Kasei smiled at the responce, and was quiet during the information searching. It was when Noval lost control that Kasei started. "Wha-?" He said, as Laxin's body aged, and turned to dust, as well as the wizard who appeared before them. "What in the world?" Kasei asked, taking a few steps forward, while at the same time a message entered his mind. Do nothing, we will speak of this when the time comes. The Rebel Flame stopped, and composed himself. Looks like the battles were jsut begining...

"Richarn, what happened?!"

The voice was King Harkinian's, struggling to restrain his voice from taking on too horrified a tone. But his face, and that of his daughter's, are both revealing how sickened they are by the sight they have just witnessed. Koura's hands, which had been trying to support Noval's form, have dropped the general to the ground so they can cover up her own mouth, trying to curb her body's responsive desire to throw up. Shada isn't faring nearly as well as the Gerudo, and dashes over to the hole in the throne room floor so that no one can see. Alpha just stands there, eyes wide in shock, glad that Calla was still sleeping in her room.

Noval slowly gets to his feet. "There . . . there was another person invading his mind. He did . . . something . . . that blew my mind back out of Laxin's. And then . . ." His gaze fell back down to pile of dirt, unable to believe that their best chance ever to find the Hakiems Tribe's base had been destroyed just like that.

* * *

Segnin shrugs at Sovelis' first comment. "Thank me if you want; I'm just following orders." He then listens to the Tempest's answer, nodding in comprehension. "If you want to talk to Zaboorak, you'll have to follow me. I'm permitted to bring you to our base if you'd like, though should we do so you won't be allowed to know where you are until the Hakiems' Generals have approved you as worthy of such knowledge.

"As for gaining that knowledge . . . you'd need to actually join us. I know the basics of the deal the Zora gave to you, and he's willing to allow you access to his Goldforce Powers whether you join the Hakiems Tribe or not. It's up to you to decide, but you can think about that when we arrive . . . with the events of last night, the rest of the tribe is bound to be anxious for revenge on those adventurers," he reports, managing to keep scorn from his voice. "The tribe's leaders, Lord Zaboorak included, will no doubt be quite busy planning our retaliation. So it may be a little while before he can attend to repay our debt to you."

He turns around, motioning towards his back. "If you're gonna come with me, then grab hold of my shoulders. I can turn us into a bolt of lightning, and we'll be there in a few minutes, tops."

* * *

"So it's done, huh? You killed him?"

The wizard drew himself away from his cauldron, rising with a weighted expression on his face. "Yes," he said at last. "It is finished; Laxin is dead."

Alik walked up to where the cauldron sat, staring at the image magically projected onto the water's surface. "Kinda grusome, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," he replied with a nod. "But it was the only way to kill him before the Golden Hylian could delve into the secrets concerning Wraith that lay in Laxin's head. Any other spell from this distance would have taken too long; he'd have likely learned of Yuenbri's identity."

Alik whirled around to face the man, removing the mask from his head so that the wizard could see the anger burning in his eyes. "Yes, that would have been absolutely tragic."

"Alik . . ." Alik didn't even dare to respond, knowing quite well that if he even so much as spoke he'd release his rage completely on the man, and that wouldn't work out for him very well in the long run. The mage's eyes lowered to the ground as he turned away from the man. "I know, I . . . I should have told you right out what my reasons were. But I truly thought Yuenbri would be more willing. I thought that, when faced with certain death, he would at least consider using Korev's power." His brow furrowed in anger and shame. "Now that I know better . . . I can only say that the fault is mine."

"Nice to know," Alik finally said as he hurled his Wraith mask and cape to the ground. "Always did love to be able to trust my employers!" He threw his hands in the air, a tangible rage building in the air around him, so much so that the wizard knew he was drawing on the power that he had been given by the wizard. "Now, how best should I be paid for this humiliation?!"

"Alik . . . I should have told you my reasons before. I am sorry."

"Yeah. I'll bet you are . . . Idarz." Two balls of flame erupted in the assassin's hands, building in power every second as he focused on the outrage in his soul, slowly taking a step towards the man before him.

The warlock Idarz nodded. "I truthfully am, Alik. You may not believe me, but what I have done, I have done for the best." He didn't even turn to the source of the rising temperatures, instead walking slowly away from his cauldron and deeper into the dark shadows of his study. "I could not allow Yuenbri to be killed, just as I could not kill you - the powers of Korev and Honaruu can only be extinguished by each other, and as the guardian of their powers, I must ensure that you two, as the bearers of such power, continue to exist until you can have your final fight."

Alik knew all this, and it didn't do a thing to calm him down. His fiery eyes blazed all the hotter as he approached the wizard, imagine the hundreds of ways he could burn Idarz apart. Should he start from the inside and come out? Maybe burn off his fingers and toes, then appendages, and then slowly work his way towards the brain . . . of course, that method would likely make him bleed to death before he could feel the full force of his fire. "Alik . . . now, you should know my reason. You see . . .

"Earth and Light have descended."

The fireballs dropped towards the ground as Alik's jaw did the same, any frustration in his mind giving way to shock and fear. "A-are you su-sure?"

"I am. I sensed Knarkus and Larrenial entering our realm weeks ago . . . and have spoken with Aalya since. She has confirmed all this."

Alik's hands flew outward in disbelieve, trying to grasp hold of the information suddenly being fed to him. His words were frantic as he sputtered out, "But - but why would - why would they join this?! Honaruu and Korev's fight is just that: a fight between the two of them! What business do Earth and Light have in interfering!?!"

Idarz finally turned back to face him. "Aalya says that they do have a stake in this. Earth and Light . . . they each have a connection to Shadow and Fire, remember." Alik bit his lip; that was true. The earth gives rise to shadows like nothing else can, just as fire gives out a light like no other. Every element was bound, in some way, to Shadow and Light; therefore he should not have been surprised to find out that they would be concerned with the outcome.

But he was surprised. And deftly afraid. Especially when the wizard continued. "To make matters worse, they have not taken the same precautions Korev and Honaruu did. Their power is open to whoever can find the gate and has Earth and Light as their elemental affinity . . . they have not taken into account the many possibilities of people in the world." He turned to face Alik. "That is why we need Wraith to access Korev's Gate once more, and by his own will, no less. Whereas you embrace Honaruu's gift, he shuns the almighty shadows.

"Should Earth or Light fall into the wrong hands before I can locate them, and place on them the correct protective spells, we will require his assistance. And if he is not willingly using Korev's power when that time comes . . . he will be as useless as if he had never even known of the gate." Idarz's eyes narrowed as he stared into Alik's. "You understand now, yes?"

The response was slow in coming. ". . . yeah. I understand." Alik slowly fumbled his way through the room, not fully aware of his surroundings anymore as the shock took control. He just slowly began removing pieces of his Wraith outfit, laying them on a nearby table . . . the needles, the gauntlets, the electric wrist pack . . . when they were all removed from his person, he made his way over to the far wall, retrieving his own weapons of choice and sliding their sheathes onto his back. "But still . . ." he muttered, "I can't serve someone who withheld that kind of stuff. Who kept something so important away from me."

Idarz nodded in understanding. "If you wish to leave . . . I won't stop you." He finally turned to face Alik. "But do keep the gateway. It's of no use to me, especially since taking it from you would only violate my agreement with Honaruu."

Alik met his gaze one last time. "I'm still going to kill that Wraith. If not through you, then by myself." Then he turned and strode into a wall of fire that appeared before him, vanishing to another place.

"So be it, then . . ." Idarz lowered his head and was silent for many long moments.


"Aalya . . . Goddess of Time you may be . . . but I wish you would tell me how this can work in your plan . . ."

OoC: Wowzer...Alpha done opened a Pandora's box. (I can't wait!!!)

Alpha wrote: Segnin shrugs at Sovelis' first comment. "Thank me if you want; I'm just following orders." He then listens to the Tempest's answer, nodding in comprehension. "If you want to talk to Zaboorak, you'll have to follow me. I'm permitted to bring you to our base if you'd like, though should we do so you won't be allowed to know where you are until the Hakiems' Generals have approved you as worthy of such knowledge.

"As for gaining that knowledge . . . you'd need to actually join us. I know the basics of the deal the Zora gave to you, and he's willing to allow you access to his Goldforce Powers whether you join the Hakiems Tribe or not. It's up to you to decide, but you can think about that when we arrive . . . with the events of last night, the rest of the tribe is bound to be anxious for revenge on those adventurers," he reports, managing to keep scorn from his voice. "The tribe's leaders, Lord Zaboorak included, will no doubt be quite busy planning our retaliation. So it may be a little while before he can attend to repay our debt to you."

He turns around, motioning towards his back. "If you're gonna come with me, then grab hold of my shoulders. I can turn us into a bolt of lightning, and we'll be there in a few minutes, tops."

Sovelis looked at Segnin with skepticism in his now green eyes. " I'd rather get there under my own steam...but my body would collapse from the strain. That means that I'll have to accept your generous offer." the beaten human said, wincing and hissing in pain as his body protested at the few steps he took to stand next to the Hakiem. "I am surprised though that this Zaboorak fellow didn't just have you drag my carcass all the way to your hideout while I wasn't home. Would have been easier on you and me both..."

As he raised his hand up towards Segnin's shoulder, a shockwave of power hit him like a brick wall. "GAAH!!" Sovelis fell back to the ground, coughing blood and clutching at his right shoulder tightly. W-what the hell was that? So...much...power in a single spell...burning at the Seal...dammit!!! the tattered man thought as he waited for this new pain to subside.

OoC: Alpha, you don't mind that Sovelis felt the power from the spell that killed Laxin. Do you?

"So, then...he is dead. A tragedy, I truly wished we could get more out of him." Kasei said, holding his ground. He calls out to Laxin. "You are a very noble warrior, I am pleased to have gotten the chance to meet you. As for you, your highnesses," He says, turning to Harkinian and Zelda, "I wish you good health, good luck." The Rebel Flame finished, turning around. He began moving, eyes closed. Well then, Jormund, who do you think will win? He thought, as he silently walks out of the room.

OOC: Goddess of time? Nice, perhaps the Fierce Diety could chat with her XD.

OOC:

Sovelis wrote:Alpha, you don't mind that Sovelis felt the power from the spell that killed Laxin. Do you?

No, certainly not!

kasei wrote:Goddess of time? Nice, perhaps the Fierce Diety could chat with her XD.

Perhaps. I'll probably get around to making a profile for her on the HA2Wiki soon, so once you know all about her maybe we can talk.

IC:
"Well, don't worry too much about that either," Segnin says with a smirk after Sovelis finishes complaining about his wounds. He shifts his hands out in front of him chest; the activation for the Rohtric Seerse spell is clapping his hands to force the energy required to transform through his body. "When we transform back from electricity to humanoid forms, we'll return to our 'normal' forms. That is, without any injuries - you'll be the same as if you were at full health." He chuckled for a second. "Quite a handy little trick! Wish I'd discovered it before last nig--"

Sovelis suddenly collapses, and the Hakiem is quick to leap down to the ground. "What the heck happened?! Oh, never mind!" The guy looks like he's about to kill himself from pain from . . . something . . . Without a second thought, Segnin yanks a bottle of Red Potion out from his pockets and attempts to pour the healing liquid into his mouth.

* * *

Several minutes pass before the group recovers from the sudden shock of Laxin's death. Kasei may not have been affected greatly, but it is a long time after his departure that King Harkinian tries to turn the attention of the group away from the sight of gruesome memories and onto himself. "Generals . . . Colonel . . ." he says with forced calmness as he leads Zelda back up onto the dais, "please stand before me."

The three Hylian Knights snap to attention, though Kamas takes a few seconds longer than the others as he completes some prayer over the Sheikah's remains. Harkinian speaks again, though his words are slow in coming; try as he might, even he cannot hide all traces of his distress. "I said before that you were to be commended for your efforts this past night; I would begin to express my gratitude even now.

"Colonel Horren Veldam." The words are suddenly much more formal, prompting a more formal response from the man he's called. Veldam steps forward, "I have noticed your skills for some time now, but you have not been rewarded for them because your superiors and I had not witnessed a show of your leadership skills. But having heard the retelling of these events, I am now confident that you have them. Therefore," he says as he draws his own blade and descends the steps," though all ceremony be absent, it is my honor to promote you to the rank of Brigadier." Horren's eyes grow wide, his eyes showing the inward battle between disbelief and elation, and the sense of dread that continues to plague his mind even now. In the end, not trusting himself to speak, he simply bows lower and lets His Majesty touch him with his sword on both shoulders.

Harkinian doesn't ascend the stairs again, instead choosing to meet eyes with his generals from an equal level. "General Kamas Lion." The Zora nods in a saddened bow as the king continues. "You are like no other being in the Hylian Knights . . . and you have been forced to do something that should never have been asked of a Life Mage this night." Seen by only a few adventurers standing at the correct angles, a handful of tears wash over Lion's face as he is forced to do something again: recall his killing of the Hakiems. "I give you indefinite leave, therefore, until you feel you are fit to return to the Knighthood."

Noval leans over to where Alpha stands, responding to the question that had suddenly appeared in the mind of Zaris' student. His telepathic abilities are still strong, obviously. "Yes, Kamas is a Life Mage, the most unique form of cleric that exists," he whispers. "Once a generation at most, Farore herself appears before a single cleric in a dream, one chosen for the way he values life. That cleric is granted extraordinary powers by the goddess, such as the Farore Effill you saw him use - but all the spells are meant to preserve the life that Farore first introduced to the world. A Life Mage holds all life sacred, and to kill . . ." His head hangs low with regret, "For a Life Mage to kill is for him to go against everything that he believes in, for him to reject the values that he holds most fundamental."

Calmly waiting for Richarn's explanation to finish, His Majesty calls out the final Knight. "General Richarn Noval, the Golden Hylian." Noval nods to Alpha, turning back to the king and taking a few steps forward.

"Your Majesty," he says calmly.

Harkinian nods with the same degree of calmness. "Richarn, I hereby dismiss you from duty and from your post, in both the Hylian Knights and the Remnant."

* * *

"Zaboorak? Are you alright?!"

The world slowly swam back into focus before the Zora's eyes. It wasn't the room he had been standing in before; it was the chambers that served as his quarters now. He had been brought here for . . . for some reason . . .

"Lord Zaboorak?"

"I am fine, Karunik," he finally replied. "What happened?"

"Noval," the Sheikah replied simply.

"OH YES . . ." He sat up in a flash, not even bothering to react to the sudden rush that came with such a movement. His anger burned anew as he thought about the Hylian who had shattered one of his greatest and longest-lived projects in the blink of an eye . . .

. . . but, with a sigh, he reminded himself that there was nothing more that could be done about the matter. He slowly shuffled his form around so that his legs draped off the side of the bed, breathing heavily for a few moments until he had enough focus and control to not burst out in anger. Then he looked at Karunik. "What were our losssesss?"

The Hakiem turned to look towards the candle burning by the far wall from the door. "Well, aside from our only method to effectively enter North Castle . . ." his fists clenched together, "we believe that all of our men there were lost, save for Segnin who managed to escape General Kamas Lion's powers and made his way back here. In exchange for Dessil's student - and perhaps the cooperation of Sovelis the Tempest - that is a loss of thirty-two of our best L2 Hakiems.

"As well as General Laxin."

Zaboorak shut his eyes, allowing his own hands to clench in fury. It was easy to do; he just needed to remember Noval again in order to imitate the feelings that Karunik and the Hakiems no doubt were feeling in their hearts. They were too emotional, not logical enough for the Zora's tastes, but they were efficient, so it was worth his while to pretend to feel the same way . . . it made them feel a sense of kinship with him. Laughable, really, but incredibly useful. He looked up after a few seconds, then began thinking . . . and then an idea hit him.

"You look as though you have a plan," Karunik muttered as he saw a spark light up in the Zora's eyes.

"Perhapsss . . ." the Zora trailed off, trying to think of what the man he had in mind could use to pull off their retaliation. And then it hit him, and his grin widened until it malevolently stretched from ear to ear. "What isss Xamnial'sss condition?"

The leader of the Hakiem's eyebrows shot up in approval, and he smiled as well. "The Beastmaster . . . yes, I see. He's getting better. The last time I checked on him, the ones attending him predicted he would need another two weeks at the most before he's fully recovered. Two weeks then, and we strike back?"

"No, no," Zaboorak muttered with a shake of his head as he drew a black cloak around his form. "A month."

"A full month?"

"Yesss . . ." He replied slyly. "Two weeksss for him to recover . . . and two weeksss for him to finally massster the greatessst of our beassstsss."

Karunik's grin only widened.

OOC: I'm thinking, maybe . . . one more post from me before we FINALLY end this? Since all the active people in the throne room are gone, I'll just wait for one reply - probably Sovelis' - before replying.

Alpha wrote:OOC:

"Well, don't worry too much about that either," Segnin says with a smirk after Sovelis finishes complaining about his wounds. He shifts his hands out in front of him chest; the activation for the Rohtric Seerse spell is clapping his hands to force the energy required to transform through his body. "When we transform back from electricity to humanoid forms, we'll return to our 'normal' forms. That is, without any injuries - you'll be the same as if you were at full health." He chuckled for a second. "Quite a handy little trick! Wish I'd discovered it before last nig--"

Sovelis suddenly collapses, and the Hakiem is quick to leap down to the ground. "What the heck happened?! Oh, never mind!" The guy looks like he's about to kill himself from pain from . . . something . . . Without a second thought, Segnin yanks a bottle of Red Potion out from his pockets and attempts to pour the healing liquid into his mouth.

As the healing liquid trickled down his throat, Sovelis felt warmth flood his body and restore some of his strength back to him. "T-thank you again...I owe you twice already in one night." he croaked, the pain subsiding as the wave of energy dissipated and left him feeling ill and weak. "Then lets go...that little potion may be strong, but its not strong enough to do the job. After this, I can only guess that the ones in charge of you and those others will be wanting revenge..."

Sovelis stood once again on shaky legs and dusted off his ruined robes. "Lets get going, before I kill-over again or something..."

"Alright," Segnin says as he waits for Sovelis to grab ahold of his shoulders. With a clap of his hands, the duo is instantly transformed into a lightning bolt, heading out at nearly the fastest speed imaginable towards the Hakiems secret base.

* * *

Even as Shada and Veldam whirled around to face the King and the Gen - er, Richarn, the now-formal Hylian Knight nods to His Majesty. "As you wish, sir."

"What?!" Shada cries, starting forward as if to threaten the King into giving an explanation for this 'reward' - only to have Alpha grab her by the wrist and yank her back. "Think for a second, Shada," he commands, holding fast as she tries to break away. "Zaboorak knows that Noval's the Golden Hylian - how long do you think it'll be before the Hakiems attack this place again if he's still a Hylian Knight?!"

After blinking a few times, she finally relaxes, understanding at last. The rest of the group silently nods, or at least begins to comprehend with the King's reasoning, even if they may not agree with it. Noval simply raises his hands, softly tugging off the ring on his right hand . . . but His Majesty shakes his head, holding up a hand to stop him. "Keep it, Golden Hylian. It will doubtlessly come in useful in time."

He bows again. "As you wish, my King," he says at last, not bothering to explain to the others. This is actually a copy of the King's ring that he holds, needed for someone like the RER's leader, who may at any point in time need to gain access to certain privileges and information outside of normal channels. As far as any political power is concerned, as long as Noval has it he is a representative of Hyrule, be he Hylian Knight or not. For a Golden One, on the run from Zaboorak and his Hakiems, it is an invaluable gift. "You honor me."

"As you have honored myself and your country, my friend." Harkinian clasps both of his hands on the man's shoulders and gives him a smile. "Take care, and remember that you are always welcome here."

Richarn Noval gives the King a big grin, then turns around towards the exit, holding his head high as he leads the majority of the group out of the Throne Room. Alpha waits a few seconds before following, nodding to His Majesty and bowing towards Zelda as he begins to walk out.

* * *

"And that isss my plan," Zaboorak ends, looking at each of the five leaders of the Hakiems Tribe. In the next few seconds each of the generals has nodded - their sign that they are willing to at least consider his proposition. And no doubt they will accept it, as they usually do.

"We shall consider this, Lord Zaboorak," Karunik concludes in his customary manner, even though he has already personally approved of the plan when he was back in the Zora's room several hours ago. "On other business, I take it you will be wanting to meet with this Sovelis as soon as can be done?"

"Of courssse, though my obligationsss to thisss tribe will scertainly resssult in my being unable to for sssome time. I would sssuggessst allowing him full accesss to the Water Dissstrict, where, ssshould he choossse to turn on usss, he will be unable to offer them any information concerning the place that they have not already ssseen for themssselvesss."

Karunik nodded. "That seems a reasonable suggestion. We shall discuss it as well." With a courteous wave of his hand, the Zora is dismissed from the Generals' Council, and he turns away without argument.

* * *

He had just placed his black cloak back in his closet when the hand reached in and slapped him.

He crashed to the ground a full meter from where he'd been standing, rebounding against the floor and continuing in a horizontal arc until he slammed against the far wall, causing the entire chamber to shake. A simple slap should never have done that; who could have -

"You DARE to reveal Wraith's identity!?!"

'That voice!' "You DARE to attack me like that!?!"

He stood up in a flash, burning with anger as the Goldforce Power's strength pours into him. Facing the intruder, he glared lightning bolts at the intruder, as if taunting the man to try and attack him again. "What do you want, Idarz?!"

Idarz's glare was no kinder to the Zora, pure rage being barely held in as the wizard stood silent for several long seconds. "I came to you, did I not? After your last battle with Zaris? I told you not to speak of Wraith's identity to anyone - and now I realize almost too late that Laxin was fully aware of this fact. Because of you, you imbecile!

Zaboorak waved the comments away as his hand suddenly burst aflame with the shining magic of his Golden Rage. "I do not serve you, deranged magician! I will not gravel before your feet; you have no power over me. "Magi Tempus" you may be, but I suggest you learn your place in this world without Ganon!"

"Unlike you, Ganon does not define my existence, idiot."

Zaboorak's eyes narrowed. "THAT was a mistake, you cretin!" A blast of fire erupted from his palm, lancing through the air with its fatal force, only to dissipate the instance Idarz waved his hand in its path. He blinked in shock for a second, disbelieving what he had just seen, before finally comprehending. "Time Mage . . ." he growled angrily.

"You should know better than to go against the will of one who can command time, Zora." It was now Idarz's eyes turn to narrow. "Not to mention my goddess' will.

"Be warned, Zaboorak. I will no longer tolerate anyone exposing Wraith's identity - and whether it is in your power to prevent it or not, I will hold you responsible for it." A twinkling started to appear around his form, the classic teleportation spell that he had become so well known for amongst the denizens of the underworld, as Zaboorak just stared at him. "Do NOT make me remind you personally what happens when one outside of time is killed." The Zora's eyes widened as he gulped in fear, his entire body being driven almost to the point of convulsions as his heart threatened to stop cold at the very thought of that threat being made real. By the time his sweat drenched body became conscious of his surroundings again, the man was gone.


<center>Zaboorak stared at that same spot where Idarz had stood for a long, long time.


This game had just become much more dangerous.



~~Thus Ends Chapter 8:~~
~~Castle Liberation~~</center>