Goodbyes.

Late in the night and into the next morning, our battered adventurers stumble into the Fuzzy Dragon, many for the last time...

Bra'khar sat at a table, entertaining himself with a drink. He remembered everything he had seen that night, though a lot of it was still confusing to him. He sighed, the name of a party member in his head. Evee... what will happen to her? She's still being tried for murder, and I'm still supposed to be keeping her safe. Why didn't I tell her why I really believed her? He took a sip of ale as his left hand absently went to the scar on his chest where pride's annihilate spell had hit. he shuddered, then shrugged it off. He picked up a spare piece of parchment and began to write.

My dearest Carmina,
Have no worries, I am okay. We have defeated the wheel of evil and the monster called bane. I came close to death, but I'm pretty hard to get rid of. I'm on my way home, but I will take a little while. I intend to pay my respects to a young friend that was lost to the wheel. I promise you that I am done with adventuring for a long time. I can't wait to hold you again.
all my love,
Bra'khar

"Damian... you were real to me."

Balannaer walked into the tavern, The Blade of Stride slung over his shoulder, as well as his mundane shield. He sat and twiddled the keyblade, waiting for his fellow Fate to enter so that they could discuss the long cleansing process ahead.

This is not over. Not by a long shot. It was true, they had defeated Pride. It had been a terrifying battle, and all in all a terrifying day. He was sure another or his comrades would be swept away, Rhian's soul ripped out forcibly, Garok's head separating and rolling away, Elaine's body crashing to the ground with the life rushing out of her.

This is not finished. We must finish it soon. You, Balannaer. You must help me, as you have before. You seem to be a powerful enough man...are you up to the task?

I am ready to do what I can to help...after my comrades and I have reconciled, healed, discussed and laid to rest the events of this past evening.

Very well. Have your moment with your friends. You deserve it. Where is Zane?

I don't know where Tallon is. He was with us when Pride was defeated. He should be along shortly enough. Balannaer heaved a long sigh.

What are you sighing about? You didn't lose anything of concern.

We lost two friends...a powerful bladelord, and a young boy. But was he even real?

It's not of concern. Hurry along with your sentimentalities.

I'll thank you to stay out of that.

Balannaer walked over to a table and waited for someone to talk to him, if they needed to do so. Where was Tallon, anyway?

Tai came in from the cold. She had sat up in a tree near the tavern. Her brother had told her not to come. She had not. She feared the worst had happened. A terrible feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach. Tai couldn't imagine which one was lost, but someone had left the party... She knew they'd never come back.

She sat at a nearby table and zoned out, staring off into space. She could hear people, or so she thought. They were talking. She couldn't know for sure, what about. Or who they were. Were they still allies... Friends? Were they still all family? Or had the one Tai feared was gone the one that had held them together in the beginning of it all.

This whole journey felt like it had taken too long. They had lost so many in the heat of battle. How many were left? Elaine, Tommy, Rhian, Balannaer, Damian, Garok, Thyrus, Gallothrix, Nyx, Rook, Daegoon, Drae'Rul, Valos, Arthur, Valkeron, Thurwynd, Tallon, Tobius, Methuin, Bra'Khar, Sir Godfrey, Rale, Tsier, Brian, Dominic and her half-brother, Val. She thought of these friends who had become her family. They had been alive when she had last seen them. Where were they now? Dead? She had no way of knowing.

She thought of the others, the ones that had died before her very eyes... Then again... there were a couple that had died without her witness... She thought of all of all of them. Tharivol, Naiilo, Rimnic and many, many more.

Then there were the ones the party had fought along the way. The Blood-Diamond Guild, the spokes of evil, Bane, possesed robots, dragons, vampires, the list went on.

She thought of Naiilo's betrayaland team-up with the BDG and Gallothrix leaving suddenly while threatening their lives. The peace treaty they had recently encountered in Escarr. Hopping into Bane's little dream world hadn't been much fun. That was the last time Tai had seen Damian.

She remembered her newest encounter. It was in Gallothrix's cell, where he'd locked himself up. There she met a man by the name of Kersleaf. She handed over the plan to defend an attack from Gallothrix. What had become of it, the girl didn't know.

It was unfortunate they had to disband and go their seperate ways. Tai wondered whether her brother was still alive or not. She wondered if he would come back and live with her and her mother on Vess.

Lost in her thoughts, a chill went down her spine as tears welled up in her eyes. She wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Emerging from her mind, she looked about the tavern. Balannaer was there. He looked somewhat worried. Bra'Khar was there as well. He was writing something. He muttered something and Tai got up. She went to the table where Balannaer sat.

"Hi..." She spoke softly and realized the words never came out. She tried to speak again. "Balannaer... What's going to happen now?" She sat across the table from him and looked up at his face. She wondered when it would all be over.

(Scroll, scroll, scroll your boat!)

Bra'khar tied the letter to the leg of a messanger bird, sent it on its way and then stood up and walked to where balannaer and tai were sitting. a man dropped his mug, causing bra'khar to wheel around, terror in his eyes. he took a deep breath and let his hand leave his weapon. Pride is gone... just calm down. What am I saying? how can I stay calm?! I was nearly annihilated! logic dictates that I should have died last night. And I'm still at risk of death. damn the fates and damn bane! his steps a little wobbly, bra'khar sat down next to them.

"So, I guess this is goodbye, huh?" he said softly. "It was certainly an unforgettable experience working with you guys. After all, annihilate is the sort of spell that gets engraved in your mind." he said, shuddering as he remembered the indescribable pain as his soul was being wrenched from his body, inch by inch. "ten more seconds and I'd have been a goner." he sighed. "but I'm okay, and that's what matters!"

Tai focused her watery eyes on Bra'Khar.

"We haven't spent much time together, Bra'khar... But... How could you be so happy that YOU are alive? Have you even stopped being joyous for long enough to take into account the ones who are or might be dead?"

She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes.

She opened them and turned back to Balannaer.

"What happened?"

Garok sat at the bar drinking a beer as he always had. Garoks vest was bloody, with his blood or someone elses he had no idea, and he didn't care. Garok had been through so much, two friends of his had died. Garok laughed at the irony of it all, he had thought he'd be the first to go, yet he had lived while two others died. Garok couldn't stop laughing.

Cold, wet, hungry, tired, singed, and stained with blood or both her enemies and herself, Rhian Vek-Tarmacar-Keroken of the Wolf tribe limped into the tavern, leaning heavily on her polearm. She knew she ought to feel triumphant, but all she could muster was a sense of relief. It was over. The wheel was gone. Her vow was fulfilled. But at what a price! Two of her blood brothers were now gone – she, Balannaer, and Garok were all who remained. She was surprised to see herself still standing, having been missing by an annihilation spell with mere inches to spare. And why did I survive? Dominic had been stronger, Damian purer, Tharivol quicker, Daegoon braver... who was it who decided who still had the right to live after all they had done?

Sorely, she lowered herself into a chair, massaging her freshly-restored arm. Apart from her breaking heart, she had suffered many violent deaths and injuries over the course of the night. But every time, a friend had brought her back... She looked around at the tavern. These were the people who had taught her how to trust. How to fight valiantly for a cause greater than oneself. How to work as part of a team, how to follow, and how to lead. I'm a warrior now. Now, even more than when she'd fought for her homeland, she had become what she'd set out to be. This is what I wanted, she reminded herself, wondering if her decision would have been the same if she'd known the grief that would accompany it. She had said so to Christian earlier that night, that since leaving Sagea, she had seen more darkness, evil, and cruelty than she had ever thought could exist in the world. But she had also seen more courage, purity, valor, and love. And I'd go through it all again in a heartbeat.

"Don't think I haven't mourned the loss of Damian." bra'khar said sadly. "I was by his side when he dissapated after being free from pride's control. I'm happy now because I know his spirit is at ease. Balannaer, you remember what the celestial monk said, yes?" Bra'khar inquired to the stocky fighter. "The Damian we knew was a soul of his own, and he's in a good place." he said, standing up. "A toast!" he said, "to those who gave their lives and more to do what was right!" bra'khar said as he raised his mug with watery eyes. "to damian! to dominic! to all those who loved this world and gave their lives to prove it!"

"I really think you should ask someone else, Tai...my memory's not as good as it once was. All I can tell you is that both Dominic and Damian's souls are gone forever..."

I do hope you can pick this up a bit. Picking up the pieces of a shattered world is not easy...and I've seen a world shattered before.

This is important, Stride. This is very important.

"I'm..sorry Tai. I rather would dislike finishing the story. Perhaps Bra'Khar will tell you."

Balannaer walked over to the fire, near where Rhian was sitting. He wrung his soaked cloak out, an astonishing amount of water spilling out onto the brick. Balannaer rubbed his hands together rapidly, puffing into them so as to warm them.

So...cold....so...very...cold...

Well, you set out from Bellany wishing for an adventure. I think it is safe to say you have had one, and quite a long one at that. Do you think perhaps it is time to settle down now? thought Balannaer to himself.

No. said his heart. There is more to this world than I will see even if I roam for a lifetime. I cannot sit down knowing that there is danger to be faced, comrades to be made, swords to be swung, beasts to be slain, sights to see, things to learn...there is no rest. There can never be any rest for Balannaer Sakrain.

"I suppose that it is finished, then. At least Pride is." He turned to Rhian. "I hope that I restored your arm properly...I'm rather new at healing, you know."

"I suppose my being a Fate and all...Tallon and myself must try to gather the shards. Pride was only the first part, you know. But I'm quite sure he was the biggest.
Where are you going to go after now, Rhian?"

Christian rested his broken shield against a young oak tree. The hardwood severed in half but the symbols still intact.


He looked at the long walk ahead and lowered his straw hat. A smile creeped across his face.



as he walked away the feeling of leaving was an all to familiar friend for company. But the memory of those friends he had for such a bleak moment and the times he shared will always shine through the dark times.



"where to now"

Tai sat still. Bra'khar exclaimed his mourning and Balannaer left. She sat. An empty feeling in her heart.

Damian... Dominic... Who else?

"Damian... He's... gone? But how? And Dominic... How could you let this happen?!" Tai got up and glared at Bra'khar. She wanted to shout. She wanted to scream and tear apart the tavern. But she knew it wouldn't bring back her friends. She wished it would. Oh, how she wished it could.

She tried to calm down, but she couldn't. She felt like a child left in the rain. And yet, wasn't she only a child?

"Damian was my own age... And his life was taken away. This group swore they'd protect him. Now look what's happened. He's gone..." She starred at the floor and her eyes widened. She looked up and looked deep into Bra'khar's eyes.

"You're lying. You are lying and this is some cruel, cruel trick. It's not real. None of it is real. I'm going to wake up and I'll be at home and none of this will have ever happened. We haven't really lost anyone. They're all home in their beds, as I am now. We're dreaming a nightmare."

Tai said it over and over again, repeating the same words again and again. She repeated it in her mind, wanting it to be true, knowing it wasn't.

She wanted to cry. She kept starring at Bra'khar, trying to make him admit he was only playing a cruel joke. She wanted him to say it wasn't real. Any of it. Even if it wasn't true.

"Tell me... Tell me you've lied... You... everyone. IT ISN'T REAL!" Tai shouted and ran out into the rainy night.

(just gonna post what she does here... it's easier for everyone, I think...)

She ran down the path and to a nearby tree. It probably wasn't safe out here, but Tai didn't care. She wanted to see her friends... her family again. She sat at the base of the tree and cried.

Tallon walked in with a trenchcoat drooped over him. He pulled off his hood, and sat next to Balenear. His eyes glowed black and faded back to Tallons. He said, "hello brother. Our task has been accomplished. We've destroyed the orginizations plans for the wheel. Now we'll just have to defeat all of those pathetic overlords who call themselves fates. They're nothing but evil." His fate inside him started talking, " But what will we do after the fact. How will we defeat our master. We'll have to grow strong in our journey's." He pulled up his Soul Eater and looked to the tip. "For now my friends, we stay and wait." The fate interupted, " What shall we do now brother Stride?"

Walking into the tavern and seeing that many had made it. Drae’rul felt empty inside. “What happened to you my friend… my brother.” Walking over to the tack board, Drae’rul pinned a note up on the wall and stared at it for a few seconds. Turning, he strapped Daegoon’s Phoenix axe on his back, strapped the shield on his arm and place his sword in it holder. Making his way to the door, he stopped in front of it and turned to look at every in the tavern. Loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m proud to have been apart of this group and to welcome all of you, but I have much to finish. Good luck my brothers and sisters.” Saying what was needed Drae’rul pulled up his clock over his face with a grim smile on his face. Walking out of the tavern, Drae’rul made his way down the woods and out of site.

A Tall man with salt and pepper hair walked into the tavern. He was wearing a dark grey uniform under a black cloak, though the left arm seemed to be made of dull steel.

Knight Commander Tsier Dznek, took off his travelers cloak and gazed upon the commrads he had left behind so long ago.

"Commrads! Greetings from lands far avay, glad I am to see you again!" He patted those around him on the back. His accent had grown stronger from his extended stay in his homeland

He walked over to Tai and those who stood near her. "Your brother sends his regards. After helping Gallothrix escape he left him und Nix und returned home. It is a long story und is best told on the vay there." Tsier gave her a smile and looked around. "By the vay, if any of your brave comrades are in the market, I could really use some help. But if they are too batle worn, that is understandable."