Magic Mayhem

“Kenji’s getting to you huh? I don’t know what you guys did...but I’ve never seen him that way before. You got everyone pretty on edge you know. A lot of us don’t even understand the reason why you are doing this. And why our guild is so involved. But I found this at a festival, and I figured you can give me the missing piece.”he said throwing him the pendant from the founders festival “I recognize the crest of the kingdom and the guild’s crest, but what’s the third one. For some reason I have a feeling it ties back to your organization, that crimson color is the same one you all wear on your cloaks and hoods.”

He picked up the item and looked upon it with a certain distain. “Once Wizard kind were anlento use magic unfetted and wothout leases like the magic council has today. A story you’ve probably heard or others here that their were good and bad groups and that’s the reason the laws were made. In those time, probably when this village was founded, this symbol,” he pointed at the one Akihiko cake asking about, “was for a brave warrior that came to protect the people.” He said.
“That’s pretty acurate but what no one mentioned was the fourth founder.” He said and folder the fabric and the symbols merged into a fourth and very familiar symbol, or version of, the one that Hisako bore.

“What?” AKihiko said shocked as he looked over at the symbol his brother had just created “You’re telling me that there was another person...someone who came to protect the village?”he asked as he now sat down cross legged outside his brother’s cell listening to him talk “So then...what happened? Why do we only celebrate 3 founders...and why do you have the symbol of the third one?”

“Four founders sought to create a utopian society. Away from kings and poverty and other dredges of society. The politics and the pompous aristocrats that profited from others struggles and labor. That each member help and work and provide for all. It was foolish to think it would work because I don’t see that here now.....do you?” Hisako Said. “Your masters ancestors creator a guild.....where magic remains. Farmers and scholars ran the people. Leaving a soldier to keep them all in line and another to keep the balance. But he....the fourth. This utopia was his master plan. Where they all fell under one banner. But omthe others thought that one one should lead and so began a dispute..”

Akihiko listened intently to his brother's story picturing all the pieces "That makes sense...and that would explain the mage, the farmer with the books and the soldier I saw in that picture. So what happened in the dispute? Did the fourth guy use magic too? Or was he light the soldier? Or not a fighter at all?"

“He was all and more. People looked to him more then the others. The others became jealous of him and moved to betray him.” He said, weaving together the tale. “The Wizard would use spells tos curse him, the farmer would use plants to poison him, the warrior would use men and their feeble minds to believe lies and rumors.”

“Well....if all that happened.....and it was 3 against one....shouldn’t those people be in the right? I mean clearly there was a reason that they no longer trusted and wanted to follow this guy right?”

“Your not listening.....THEY betrayed HIM. Not the other way around.” He said and sighed. “Talking to you is useless...” He said and rubbed at his eyes, “they meant to kill him so that the people wouldn’t see him as leader. But then that lead to distrust amongst the lot of them after their deed. Anyway....to kill him they all did their own things and somehow the whole thing went south. The concoction to poison him, the wizards cursing....it all backfire in a big way. Instead of killing him.....it....changed him....and them.”

"Changed them how?"he asked curiously "And when you tell the story like that it's much easier to follow!" Aki growled out at tiny sparks danced around him "Anyway, continue, I wanna know how this thing turned out. I wanna know if....nevermind just go on"

“You wanna know if this has something to do with your little girl friend right? You want to know if this will hurt her? Kill her? “ he chuckled, “a dragon protecting his mate.....will it comfort you to know that her end will be a quick one? That when my master comes for her, her death will bring us new life? You should be honored.”

Sparks began to ripple around Akihiko again as he punched at the metal door separating them as sparks crackled around the inside of the cell “You leave Layla out of this! Why does she have to be the centerpiece for your little plot huh? What did she do..finish your story. Who is your master?”

“He is the one.....the original. When the others attempts to destroy him merged and created an evil that drained their souls from their bodies and merged with his own. Creating a darkness that will reshape your pitiful world. The first Craven to live here sent him into a pocket Denison that only he himself could reach before dying and passing on his powers to the next in his line. But what he did not know was that he only sent half of him....the other half is here....in this world awaingting to be whole.....sit you think it’s odd....a baby.....some how survived the attempt to bring back that other half? How do you think that happened? Think about that Brother mine.”

“I don’t know man I’m not good at this stuff okay!”Akihiko said scratching his head furiously in frustration “Are you telling me the other half was reborn...as Layla........”he asked as he looked up at him in shock “No....no way.....that’s a lie....right?”

“That your precious little princess is a soul sucking demon from another dimension was was the main cause of her entire kingdoms demise?” He said and chuckled, “Well.....we are just going to have to wait and see won’t we?”

Akihiko let out a growl sending a charged blast through the cell at his brother as he turned leaving the dungeons in a hurry, visibly shaken and upset by the news he had just discoverred, but still unsure if it was all true. He was so confused he wasn’t sure who he should turn to to tell this information. In the wrong hands it could be catastrophic if it got around, whether it was true or not. He couldn’t do that to Layla.

Hisako looked at the scorch mark on the wall next to his head and he chuckled.  As he watched his brother retreating form.  

Layla had fallen asleep after eating a little of the food that Oliver had brought and after having fallen asleep, Nekka and Chichi had left. She hugged the pillow tightly to her head as she slept and her dreams were turning unpleasant. It had started with her sitting in a field, one from growing up to with Alzurtis where the dragon had trained her to tap into her magic. She was sitting there and enjoying the warmth of the sun and cool breeze that blew over her till a dark shape encased the sun and the sky turned red...

“Layla.....” a voice called into the growing darkness and she stood, trying to find the voice.
“Who is it?”
Layla....”
“Who’s there?” She called as the wind pick up around her and and the darkness swirled around her and dark hands reached out for her. “What do you want?!” She screamed as a set of arms a crabbed her and pulled her back flush against the mass and a face emerged next to her ear
“.....Run.....”

Akihiko was just walking into the room, still visibly upset but trying to hide it from his features as he saw Layla tossing and turning on the bed in a light sweat as he moved over to the side of the bed lightly shaking her “Layla! Layla! Wake up! You’re having another one of those crazy dreams”he called out to her hoping his words would pierce her sleep and awaken her

Her eyes suddenly snapped open and instead of their usually vibrant green, the entire eye was black as night and she swung her arm across her body and sent Akihiko across the room with so much force that he almost went through the wall. She had sat up and looked down at him with a dark expression. One Aki had never seen before or would ever want to see. Layla suddenly gripped her head and blinked away a wave of pain and the inky blackness in her eyes washed away and her green eyes were back as if nothing had happened. She looked back at Akihiko and gasped. “Aki!”
She jumped out of bed and ran over to him. “Aki, are you alright? What happened?” She asked just before the door swung open and Calista and Kenji and others rushed in, “We hard a crash, are you both alright?”

Aki slowly picked himself up holding his head "Man that hurt" he said looking up at Layla and then at Cali "Uhh yeah Im fine, just a little shaken up thats all" he said with a sigh "Layla are you awake now?"

“Ye..yeah.” She said and looked at him and the dent in the wall. “I did that....didn’t I?” She asked and and stepped back from him.
“Layla? What’s wrong?” Calista asked
“I...I had this....dream....i woke up and.....I attacked Aki..”

"To be fair, I was standing over and shaking you" Aki said scratching the back of his head "What kind of dream did you have?"he asked still thinking about his brother's story

She sat back on the bed as everyone gathered in the room. “I was back in the fields where Azurtos raised me....just soaring there when this...eclipse happened and the sky turned red....then there were these voices calling out to me...a black smoke suddenly surrounded me and these hands and dead faceses were grabbing me.....”

"Man that sounds intense...when I came to you, your eyes were all black and you were super strong. You knockedme back so easily" Akihiko said shaking his head "So..."he said and closed the door "Before we tell Kenji, there's something I wanna tell just us..."he said taking a deep breath and telling them of the story his brother told him

When he finished, Layla had moved back from him and sat against the head board, hugging her knees to her chest. “So....I’m....a monster?she asked, not looking at him.

"No, not a monster. Youre Layla..but whoever these people are, they are trying to unleash something inside you that nobody jas any control over. I dont even think they know whats really going on, but they're so brainwashed into believing in this crap."he said "But...should we get Kenji involved..."he asked looking at Cali