Fahl was not the only survivor from The Sacrosanct. Some elves were lucky to be away at the time of the onslaught, some were able to escape, some simply gave up, abandoning the Holy Mother to save themselves. Celise was of that last category. It was a stroke of luck that she lived, and that he had found her. For now, they were hiding in a small village, currently proving to be a sanctuary of sorts for passing elves, fleeing from whatever terror was happening at their home, or whatever was left of their home... He still planned to leave to find the new Holy Mother, but one could not simply up and leave a realm on a whim, while being hunted down by the humans, and he had no way of leaving the realm at the moment.

Celise sat across from Fahl in that bar, at that small table in the corner. It was a nice spot, out of the way where no attention would be brought to the pair from The Sacrosanct. Those dark green eyes of hers scanned the area, and there was a comfort of sorts in the expression on her face, perhaps since there were no humans around. She was there a week ago, at The Sacrosanct when it was attacked. She chose life. She chose to run. She abandoned the Holy Mother. Eyes closed a moment...one could only imagine what was running through that mind of hers.

"..You're sure you want to do this Fahl?" Celise's voice was barely a whisper as she opened those eyes of hers, glancing his way. Though it was a whisper, it still held concern for the elder elf. "It's risky. Anything involving the Holy Mother right now...it's risky. Especially if you consider her family. Her sister." She paused a long moment before she continued, though Fahl waited patiently as he watched her. "I'm sure you're aware by now... everyone is. It was Maria DeGlause responsible for the Holy M... for Elys' death. She's responsible for all of this Fahl." Her voice hinted at rage now as she spoke, teeth gritting. "For all we know, Elys' daughter could be in on it too. She is a member of...that family as well. And the rumor about The Amulet Fahl? What about-"

Fahl raised a hand to stop her from speaking anymore, his head shaking slowly as he spoke, tone calm as he did so. "I don't care for rumors Celise. Only facts. I cannot worry myself with what that woman does now, or what she might do. For now, my priority is finding Elys' daughter. Our new Holy Mother."

Celise's dark brows furrowed at his words. "What good will that do us Fahl? I implore you.. stay here with me. We can regroup our people, fight back against the humans. We can correct the mistake our ancestor's made when they chose to let the humans coexist with us!"

Those icy blue eyes of his studied Celise a moment. There was so much anger in her now. She craved revenge, while he craved to restore Veian to how it once was. Two seperate ideals, they simply could not work together. "Do not let anger and thoughts of revenge cloud your better judgement Celise. It would be a shame for you to lose your life because you could not contain your emotions." The girl was still quite young, quite foolish indeed. Celise had only recently began to study at The Sacrosanct and serve under the Holy Mother, holding ideals that were shattered a week ago... it's obviously changed her. Though being so young, he still held hope for the girl. "As far as finding Elys' daughter, that is my duty. It is what I have sworn my life to. The humans...they are sloppy without their leaders. They will soon make mistakes. I believe if I find Lydia, perhaps she can help to unite our people. With a firm leader, we can beat the humans and rebuild."

Celise canted her head as she studied him, she looked suprised at these words. "This girl is NOT a part of our people. She is half human... she's an abomination Fahl! She is weak, not suited for her position... She is better left alone to die." Angry words spoken as a fist lightly hit the top of their table.

Icy blue eyes grew cold with warning as he regarded the young elf. "You will watch your tongue and tone when you speak of the Holy Mother child. I'll not warn you again..." Fahl wouldn't take such disrespect, not towards the Holy Mother...not towards Elys' child.

She glanced away from him a moment, hearing that warning she chose to heed it, so she took a moment to collect herself and calm down. "..I apologize Fahl. I am being too emotional. I simply..cannot believe what has happened to our people. It was so sudden." Dark eyes shifted back to him, though they dared not look directly into his icy gaze. "My concern is...what if you find her, and she chooses the humans over us? It's entirely possible that she would Fahl...you can't deny that."

It was certainly an interesting quandary indeed, though, one he hadn't given much thought over. "I will handle it..if it should come to it." His tone wasn't entirely convincing as he spoke however.

A dark brow perked as Celise smirked, just a bit as her gaze finally met his. "Fahlen Garsloth...do you truly believe you have it in you to strike down Elys' child? The Holy Mother...should it come down to it?" Her question was genuine, her tone sincere as she asked it. It was obviously not meant to anger Fahl but she really was concerned. The humans already had such an advantage already, without having the Holy Mother on their side.

Those icy eyes softened ever so slightly. "I am prepared to do what needs to be done for our people Celise." That was all that needed to be said about that, though he wondered if he'd truly be able to, against Elys' daughter... thoughts were cast aside as soon as they formed, and his attentions went back to Celise. "You are welcome to join me, I can always use an ally. I imagine it would be safer for you to leave as well? Rather than stay here to be hunted."

She shook her head. "I will always be your ally Fahl...but I cannot go with you. I plan to regroup as many as I can... I hear that many of our people have established power in Rhist, so I believe I shall go there to fight with my people." Fahl's icy gaze never wavered from the girl, even as she leaned a bit to pick up a small bag from the floor, setting it to the table with a gentle thud. "I managed to...'acquire' a few things from The Sacrosanct before I fled..." There was definately a bit of guilt in her voice as she spoke. She dipped her hand into the bag, first pulling out a small blood red gem, holding it out for her elder. "This will take you to where you need to go."

He eyed the gem for a moment, taking it with an appreciative nod to Celise before tucking it beneath his cloak. That certainly solved a big problem of transportation to this new realm of.. Rid-inn. He watched as she pulled out a couple other various items and trinkets. A small tome from The Sacrosanct, filled with knowledge of magic none outside would know of. A couple pendants, both emanating with strange powers and colors. A small glass vial with a tapered lid filled with a blood red liquid. All were tucked beneath his cloak, save for the liquid. He looked over it curiously however, as he was uncertain what it was exactly.

Celise must have caught that look because she answered the question on his mind without having to hear it. "It's 'Berserking' Potion." Fahl shook his head a bit, unfamilar with what that was, as potions and artifacts were not something he had much knowledge of. "It's rare now, but long ago before magic touched the humans, they would use this...potion in battle. It has no effect on our people, but it is very potent on humans."

"What effect does it have exactly?" He lifted that glass vial up, studying the blood-like liquid inside as it sloshed around. It was a very thin substance, though if only a bit thicker, it would look exactly like blood. It was a little..disturbing to think that some would drink this.

"It clouds judgement. It removes hesitation. It fills a person with rage and gives them a great deal of power... As you know, the humans used to fight amongst themselves all the time, so before battle they'd drink that-" She gestured to the potion in his hands. "-and it would remove every inhibition they had in battle, fill them with rage and...they were quite indestructible in battle after taking it. Well..to one another at least, blind rage did nothing against our magic." If it had, the two certainly wouldn't be there talking to one another now.

Fahl nodded, still studying that bottle. "Interesting...I don't see how such a thing would help me however." He held the bottle back out for Celise to take, since he hated to carry around something that was useless to him.

She shook her head, pushing it back to him. "The new Holy Mother...she's half human. Perhaps...you can use this if she proves to be..uncooperative. If not? I'm sure you'll find...some use for it."

With quite a bit of hesitancy he took that vial and tucked it beneath his cloak along with the other items he carried. Truly, he had no intention of using such a thing against the Holy Mother, but perhaps it would come in handy against some foolish humans should they try anything. Such a potion would cloud them of reason and decision, making them quite the easy target, should he have to strike them down. He was about to speak to Celise, but was interrupted as a young male elf approached them both, looking barely a man. Fahl's icy gaze shifted towards him curiously.

"I don't mean to interrupt you two..." The boy seemed nervous as he looked Fahl and Celise over. "..but I was just informed that a small army of humans have discovered us. Th..they're only about a day away, and they're marching here...to take us out." A bearer of less than good news it would seem...

"Damn it." Celise frowned at the news before casting her dark gaze to Fahl. "This is goodbye then." She knew it was important for all the elves gathered to leave for another place now. There simply wasn't enough of them there to fight at the moment, and many were still recovering from past battles. "A temporary one I hope.."

Fahl nodded to that, as he watched her stand. She was wasting no time here. Wise. "Indeed...don't die Celise."

"You too Fahlen." She picked up that bag of hers and turned on her heel, grabbing that boy as she moved past him. "Come on , we're going to round everyone up... We're going to Rhist." He was given no choice in the matter, and was simply dragged along with as Fahl watched. He was confident Celise would be fine. She was young, but still strong, and wiser than some her age, even if her ideals were a bit..disagreeable. Rhist... he'd also go there upon his return to Veian. Hopefully, with the Holy Mother as well.

Fahl reached beneath that dark cloak of his, pulling out that blood red gem, his icy gaze looking over it for a moment as he whispered.

"It's time."

The rain brought a broader smile to her face, since she was already smiling. Was it even possible for her to feel happier? Well, of course it was, since Alex wasn't with her at the moment. If he was though? She'd be so ecstatic. How many people get a second chance like this? Really. She thought him dead for a week, and that thought nearly killed her. So many times she wanted to die, she nearly lost it...but she put those thoughts out of her mind. It was only a week yes, but it was the darkest time of her life. She'd rather not re-visit it...

Oh she would have liked to have Alex with her right now, but, he had his own things to do, so she did her own thing during those times. A walk through The Marketplace was one of those things, a routine of hers. She loved it there, shopping and chatting with familiar vendors. The liveliness of this place..and even in the rain, it didn't close, which was a plus considering she loved the rain too. So two things she loved put together...it was a wonderful thing. If life could always be so simple and perfect.

She stopped and talked with a few familiar vendors. They were so kind, and always gave her such wonderful deals on their items. Of course, she really shouldn't be shopping... it's not as if she had a steady income, or an income of any kind for that matter. But, it's not as if she spends that much, so it's okay, right?

Of course, she caved and made an impulse buy. A nice little basket. She just couldn't help herself, it was so cheap, and? She figured she could go to the woods, collect some flowers to put in it, and maybe she could sell flowers at The Marketplace. Just enough to earn a few extra coin. People like flowers right? So she could do that! Her second buy was a bit more practical. Food. Since Alex's return, she had started eating and drinking again, she looked and felt much better now too. She picked up three small loaves of bread, with a tiny bit of cheese baked on, and just a hint of garlic. One piece for her, and two for Alex when she saw him later on. She started snacking on her piece immediately, while Alex's were packed away into a small brown paper bag and set inside that basket of hers. How convienient!

Now she was off to the woods!

She took the same path she always did, moving about almost effortlessly regardless of that blindness of hers. It wasn't that long of a walk to get to that favorite spot in the woods of hers... no more than forty five minutes to an hour, she couldn't be sure on an exact time, and she was taking her time today to enjoy that light rain, which seemed to be dying out. What a shame. She knew she was almost at her favorite spot when a breeze carried the light scent of flowers past her, so that pace quickened until she was there.

Having no regard for that damp ground, she plopped down onto the soft grass, setting her basket aside for now. She was done with her snack by now, and went to work plucking up various flowers around her, setting some in her lap, and some in that basket. Every now and then a little memory would pop up in her mind, and a giggle escaped her. There's a reason this was her favorite spot, but she'd not dwell too long on that, she had to concentrate! Basket filled, she started to work with those flowers in her lap, weaving stems together and after a while, she had herself a nice little flower tiara, which was promptly set atop her own head. And lucky her, there were enough flowers to make a second one! For who? Alex of course, since she didn't want him feeling left out.

It had been so peaceful, so quiet, save for the natural sounds one might hear in the woods. Birds chirping, breezes flying past, leaves rustling, branches breaking as steps are taken across them, and..wait, branches breaking? That's certainly not natural, and blind eyes were cast that way. Someone was definately standing there, watching. But for how long? And...who? Not that she couldn't venture a guess. A blush touched those cheeks as she grinned.

"I didn't realize you were there Alex."

As Lydia walked down the halls of the Red Dragon's second floor, she traced her fingers over the door knobs she passed. Her steps were slow, she was taking her time. Thoughts drifted for a moment, only to be interrupted by the touch of wool against finger tips, rather than the usual cold, smooth surface of the other knobs.

She was home.

Home for now at least. Though she could ask for no better, she really was content with this place. Wool knob was twisted and the door pushed open slowly so she could step in, and with a turn on her heel she quickly pushed that door closed again. Sighing, she stood there a moment, giving the slightest cant of her head, it sounded like she was the only one in the room. Boots were kicked off first, though she was mindful not to leave them strewn about. They were collected and set neatly in a corner with another pair of her boots. She was careful to keep them seperated, as she didn't want to walk around with mismatched boots again, that'd be rather embarassing... That basket of flowers was set upon a dresser, and bag of bread within was removed from the flowery mess and set aside, of course she inadvertently spilled a few flowers on the dresser and floor, but she didn't take notice of that, or rather, she couldn't. She still smelled that light hint of garlic emanating from the bag, hopefully Alex liked garlic and cheese? She's never thought to ask... She reached up and removed that flower tiara of hers, and set it across the basket handle, along with the other tiara.

Though still early, she was already..so tired.

It wasn't as if Lydia had anything else better to do, so a nap seemed a good idea. It would do no good to worry about what Fahl had told her...With a sigh she headed on over to the bed, dropping on her side of it without even bothering to pull the sheets back. It wasn't as if she were cold or anything... Legs were swung over the edge and onto the bed as she stretched out, resting head against pillow. Quite comfy. Quite tired... those pale blind eyes of hers started to close as she already felt herself drifting...

...but what was that smell?

Lydia opened her eyes. Something was wrong... she sniffed the air. It smelled as if something was burning. Perhaps it was a cooking disaster downstairs in the kitchen? No no, that wasn't it. It was something else... Palms to the bed, she pushed herself up, only to have something spatter in her face, in her hair, and even in her mouth. It was...coppery tasting. It was blood.

"...what..?"

She lifted a hand to brush that blood on her face away, though she seemed to be smearing...more blood on her face? Her hands were absolutely drenched with the thick, still wet liquid. She shook her head and swung those legs around to hurry out of that bed...what was going on!? Bare feet made a sloshy sound against the ground as she stood. She could feel a thick, warm liquid on the ground, seeping between her toes.

"..oh god..."

She felt sick inside, holding those bloodied hands of hers up and away from her body, she started walking across that blood soaked floor... each step taken made an audible sound as flesh clapped against liquid. The scent of blood was so overwhelming now...and what was that burning? It was..flesh. She slipped on some of that blood and dropped to her knees with a whimper.

Blood, ashes, burning flesh... The unmistakable scent of Death.

Wow, it's amazing the money one can make simply by selling flowers. A friendly smile, a hearty hello, it's all it takes to get even the roughest sounding of people to buy flowers or heck, even flower tiaras, and there's no telling how mismatched those things look, considering Lydia can't quite see what she's doing when making them. Random flowers, random colors, braided together... She hadn't expected to make much of anything doing it to be honest, but? She'd made a few good coin from it... of course it didn't last long, as she already raided The Marketplace. There was no guilt though, she was spending money she made herself now, it wasn't.. hard earned, but it was still earned.

Destination? The woods of course. She needed a wide open area for what she had planned. She wore some of her new things... a midnight blue, shoulder baring tunic, drawn in at the waist by a plain brown cloth fanny pack. It wasn't exactly... fashionable by any means, but a fanny pack was so much nicer than having a pouch hanging off her waist, much more organized too. Clunky boots were replaced with sandals, laced up almost to her knees, a little better, but still. Lydia was a fashion catastrophe, and she didn't even know it.

Destination reached, she smiled, letting that white staff fall from her hands onto the ground. Oh yes, she had found it. It took some dumpster diving, 7 showers, 3 scrub downs of that staff, but she had it, and smelled normal once again. Good thing Alex was in Lazros really... she'd rather not have him around thinking she smelled of dumpster on a regular basis or something. She missed him of course, but he had his own life to attend to, so it wouldn't be fair of her to expect him to remain by her side, all hours of every day. She needed a little alone time too, like right now.

A sandaled foot moved over to her staff and on top of it. She was going to 'staff' as Alex put it, or at least attempt it. She'd never tried such a thing before, but she thought it would be neat if she could learn! So..what now? Ah yes, levitation is needed for such a thing, right? Lydia took another step foward, her other foot coming down to rest on the staff.

"Litofeit."

Incantation of levitation was cast upon the staff, rather than herself, yet she was still off guard as the staff wobbled a bit as it lifted into the air, which sent her falling back right on her bum.

"Ow..."

What's the saying, when you fall off a horse, you should get right back on? Well, Lydia could only assume the same applied for staves. She hopped to her feet, brushing grassy residue from her bum before making another attempt to step onto that now levitating staff. She was a bit wobbly, and hands flew about awkwardly at her sides as she stood on it, but hey, she was doing it, sorta? Well, she had to make the staff move to actually 'staff'... so with a narrowing of blind eyes, she concentrated...

...and staff flew out from under her feet, which flew upwards and over her head as she barreled into the ground on her back.

"Ow! Ugh... this might take me a while to get right..."

~~~~~

That staff flew upwards, knocking against her head. "Ah!" That staff then flew down, hitting the back of her head. "Ouch!"

It had to have been what? Two, three hours and Lydia was still at this, trying to learn to 'staff'. Of course, she was failing rather miserably. With a bit of a growl she stomped over to that staff, feet planting firmly upon it. She was going to get it right this time! A bit of concentration, rather than incantation lifted that staff from the ground. Wobbling a bit, she still remained upon it... okay, so far so good, now to move it slowly...very slowly... Oh oh! She's moving...just a little bit... One inch, three inches... a foot! She grinned excitedly, perhaps she was finally getting it. Or maybe she would have, if a certain voice, or perhaps the words hadn't caught her off guard.

"What exactly are you doing Holy Mother?"

Staff flew out from under her feet once again, and the elf went tumbling down onto that sore back of hers...again. She'd definately be bruised later. Ugh. More importantly however, that voice, and the way she was addressed... she furrowed her brows.

"I'd rather not be...addressed that way.. Fahl."

Ignoring death seemed to come so easy to her now.

"Please Lydia! Don't tell anyone! If you do they'll cast me out again... Don't say anything. Please!"

Lucy's pleading voice echoed in her head, over the sound of water gushing from the faucet and into the tub. The girl killed, then wanted her to pretend that it had never happened. It wasn't like she killed in self defense...no, it was murder. Yet...

"I can't control it - it wasn't my fault! It wasn't my fault!"

Lydia agreed. She agreed to keep such a thing secret. She agreed to ignore the death of that man. She agreed to simply turn her back to it, as if it didn't happen. Just as she had already been doing to those in Veian... Reaching out, she shut off the water. Though there was no blood on her visibly, she still felt it, still smelled it... It was unbearable to her senses. Still donning her clothing, and even those clunky shoes she stepped into that bathwater, immersing herself in it in hopes of washing away that blood that blanketed her body...at least the blood she could feel, though really, there was nothing on her. It didn't stop her from rubbing her arms off with that water however.

"It's not my place to ..judge.."

She's hurt. She's killed... always in self defense though. Of course, how true was that really... she's lost control of her powers before, as of late, they were..changing, growing, it was taking some getting used to, but she was getting the hang of it. Except of course when her emotions took over... she would just strike out uncontrollably, perhaps, on some level, she could relate to Lucy... Though she hasn't killed anyone in such a way yet, the fear was there. Yet...no. She was weak. Too weak to do such a thing.

The scent hit her so hard it hurt her head. Holding her breath, she laid back, submerging her head and hair in that water completely. She had to escape the scent, the feel of blood on her face even. Blood didn't splatter on her when Lucy... but why did she feel it? Why?

Being submerged was almost peaceful... an escape for the senses. Though she couldn't hide there forever...already her lungs craved air, so she sat up, breathing as she pulled out of the water. Nothing... the scent and feel of blood was finally gone. Had she really washed it off? Though it was never there...

Absolutely soaked, clothing and all, she stepped out of the tub, dripping all over the floor. What a nice little mess she was leaving behind as she walked from the bathroom and into the main area of the room she was staying in...Alex would be certain to appreciate it later, not that her thoughts were treading there. With a sigh she sat on the bed, and of course, water dripped from her to the bed, another pleasant suprise for sure. She started to fold her arms, but a hand brushed against the fanny pack she wore around her waist. Seems she just doused that too.

She hoped she hadn't ruined anything in there, unzipping it, she felt around, it's not as if she carried anything around with her that could be ruined by mere water. Coins and other assorted knick knacks... and a shawl that was neatly folded up, now dripping wet like the rest of her. She pulled it from her pack and dropped it to the floor with an audible squish sound as water soaked cloth hit the hard floor. A soft 'click' was also heard against the floor. Odd. A slight furrow of her brows as she leaned forward, hand moving across the floor where she heard that 'click'. Fingers closed around that familiar, warm, pulsing object...

...the rune.

She sat up, holding the item between forefinger and thumb. The one thing that made sense in her life, to her at least...though by all means, it shouldn't.

"..I've..I've no right to this life... Being 'Lydia'... it's not all I am, no matter how much I deny the rest of myself... it will always be there. ...I'm sorry for being nothing more than a lie... I wish I knew the truth, but I don't."

Fingers traced over the rune momentarily before it was dropped back into her pack, which was promptly zipped up. With a sigh, she pushed herself from the bed and towards the door.

Towards her life...towards her lie.

Lydia stood alone at the WestEnd docks, tears flowing down her face, body shaking, heart breaking, so fragile...

"He's dead, and I blame you."

Alex was dead. Really dead. There was no doubt in her mind about it...not after what Lucy had told her. She might not be able to sense such a thing, but Lucy...?

Lydia cried...and cried...and cried... and then? She cried more. Sobbed and shook, fell to her knees, succumbed to everything inside of her and around her. She withered and wilted...what else would one expect?!

Save your tears for your father girl...I've no time for them.

There was no more mother, no more father, no more Gwydion, no more Alex... She could not save her mother, or her father, or Gwydion, or Alex...

"Alex..."

He hadn't been around, she knew that much, but she figured he was tending to his own business... not that he was dead.

"I should have done something!"

But what? Followed him... sought him out?

"If I weren't so immersed in my own problems..."

Nothing but a burden... A burden! Always a burden!!

"How could this happen...!? Alex..I'm so sorry..."

Her eyes were so dry now, though no amount of tears would bring Alex back. Ever. Mother's words were true, too true... what was the purpose of crying? Of lamenting? He'd be...he'd be so disgusted if he could see her now. They all would be, because surely, she was disgusted with herself.

Nothing more than a child, crying pitifully whenever tragedy befell her. And really...her entire life was so damn tragic. Though whose fault was that? Did she ever work to change that, or simply take it... If those close to her always died, it had to be her fault right? She did NOTHING to protect them, she simply..cowered, wept, she was a child. No, worse than a child... Children had potential, what did she have?

Lydia's gloved hands curled into tight fists as she screamed. So hoarse...her voice. What good was screaming? She needed release... all that pain, that hate, that anger... all those negative emotions swirling within her were so...so foreign! Damn her human half for this... for feeling, for... giving her the humanity the rest of the elves in Veian lacked. Things would have been so much simpler if she were pure elven, then perhaps she would have fit into the caste molded for her. She never would have met any of them... even Alex... maybe then he'd still be...

She felt sick. The cool, salty air of the sea she used to love the scent of... it sickened her now... the presence behind her however, was what was most sickening. The tendrils of dark magic creeping up upon her, slithering and caressing her form...

Maria.

Pale, blind eyes narrowed as she stood, slowly. There was no mistaken what it was she was feeling right now... all the love she once held for her elder sister was gone. Replaced with a new feeling... a very strong feeling...

Maria's shrill, deviant cackle had Lydia turning, so brilliant white eyes could look towards her. She wasn't missing much... half of Maria's face was shriveled and burnt, an eye missing, her beauty gone. The insanity within reflecting outwardly now. "You look to be a mess...dear little sister..."

Hesitation...fear...there was no more room for it. No reason to hesitate other than fear, no reason to fear anymore... the worst Maria could do was kill her... And quite honestly? She didn't care. Not a bit. Maria would kill her, take over whatever damn realm she wanted, or maybe even wipe out all of existence with The Amulet.

Existence and those within it be damned...

She started walking towards Maria, past the tendrils and dark flames being expelled from The Amulet, no more fear, and her walk? Strangely steady... "...This ends now Maria."

"Hmm? This has been dragging out for a while no?" Another cackle. "I plan to make you suffer dear little sister...like you've never suffered before...for everything you have put me through."

Lydia didn't so much as even flinch as she continued on, closing the gap between the two. "There is hardly anything you could do to hurt me now Maria... You are nothing."

"Nothing eh? ...Why do you say these things little sister, hmm?" A pause, before she spoke again, this time, so tauntingly. "You look pained now Lydia...what has happened? What is making you ache so..?" Oh, now Lydia could hear the grin in her sister's voice. "...Where is that man who always comes to your rescue? ...Alex."

She stopped, feet firmly planting on the ground. Eyes shimmered brighter as she narrowed them, voice lowered to a dangerous level. "You've no right to speak his name you dirty human bitch."

Today, one half of her died. The other however, had finally awakened...

Maria had no warning. The flashes and shockwaves and blades of pure magic erupted from Lydia too fast for her to react, or even to speak. There were no screams, no cries of pain... it was simply...over. To her it felt like several, tiny blades were dancing across her body, cutting and tearing, until finally that last blade of magic tore cleanly through her neck. Head and body seperated as she fell limply to the ground.

Dead, obviously.

The darkness that one flowed so freely from Terone's great queen withdrew quickly, seeping back into The Amulet that clunked softly as it hit the ground, idly rolling away from Maria's corpse.

"That was easier than I thought it would be..."

Lydia approached the body, not a care in her mind, nor in her heart as she leaned down to pluck The Amulet off the ground. Already she could feel it's dark energies seeping into her body, affecting her...somehow. She felt..powerful. It's understandable now how one could be so easily corrupted by such an item.

That's why she had to get rid of it.

The Amulet could be hidden, it could be sealed away... but how reassuring was that? Some...person would likely find it, abuse the power it held for their own ambition, just as Maria had done. No...there was no other alternative, she would have to draw it from existence, but in order to do that?

She'd have to go too...

It was the last resort, something she didn't want to do before, something she had no intention to do unless absolutely neccessary. Before, however, she treasured life, had so many plans, ambitions...now?

Nothing.

The Amulet was gripped tightly within her hands as the dark energies seeped out of it...into her own body. Blind eyes closed as she concentrated... Perhaps with this last action, she'd finally be doing something right, something worth while. She'd finally be making a difference of some kind.

"I'm sorry I won't see you again...not where I'm going..."

Black tendrils shot out suddenly, wrapping around Lydia, spinning fast, faster.. a blur of nothing, travelling around her, through her... something was wrong however. Swirls of light entered the mix, traveling along with the darkness, melding with it, causing a reaction that was hardly...normal. An audible 'whir' resounded as winds picked up around her, sparks of fire crackled around, and even a stray bolt of electricity danced in the air. Magics and mana were having a field day with their instabilities...

Finally all of the energies ceased and receeded, suddenly tearing into Lydia's body, causing a scream of pure agony to escape her lips as she went limp.