Arianna got up, her ribs were bruised and battered but that didn’t matter to her. She watched the creature charge at her, she grabbed another handful of sand and waited for the creature to get close enough. Scraping the wall with her sword, she wanted to make sure the creature kept it’s heading, straight for her and the wall!

When it was two strides away she let the sand fly at the creature, then she jumped with all her might out of the creatures way. It caught her leg, but she was able to free it before the being slammed head first into the wall. She ran to the beast that was sputtering and guttering tar and blood. Bones were sticking out and Arianna stabbed it, stabbed it and continued until the creature stopped shuddering. Her hands were burning from the tar that surrounded her hand and blade. She reached for the knife that was still in the monster’s face. The knife was also smoldering as she gripped it and ripped it out of the thing’s head.

Adrenaline and blood coursing through her she looked up at Knight, “What’s your next order?” She asked him standing with her weapons ready.

Thalian tried not to gape at the boy, but he couldn't help himself. "Your-" he ducked. "MASTER?!" He yelled out as he did a massive barrel role around Zeke, landing well behind him and out of his reach. "Hollow is your MASTER?! What on-" he dodged again. "earth?! I met her in the" duck "in the forest you imbecile! She needed help! So we-" duck and roll "took her into our home! We only want to-" He took a hard blow to his shoulder with the hilt of Zeke's sword. "WE ONLY WANTED TO SAVE HER LIFE!" He finally managed to shout.

Leaowynne shrieked a little when the dragon reappeared in front of them so quickly in a new form, and shrieked even more when he managed to rip Kitara from her arms. She knew Kitara would be far to terrified to levitate herself well enough to prevent a very deadly crash. She dove headfirst towards the ground to catch her.

This has got to end very soon! She thought to herself. There's no reason anyone should die here tonight! Not like this!

"Kitara! Slow yourself down as much as possible! I'll catch you!" She folded her wings in even farther to quicken her speek incase Kitara could not slow herself in time.

Valerie winced at the sudden surge of energy Leaowynne emitted like a shockwave as she dove after the creature she had been carrying in her arms. Valerie had only watched in horror from the distance as the small being had been ripped from Leaowynne's arms. Even from where she hovered, she could tell the creature was a newborn.

Please Leaowynne... Valerie was hardly breathing and her heart was most certainly overcompensating for it as it pounded out of control. Between her son, Leaowynne's predicament, the assault on the castle, and keeping an eye on Aideen, Valerie was almost beside herself with worry, fear, and frustration. Aideen seemed fine below, despite her awkward landing, for which Valerie was very grateful she had not been injured.

She decided to stop wasting time and shot towards the castle like a strange shadowy violet comet. Thalian was handling his own. She MUST not interfere. Leaowynne, Sorida, Michael... they all seemed to be in a tight situation. She flew as fast as she could in the direction of the boy-dragon that had just bounded over the castle wall. That seemed to be the enemy that was giving them the most trouble, so she took after him like a bullet. He could not be allowed into the castle at any cost. Kara was in there...with the injured girl.

Kara was getting fainter and weaker by the second now. Hollow was nearly fully revived, but it took mountains of energy Kara had not accounted for to overcome the dark barrier that seemed to eat her spiritual essence alive. Her head felt so heavy... She still gave it all she had though. She finally just laid her head down directly onto Hollow's chest right over her heart for maximum effect. Whateve it was that resided in the girl's soul, it was certainly trying to kill her, but reviving Hollow was putting Kara had a terrible risk as well. Soon, Hollow would be up to her full energy, but her healer already lacked the strength to even stand. Soon, Kara would lose consciousness where she kneeled.

Someone is trying very hard to get into the castle... I can feel them... She thought. She only hoped Hollow would have the strength to either escape, get help, or fight off the intruders since she had become quite useless. Too much had happened too fast. Something needed to stop all this, and soon.

She sighed once more and poured the last bit of energy she could afford directly into Hollow's heart. Her hair fell away from Hollow in white ghost-like whisps as she slumped backwards in a pile of black armor, whispy wings, and white hair on the black marble floor, unconscious.

Knight snapped his fingers, and the creature began to sink into the sand like a worthless corpse drowning in a tarpit. All the black sand melted and gathered itself together into a gooey puddle, and followed the creature into the mysterious hole in which it descended. Soon, everything had returned to normal. He decided that had been too easy for her to figure out, and wanted to give her something harder. For that matter, he wasn't even going to give her a break.

With absolutely no warning this time, he flashed his eyes once and the arena began to shift, waver, and... dissipate beneath Arianna's feet. The sand was becoming sloggy and inconsistent. Soon, Arianna was up to her chest in watery mud. Without another moment's passing, the silty sandy liquid disolved away and became clear churning and rolling waves of oceanic water. One end of the arena seemed particularly violent, and began to swirl in a massive whirlpool, that blinked with silent lightning beneath the waves every few seconds.

Soon, a slimy hand appeared on the surface, grabbing at the water like a cat might grab onto a drape it was trying to climb. A shrieking sound that sent the walls rattling and the stones cracking burst from the bubbling water, and a strange creature pulled itself into view. It was a siren. She looked like a giant mermaid, nearly four stories tall, only much more menacing. The slimy blue and fleshy webbed fingers ended in sharp claws of very hard coral. The hair was a moldy green and matted with strips of kelp and strange creatures that clung to whatever loose strands that mananged to find their way out of the mess of wet locks. Her eyes were that of a corpsy fish, but sharp as a hawk. She had strong and intimidating facial features, with sharp contours that ended in a very prominent pointy chin. A long elegant teal-colored fishy tail flowed out far behind her, pounding and churning up the water immensely.

Medusa herself would probably have fled in terror from the sight. She might have even been beautiful were it not for the rows of shark like teeth that seemed to drill into her mouth as she opened it wide and screamed again. Her blank fish-like eyes caught sight of Arianna, and she howled in her direction. The waves grew terribly tall and violent , making it impossible for a take-off if Arianna had wanted to fly.

This wasn’t Arianna’s element, she hardly ever swam except for when bathing! She saw the wave and knew she’d never escape it if she flew, but if this was still physical and no magic was allowed she’d have to endure. Arianna saw the grotesquely large creature and could feel the current of the swirling whirlpool. Taking a deep breath she dove under the waves and descended as far out of the waves reach as she could. But she was pulled further into the whirlpool, she knew the less of two evils was the siren. Though her ears were bleeding she’d have to find a way to defeat this creature.

Arianna broke the surface and gulped in the oxygen before diving again, the currant was strong. So she kicked harder, her sword and pants were weighing her down though. She dropped the sword and gained the speed she desperately needed, her knife she tucked into her belt. How the hell was she going to deal with a monster in its natural element? She’d finally gotten away from the whirlpools pull, now she was dealing with wave after battering wave. She lost her breath and swallowed water, she struggled to the surface. This time she floated on the surface sputtering water and breathing in sweet air, where did the siren go though? Arianna’s question would soon be answered.

"I would prefer not to fight without knowing why," replied Carlow, staring at the elemental. "But, Aideen, what is this place? I do not think this is Heaven."

She stared at him, or he supposed she did. It was difficult to tell, really, especially with her face shadowed by the deep hood of her cloak. She seemed to be trying to hide. "They call it the Realm. Unless there are monsters and demons in Heaven, then you're right. This is not Heaven."

He nodded, staring at the chaos near the castle. "The catfish said not to be alone."

"The catfish?" She cocked her head, voice brightening a little with curiosity. "The catfish told you..."

"Ahh... Yes. There was a catfish."

"And it spoke to you?"

"Did it lie to me?"

"No," she said softly. "It did not lie to you."

The ocean waves hit the shore in a steady, whispering rhythm. Though Aideen was far from danger, it the noise frightened her in a more visceral way than the battle at the castle. She did her best to ignore it by continuing her idle conversation with her new companion.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you, exactly?" She stared at Carlow, searching fuzzy memories, only half listening.

"According to the catfish, I am a naiad. Whatever that means. I've been wondering the same about you." He had a distant expression in his eyes. Aideen supposed this was due to his focus on the battle.

"They say I am a fire elemental."

"They?"

"The Valrae. You will meet them later, I hope." Assuming they survived. It was impossible to be certain of anything.

Carlow had to admit it to himself. He was intrigued, both by the mysterious Valrae (whatever they turned out to be), and by the elemental. Maybe he'd see both soon.

"I hope so, too," he replied softly, eyes drifting between the castle and Aideen.

Leaowynne prayed Kitara's cat-like reflexes were as good as her looks. She could almost reach her... one more second... and... SHE CAUGHT HER! But, only seconds before they both collided into the ground in a massive pile of feathers, hair, robes, limbs, and fur. Leaowynne had shielded them both with a spell but it still left quite a few bruises that would take more than a little spell-casting to heal properly. She hoped Kitara was alright.

And did somebody call for Thalian? Was he not fighting only a moment ago? Leaowynne pondered in a bruised daze on the ground, clutching Kitara a little too tight.

Everyone else froze in mid-flight, charge, strike, dive, and every other pose imaginable when Hollow burst out onto the balcony calling Thalian's name. Thalian was in the middle of a smart retort for Zeke's simple sheepish question and he breathed in a mouthful of dust in suprise, nearly choking himself silly when he heard his name being shouted for him.

Valerie froze in mid-air, peering from the excited looking dragon-boy near the castle, and over to the stunned Sorida, down to her son, over to the pile that was Leaowynne and the newborn, and finally resting on Aideen by the shore with the other strange individual. And who was this sassy individual shouting from the damned balcony of Kara's chamber!

This is insane... She thought to herself.

She decided to land softly on the ground between her son and the other parties near the castle, just incase she might have to take off again.

The whole field had gone quiet while everyone observed the shouting pair in an awkward sort of silence and confusion.

Thalian only continued to gape up at the balcony of Kara's chambers. She actually called for MY help? He almost wondered aloud, but stopped himself at the sight of Zeke eyeballing him suspiciously, looking between him and Hollow with confusion, disbelief, and maybe a slight tinge of jealousy. Still, Thalian had trouble supressing the strange feeling of excitement welling up in him.

Which is totally ridiculous! He shouted in his mind to stamp out the weird thoughts of affection. He attempted yet another sorry recovery for his soft heart and enthusiasm...

"Hollow! What on earth are you doing standing out there on the balcony you stupid girl! Are you such an unrefined and backward-thinking woman that you can't even let me save you properly!? You're SUPPOSED to wait for ME to come rescue YOU, you nitwit! Or were you afraid Kara was going to eat you!?" He shouted over the fields to the small figure on the balcony whom he knew was glaring daggers in his direction by now. He couldn't help but grin wide on the inside.

Everyone on the field kept looking awkwardly in silence from Thalian, to Hollow, and back to Thalian again.

Aggrivating her never gets old... He mused.

"What are YOU looking at?!" He barked at Zeke who was looking at him with an expression that couldn't really be described in words.

"I might as well save my energy and feed you to the fish in the sea you pathetic creature!" Knight hissed down to Arianna who was doing her best to keep up with her breathing, let alone her fighting.

"You call yourself an assassin?! I have had chamber maids and doormen whom could fight better than you, let alone swim!" If Knight's words could have boiled the water on impact, they probably would have...

The siren circled beneath Arianna, looking for a window of opportunity to crush her whole between her jaws and tear her limbs from her torso. She dove deeper. She wanted to achieve maximum speed so she could slam into Arianna with full momentum.

The water calmed considerably once the siren had dove far enough below the surface to stop churning the waves so terribly.

The pair stared as the dust settled, both literally and figuratively. Aideen could hear shouting, but it wasn't angry, exactly. Just upset. "Well, that seems to be that, then. Shall we go?"

Carlow nodded. "I suppose so." He remained uneasy, however, feeling somehow that it wasn’t over yet. Still, Aideen seemed bent on leading him to the castle, so he followed.

They took a long, careful path around the grounds, circling towards... something or somebody. Carlow had no idea who. It was not difficult to navigate. The moonlight itself was bright enough, and even if it hadn't been, Aideen provided her own illumination and Carlow's eyes saw surprisingly well in the dark.

She led them to a spot a small distance away from the Valrae she knew. It did not take long. Thalian seemed aggravated, and Valerie on edge, but at least they appeared to be okay. Carlow, who stood a few steps behind her and to the side, seemed content to let her do the talking.

Aideen cleared her throat. "This is not how I imagined arriving at the castle..." she reflected, staring up at it. It had been remarkable enough from the distance of the Scarlet Sands. Now it was positively intimidating. And beautiful.

Kitara squeezed her eyes shut as she hit the ground, tumbling about and ending up sprawled across the ground. Something was squeezing the life out of her and as she opened her eyes, she realized it was Leaowynne. “Ow….” She muttered weakly, staring up at the sky without really comprehending anything. Had it just gotten really quiet and was someone yelling? She really didn’t have the energy to move and see what was going on.

An evil grin spit Sorphiem’s face as the woman he suspected was Hollow appeared on the balcony. She was out in the open and everyone was done fighting now, so what a more perfect opportunity. He stretched his wings and shot across the sky towards the balcony. Without landing, he grabbed the rather light woman and took off in direction in particular since he intended to talk to her now.

“You are Hollow I presume. You’re little friends Zeke and Fang have told me about you,” Sorphiem spoke in a polite voice that did not seem menacing nor un-menacing.

Arianna was on the surface and knew the siren had gone deep under water, if it were her she’d attack from below. That was Arianna’s weak point, so she lay on the surface listening for the creatures attack. Arianna could hear her, she was moving quickly aiming of her torso. The creature was close, but she misjudged the timing so when she took a breath and did a back flip under water the siren was still 20 feet under her but moving quickly.

Arianna took out her knife and barely got out of reach of the being but she missed her target’s eye. She tumbled end over end down the sirens hair, finally grabbing hold of it. She climbed up, and then they broke the surface of the water. She didn’t know how much time she had so she gulped another lungful of air before being dragged deep under water.

The water’s pressure was crushing as the creature dove deeper, to kill Arianna. She kept climbing until she felt the end of where the hair grew, she was at the creatures scalp. Driving the knife in she felt a slight jolt, the siren swiped at her and clawed her back. Blood was leaking from her, but Arianna couldn’t stop. This time she stabbed leaving the knife in and used the rest of her daggers to make a hole in the creature’s skull. The siren’s hand clasped around Arianna as she pulled that bit of skull fragment away with the knife and threw it with the last ounce of strength she had. It went deep into the creatures brain and Arianna was being crushed by the creature as it seized up.

Her weapons gone Arianna was being dragged into the depths by the creatures hold. Arianna’s lungs were on fire screaming for air. She used her legs to finally separate herself from the siren, but she was too far under! She started to see black splotches and everything went hazy before she could reach the surface.

Thalian gaped at the scene that just took place right before his eyes. One moment Hollow is on the balcony and the next she is being carried off by a mysterious being.

Man that women really knows how to tweak my nerves! He grumbled aloud. He grew even more irrated at the sarcastic comment she shouted at him as she was being carried away. He shouted back.

"Well you don't have to be so casual about being abducted you ninny!" He kicked the dirt with the heel of his boot in frustration, accidently getting dust in Zeke's eyes.

"Sorry..." He said in a not-so-sorry tone.

Valerie had had enough. She got right between the two boys who were about to go at it again, grabbed them each by an ear, and held them both down about her waist while she addressed the field.

"ALRIGHT!" she commanded in a voice she had magicked to carry across the expanse. "THIS HAS GONE QUITE FAR ENOUGH! I WANT EVERYONE TO HEAD INTO THE MAIN HALL OF THE CASTLE THIS INSTANT TO WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS! WE ARE ALL TIRED, SORE, IRRITATED, AND IN NEED OF EXPLANATIONS! WE'LL FIND REST AND SOLACE INSIDE! NOW EVERYBODY MARCH THEIR BUTTS TO THE CASTLE RIGHT NOW!

NO ONE IS GOING OFF ON ANY MORE WILD GOOSE CHASES AFTER ANYBODY UNTIL WE GET SOME OF THESE ISSUES RESOLVED, AND THAT MEANS ALL OUR NEW ARRIVALS TOO!" Valerie scowled at Zeke and Thalian who struggled like school boys in the tight pinch of her fingers around their ears. She also glared daggers at the sulking boy-dragon on the wall who seemed to content to try and slither away.

"MARCH! ALL OF YOU! SHOO!"

Leaowynne was glad somebody had taken charge where she had lost control. Valerie was always dependable like that. But where was Kara? And where did Sorida disappear to? It didn't matter now. Everyone needed to calm down and get inside before anything else happened. Leaowynne groaned to her feet and helped Kitara to hers. They would definitely be walking back. No more flying today...

Michael was reluctant to extinguish his fiery fury, but he shook his head and sheathed his sword none the less. Valerie could be scarier than he was when she got into one of her moods.

The two horses, Hollow's horse and Lanna, who had been taking shelter in the treeline, whinnied in agreement. Lanna took off towards the castle and through the gate, leading Hollow's horse behind her. Lanna would take them around back to the outside of the kitchen where somebody would hopefull be able to prepare some food and water for them.

Knight snapped his fingers again and the water disappeared as if it had never been there, leaving the enormous body of the dead siren and a gasping Arianna on the sand. The activity at the castle had gone quiet, and Knight was far too curious and concerned to let it stand by the wayside any longer.

"I have new plans for you, Arianna." He said casually to the injured gasping creature on the ground. "You will be taking up your training with Kara sooner than I anticipated. It is obvious you would not survive my training for even a few minutes. Look at you. You are pathetic. So, I will dump you off in Kara's hands until I feel you are ready to continue." Knight knew this would sound confusing to the girl who was barely sensible at the moment as it was, especially since she was supposed to kill Kara.

But, if Arianna could train with Kara, it would open a new opportunity. He knew how close Kara grew to her students, and if she got close enough to Arianna, he could steal Arianna away when he felt she was ready, and he knew Kara would pursue him. This would bring Kara right too him, AND he would have a more battle-ready assassin to aid him in the fight! How delightful! Not only would he get to strangle the life out of her with his bare hands, but Kara would get to witness the attack and betrayal of her own student in the process! He couldn't lose.

CHAPTER THREE------- INTRODUCTIONS, EXPLANATIONS, REVELATIONS, AND NEW ARRIVALS.

There were so many strangers gathered, and Aideen had to admit to herself, she was barely acquainted with the three she did know. And of those three, she only trusted two. She ducked as far into her hood as she could, tightening the cloak around her shoulders. Nobody had attacked her specifically in the last few minutes, but that was no reason to take chances, was it? And now they'd all be stuck inside together, because there clearly was no arguing with Valerie.

She quickly glanced over her shoulder at Carlow. "She means us as well."

The naiad smiled softly. "So she does. Shall we go, then?" I spite of all the fighting, a quick glance at those in the field convinced him that there would be no immediate danger, especially not with... well, whoever was in charge. He had not been introduced to Valerie, but the woman seemed assertive enough. Not to mention dangerous. Nobody intelligent would be starting a new fight under her watch just now.

Aideen was doing her best to survey the field without seeming to. It wasn't easy, especially when her eyes fell on Michael. They lingered on him a little longer, though she couldn't say precisely why. "Yes. Yes, let's go."

She made her way toward the castle, slightly favoring her left ankle. She'd twisted it on landing, and it was just starting to swell. When Carlow offered her a supportive arm, she took it without a thought. Maybe this gathering wouldn't be so bad...

Sorphiem looked at Hollow, then down at the castle, then back at Hollow. This was getting really aggravating. He should just drag Hollow off somewhere and have a chat with her, but then those annoying two apprentices of hers would come chasing after him and he wanted to be rid of the two as soon as possible. He sighed and arched back to the ground, landing easily and dumping Hollow beside him not so nicely.

"Fine. We'll do it your way...for now." He walked towards the castle, grumbling.

Kitara rolled to her feet with Leaowynne's help and had to cast around for a few seconds to find her wand that had been jarred from her hands. thankfully it was still intact. She rubbed a bruise on her head. "I feel so unlucky for not having wings...." she muttered under her breath. really, everyone else seemed to be able to fly.

Arianna sat up slowly and looked at Knight. "I did survive though and now you´re sending me away?! How am I to keep them from knowing what´s going on in my head? You did say that she could read thoughts, so she´ll know!"

Arianna was bruised, bloody and beaten. Every part of her body hurt, but she wouldn´t let Knight see the pain in her eyes. She hated defeat, and she knew in this condition she wouldn´t have survived. But still she wanted to prove herself worthy to aid Knight, though she wasn´t sure why she was so comitted to helping him. Sure his wife and children were slaughtered and his home stolen, but Arianna always stuck by her committment so she would follow through with whatever Knight asked of her.

Once everyone was inside, there was much bickering and arguing as people bumped shoulders in the now very crowded entrance hall. Leaowynne kept Kitara out of everyone's way so her tail wouldn't get stepped on. Michael was stretched out on his favorite sofa and arguing with Fang who wanted to sit down too. Michael intentionally stretched himself out as far and wide as he could to cover the whole couch. Finally Fang got fed up and just sat on Michael, which was a very bad idea that ended in a ball of fire and rather burned couch.

Those who weren't preoccupied yelling at Michael and Fang were occupied arguing amongst themselves. Valerie was still trying to keep Zeke and Thalian from killing each other, and at the same time trying to convince Thalian that charging after Hollow by himself was a very stupid idea. Somehow she ended up on a tangent about laundry, to which Zeke and Thalian could only groan behind their pinched ears and try arguing some more. Anthony had no clue what was going on since he had been somewhere else in the castle, and could only stand with this foolish suprised look on his face. He decided to join Leaowynne and Kitara in the corner. He stood particularly close to Kitara who looked rather nervous.

Aideen and Carlow were carrying on their own private conversation in a corner out of everyone's way. And Nelo was terribly excited by all the people and was jumping up and down on a vacant chair that Rowan really wanted to sit on. Since Rowan and Nelo had already got into a bout the other day, they wound up ending in another inevitable tussle.

However, everyone went dead... DEAD silent when the strange man entered the doors of the main hall with the girl he had snatched off the balcony beside him. Thalian paused for a long moment, and then scowled fiercely at the stranger standing next to Hollow. His fangs grew considerably more dangerous and he bore them unabashed at the man. Valerie wasn't too happy to see him either seeing as he seemed to be part of the center of the mess. Her mischievous side was debating letting go of Thalian's ear, but the reasonable side didn't think a blood bath in Kara's guest hall would be very polite. That was Valerie for you...

Kara laid very cold and unconscious on her black marble floor where she had slumped earlier. She didn't feel Sorida's cold nose brushing against her face. She barely even seemed to be breathing, but what breaths escaped her lips were too fast and labored. Whatever had infected the girl she was healing before really gave her a whallop when she managed to get around it long enough to heal her for the time being. It really took a LOT for something to give Kara a blow that hard. Regardless, she definitely needed some assistance.

"Pssssst.. Sorida" A voice whispered from the curtains that billowed out the open doors to Kara's balcony. The owner of the voice stepped forward. It was Rolgen. He looked very relieved to see Sorida since she didn't always have time to visit, and what a time for her to be here!

"Sorida! What on earth has happened here! The castle grounds look like you all lost a fight with a meteor shower!" He whispered as quietly as he could, but his concern still came through enough to make it sound more like a muffled shout.

There are some strange things going on! My family was attacked on two different occasions yesterday. The assailant was in pursuit of a newborn we had taken into our home for safety and instruction. Valerie and I were seriously injured, but the newborn managed to fight him off all on her own!

He would have to commend Aideen for that later... He thought.

Now the whole of my people have gone missing entirely! And I show up here at the castle to look for people and ask some questions and I stumble across the remains of a fresh battleground! And now here I am kneeling next to you by an unconscious Kara no less!" He finally finished... It truly sounded overwhelming when you said it all at once, and his face reflected the exasperration.

However, he pushed it back down for the time being and decided there were more important things.

"Here, I'll help you lift her onto the bed. The sooner we get all this settled, the sooner we can get some answers."

Knight flew down next to the battered Arianna and landed with a smug thump on the sand. When he got near her, he grabbed her by her shirt collar and lifted her a good foot off the ground. He examined her in this new light and pose, and made snide sarcastic comments about her injuries in a mock doctor tone.

"You know something Arianna? I think this look suits you very well. In fact, I believe it is just what we need to make you convincing." Without another word, thought, or a moment's hesitation, he tore off what tattered articles of clothing that still clung to Arianna's broken form until she was as completely exposed as a newborn.

"There, now this looks much more convincing than a prissy angel waltzing up to the front door of my castle asking Kara for piano lessons. And the fact that you are injured will only cause her to take more pity on you. And what a pity it is!" Knight spat on the ground. "If she were not so merciful, she could make an excellent ruler! Perhaps then I could have tolerated her presence more in the past!"

This story sounded MUCH different than the one he had told Arianna before about Kara being a ruthless, heartless, souless killer. In fact, it sounded just the opposite. And what did he mean when he said, "He could have tolerated [Kara's] presence"? "Didn't she invade his lands, kill his family, cast him into exile, and steal his home?

Knight didn't seem to notice his blunder. He didn't seem to notice anything else either when he roughly tossed Arianna's naked bleeding form over his shoulder.

The landscape around them began to twist and change violently. Moons, stars, dying suns, mountains, oceans... They all raced passed them in a nausiating blur. Knight seemed unaffected by any of the transformations, and before Arianna knew it, they came to a dead stop in the middle of a very large white sandy beach. Knight dropped her hard on the ground and drew out a strange twisted looking dagger.

He kneeled next to the sand sputtering Arianna. The waves turned a dark violet hue and crashed dangerously on the shore in the shadow of his presence. The moons turned a strange orange color, and even the stars seemed dimmer and hushed. He knew he couldn't stay long lest his presence alert every being in a thousand mile radius.

"Forgive me, but I have to make this look convincing" he said as he stuck the knife square into Arianna's stomach and pulled it out again. "You'll thank me later." The next moment he was gone, leaving the newborn-looking Arianna to bleed to death on the beach if help didn't come soon... The waves returned to their normal color and lapped up and over Arianna gently, carrying her blood out to sea. This was a very grim situation.

The mast of a ship could be seen far off just above the dark horizon. The moons were setting behind it, which made it stand out even more. The sails seem to mimic the moons as they billowed out in their crisp whiteness over the spray of the waves. Two of Kara's children, Mia and Soren, were coming home... and... someone new?