the musky magic that hung about her House. The Seer was not alone; he had brought with him two of his kin, a man and a woman, and an aura of grim determination and finality was draped across the shoulders of the three, seeming to unify them in a single goal.

Kamina Barabashkavna was afraid. They had never before come in significant numbers, or at such an unusual time of night. By the gentle rhythms that drifted down the stairs, the Master of the House deduced that all but one of the residents lay restfully in bed; the Child, it seemed, lay awake.

Immersed in concentration, the domovaya almost did not notice the breaching of the House; it seemed, one moment, that each intruder stood quietly - if impatiently - upon the doorstep, yet when Kamina Barabashkavna thought to check, the front door had swung inward on silent hinges, allowing a carpet of moonlight to flood the tiny entrance hall.

She was both ashamed of herself for allowing such a violation of security to take place and amazed at what strange methods the seers must have had to go about to do it. The group of Seers appeared to have split, each roaming a separate room in search of their prey, moving silently with cloth-wrapped feet. They were, undoubtedly, attempting to locate the Center of the House - the exact Core - wherein they would find irrefutable evidence of the domovaya's presence.

Unable to accept defeat, Kamina Barabashkavna flew into a rage - windows rattled, threadbare carpets grumbled in alarm before flying across the floor, out from under the feet of the least fortunate of the party, and furniture trembled as it lunged through the air at the heads of the intruders.

The seers, however, seemed to have expected and prepared for such resistance; seeing that the Master was indeed roused, one produced a silver tin which he struck - once, twice - and sprayed about the air as if to ward away a swarm of flies.

An instant later, a spark hopped excitedly from the silver tin, and the room was plunged into an inferno, the likes of which startled even such a wizened mind as that of Kamina Barabshkavna. The Seers retreated from the House into the street, and the despondent domovaya realized her mistake.

She was quick to topple the upstairs beds and could do little more than pray that the Family would have the sense to make egress by means of the upstairs window, and that the Seers would bother them little. The fire spread like a colony of ants, seemingly intent on leaving no scrap or vestige of the House intact come morning. Defeated, Kamina Barabashkavna fled from the House with a might scream, destined to echo in the dreams of those who slept in the safety of nearby homes.

Perhaps the domovaya had imagined it, but one of the Seers seemed to aim a sly glance in her direction as her hunched and tattered shadow of a form fled away into the night. Without a House, Kamina Barabashkavna knew, it was only a matter of time until she was hunted down, just as her father and mother were before her.

"Engines?"

"Check."

"Fuel?"

"Check."

"Alright, so save time, everything that's supposed to be full and functional is good, and everything that's not isn't, correct?"

"Check."

"You're not even listening to me."

"Huh? What? Oh... Sorry, that bird was doing some sort of air dance thing, looked kinda cool."

"You're an idiot, Rotor."

"Anyways, everything seems in order. Ready for take off, Axel?"

"You got it."

A young man climbed up a symbiotic Dragon's wing, before hopping into the "cockpit" which was located where the creature's back should be. Although the dragon seemed more robot that reptile, it could easily be seen that this creature was no robot either. It moved to fluidly, to precisely to be mechanic. It didn't talk like a me home either, instead, it had a soulful voice that showed emotion. Some flesh was exposed on it's body, some on it's tail, sides, and upper neck, however, the rest was hidden by sheets of metal. It's heart was no longer a muscle, but instead a machine that pumped blood smoothly, and it's lungs were replaced with specialized filters, designed to take pure oxygen out of the air the massive breathed.

"Thrusters, on." Axel said, pulling the trigger of a joystick that controlled the engines, powering them up, then placing his pilot's visor on. Several flaps on the metallic wings rose, revealing small thrusters, each glowing red with energy.

"Let's fly!" Rotor said trough the headphones, so he could be heard from the outside.

The dragon began in a slow gallop, the thrusters beginning to produce flames from the ends. The gallop turned into a four legged sprint, at least, a somewhat sprint, as wings can hinder that ability. At this point the flaps were open fully, and the thrusters producing a real flame. Rotor began to raise his metallic wings, the pistons he had on his muscles lifting the large and heavy appendages with ease. Now the dragon was in a two legged run.

Rotor raised his mighty wings, each many meters in diameter, and with an almighty thrust, took off as the high powered engines exploded into action, rocketing the dragon sky high.

"And we are clear!" Rotor roared, doing a quick barrel roll, happy to e in the air again and moving so fast. They gained altitude, before they reached around fifteen thousand feet, then cruised.

"Alright, killing the engines... Now." Axel said, releasing his finger from the joystick's trigger that controlled the engine's thrust.

"You know, I like to go fast." Rotor said in disappointed tone.

"I like to keep the fuel levels high." Axel countered.

"Tricks?"

"Let's."


Rotor the turned in the air, diving straight down into a swan dive, and then into a corkscrew, then, with their weight and the speed they were at, triggered the thrusters and pulled up from the nose dive at less than a thirty feet from the ground.

A large explosion sent rocks and gravel flying, and blowing back foliage as the dragon and his rider broke the sound barrier, everything became a blur as they rocketed across the land, the speed they were moving at threw up dust from the ground as if they had crash landed and were skidding across the earth. Slowly, Axel turned the thrusters down, and the symbiotic dragon's flight slowed to a stop as the dragon stopped flapping his wings. Axel's ejector seat tool into effect as the roof of the dragon's cock pit lifted up, and launched Axel out.

The dragon hit the ground and skidded on the earth before flipping over on it's noes and landing on it's back, laughing it's butt off as his rider slowly floated back down to the ground from the seat's parachute.

"You're so funny." Axel said, unstrapping himself. from the seat.

"I know, how would you have become my friend?"

"By saving your life?"

"Nah, you're my friend because I'm the best jokester you know."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Now shut up and let my put this seat back in your chest." Axel said, dragging the pilot's seat over to the dragon, who helped lift it over to it's back and dropping it in place. Axel got to work, re-rigging the mechanism that shot the seat up, and folding the parachute back into the back of the seat.

"You wanna head back to base?" Axel said, hopping off of the dragon's wing, and back to the ground.

"Not yet. I dont like having to stay in one spot for long amounts of time." Rotor replied, growling slightly at the thought.

"You can go human instead." Axel replied.

"If they take inventory, you're gonna be in trouble. This 'F-35' isn't yours yet. A year or so more and the C.O. will probably give me as a parting gift. That is, if you have a place to keep the 'plane'."

"I inherited a pretty good amount of land, I can keep you on that. My little estate has a good amount of money value to it. It's the only reason I was able to get the parts to fix you up and design the F-35. I dont think that'll be a problem."

"Whatever you say, compradore."

Ky tumbled out of the portal on hard, rocky ground. He hadn't expected to gather so much force as he traveled through it, but he did. No sooner had he gotten up and recovered before the Thunderbird came flying out, crashing into him and landing in a tangle of limbs and feathers. He muttered something under his breath, before snapping at her, "Get off of me!" She obliged, hopping off of his back and yanking part of her cloak out from underneath him. He once more got up, and brushed himself off, staring at the blue portal as it dissolved. "That wasn't the kind of portal I expected it to be." He said. The Thunderbird shook her head, "No, that was like being tossed through a blizzard." He turned to stare at her. There was a long, uneasy silence, before she finally threw up her arms, the cloak ruffling at the motion, "What?! I can only make thunderstorms! Blizzards and ice are completely out of my control!" She cried.

They heard someone clear their throat nearby. They turned to look at the Seer who had brought them here, "Firstly, I am going to tell you where we are, so formally this doesn't count as kidnapping." He said. "We are currently at a secret base located within the Alsek Mountain range, nestled just past the Canadian border." Ky suddenly turned and saw that, indeed, they were in the mountains. They were standing on a cliff, overlooking the mountains. Clearly they were at a high altitude, as the clouds were obscuring the view of the coniferous forests below. He blinked, before turning back to the Seer. The Seer continued, as though he did this every day, which he likely did. "Now, introductions. My name is Saul, leader of those who reside here, and you've already met my companion, Iris." He gestured over to the dragon (Or part-dragon creature, Ky thought), who seemed to be showing signs of agitation. She gave a growl, raising a look of alarm from Saul, "Iris, do you really need to go hunt now?" She growled again, a little bit deeper. Saul huffed, "Very well, go ahead and find something before you go mad with hunger." With this the dragon snorted and took off, diving into the clouds below.

Saul rubbed his temples, "Sometimes I don't know how I ever managed to control her in the first place." He muttered, before turning back to the two. "Well, then, first thing's first, getting past the guards." With this, he started walking towards a large opening in the side of the mountain, which was rather large, Ky realized. As they got closer, he saw two large shapes looming over them, one on each side of the entrance. When they got within a certain distance of the cave entrance, which was lit, he noticed, two wings shot out and blocked the mouth of the cave. "Halt! Who goes there!?" A voice growled, seeming to come from the figure to the left, and sounding strongly like a trumpet. Ky blinked, and realized what they were.

The guards were two creatures, along with what appeared to be their Seer companions. Kyle began to realize by this point that it seemed that each Seer had a Creature that they identified with. The creatures who were guarding the gate were a Manticore and a Sphinx. The Manticore was on the left, and the Sphinx was on the right. The Manticore, just as it had been described in mythology, was large, with the body of a red lion. It's fiery red mane surrounded a fierce, human face, which was bearded, with thick, bushy eyebrows. It looked normal, until the Manticore bared its teeth, revealing the three rows of sharp teeth in his mouth. The manticore's wings were feathery and bird-like, the same color of his fur. A long, emerald green tail covered in scales wrapped around the Manticore as it sat. The Sphinx on the right, unlike the Manticore, had a lion's body with fur that was a more golden shade. Curly blond hair formed her mane, and like her counterpart, her feminine features looked human until she bared her teeth. Her wing also blocked the entrance. Her tail never held still, instead, it darted around, an emerald green serpent's head hissing and eying the new arrivals suspiciously.

Saul faced the two creatures, meeting their golden eyes. "Saul, Lord of this mountain!" He said. "I come with two new arrivals!" The Sphinx nodded, "Proceed!" She said, and the two guards clamped their wings to their sides, allowing Saul to pass. But when Ky and the Thunderbird tried to pass, they once more blocked the entrance. "State your names!" the Sphinx hissed. The Thunderbird sighed, "Aella, the Thunderbird." She said. Ky nodded, and spoke his name as well, "I am Kyle, the Seer." The Manticore nodded slowly, "Very well, now, for the last test." he turned to look at the Sphinx, "Your riddle." The Sphinx fixed her golden eyes on the two, "Listen to my riddle carefully! There were two sisters, one gives birth to the other, and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are these two sisters?" She asked.

Ky exchanged glances with the Thunderbird, or Aella, as it turned out, and she huffed, "I don't know. Supposedly, the Sphinx has two riddles she can give us. I know the first answer, but this one I've never heard before!" Kyle sighed, "We cannot answer your riddle, Sphinx." He said. The Manticore growled, "Then you shall remain here, until you can pass this test!" Kyle glanced helplessly past the wings at Saul, who shook his head, "These two are the best guards in the entire Legion, but in order to receive their protection, strangers have to answer the riddle correctly. If you can get it once, you don't have to repeat it."


Iris roared as she ascended back to the mountain, landing on the ledge and shifting into human form. She couldn't enter the cave in dragon form. She was too big. It had only taken one ram to sate her hunger this time. As she approached the entrance, she saw that the two new arrivals were still stuck solving the riddle. She snorted, a sound that made them turn and stare. "Who are you?" The Seer asked. "Who do you think?" She asked, annoyed. The Thunderbird had no trouble figuring it out, "Mixed-breed..." She hissed at her hatefully. Iris shot her a look with her powerful, amber eyes, which glowed like coals or embers. "Are you challenging me? I was going to help you solve the riddle, but if that's how you're going to treat me, then you can just stand here until it snows." The thunderbird looked away, as most creatures did when they met her gaze, which was said to be unnerving. "...I'll take that as an apology." Iris hissed. She started to approach the entrance. "Who goes there!?" The Manticore roared. "The answer to the riddle is Day and Night!" Iris yelled. With this, the two guards blinked, somewhat stunned, and withdrew their wings. Iris turned back to the two, "Now hurry up!" She growled. Exchanging glances, the two began to follow her.

"I came up with an idea of how we can make you legally mine!" Axel said, suddenly piping up, making the dragon laying beside him visibly shift at the sudden noise.

"What if we faked our deaths with a crash? They'll forget us just like they did Amelia Earhart!" Axel continued, smiling strangely.

"You know, for a genius, the was the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Ever." Rotor said, sounding rather unamused.

"Alright, then what do you suppose we should do? I dont hear you striking any ideas."

"Well, your conspiracy theories on how to get us out of the military are awfully far fetched. I would suggest getting the important stuff from your home and then just flying off. That would work better than anything else. After that you can disable the tracking device I have. At that point, I'll be more of a stealth bomber then an F-35, at least to the military, and anyone else who uses a radar." Rotor said, the propellor on his snout coming out from it's usual folded positions and started to turn, creating a small breeze for Axel. "My temperature sensors indicate that it's ninety eight degrees fahrenheit. You must be overly warm."

"Thanks. So when are we heading home, you know, to get the stuff and go?" Axel questioned.

"Are you seriously considering that? I was just giving a more realistic approach to your plans. I didn't mean to egg you on. Remind me not to give you ideas."

"Jerk."

'Come in Axel, come in, over.' Rotor's radio chimed out, signaling someone was contacting him.

"Copy that, what'cha need, over?" Axel said, climbing up the dragon's wing, siting in the cockpit, and picking up the radio voice transceiver.

"Base needs you to head out to Alsek for a mission. Apparently, people have been complaining about loud sounds in the woods and some messed up trees. The hunters also say they've seen destroyed carcasses of game. We need you to go down there and act as the technician for the man who we sent to investigate, plus you're one of the best shot's we have. Take Rotor, that plane'll get you there in no time. Just make sure to keep it hidden from the public in the detective's hanger, and take Cy. The more hands the better. It hasn't been released to the public yet. Over and out." the line suddenly went dead, showing that the operator had hung up.

"Pack your backs 'Cy' we have a mission to head out to Alsek... Where is that again?"

"Although that's what the others have dubbed me, you better now call me Cy, or I will light you on fire. Alsek is in the mountainous regions in Canada. My guess is that this is some crazy sasquatch hunter with a lot of money to the point where he can hire a few military personel." Rotor said, walking away for a few minutes, only to bring back the roof of the cockpit in his maw. Rotor retained his fire breathing ability that most dragons had. He then bent around and placed it gingerly against his back, and motioned for Axel to come and secure it back on.

The man in question gladly did, and set to work, securing the hood wasn't to difficult if you knew how to do it, and soon enough they were back on their way to restock on supplies, taking a surplus of an amount in case they needed it. Then took back off for another flight, this time to Canada.

"I hope you packed warm gear! Because Canada is cold!" Rotor said through the com link to Axel's pilot mask's built in headset.

"God dangit!"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A loud, booming voice echoed through the massive arena. A crowd of about 20,000 people all sat in their seats, focused on the large stage at the other end of the arena, which was now smoking. Suddenly, there was a loud "crack!" and the sound of an elephant blowing it's trunk. A two ton elephant fell through the roof of the building and into the crowd. People screamed and gasped as it fell and then vanished into a cloud of doves just before it hit the crowd. They applauded intensely as the doves flew onto the stage, clustered around one point, and transformed into a man in a black suit and a top hat, Tony the Great.

"Welcome to the show everyone! I'm Tony the Great, master illusionist! Prepare for a performance that will blow your mind!" As he spoke, he began to faintly glow and grew in size until he overtook the entire stage. The massive illusion of himself suddenly vanished into a cloud of smoke and Tony appeared somewhere in the crowd, where he pulled a white rose out of his sleeve and handed it to a beautiful lady, after which he returned to the stage and conducted the rest of the show.

"I'll need a volunteer!" he yelled "How about you, with the eyes?" he pointed to a particularly pretty girl near the stage, who almost fainted when he called her name. She was helped back up and onto the stage.

"So," he said, shuffling a deck of cards "What's your name"?

"Um... I'm Sharen..." the girl giggled.

"Ok Sharen." he said, "I want you to pick a card!" he fanned the deck out in front of her and she picked a card, the Ace of Clubs. He had her put it back into the deck and shuffled it.

"Ok, Sharen." he said "I'm going to pick a card from the top of the deck, and you're going to tell me if it's your card, okay?"

"okay..." she giggled. He waved his black licorice want above the cards, tapped them once, and pulled a card out, the two of Spades.

"is this it?" he asked.

"um...no?" she responded.

"Huh?" he seemed perplexed and began to study the deck. "Hm... that didn't. oh wait, I forgot a part. Hiya!" he pointed the wand at the card and it burst into flame an inch from the girl's face. She screamed and tripped, falling onto her butt on the stage. When the fire stopped, Tony held the Ace of Clubs in his hand.

"How about now?" he asked her.

"Holy crap! yeah!" she laughed again.

"See, folks?" he called out "The cards don't lie!"


The rest of the show went on with more of such shenanigans. A herd of bulls charged into the audience, a couple of birds exploded, a volunteer was thrown through a jet engine without any harm done to them, and a zebra was transfigured into a tiger. By the end of the show, Tony was incredibly tired and slept on his flight to Quebec, where he boarded a train that took him to a town near the Alsek mountains, where he waved to the sphinx, solved her riddle in about 2.5 seconds, as he had been to the cave many times before, and walked in, handing the Sphinx a large T-bone steak.

"hello hello hello!" he said as he walked in, Perri the dove on his shoulder "Who missed me?"

(if this is too power-play-y, god-moddy, or such, just tell me and I'll take out him going to the base)

Over the next few hours, Kamina Barabashkavna fled from city to city, hitching rides in the backseats of various hapless fools that roamed all about the countryside, conversing of nothing but their own, primitive concerns.

The domovaya was thus given the chance to wallow in a pit - which she indulged herself in with little regret. Once, even, a suspicious passenger turned about in his seat to investigate the curious, fluctuating drone that seemed to be quietly plaguing the car.

After several hours of sufficient hitchhiking to detach any immediate pursuers - though she heavily doubted that the Seers would have taken any immediate interest - Kamina Barabashkavna let herself out of the unkempt truck that had become her latest means of flight, arriving at a dilapidated old gas station that seemed to lie in precisely the center point of 'nowhere.' The surrounding countryside was as barren as the surface of a cue ball, and its emptiness draped a sense of foreboding around the now-Houseless domovaya's heart.

Still, this would be as good a place as any to recuperate and flesh out a plan of action; Kamina Barabashkavna drifted silently across the concrete lot and let herself in through an ajar window.

Skar flew in the skies quite high. He feared not of any humans that would spot him, he no longer cared for keeping his existance a secret. Although it may have been crucial to the people of the mythic world, he did not care. He was soulless and had no love. He cared not for bloodshed, he cared not for peace. He was emotionless. The only emotion he had ever felt was greed, hate, and vice.

Flowing in the skies, the winds and dark clouds brushed up against him like running through a foggy bank. The moist of cloud fingered at his thick ironlike scales. His dark purple eyes of the reptilian kind sparkled with utter hate and abhorrence.

As they entered the main part of the cavern, Aella's eyes widened. The first stretch of tunnel had been dreary and undecorated, but now that they were deeper in, they got to the main part of the halls. Clearly, the opening looked the way it did as a result of an attempt to keep normal humans from seeing it as anything more than a natural cave. However, once they got past it, a hidden opening revealed a grand chamber, which led into a variety of hallways. Her nose told her instantly that it was the work of powerful magic.

Unlike the rock that the mountains were formed from, the halls appeared to be carved from a single piece of cream-colored soapstone. Amazonite, which was pale blue in color, was inlaid into crown and floor moldings along with several other stones, such as Jasper and Jade. The ceiling of the chamber was a dome, and painted beautifully with a variety of frescoes. The details in the scenes depicted were amazing, and such colors in the paints could only have been captured by grinding up semiprecious stones into a fine powder. It was also notable that not a single scene in the dome was painted with what appeared to be a sad scene.

Saul caught her examining the ceiling. "That work was done by the Dwarfs and Yetis that live here." He said. "It depicts scenes and legends that were forgotten a long time ago. But somehow, the few secret races that are considered to be Creatures preserved the scenes in their art." He nodded at the pictures, which appeared to be humans cloaked in robes, reaching out to a variety of creatures Aella had never seen before. "Ages ago, Seers and Creatures would work together. The humans in these scenes were notable. They had managed to pair with creatures that had long since been feared." Kyle's eyes widened next to her, and the Amphisbaena around his neck hissed, somewhat shocked as well. Aella had never known about this before. And yes, for some reason, it seemed that Seers in the area were supposedly 'paired' with Creatures.


Saul turned to Aella and Kyle, "Now, there are the issues of your rooms." He reached into a pocket and pulled out two old-fashioned looking keys. He handed them to the two. "All we need to do is take you to the empty doors." he said, which seemed to confuse them. He sighed, "This way." He and Iris led them down a hall filled with doors. Each door frame was large enough for custom patterns to be engraved onto them. On the doors themselves, which were made of a dark wood, had bronze plates with names engraved on them. Kyle led them until he stopped in a place where the door frames were blank, the engraving unadorned. "Now, the two of you, pick a door, any door." He told them. Kyle's eyes widened a bit, "But don't you separate the boys from the girls?" he asked.

Saul just laughed, "This isn't school! It's the Legion's base! And each person gets their own, custom room courtesy of the magic locks!" Kyle frowned again, which brought another bout of laughter. Behind him, Iris started to smile, as though the Seer's amusement was spreading to her. "Just pick a door, and put your key in the lock. The room will instantly become whatever it is that's suited to your needs. Normally we have a room for both creatures and their companions, but your companion is so small, that she may just wind up with a room within yours." She shook her head, "Magic in this place is strong, once more, we thank Dwarf magic."

Kyle frowned, and stepped to an empty door, sliding in the key, and opening the door. When he opened it, he could not suppress a gasp of shock. The room was incredibly different from what he had imagined it to be. The room, which was large and circular, seemed to be built from bricks carved out of black onyx, which were so tightly fit together that they were almost seamless. Four pillars supported a domed roof, lined with panes of crystal, through which a night sky, with a startling view of what appeared to be some sort of nebula was visible. Against the wall opposing the door was a bed that seemed to be carved into the wall, with dark navy blue sheets. Intricate inlays of emerald onyx formed patterns on the columns. To the left was a door leading to the bathroom, and to the right was what appeared to be a nook in the wall, which was lined with tan padding, and appeared to be made from sandstone. It was patterned with tiny serpents. Clearly, it was a bed for Honeycomb, and black curtains provided privacy. Blue stones that surrounded the dome cast a mystical light into the room.

Kyle blinked and turned to Saul, "That's nothing like what I imagined it to be..." he said. "Well, each room forms according to the needs and preferences of the one who lives in it. Obviously, you must be a fan of stars and dark colors, or it wouldn't have looked like that. He nodded towards the nook where Honeycomb was meant to sleep. "And that nook is likely what your Companion loves. I'll leave you to inspect your room further." He said. He closed the door, leaving Kyle and Honeycomb inside.


Saul turned to Aella, "Now, I am somewhat curious as to what your room might look like. You're the first Thunderbird to arrive here. But may I interest you in a room further away from here, with friendlier neighbors?" Aella was about to protest, but shock from the fact she was the first Thunderbird here, and that Saul would offer a better room was too much to pass up. She nodded, and Saul led them down the hall to a different empty door. Across the hall was a Door labeled with the name 'Aden'. To the left of it, further down the hall, was a door labeled 'Iris'. Aella realized she would be living next to the mixed breed.

"Don't tell me I'm going to live among a bunch of mixed-breeds!" She cried. Iris glanced at her sharply, her amber eyes sending a warning. This time, Aella tried to keep contact. Dark shapes swirled in those slitted eyes, and there was something horribly dark about them. Were those...flames? or shadows? She felt as though she was looking into a sort of portal, into a world that she didn't really wish to see. "Do not look too deeply into the eyes of one who is part demon." Iris hissed. Suddenly, an image flashed across those eyes. A human being attacked by a terrible creature were in those shapes.

Aella looked away, terrified of what she had seen. Saul cleared his throat, "Well, anyway, proceed, Aella." Aella turned and unlocked the door.

When she opened it, she was confronted by a room much more different than what she had seen of Kyle's. The room was circular, but appeared to be like a natural cavern, carved from slate. A flight of carved stairs curled around the right side of the room, leading to what appeared to be some sort of nest, perched mid-way to the ceiling. The ceiling appeared to be crystal as well, but instead of showing a nebula, it showed a stormy sky, active with flashes of lightning. Three wooden totem poles of varying length in the left side of the room were perched atop a pile of smooth black pebbles. Each one was tipped with a Thunderbird on top. Hanging off the side of the nest in midair was a dream catcher. Torches, seemingly lit by magic, lit the room. Even though it was a bit primitive, something about it pleased Aella.

"I like it." She said, turning to Saul. "It's very nice, and quiet, despite the lightning. It's a perfect place to store energy, without losing it, too. I could see myself living here." Saul smiled, "Glad you like it! But don't forget when you're done to go and chat with your neighbors. Aden is not a mixed breed, by the way. He's a phoenix. The only one here." He said it with a hint of sadness. "When in battle, he carries the arrows of war. Like him, a lot of the people in this hall have pretty sad stories and such." He gave a tiny meaningful glance in Iris' direction. "Well, then. We'll be going, I suppose." With this, he left Aella to inspect her room.

"And... We're here." Rotor said, finally landing after the long trip.

"Alright guys, pull into hanger A-9. I have that reserved for us. We'll talk in there. Over." the detective said through the radio. It was clear he had already arrived there, and was waiting on them.

Axel sighed, this was going to be the worst mission ever. All he would be is the guy in a background with the gun in case 'bigfoot' attacked. He didn't even know why they assigned him, of all people. They never even saw bigfoot anyway.

"Oh well... We'll be paid for sleeping. I guess I don't have any complaints..." he said to himself. Rotor had just pulled into the hangar and parked.

He noticed that the hangar was quiet, and dark. Rotor positioned himself so that his tail wouldn't be in the way of the hangar's door, which closed soon after, seemingly on its own.

"Hello? Who's in here?" Axel said, drawing his gun. Having the weapon gave himself a sense of protection, he hadn't seen many creatures in his time, but he knew full well that they could do some damage.

"Headlights are online." Rotor said as lights on his snout lit up, giving some light to the area. The dragon turned his head from side to side, trying to catch the culprit of the door and the lights.

"Where are you! Show yourself!" Axel yelled, squinting in an effort to see.


"Tsk tsk. Mixed breed."


The lights suddenly turned on, leaving Axel temporarily blinded, and Rotor completely unaffected. The lights revealed a man about six feet tall, he walked up to Axel who was blinking in an attempt to regain his vision. The man grabbed Axel's face and looked him over. Axel, who had retained his vision, was startled by the man's actions. Rotor roared, and charged at the man, who looked up, startled by the dragon.

Rotor smashed into the man, sending him flying into the wall with immense force. Axel felt the man hit the concrete floor through his feet.

"Aggressive life form detected. Termination required." Rotor said, a more robotic voice conjoining with his.

However, when the man arose, it was no longer a man, but a griffin.

"Stop! I mean no harm!" The griffin said, rather fearfully. It was completely outmatched. This dragon was large and unnaturally powerful. A result of the machinery that kept it alive, and the seer seemed armed with a gun.

"Then what is your purpose for bringing us here? Why did you grab my face? Why did you hire us at all?" Axel said, standing beside his dragon, and placing a hand on Rotor's neck.

"I brought you two here because we need you, seer!" the griffin roared, getting rather angry.

"I don't like being referred to as that. The only seers I've ever met tried to kill Rotor, and the only creatures I've meet have tried to kill me. Why should I trust you!" Axel yelled back. He cocked his Glock-17 and aimed it at the griffin. "Speak or be terminated." Rotor snarled, his voice still partially robotic sounding.

"I don't know all of the facts, but we need as many Seers and creatures as we can find to take some... THING down! I don't know what it is, but it's the eater of hearts. I'm here because my job in the faction is to recruit people and creatures like you two, orders of our leader, Iris!" the griffin said, trying to defend himself from persecution.

"Alright, then why are we in Alsek?" Axel said, lowering his weapon. The griffin reverted to his human form, and walked a bit closer. "The faction base is in the mountains here. You'll need to meet up with Iris to let her know that you're joining."

"And if we don't want to join?" Rotor said, going into his human form also. His voice also becoming normal once again.

"Then our chances of fighting that thing are lowered. The less people, the less chance. We need every hand on deck." the griffin said sorrowfully.

Rotor looked at Axel for a minute, and Axel looked back. Each seemingly having an internal conversation with one another. Axel nodded, and turned back to the griffin.

"We'll take you up, and come with you. We don't know if we'll join, but one wrong move and we'll be gone before you can say anything." Axel said, his usual happy and care free voice gone. Replaced with a serious and powerful one.

"Very well. Follow me. The mountains aren't to far from here. If we're fast, we can get there in half an hour. It's hidden well, so you'll need my direction in order to follow. After you know the way, you'll be able to reach it quite easily."

"Wait a minute..." Rotor said, raising his robotic hand to motion for the griffin to stop. "How did you even know about us?"

The griffin only smiled at the dragon-turned-human. "Whether or not you see us or not is irrelevant; but rest assured, we're everywhere."

Iris knew she could not return to her room just yet. She still had a lot of things to do. For one, she had received word from one of the recruiters that a unique dragon and its companion might be arriving soon. As it were, it was easier to trust one of your own species. However, considering that this form of recruitment was like a trick, there was also the issue of convincing them to believe you afterwards. It's even harder when the recruiter thinks he can hide the fact that he looks down on his leader in regards to genetic purity. Genetic purity, Iris hated that term. If anything, it was better to be a mixed breed. More skills, more strength, and less chance that you will die of some sort of disease.

She walked out of the cave past the guards once more, and shifted into dragon form. Iris was a very large dragon, not capable of flying in small places unless she planned to ram through them. However, despite her great size, she was built for fast flight. Her wingspan was exactly four times her length, making it a massive 170 feet. Iris could fly fast, and glide for a long distance without overexerting herself. However, because of the fact that she was large, she was easy to spot, and it took a lot to satisfy her appetite.

She opened her wings and took off, maybe to hunt, or maybe to meet the new arrivals. Whichever one came first.

"Rotor, revert to your dragon form. We'll get there faster that way. Let's make a entrance with a bang." Axel said, turning to his dragon with the broadest grin.

"Pretty sure thats not how the saying goes, but I think I see what you're getting at." Rotor said, smiling, then backing up, and transforming back to his massive form.

"Hey, griffin, get in the back so you can give me directions." Axel said, motioning for the man to get inside the cockpit of the great dragon's back. Once he was in, Axel climbed up and into the pilots seat, and took the joystick in his hands, and pulling the trigger for the thrusters.

"What are you doing?" The griffin piped up. He had no idea what the joystick was for, and had no experience with flying on the mechanical level.

"Powering up the engines." Axel said, placing his piloting helmet on. Rotor, who roared in excitement. He now knew what Axel was planning.

"The roar of the angry dragon?" Rotor asked hopefully through the helmet's headset.

"You know it bud. Now lets get going."

The mighty dragon shot a fireball into the hangar door, melting a rather large hole in it. Large enough to squeeze through and onto the runway.

"So where are we heading first?" Axel said, turning back to the griffin. "We're heading to the mountain ranges first! After that, follow the river and take two lefts!" the griffin yelled over the engine's roar. They were starting to get quite loud now. "Forget the runway thing now, Rotor, nobody's watching. Just take off normally!" Axel yelled.

The dragon roared again, and stood on two legs, raising its massive wings and pushing off, covering twenty feet in a single wingbeat. Meanwhile, inside the cockpit, Axel flipped a cap on the joystick, revealing a button. The pressed it with his thumb.


Rotor rocketed off, the thrusters launching the dragon at high speeds straight up into the air.


"We're now at 618mph!" Rotor yelled through the helmet's microphone.

"640!"

"660!"

"690!"

"720!"

A loud boom rocked both Axel and the griffin as they broke the sound barrier. Of course, they were only at half their maximum speed, but that didn't matter now.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" THe griffen screamed in the back, holding on to the wall with all it's might, terrified that it was moving so fast.

Rotor shot a fireball, which exploded only around thirty feet from them, creating a small wall of fire, which Rotor flew through, before diving back down to a jet's normal altitude.


Axel burst out laughing once he turned off the thrusters and flew regularly. The griffin was terrified. The poor creatures eyes were bulging and it was gasping for breath.


However, his little show served a purpose. The sonic boom traveled for miles, hopefully it would catch the attention of someone more important that this griffin. He wanted information, information about who they needed people to fight, and what they would be up against.

Iris instantly heard a loud sound, and recognized it as what you heard when something broke the sound barrier. A shot of fire signaled the presence of a dragon further away. It looked like they were coming after all. She sped up, and gave a loud roar. Her roar was a unique sound, like an eagle's cry, mixed with the roar of a jaguar, and finally, something else that reminded you of a scream, courtesy of demon blood. It rattled the sky, and Iris shot a pillar of fire in the sky to signal her location. She then headed towards the dragon, eventually spotting him flying in the sky. She gave another roar, in the form of a greeting, and changed position until she was flying next to him.

She examined him and his companion carefully, noting the strange combination of Dragon and machine before her. The dragon was large, it's length greater than Iris' own, and it definitely had a large wingspan. However, Iris' wings were still much larger, over twice the size of the newcomer's. The comparing of size was instinctive, as a new dragon could pose a challenge to dominance, and Iris did not want anyone challenging her. Satisfied with her assessment that she had larger wings, she growled a more formal greeting to the dragon and his companion. Since she couldn't talk in dragon form, it was likely that only the Griffin and the Dragon would understand what she was saying. She gave a hiss, inquiring if the recruiter had given them any trouble. Even now, she could smell a faint trace of dragon in the Seer, and she knew the griffin looked down on mixed breeds. He would probably behave the same towards the dragon, since it was robotic. Hah, that was only if he stood a chance in battle against them.

Rotor looked at the dragon before him. He was baffled by it's wingspan. Unlike himself, this dragon, female by the looks of it, was naturally made for arial combat. Similar to him in a way. Except he was rebuilt to be the master of the skies.

He roared, as a signal for landing to both the new dragon and his rider. Axel complied, and prepped the thrusters again to rocket back to the ground.


Rotor smiled at the dragon, and pulled into a swan dive, going straight down to the ground and pulling up at the last possible second. Axel had cut the thrusters half way down, and let gravity do the rest. The griffin, who was terrified out of it's own wits, stumbled out as soon as Rotor landed, and opened the reinforced glass the made up the roof of the cockpit.

"Rotor, I know there was another dragon, but dont be a showoff. You wouldn't stand a chance against her without your new body and me. Dont do something stupid." Axel said, hopping out of the cockpit a scolding his dragon. He took the visor off of his head and placed it under his arm, both waiting for the other dragon to land. The griffin was to busy kissing the ground to care about his leader. He doubted he would ever join Rotor and Axel on a flight trip again.

It was a number of weeks before anything significant occurred to disrupt Kamina Barabashkavna's new routine - which consisted of little more than tidying up the convenience store and playing the occasional prank on the depressing clerk, who annoyed the domovaya to no end. She took the greatest pleasure in deshelving candy, re-organizing drinks, and flickering the lights as he took to the bathroom.

Whenever a customer entered the store, Kamina Barabashkavna amused herself by making it as difficult for them to leave as possible without anyone noticing - once, she even blocked the door with a soda vending machine when the consumer's back was turned.

The domovaya, prankster as she may be, however, soon tired of these petty tricks. A vast sense, consisting of both homesickness and lust for revenge blended into one inevitable force, grew daily in Kamina Barabashkavna's heart. A fortnight and a half after arriving at the convenience store, stationed in the middle of nowhere, she left.

Choosing, rather than to hitchhike further, to walk along the lonely road, Kamina Barabashkavna made her way - sluggishly - back to the previous residence of her house.

The journey took her the greater part of three days. The domovaya felt it pass as does an hour.

So oblivious was she to her surroundings, that she almost did not notice the queer figure that sat on the porch of her house, which was curiously intact from the blaze...

...And she certainly did not notice the flash of blue as she approached, less hidden than she should have been in the midst of a city in the morning - the next thing she perceived was the feel of rocky terrain beneath her hardy feet.

Iris pulled into a landing position to land before the new dragon and the Seer, but not before pausing to make a strange coughing sound at the Griffin, which would translate into laughter, likely at his pathetic display that made it seem that he was afraid of heights. To see a creature that was guilty of pride suddenly being brought so low was incredibly amusing to the demon part of her. When Iris landed, she didn't enter a swan dive, but seeing as the display was more of a friendly sort of signal, she decided to land with a display of her own. Something about being friendly came a lot from her Barbegazi genes.

She entered a tight corkscrew spiral, eventually coming to a central point and spinning, her right wing tip inches above the ground. She eventually leveled off and planted her feet, firmly onto the ground as dust from a wind she generated settled. She had based the movement off of a tornado, and it required carefully coordinated gusts of wind to pull off. She flapped her wings once to lighten the fall as she lowered the claws on her wings to the ground as well. She had truly enjoyed it. Honestly, not a lot of dragons enjoyed performing areal tricks. They always seemed too stiff or serious. Really, though, most dragons were pretty social creatures. Iris was glad to find another dragon that actually enjoyed it.

She looked at the Griffin, still seeming to celebrate being on solid ground, and rolled her eyes, as though she couldn't believe a little ride on a dragon's back could actually bug him that much. Jet pilots broke the sound barrier all the time, she supposed, and humans weren't exactly born to fly. A griffin had wings, so it should be used to flying. An aerophobic griffin just didn't make any sense. She gave him a growl, warning him that he needed to stop groveling and stand up straight before he wound up disrespecting a superior, or humiliating his species as a whole.

Iris pulled into a landing position to land before the new dragon and the Seer, but not before pausing to make a strange coughing sound at the Griffin, which would translate into laughter, likely at his pathetic display that made it seem that he was afraid of heights. To see a creature that was guilty of pride suddenly being brought so low was incredibly amusing to the demon part of her. When Iris landed, she didn't enter a swan dive, but seeing as the display was more of a friendly sort of signal, she decided to land with a display of her own. Something about being friendly came a lot from her Barbegazi genes.

She entered a tight corkscrew spiral, eventually coming to a central point and spinning, her right wing tip inches above the ground. She eventually leveled off and planted her feet, firmly onto the ground as dust from a wind she generated settled. She had based the movement off of a tornado, and it required carefully coordinated gusts of wind to pull off. She flapped her wings once to lighten the fall as she lowered the claws on her wings to the ground as well. She had truly enjoyed it. Honestly, not a lot of dragons enjoyed performing areal tricks. They always seemed too stiff or serious. Really, though, most dragons were pretty social creatures. Iris was glad to find another dragon that actually enjoyed it.

She looked at the Griffin, still seeming to celebrate being on solid ground, and rolled her eyes, as though she couldn't believe a little ride on a dragon's back could actually bug him that much. Jet pilots broke the sound barrier all the time, she supposed, and humans weren't exactly born to fly. A griffin had wings, so it should be used to flying. An aerophobic griffin just didn't make any sense. She gave him a growl, warning him that he needed to stop groveling and stand up straight before he wound up disrespecting a superior, or humiliating his species as a whole.



A Seer witnessed the display of a poor Domovaya as she was tossed through a blue portal. He understood that sometimes the recruiters were a bit harsh, or rough. Even Saul and Iris would sometimes fight to prove they meant business, but Domovaya seemed to him like the wrong creatures to handle roughly. Why anyone would treat a house spirit in such a way was beyond him. He apologetically got on his knees, offering her his hand, "Mistress? Are you all right? I apologize if you were tossed roughly through the portal. Why the recruiter would do that is beyond me. He should have been more respectful and given you a choice." He was aware that it was proper to address Domovaya as 'Master', but seeing as this was a woman, 'Mistress' was a better term. He waited to see if she would accept his assistance, or if she would disappear. Although he was in the same organization as the man who had tossed her through, he was truly sorry for how she had been treated.

"I-I'm sorry." The griffin squeaked, standing up to it's full height. "As much as I love flying, traveling over seven hundred miles per hour is something even I dont like."

Rotor laughed to himself, and transformed into his human form, and walked up to the new dragon.

"Greetings! My name is Rotor, and this is my rider, Axel. If you're wondering about my appearance, it's a long story that I will share at another time." the dragon-turned-human spoke, giving off a small smile. Axel raised his hand in the background, and walked forward, standing next to the larger man(Rotor).
"I think I speak for both of us when I say this, but we need information. As much of idiots as we both see each other as, we need to know what we're going to be up against. The griffin told us of some sort of heart eater, and that we need an army to take it on. We need to know exactly what we're up against here, otherwise we can't help you."

"I also want to know if we will be guaranteed safety wherever we're going to be staying. I've protected Axel on various occasions from other mythical creatures, and he's saved my life from Seers. We will not hesitate to fight and kill others if they threaten us first. We need to know if that will be a... problem." Rotor added, crossing his arm with his robotic one. "Because I have enough bullets to keep going for a while, and Axel here is a pretty good shot. I have his sniper in the cargo area in case 'bigfoot'." He said, turning and looking at the griffin with his hard onyx eyes. "Needed to be taken out from a distance."

Iris nodded, and began to speak in hisses only understandable to other creatures, "I am Iris, one of the two leaders in the Legion." She began, introducing herself. "I am a mixed breed, a fourth Dragon, a fourth Seer, a fourth Barbegazi, and a fourth Demon. My companion, Saul, is the other leader, and when connected to me, he gains the power to foresee disasters." She knew that the whole 'mixed breed' part might surprise them a bit, when she could turn into a dragon so easily. "It has been foreseen, through my Companion, and many other Seers, that a dark power is rising. Her name, the Devourer of Hearts, I dare not speak lightly. The Egyptains feared Her, and She embodied all that the People feared." Dark shapes seemed to flash through Iris' eyes, and once could see strange flickers of movement in them. "The Name, is Ammit, the Devourer of The Dead, Eater of Hearts, the Great of Death. She has come, and She is raising Her army to destroy Us all, Seer or Creature, Human, or Beast." A chill seemed to settle, and the invocation of the Name was the cause.

Iris hissed as the wind began to blow again. "As for safety, that is not a guarantee, I make no promise that in war we escape with our lives. But I would rather die, knowing that I fought, than simply allowing Her to pry the world from my talons. You have the choice to join us in training for the day They begin to come, but inevitably, She will come, and regardless of what you do, you will not have a choice in The End. You must either take arms and fight, or Die. There will not be survivors after She has finished." Iris was normally hard to control, but she knew what she said was true, so she held still, just this once. "Unless Creatures and Seers work together once more, we will not succeed. Before we face the Final Threat, we must first Face Ourselves."

With this, the dragon's jaws closed, and she fell silent, her eyes boring into Axel in Rotor in a question. The Dark shapes continued to flicker in her gaze, and once who looked closely could see something. A silhouette of a creature that embodied fear, attacking humans, including children, men, women, and creatures alike. Iris did not control what could be seen in her eyes, but they embodied darkness and fear, the gaze of a demon, born to see the evils that existed in the world.

"I meant with other Seers and creatures. Wille I have safety around them? I am a mixed breed, a tenth dragon, from what Rotor tells me. Rotor is half machine. I need to know if we we be safe around others? Ammit will be hard to fight when I'm fighting my team." Axel said, crossing his arms. "And what exactly IS Ammit?"

"You want me to look him up on the internet?" Rotor said, grinning.

"Sure."


Rotor seemed to stiffen momentarily, his eyes glazed over, as if he was looking off at something in the distance. A few seconds later, he came back to reality.

Spoiler:

"Where'd you get that massive amount of sudden information? Wikipedia?"

"Yes."

Still quite dazed, Kamina Barabashkavna was slow to react; she did, however, perceive that a man stood in front of her, and made an effort to clear her ears, which were still ringing from some unidentifiable magical residue.

Some of the man's words pushed through the haze into her brain. "Portals... Portals? What portals are these? Where am I? I demand answers, young sir!" Rejecting the proffered hand, she rose independently before blinking twice and staring at the man as if for the first time.

The domovaya's countenance immediately wilted, and her tone grew softer - but only slightly. "My goodness, you're... You're another Seer, you are... What do you want with me? Why have your kin attacked my House, and why... Why do you not strike me down directly, or is there some other goal behind your actions, hidden like a snake in the grass?" She prepared herself to run, not daring to trust the man, but conversely found herself willing to hear what he had to say.

"The transition portals," The man said, pointing at the swirling blue vortex that was now closing behind her, "There are many kinds, and the kind we use always causes a portal to appear in that spot. I assure you, though, that I had nothing to deal with the Seers that attacked your House. Mistress, if I were to do such a thing to you, or any other House spirit, I would be a fool. However, I will take responsibility for the Seer that brought you here. The recruiters are not always patient, and do not always give Creatures and Seers a choice. He should have, though, considering that your House was destroyed, and that you are perfectly capable of rational thought."

The man's brow furrowed, "As for what our intentions are, we are the Legion, a group of Creatures and Seers working together for the greater good of the world. We are commanded by the Seer Saul, and his Companion, Iris, a Creature that is part Dragon, part Barbegazi, part Demon, and Part Seer. You have encountered a recruiter, because we are in desperate need of assistance. An evil, far greater than the hatred between Seers and Creatures, has begun to rise, and if it is not defeated, then all of us will die, Seers, Creatures, and even normal humans alike. Again, I apologize for the way you were treated, for you are not a dragon, or a demon. You are not a Creature that would have to be fought or attacked in order to be convinced, and you certainly should not have been taken without explanation." The man was truly being honest, because he knew that a house spirit was a good creature. "Mistress, I beg of you for forgiveness, and plead for you to help us, but I will not stop you if you decide against it. You have every reason to not believe me."


Iris nodded, and continued to speak, "The Creatures and Seers in the Legion are not supposed to fight, but hatred still boils between many of them. You may, on occasion, witness a fight taking place, but most of these fights, regardless of how severe, are overlooked, because nobody sees them, and violence is required to stop them. Those who kill, are locked away, but even then, the prisoners may be released, if we cannot find the soldiers to fight our battles. Our numbers are limited, and we have much time before Ammit makes Her move. We do this, solely to end this feud." Iris was only part demon, but she was determined to fight its dark urges, and told the truth, "Though I be part Demon, I will not lie to you, you may be mistreated or attacked, but you have the right to defend yourself."

"Recruiters"?

Kamina Barabashkavna tossed the word around her mouth, prodding it with her tongue to test its implications before throwing it out into the open for consideration. It took several seconds more for her to digest the Seer's speech.

"Allow me clarification. You wish me to, to join this your Legion, and to assist you in the fight against... This Ammit?" The domovaya cast a suspicious glance towards Iris. "You... Have very much been seeking everyone you can," she murmured quitely, unable to keep a note of derision from her voice at the sight of a partial demon.

Sighing, she composed herself. "Your subordinates haven't given me much choice in the matter; I've nowhere to go if I refuse, so how can I dismiss this decision as I would have done not three weeks ago?"

"I... Accept your apology, and I would like to know more about this Ammit, if you please to tell." This, Kamina Barabashkavna directed at Iris, having begun to seriously consider the possibility of joining with these Seers and their organization - it would be wise to have powerful allies, and she had recognized her unintentional slight (for the part-demon seemed respectful enough, and the Seer as well) and wished to atone for it.