"This is the way the world ends; not with a bang, but a whimper." ~T.S. Eliot

Time flows like a river, in a continuous, forward motion. The material that makes up time itself - much like the water of a river - is knows as spheda. Spheda is the very substance that carves out the history of the world, but the future is not set in stone - and neither is the past.

In the year 5214, a powerful emperor conquers the last stretch of land that had not been under his tyrannical rule. His ruthless goal of ruling over the world is finally reached; however, he soon realizes that still isn't enough. Knowing that small rebel alliances were bound to be forming all over the various regions, he wanted to give himself a zero percent chance of being overtaken. He wanted to be forever known as the one and only ruler of the world, and there was only one solution that could prevent his power from ever being taken - destroying the very world he'd conquered.

The rumors quickly began to spread across the lands and finally reached the scattered rebels. They knew in order to save the world, they would have to assassinate the emperor and disband his faithful followers. The small alliances all sent their strongest member to a meeting point, where they formed their own order. Among them were five beings whose magical power was equal to - and in two cases, greater than - the emperor himself. They alone were the world's only hope of taking down the destructive tyrant... but the emperor had a pocket ace.

A couple of his minions, who overran the conquered lands, had come across two unknown stones. At first, they seemed like any other jewel, but when the two were put together, a great discovery was made; they opened up a rift within space and time, allowing for the direct contact and manipulation of raw spheda. Realizing he now had even time itself under his control, he knew that the rebel order - even the two that were stronger than himself - had no chance. They couldn't possibly ever defeat him, because, well... soon, they were never going to have existed.

With the assistance of master historians, the emperor discovered the 'origin point' of each and every member of the order - a tiny, seemingly insignificant event in time that eventually led to the birth and power of the member. It would be like reverse-engineering a butterfly effect; he was going to stop the earthquake by killing the caterpillar before it could even become a butterfly. He soon began using the stones to access the spheda, and with it he was able to rewrite and alter history itself. One by one, the members of the order faded away and disappeared into nonexistence.

However, one of the historians thought the emperor had gone too far by ripping apart history so recklessly, and betrayed him by stealing the stones. He knew no single person should ever have so much power, and after opening the flow of spheda once more, he cast both stones against the current, far into the past. He was promptly executed once the emperor discovered what he'd done, but the action could not be taken back.

"With a bit of the mind flip, you're there in the time slip, and nothing can ever be the same."

Aeryth, a young female from the medieval era, had been exploring just outside her village when she came across something completely enchanting and out of this world - a beautiful, ruby red stone had appeared in a flash only several meters before her, and as soon as she took another step closer to it, the stone began to glow and radiate heat. Wondering if she should sell or treasure such a discovery, she inched closer and closer, before finally daring to pick it up. Upon closer inspection, she noticed it had several small cracks in it, and it was almost as if the stone seemed melancholy. Something about the smooth, polished rock mesmerized the teenaged girl...

Only moments later, another being in strange otherworldly armor appeared in a similar flash, and upon seeing the girl with the stone, suddenly attacked her. She was a homeless, orphaned rogue, and knew very well how to evade attacks - she easily bested the futuristic soldier and rendered him defenseless and without a weapon. Threatening to torture him, and eerily convincing of such a threat, she got him to say something about the stones needing to return to the future. He spoke vaguely, much to her dismay, and she didn't understand the rest of what he had muttered desperately, and decided it was best to kill him and leave his body to the scavenging trogs that lived in the forest. What she did understand, however, was that the stone she'd found was somehow important and that there was another one somewhere. From her dull, boring, meaningless life came such a treasure as this, and she found herself being consumed with curiosity and wonder and excitement. Could this be the adventure she'd always daydreamed of? Where would she find this other stone, and why were they so important?

The Order

• Miel D'Aiel
• Niche Cannon
• Finx Sunfara
• Celendre
• (reserved for Isaac Levis)

The Tyranny

• The Emperor (open)

Eresante/Shadowmire

• Aeryth
• Tokage

Rainbow Butterfly Woods

• Drake
• Rainbow Butterfly (NPC)

1. It's never too late to join in! PM me or go to the OOC thread and express your interest and I will fit you into the plot~ :]
2. Since we're dealing with multiple timelines and changes of past events, it can get confusing. I try to be clear when mentioning this, but if you don't understand something, just ask and I'll try to explain it further. I also ask the same of you; if you're mentioning a time rift or anything in your post, please take the time to make it clear what is happening (and when!). Don't worry about your post being too lengthy - you get paid more anyways!
3. You are allowed, and even encouraged, to have multiple characters in the roleplay. For a great deal of the beginning, the events that take place will be within the medieval era, so if you're wanting a Future role, you can have it, but you might be idle until the roleplay gets a lot further along.

   • Your characters don't have to be human! You can be a dragon, demon, trog, ogre, giant spider, or anything like that! Just ask for it in the OOC thread. I'll either accept it as is, or suggest some modifications or changes to make your idea fit better into the story. I won't just straight-up diss your idea though, so don't worry~ :3
   • I know a lot of roleplays have you use different font colors depending on the character you are using, but I think in this particular rp it will be more important to know where/when you are! So each region (including different points in time) will get different colors assigned to them. That way we can just glance and see where your character is.

4. It is not a requirement to be completely literate with perfect spelling and grammar, but please try your best. I suggest spellcheck, or at least a quick review over what you've typed before submitting. If I see a post with too many blatant errors or doesn't make sense, I'll send you a quick PM and ask politely that you fix it up a bit. So no worries!
5. If you're going to be offline for a while, please let me know, either through a PM or in the OOC thread.
6. Do not kill off any characters, whether they be yours or someone else's, unless you discuss it with me and the other person first and we both agree to it. Sure, deaths can help push the story along, but only if all parties are in favor.
7. There's plenty of room for small side-plots and mini-stories along the way - if you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to share them in the OOC thread!
8. Please keep language to a reasonable level. It's alright for your character to curse, but unless he's a sailor, he shouldn't be talking like one.
9. Please glance over The World, it will list out and describe all the main regions of the world as well as the different creatures/beings that can be found there. Again, if you have an idea for another region, or other kinds of creatures, please share them!
10. I don't think this will be a problem, but I'll say it anyways. Please don't be rude to me or other members~ OOC, that is. It's alright to have a rude character, but I'm talking about being mean/rude or harrassing anyone else. Just... just don't do it.
11. Again, I don't think this is needed, but just know that I do have the right to kick anyone out of the group for whatever reason. So don't spoil the fun D;

Regions
These are the regions and key places located within the world. They exist all throughout time, but obviously as time progresses, the towns and villages become more developed cities. If you have a suggestion or ideas for additional regions, feel free to share them in the OOC thread.

• Central - Located in the center of the main continent, this region is treated as a main outpost. Essentially it is a large plateau surrounded by several shallow, winding rivers; mountains jut up in the northwest, north, and northeast. There are many little caves and caverns within these mountains, as well as secretive and hidden structures. Directly to the west, the mountains lower into steep canyons; directly to the east is a vast desert. To the south is a tropical rainforest that opens out to the sea. In the future, it is heavily concentrated with highly developed cities.

  • Eresante - The main village, consisting of several buildings (a tavern, some individual residences, blacksmith, alchemist shop) connected by stone pathways. At the head of the village is a tall, grand castle made of stone, where the royal families reside.
  • Shadowmire - A dark forest just outside of Eresante, which turns into swampland the deeper you go; it's notorious for the vicious creatures that live within, which causes humans to greatly fear it. The most infamous of all are the trogs.
  • Rainbow Butterfly Woods - A much more lively forest that branches off the Shadowmires. Malevolent creatures also live here, but it is much more known for a mythical Rainbow Butterfly who lives in the deepest part of the woods. They say anyone who sees the Butterfly becomes mesmerized and becomes unable to leave the forest of their own will.
  • Ancient Crypts - A brothel tucked away in the mountains to the northwest. It contains the largest library known, and underneath the brothel are old crypts where the deceased are put to eternal rest within stone coffins. Sometimes, the brothers say they hear strange noises coming from below...
  • Daemogg's Fortress - A small military-style base for the ogre-like creatures to the north, just at the base of the mountains. They've yet to initiate any attacks, and so Eresantean troops have left them alone. However, it seems like they've become a lot more active lately...
  • Tower of the Necromancer - A mysterious tower hidden within the mountains to the northeast, surrounded by skeletal dragons.

• Starlight Canyons
• Andrellian Isles
• Northlands
• Wastelands
• Dragon Shores
• Valley of the Fallen

Creatures
These are the main types of creatures you may encounter. As I said for the regions, if you have a suggestion or would like to contribute your own creature to this list, then please feel free to bring it up in the OOC thread!

• [imgright]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/13Whatsername13/Trog-Smaller-1.png[/imgright]Trogs - Vicious, calculating, intelligent predatory creatures who live in the swamps of the Shadowmire. They live in large, social packs and resemble the velociraptors of our world, only their scales are a dark emerald dappled with pale yellow and black stripes in order to blend in with the patches of sunlight that beam down through the thick canopy of trees. They also have clawed opposable thumbs, allowing them to grab and climb, and have extremely strong arms. Sharp spikes jut out from their spine, especially on their head and back. They have their own hiss-like form of communication, which could almost count as a legitimate language because of its complexity.
  
  A trog's favorite prey is human, and every so often they will organize what the people of Eresante call 'raids'. When a raid occurs, trogs quietly surround the village, and then all at once they will suddenly swarm the streets, taking their prey by complete surprise. Their extremely fast and each individual is usually able to take down two or three humans before anyone even realizes what is happening. They never kill their prey on the spot - they bite and crush the vertebrae with their powerful jaws to render the human immobile, then drag them back into the forest to slowly devour them alive. This shows that trogs aren't just normal predators - they are psychologically sadistic, and part of the thrilling hunt is watching their prey suffer. Anyone who has been taken or killed by a trog was certain to have gone through an excruciatingly painful death.
• [imgright]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/13Whatsername13/Blackwing-Smaller.png[/imgright]Dragons - Found all over the world, these large, flying reptilian creatures are intelligent and strong. Most have the ability to speak, but not all of them are benevolent. There are countless different races and types of dragons, including the Blackwing (depicted to the right) and Arachnea (depicted below).
  
  
  

The Order

• Name: Miel D'Aiel
  Gender: Female
  Species: Wizard
  Race: ---
  Age: 17
  Appearance: Miel is about five foot seven and has a slender, athletic build. She had pale, unblemished skin that looks as though she never goes out in the sun. Her skin pigment is actually unable to tan or darken in anyway. She had gold colored eyes as her mark of being a wizard. She can temporarily change the color of her eyes and typically chooses to turn them black. Her hair is golden, with no wave to it at all. It is typically unruly and often seen in a messy bun, with strands hanging out of it. She usually wears brightly colored clothes in her favorite colors, blue and purple.
  Background: Born to one of the royal wizards of the tyrannical emperor, Miel and her mother escaped the castle when she was a young girl. When they were hunted down, her mother took them to one of the rebellion groups where she grew up. Miel has no idea who her father is and has no desire to find out. She hates him on the notion that he works for the emperor. Growing up with the rebels, she has a strong sense of wanting freedom and wishes to do what she can to stop the emperor. She learned magik from several different people and thus is proficient at warping and twisting her magik to suit her needs.
  Personality: Miel is mischievous and fun-loving. While she is the most powerful member of her rebellion group, she is not the leader. They sometimes have trouble controlling her. Despite this, she is exceedingly loyal to them and would do anything to protect the ones that she loves. She has a tendency to pick fights and goad people into doing as she wishes.
  Misc: She doesn't like to be called a 'witch,' they are different things.

• Name: Niche Cannon
  Gender: Female
  Species: Dragon
  Race: Her type was called, The Golden Sword, due to the fact that her hair can grow longer and act as strong tentacle like swords.
  Age: She says she's over 200 but looks no older than 7.
  Appearance: Standing at about 4 and a half feet tall, most people tend to think that Niche's pretty useless. With short orchid pixie hair, and harvest gold eyes, she really isn't anything special to look at. She has animal like instincts and the weightlessness of a cloud. Niches clothes usually cover her hands due to the fact that she has bear like hands. She hands do have claws and she tends to not use them unless she has no choice. Given her ability to use her hair as a weapon, she doesn't carry any weapons of her own. Her overly large shirt, or blouse is usually red with orang and white sleeves. She also has a magenta sash around her waist. She wears red slippers due to the fact that her feet are that of a normal human. Her orchid hair is usually messy and in a bed-head most of the time. Her harvest gold eyes, will stare into whatever interests her; or just stare blankly into space.
  Background: There's not a lot to say about Niche's past. Niche has no remembrance of anything before being found in a niche in a tree. She was found by a towns-person from a village nearby as the man was going out for a walk. When he came back to his villages tavern, some thief recognized her and took her away when the man wasn't looking. Out in the thief's hideout, it turned out that he was with a group of scattered rebels that were trying to get her to join their group. After they fed her, she accepted their pleas and was put under the care of their leader. It was later found that she could do everything a human could, she was just very lazy. She's definitely the strongest, but she can be obedient when its something important, so don't mess with her.
  Personality: Due to Niche's shortness, she usually is ignored by most. She is in fact useless unless fed, and is usually disobedient and hard to please. Though she is one of the most powerfulest, more powerful than the emperor himself, her rebellion comrades keep a close watch over her, as she tends to wander out and get lost or into trouble. She loves spicy foods, and is often seen eating red peppers when she sneaks into the garden. Niche's simpleminded, blunt, and straight to the point most of the time, and can be easily angered.
  Misc: She does have a slight manipulation over Lightning, but she rarely uses it unless her hair is being grabbed. She also has a gray ferret on her head, who she named Carp, due to the fact that she found the ferret drowning in river full or carp.
  Special: Niche is one of the members of the Order that is more powerful than the emperor.

• [imgright]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3/finx16/NekoGirl3-1-1.jpg[/imgright]Name: Finx Sunfara
  Gender: Female
  Species: Demon
  Race: Feline
  Age: 18
  Background: She lived with her demon mother alll her life. she doesnt like humans much she finds them loud and annoying. she loves playing tricks on them but there not cruel. Her mother was killed by a human one day while she was away now she hates them. most of the time shell stay away from them and try to blend in if around them. she is one of the order buts she not that powerful. She is an exellent archer, and a good sword fighter. She lives in a house at the fair side of a forest.
  Personality: kind to others like her, she has a temper, she is horribile to humans that stray to near she doesnt mean to be though, and she can be a little hyper at times.
  Misc: she loves cats and reading

• Name: Celendre
  Gender: Female
  Species: Demon
  Race: Nine tailed fox demoness.
  Age: She looks about 14.
  Appearance: A quite short and very slim builded elven look a like girl with a tan obviously from being outside a lot, big and quite scary white prying eyes in which often the reflection of what she's appearing to be looking at can be seen, small lips that are of a skin coloured pink (so from afar you'd barely be able to see them if at all), almost white creamish coloured hair which is very soft like a fur. She always has one tail, so her human form is not perfect. She can choose to have her humanoid form be less constricting by allowing more of her fox appreance come through, for example her fox ears instead of her elven ears. Since she would be considered a barely 2 year old in human years the control over her powers is not always that... Flawless. Her fox form is of a pure white, her eyes totally black.
  Background: Cele grew up between ones like her in a huge forest, had a lot of friends, an almost perfect life really. She had nine tails instead of one like all the other fox demons (except for her parents of course), not that that really mattered to her personal. It only meant she was more powerful, white and immortal.
  Celendre was raised to be a royal and noble greatly powerfull magician. Her talent for magic makes her a fierce and feared opponent.
  The girl is able to bend the elements with a flick of her wrist, a gift from her lineage, a gift she is almost always dependant off. It saved her from plain depression and being kicked out of her clan, literally.
  Personality: Multiple really... Cele can be a grownup, or a lollipop licking kid... Sometimes sadistic threatening and plain intimidating, other times uberly cute, it really depends on herself. Adventurous, playfull, stubborn and fierce at all times.
  Misc: Cele does anything for sweet fruit like strawberries, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, like that. Give her something sweet and she's yours. The girl had an accident in her past that leaves her handicapped in a small thing (to her that is), she can cover it quite well so I'll leave it for you guys and your charries to find out. It's the reason she's dependent of bending the elements in case you were wondering about that part.

Central Region (medieval era)

• Name: Aeryth
  Gender: Female
  Species: Human
  Race: ---
  Age: 19
  Appearance: Aeryth has brown hair with light brown highlights, and bright violet eyes. She wears a brown, long-sleeved hooded button-up cloak over a dark brown ruffled miniskirt (with a green trim) and knee-high brown boots with green lacing up the sides. Torn fishnets cover her thighs, and she carries a small messenger bag across her shoulder. She has a buckled holster concealed just under her skirt where she holds a sharp dagger, and the insides of her long sleeves are lined with small throwing knives.
  Background: Orphaned at a young age when her parents were killed by trogs during a village raid, Aeryth has had to live on her own in the small outpost village, Eresante. She learned how to steal necessities in small quantities so that she was rarely caught, and when she was found out, she knew how to evade the soldiers. Her street smarts kept her alive all these years, but didn't do much for her social skills. She'd grown tired of her dull, everyday life, and that's when the Silex Temporis, the stone of time, fell from the sky and into her hands.
  Personality: Despite her independent, rogue-like nature, she's actually benevolent and kind-hearted, though sometimes sarcastic and sharp-tongued. It takes her a while to build up trust with someone, but sometimes upon meeting someone she experiences an instant connection. She's excellant at reading people's behavior, and considers herself to be an excellant thief. She's contemplative and subtly manipulative, able to lead others right into her scheme, and often uses her street smarts not only for helping herself, but for helping others out as well.

• Name: Drake
  Gender: Male
  Species: Fae
  Race: ---
  Age: 22
  Appearance:

  • Normal: Drake is only about three inches tall. He has shaggy black hair that often hangs in his face hiding his bright green eyes. he has fair skin, like most of his race. He has four wings, all shiney and lined with dark green veins but otherwise mostly transparent. He wears pants made from green cherry tree leaves and a brown vest made from chipmunk hide.
  • Human sized: In his other form, Drake stands about six foot two inches. he is well muscled and fit from lots of outdoor activity. His clothing remains the same and grows with him. He even keeps his wings in human form(same as true form, only human sized)

  Background: Drake has lived in the Rainbow butterfly woods most of his life away from other beings prying eyes. it was a good place for the Fae to take up home because the butterflies have no effect on them and they seem to keep other people away. He often found himself helping guide the mesmerized humans back out of the woods when they got stuck. His job was always to protect his people since he was born with a dragon shaped birthmark on his neck, it was a sign of strength. He was given an amulet to wear that would allow him to temporarily grow to human size, for the purpose of guarding his home.
  Personality: Drake is rather quiet, he doenst really know how to talk to people well or get his points across. He is very protective of the ones he cares about and would do anything for them. He even has a habit of protecting strangers just because he doesnt like others to be in pain.
  Misc: Anything Drake is holding when he puts the amulet on, grows with him.

• [imgright]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/13Whatsername13/AnastasiaJade.png[/imgright]Name: Anastasia Jade
  Gender: Female
  Species: Half human, half demon
  Race: Her demon half is a Rapere demon. (Rapere is the Latin word for raptor.) These demons are humanoid with hawk-like characteristics. Their magic can control winds, grant flight, and cause disorientation or hallucinations.
  Age: 25
  Appearance: She has all features of a human. Only her red eyes give her away as a half-breed demon. Anastasia carries a dagger in her boot and a serrated knife the length of her forearm at her waist.
  Background: Anastasia's mother was impregnated by a rapere demon who immediately abandoned her. Nine months later Anastasia was born. Because she was a bastard child, Anastasia's mother was ostracized by her home village. They moved to the outskirts and lived on the edge of the Shadowmire even though it is a dangerous territory. There they scrapped a living out of the harsh landscape until Anastasia was 12, when her mother was killed by a Trog. Anastasia narrowly escaped with her life and left the Shadowmire behind her, intending to never return. She has nightmares of the Shadowmire and her mother's death regularly.
  -----On her own, Anastasia migrated towards the Ancient Crypts. She survived with the skills she learned in the Shadowmire and with the help of the hawks that always come when called. The hawks have helped her find safe places to rest, food, and turned her away from roads filled with bandits.
  -----Anastasia has grown up in the Ancient Crypts where she spends all her free time studying in the library.
  Personality: Because she grew up isolated with only her mother, sometimes Anastasia lacks people skills. She is wary of strangers, but once someone is a friend Anastasia is fiercely loyal. Naturally distrustful and normally absorbed in whatever she is studying, it can sometimes be difficult to get to know Anastasia.
  Misc: Anastasia has access to demon magic, but she can only use it if she has a sacrifice of blood. She also has a natural affinity towards birds of prey and can call them to her. She sometimes goes by Ana for short.

A quick recap of everything that has happened so far, in case you need a quick review, or if you are joining in later on! :]

11/8 || After finding the odd stone, Aeryth sought out her best friend, a trog named Tokage, to confide in her everything that had happened. They decided that the only way to get any answers would be to find the other stone, and Aeryth suddenly remembered a woman from her past who had mentioned something about the future before mysteriously disappearing. She convinced Tokage to accompany her through the Rainbow Butterfly Woods, known for the legendary butterflies who attract and mesmerize humans into wandering deeper into the heart of the forest, where a giant demon, the Rainbow Butterfly, slowly drains away their life. The two hadn't made it very far into the woods when they came across a male fae with a warning. Tokage was ready to eat him when Aeryth noticed he had a stone that looked remarkably like her own. Could he have found the other stone she was looking for?

Meanwhile, the half-demon Anastasia was sent on a mission by the crypt librarian to find a legendary moonflower within the Rainbow Butterfly Woods. The dearly departed who reside within the crypts have begun to rise and wander around, and this flower may be the key to stopping the undead in their tracks. She hadn't gotten too far into her search before meeting someone herself - a princess cast from her destroyed world who had just awoken in a soft patch of grass, with no clue as to where she was. A silver fox appears, watching them for a brief moment before disappearing, tracking down the scent of a human that he'd detected when being pursued by a pack of trogs. The two girls decide to travel together in search of the flower, and the fox traces the scent to Aeryth, watching as she and Tokage speak with the male.

[imgleft]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/13Whatsername13/Aeryth-Colored-Smaller.png[/imgleft]

Open & Accepting!
The RP is now Open!

~*~

Soft violet eyes gleamed with curiosity as they gazed deeply into the beautiful ruby stone. The female's head tilted to the side ever so slightly as her wrist turned, rotating the jewel as she examined it. After a moment, she sighed, closing her eyes and resting back against the reptile's body. Aeryth had gone straight into the heart of the Shadowmire swamps in order to find the only being she'd come to trust, who was, ironically, a trog. She had to show her friend the mysterious stone she'd come across, and tell her about what happened after it had appeared. Tokage lay on a patch of dry grass, her long spiked tail snaking around Aeryth as she sat with her back leaning against the monster's soft belly. The trog's own crimson hues gazed at the artifact. A curious, growl-like purr hummed quietly from the creature.

"What do you think it is, Toka? And... why do you think that guy from the future wanted it so badly?"

The green raptor's head tilted, similarly to Aeryth's behavior, before her jaws parted. A low, hissing voice seemed to flow smoothly from the beast. "I don't think we'll be able to reach those answers~ at least, until we find this other stone he had mentioned. Perhaps it is with someone who knows what's going on, but perhaps... it is with someone who doesn't, as this one is."

"Hmm?" The girl's eyes widened, blinking for a moment before she glanced over to the trog. "Hey~! What's that supposed to mean?!" She playfully stuck out her tongue before turning back to the stone, letting out another sigh. "But in any case, I guess you're right... If I'm gonna find out anything, I'll have to find out where that other stone is. Hopefully, it can at least give us some sort of an idea, or a lead to figure it out. But... but where would we even start to look?"

Drake sat lazily in an oak tree as he watched a human blindly stumble about in his woods. Mesmerized again. He thought as he watched a butterfly land on the branch above him. Despite being mesmerized, this strangely dressed human kept mumbling about some stone. Drake looked up to the creature above him. "Do you have any idea what he is talking about?" The butterfly ignored him and flitted off, leaving Drake alone to handle the human below him. "Fine, i'll handle this." he rolled his eyes and hopped down off his branch. He pulled a shiny necklace from the pouch at his waist and slipped it on his neck. The green stone glowed briefly and Enveloped Drake in a green light as his body grew that that of human stature. "Come on now." Drake said as he put his hands on the humans shoulders and turned him in the right direction. Drake walked him to the edge of the woods and gave him a gentle shove towards the other human population before he turned around and headed back into the woods. Just before Drake went to remove his amulet, something caught his eye. He knelt down and moved a fistful of leaves from the ground revealing a red stone. Curiously, Drake picked up the small stone between his fingers. Is this what that guy was talking about?

After taking off his amulet and shrinking back to his normal side, Drake took a length of of woven grass and wrapped it around the stone to secure it. IT was a good size now, but he could still pick it up with both arms. He slung the stone onto his back and tied it to himself between his wings to secure it. I wonder what's so special about this stone... he thought as he awkwardly flew back to his home in the hollow of a cherry deep deep with in the forest.

"Hey Toka... you know what I just remembered...?" The girl asked, absent-mindedly tossing the stone up into the air and catching it, before tossing it up again. The trog glanced over with narrowed eyes and a smirk.

"That you shouldn't play with enchanted objects as if they were mere rocks?"

Aeryth chuckled slightly. "No, of course not! I was talking about a story." Catching the stone once more, she stopped throwing it upwards and decided to hold onto it as they neared the edge of the forest. "See, I remember hearing something when I was younger. There was a young woman who had found her way to Eresante, and while I don't really remember her face that well, I remember she was beautiful... all the guys were mesmerized with her beauty, and even the women couldn't take their eyes off her. She was kind too, when I first met her, I'd fallen and scraped my knee, and she helped me. Even cooked me a decent meal, too... She was nice to everyone, and it wasn't fake. You could tell it was sincere, like it was just, part of her nature."

"Well, if she's your role model, I don't think you're doing a very good job~"

The female shot Tokage a threatening, but playful, glare. "Hey! I'm a work in progress, alright? Anyways, that's not my point! Point is... well, she just up and disappeared one day, without a trace or a note or a message. She just vanished. A lot of the villagers became upset about it, fearing you guys may have eaten her or something. But no blood was found anywhere, no sign of a struggle, so they put that theory to rest. Then they thought maybe she'd gone into the woods..."

"Why would she come into the Shadowmire?"

"No, not the Shadowmire. I meant the other part of the forest, the bright and sunny one. The Rainbow Butterfly Woods."

Both of them were well aware of the legend behind that forest. There's said to be a powerful demon who lives at the heart of the woods, and it takes the form of a giant butterfly. It can also dissolve into thousands of tiny multicolored butterflies and spread itself out over the area. Whenever a human was to enter the forest, the Butterfly demon would find them and mesmerize them into staying within the woods, slowly luring them into the deepest part at the center to feed on their spirit. If the woman really had gone in there, she was probably still there somewhere, unless she'd already been consumed or found by someone else.

"Oh, I see... but what does that have to do with anything?"

Aeryth suddenly let out a boastful laugh and grinned, her face filled with self-confident pride. "Ahaha! Well, my dear friend, I'm exquisite at collecting gossip and information like this~ and although it's been years, I'm pretty sure I remember it correctly."

"Remember what...?" Tokage stopped, seeing the girl in front of her stop as well. They'd just reached the edge of the forest, and she realized where Aeryth had been leading her. Just across the clearing was the opposing edge of the Rainbow Butterfly Woods. "Wait, we aren't..."

"Toka..." Her voice lowered as she turned to the reptile. "She said she was from another time. From the future."

The trog blinked, then shook her head and took a step backward. "No, Aeryth, we aren't going on some wild goose chase in there. What if you--"

"What if she's still there? If we can find her and bring her out, maybe she can--"

"What if you get stuck in there, too?"

"She might know about the stone!"

"And she might not!"

"I'll be fine, I won't get freaked out because of some stupid butterflies~"

"That's not the point--"

"Then let's go!"

"No! It's a bad idea!"

"So you're gonna make me go all alone then?"

"That's even worse!"

"So then you'll come?"

"B-but..."

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Without waiting for Tokage's response, Aeryth giggled and ran forward. It was exciting, she'd never been into the Woods before, and couldn't wait to see what it was like inside. Before entering though, she placed the stone within the safety of her bag, just in case some creature tried to grab it from her. She had a crazy idea... an absurd hunch, you might call it. But if she was right, then maybe it wouldn't be so difficult to get some answers after all~

"There is something wrong in the crypts below us." Said the old librarian.

Anastasia looked up from her book on dragon anatomy. "What is it?"

The librarian shifted uncomfortably and looked at his feet before shuffling closer to Anastasia. He talked in low rushed whispers. "I can't say exactly what it is, but it is unnatural. That much I know."

"Tell me about it Jacob." Anastasia said eagerly.

"That is about all that I can say dear girl. But, I am going to ask you do do us a favor. Something dreadfully important."

Anastasia looked up at him. Her red eyes searched his face while she waited for him to continue.

"In the heart of the Rainbow Butterfly woods there is a flower that blooms in the moonlight. It grows at the tops of the trees and has five silver petals that sparkle at night."

"The moonflower? You are asking me to chase a legend in one of the most dangerous parts of this land? In the place where the Rainbow Butterfly Demon eats people's souls. How the Hell is a legendary flower - that might not even exist - going to help with thumps and bumps coming from the crypt?"

Jacob hushed Ana. "Keep your voice down. We don't want everyone to know."

Anastasia rolled her eyes at the old man. "The crypts have been rumored to be haunted for years. What difference will a little more material for the rumor mill be? What if I refuse to go on this mission? Huh?"

"If you don't want to help us after we practically raised you when you showed up at our door ten years ago, than I can see we made a big mistake. You are just a selfish ungrateful girl willing to take advantage of some stupid old librarians." His face was turning purple while he talked.

"Don't be like that Jacob!"

"We could have given you to the brothel! You could be a common whore Ana. Instead we taught you literature and cared for you."

Anastasia looked down, ashamed. "Just tell me what the moonflower is supposed to do to fix the problem in the crypts. At least give me that much information before you send me off on a quest that will probably end up with me dead in the forest."

"There is a wizard, and he knows a spell that can fix it. But he cannot cast the spell without the moonflower. He has assured us that it is real, and that if someone is clever enough they can obtain some. We are putting all our trust and hope in this wizard, and now we are passing that trust and hope onto your shoulders Anastasia. We know that you are not entirely human. There is a chance that it will give you some immunity to the Rainbow Butterfly's lure."

Anastasia sighed heavily. "Give me an hour to gather some cloths and food from the kitchen. I will be gone before it gets any later."

"Thank you child." Jacob said softly, clasping Ana's hands in his.

Ana gathered everything she would need in a small pack and left the place she had come to call home. Her greatest fear was returning to the Shadowmire where her mother died so many years ago. She would skirt the edges of it for as long as she could before she cut through to the Butterfly Wood.

finx sighed and rolled out of bed smoothing her hair back. "finx can you run into town for me?" a female voice called from somewhere in the house "sure mom" she called back. finx got dressed and brushed her hair walking into the kitchen she grapped the list of stuff and the money on the table and left for town. she gathered up all the things on the list she saw that there was still money left over. she smiled it looked like she could get her self a little something before returning home to butterfly wood she didnt live in it put close to it. she thought about the crypt and wondered if she should go to the library there. she desided to pocket her money and head home.

[imgright]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/13Whatsername13/EnchantedForest-Smaller.png[/imgright]"Wow~!" Aeryth's violet eyes brightened with wonder as she and Tokage entered the enchanting Rainbow Butterfly Woods. "Toka, it's so beautiful!" Tall trees stretched up towards the soft sapphire sky, covered in vividly green leaves. The ground was covered in fluffy green grass, waving gently in the occasional breeze, speckled with colorful flowers. It felt so peaceful and calming, the only sounds being the rustling of the leaves and every once in a while the singing of a bird.

Tokage seemed equally in awe, but was more cautious and wary of the surroundings. "Be careful, Aeryth... don't get mesmerized before you even see a butterfly!" She made sure to stay close to her human friend as they wandered deeper into the woods. Her blood red eyes constantly darted around, keeping a look out for any butterflies or other creatures that might not be so peaceful.

"I'll be fine... if I see a butterfly, I'll just close my eyes, okay? Then you can tell me when the coast is clear." She gave a clever smirk as she came to a small pathway, where the grass had been flattened by some sort of walking creature. "Besides, most people came here alone when they became mesmerized, or with other people. You should be immune, so you can help me even if I do get dazed, right?"

"Yeah... I guess so..." The reptile glanced to the left, then to the right, her claws twitching slightly. "Where are we going, anyways?"

"Well... I figured our best bet of finding that woman..." She looked over to Tokage, blinking nervously and suddenly turned her head in the opposite direction. "Err, I figured it would be best if we went straight into the heart of the woods!"

"What?! The heart of the woods?! Are you insane?!" The trog let out a fierce, angry snarl, which seemed to echo through the trees. Aeryth jumped back at first from the sound itself, but it was the strange sense of uneasiness afterwards that caused her to worry. After the echo had faded, a strange silence fell over the forest. Both of them fell quiet, exchanging looks before glancing around them.

"I... I think it knows we're here..."

When she reached the edge of the woods Ana sat on the dirt and stared into the thick trees of the forest. She took several deep breaths to steady her nerves and ate a small meal of cheese and hard bread before entering.

This was a breathtaking place, but Anastasia knew it could be deadly. She chose her steps carefully and slowly made her way deeper into the woods.

Drakes wings twitched as he sat there in his tree looking at the strange stone he had found. He hung his head and sighed. Great, more people are coming in... Being his peoples guardian, he had developed a sixth sense for when strangers entered the woods. He lashed the stone to his back once more and flew off in the direction of the new intruders.

As he got closer to the forest edge, he landed on a branch and froze at the sound of a hoarse snarl. Afterwords the forest fell silent. This day just keeps getting better. Drake hopped from tree to tree until he was closer to the intruders. He was surprised to find a young human girl with a Trog at her side. It had been a very long time since the last Trog had entered the woods.

They weren't mesmerized yet, so Drake decided he'd do his normal, fly by warning. Most humans never saw a Fae so when one flew by, it just looked like a bug.
Drake dropped down from his branch and swooped behind the human girls head, Whispering his warning in her ears as he passed. "Leave before it's too late." With his warning done, Drake sat down on a branch on the other side of the path and waited to see if the girl was smart enough to listen.

A silver fox dashed through the woods, the wind rushing through the fur on his back. Icy blue eyes gazed ahead as he ran, not even bothering to look back. The sound of his pursuers was close, and he dodged to the side. The kick of dirt into the air around him showed that he had just managed to avoid being snatched. He darted through the brush quickly and with his speed alone, climbed a large tree and looked down on the Trogs that had been chasing him all morning. They looked angry as they stared up at him and he snorted softly, his way of laughing. The sound stopped instantly the moment the tree shook abruptly. He dug into the bark of the branch he was laying on and looked down. One of the Trogs was trying to climb up to his perch and he let himself growl softly at them.

Aeon wasn't ready to give in, nor was he willing to see what would happen if he went back down there. A slow transformation started as the silver fur receded into his skin. His body grew marginally larger and the fur gauntlets on his arms and legs began to be noticeable as well as the white wolf pelt. His tan skin was glistening with sweat, that's what he got for running so hard. His breath came in sharp gasps as he stared down at the Trogs with his icy blue eyes. A scent came to him on the wind, the smell of a human and his eyes darted in the direction the wind had come from. Towards the Rainbow Butterfly woods, that's where it was coming from. He jumped from the branch onto another one a few feet away. He would have to travel above the ground for now and hope that the Trogs would give up on him eventually. They must be getting hungry to chase after a Shifter instead of raiding the human town.

After a while of traveling through the trees, he looked down and saw that the Trogs seemed to have disappeared. While he normally would have relaxed, he realized there was a chance they may have picked up the human scent and gone after it. If that were so, then he was safe for a while. As much as he felt he should do something, he hesitated. Why should he save a human when they had hunted his kind? He looked around for a little bit and bit his lower lip, drawing blood with his sharp canines. He shifted back into Fox-Form and jumped to the ground, taking off through the brush of the Shadowmire towards the Rainbow Butterfly Woods. He couldn't believe he was going to do this.

Life as a royal princess was nearly perfect. Being able to obtain whatever one wanted at one’s whim was so easy, given her status. Her parents were kind and loving. Her brothers were rambunctious hellions. All the children of the family of Adare were trained to become future leaders and Éclair especially was to be matched in marriage to a crown prince who treated her poorly ever since they first met. That was the downside to “happily ever after.” She and her “betrothed-at-the-cradle” fiancé picked on each other relentlessly. Believed to be just typical kiddie fights by their parents at the time, the urging of the betrothal was pushed forward even though Princess Éclair and the Crown Prince of Glenwell seemed less and less of an ideal match for the future of the kingdom. Growing up engaged to a prince was supposed to be the ultimate fairy tale promise. But no, their story was the stuff of elementary school sandbox pranks.

Years passed, and every summer, Éclair would be sent over to the kingdom of Glenwell, accompanied by a chaperone in some form or another – either her parents, a brother, or an actual babysitter. It was no secret that they hated each other, yet were brought together time and time again in the hopes (of their parents and their countrymen) that they would actually fall in love and agree to marry. That happened on Éclair’s eighteenth birthday. Falling in love, that is. The engagement was made official when it seemed that both parties had matured enough (or at least bear some form of attraction to each other after all this time). However, the happiness was short-lived. The alliance needed to be made permanent and withstanding as soon as possible. An anti-monarchy military unit from another country was on the verge of taking over the kingdom of Adare.

They succeeded in the coup d’état, and the former Adare monarchs had to forcefully transfer their children to various points around the world – places they hoped would be safe for their children, so long as they wouldn’t be recognized.

Éclair’s last glance of her world as it crumbled was reaching out to her “prince,” but as soon as the coup d’état was finalized, the engagement was soon broken off, and he barely cast a look at her, turning and walking away to leave.

Everything she ever knew about life was gone. Éclair had been somehow pushed into a portal, taking her to one of the ends of the planet, screaming and kicking to try and get out.

She awoke in a forest, in the middle of a patch of grass.

Ana saw a strangely dressed girl waking up from a nap on the forest floor. Who would voluntarily sleep in this cursed place? It could be some sort of trick, but she doubted it. There were no stories that had beautiful young women luring other beautiful young women to their deaths. It just was not logical.

Walking forward cautiously Anastasia said, "Hello? Are you alright? I hope you haven't seen any butterflies around because if you have I am going to go the other way right now."

Blinking, she heard a voice calling out to her. The light from the sun peeked out through the leaves of the trees surrounding the area, dappling her face with specks of light that Éclair had to shield her eyes from. Trying to regain her breathing rate to be steady, she lay there for a bit until she caught the other girl in her eyesight. “Who…who are you? And butterflies? I’ve no idea what you’re talking about!” One moment, she was at home, escaping from a coup that very well may have taken her life. And now she was here, presumably alone, with the exception of this girl who had dared to venture near her. “I’m not going to attack you, if that is what you think. Unless you mean to attack me first, then I shall surely defend myself, mark my words,” she replied, sensing a bit of distrust. Eclair groaned. Her head hurt painfully, and she didn't know if she could move her body off the ground. Everything hurt.

Aeon paused when he heard voices, and he looked in that direction. This wasn't the same scent he caught earlier, but there was no mistaking the fact that someone was there. He snuck around through the brush until he came close to the clearing and gazed out at the two girls standing there. One of them was a demon, there was no doubt of that, but she wasn't all demon. He sniffed the air and looked between the two before edging his way into the clearing. His silver fur shining in the streaks of sunlight that pushed through the tops of the trees. Both tails flicked back and forth as he regarded them. He stayed at the edge of the clearing, despite how much he wanted to know more about these two, he still needed to be cautious.

Upon hearing the whispered message in her ear, Aeryth's eyes suddenly widened, and in a brief moment she seemed to jump and dash behind the emerald raptor. "KYAAAAA~!!!" she wailed, closing her eyes tightly as she pressed her face against those smooth scales. "Did you hear that?! That voice! It's a ghost! Kill it! Kill it!"

Tokage blinked for a second before letting out a sigh. "It wasn't a ghost, Aeryth, it was a bug... type of... thing." .Since trogs were adapted to hunting down hidden prey, they had excellent vision. They were able to pick up even small amounts of movement, and Tokage had caught the movement of the small creature that had flown past the girl. Thinking it was maybe a butterfly or another creature with possibly the same effects, she had monitored the creature even after it flew away from them. Looking to Aeryth, she growled in a low, threatening tone and turned her head, averting her blood red gaze across the pathway, where that flying creature had seemed to settle on a branch. "But killing it is definitely something I can do~"

"That wouldn't be a wise decision." Drake spoke as he pulled his amulet on. He stayed where he was sitting on the tree branch as he became human sized. He folded his wings against his back as he pulled the red gem around and put it into the pouch on his waist. He rolled his eyes at the trog as she tried to seem threatening.
"I'm just trying to keep you from getting into trouble." he said flatly. "So you should leave." he folded his arms across his chest and stared at the human girl before him. He just knew that she would be trouble.

Anastasia reached her hand out to the woman. "Come on, let me help you up. Sleeping in the Rainbow Butterfly Woods is not the safest thing to be doing. Come to think of it... why are you sleeping here? There is an inn within a few hours walk that way and at least it has warm beds and walls to keep you safe." She pointed towards Eresante, the way she had come.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were mesmerized by the butterfly and it just left you here to go hunt more prey. Probably figurehead you would still be sleeping when it came back to get you." Anastasia looked around nervously. She caught movement in the trees and fearing that it was the butterfly she immediately squinted her eyes shut, retracted her hand and covered her eyes with it. She squatted down and listened. Maybe if she couldn't see the damned thing it couldn't ensnare her? She was willing to try.

Aeon watched the demon girl carefully as he stayed in the same place, just at the edge of the clearing. If she hadn't covered her eyes and chosen to look around, he would have been easy enough to spot. Something in the air tickled his nose and he tried to resist the urge to sneeze. He didn't understand anything they were saying, having lived away from any kind of civilization, including his own, for most of his life. It came quickly, but the sound was loud enough to alert both girls to his presence as the sneeze came, unbidden. He shook his head and moved a little further into the clearing, making the sunlight reflect off his fur onto the surrounding trees.

This entire place was verily unfamiliar to her. “What are you talking about?” she asked. Rainbow Butterfly woods? What’s the matter with a little butterfly? It’s not like it’s going to kill us, is it?” Éclair had no idea where she was sent to, nor did she know where the rest of her family ended up. “And just who are you?” She nearly yanked her hand back but didn’t want to be rude to the first person that found her. But her head was still full of questions. Éclair was now utterly lost. ’Have I been sent to another dimension? But that’s ridiculous!’ she thought to herself. In her confusion, she hadn’t even noticed the rustling in the bushes and was wondering why this girl had crouched down all of a sudden, while she now sat upright. Butterflies in her kingdom were a rarity, and usually were considered signs of good luck. Why was it here that anyone would fear it?

And then the sneeze came. Éclair immediately turned her head. "Who's there?" she called.