Somewhere in the world (Candira and runawayninja)

Candira sighed. "From what I understand, the entity within him is a fraction of the god Sin. It is the wrathful side of the god. So far as I know, someone forced the raven lord into Rafe's body...I don't believe it wishes to remain inside of him." She watched Rafe and held his hand. "Is it possible to separate them?" She asked, curious as to what they'd meant by questioning them separately.

The younger man shook his head. "No way to tell yet. But...this is deep. Like...bad deep. Someone powerful did this...no one just fragments a piece of a god and puts it in a person. Someone had plans for this guy...big plans. Complicated plans most likely. Don't even know if he's out of those plans just yet...or if this is part of them."

Rafe looked a Candira oddly, wondering how she knew what she did.

Since Rafe was utterly confused, judging by the look on his face, she held up a finger to the mages and turned to him. "These are the things the raven told me," she said. In my dream, it spoke to me and told me what it could..." she frowned. Leaving out the possible future she'd seen was inadvisable at this point, so she shared those happenings with the group as well.

The young woman frowned. "This does not bode well. Only a crazy person would try this...and now that Sin has been fragmented there's a chance that his power over this world has been fractured as well. Balance is what keeps this world the way it is...we must work to find a way to restore the fragments..."

Rafe went white when she mentioned having seen him die, but then his eyes darkened and he looked down as if he were accepting the fate was inevitable. Rafe looked around from Candira at that statement as he thought it over.

The young man looked at her and tilted his head. "The gods have much power...they are beings beyond belief, if even that. Pretty much everything you think you know about them is an adaptation to make them more human seeming, to relate to the masses. Truth is, its hard to tell what they're thinking. Like an ant attempting to contemplate a human. This fragment is a miniscule amount of Sin's power, perhaps he doesn't even know its gone. But...it is definitely going to affect life here...and I have no idea how to separate this...thing from Rafe."

He looked to the others. "How to proceed? Call it forth? Very dangerous, very troubling..." He looked over at Rafe slowly. "When did this happen? There's something you're not telling us..."

Rafe looked down and away, refusing to speak.

Candira saw how distressed all of this was making him, and the mages weren't helping things. She frowned as he turned away from them and came toward him. She put her arms around him from behind and just held him there, trying to be a comfort. Her touch was gentle and warm and she merely wanted to be close to him. "The more we know, the more we can prepare," she said softly. "I hate what I've done by taking you here...It's like I took away all your light," she said, hugging him tighter.

"No...they're right." His eyes darkened further as tears slowly ran hot down his cheeks. "I don't know who did it. It wasn't one person, it was a small group, a triad of three people. Fate lead us under their guidance in a ritual he said would make us blessed by the gods." Rafe's intonation slowly grew from calm and quiet to one of heated anger. "He promised me that I'd never be used again! He used me...to try and make his...dark plot come true. I...don't know what he was planning, but all I know is that...all of us, the officers of the Black Riders..." He slowly extended his hand forward.

"We put our hands in a circle..." He was reliving the memory in his head. "They...the triad, they were whispering a chant...and...we made a pact. We swore ourselves to the Legion of Holy Beasts. That our..." He clenched his teeth as a faint red gleam slowly came to his eye and his canines beared, showing to be unnaturally sharp. "I swear my mortal form...to house the Raven Lord...that my body shall be its vessel. And its power my captain. My soul shall contain its crystallized essence, house its power..." His voice rose dramatically and suddenly, causing the young mage to be taken aback. "And I will bend to no man or woman! I will suffer none to wound me without retribution!" A dark aura crept around him, his shadow growing visibly over the flood and a flock of ravens emerged from the great inky black stain on the floor and started to surround him in a cackling, feathered storm. "I am wrath made flesh! Darkness given form! Rage is my blood! The raven my shadow! The darkness of the moon my home!" A flurry of black feathers encompassed his flesh. "I...am...DOOM!" Rafe emerged from the flock of Ravens which slunk back into his shadow covered in that black armor that Candira had first met him in, wielding a great Zweihander, a Germanic two-handed sword. A pair of great black wings flexed from his back, extended out by black tendrils at the tips of the feathers.

The young mage shot out with chains of runes extending from his hands, shouting at the other mages. "Bind him!" Rafe, if he truly was Rafe still, struggled against the magical chains.

She let go of him as he started to speak. She frowned as he started quoting the ritual, gasping at the phenomena that occurred as he did. She gasped and backed away from him was the mages bound him one by one. The held him in their chains, but Candira doubted that it would stop him if he really wanted to move. After all, he had the power of a God. Even if it was only a little, it was beyond all of them.

She gathered her wits and came to face him once more, the face of her lover twisted by the raven inside him. "Lord Raven, please..." she said softly. "Please calm yourself...we're trying to help."

The possessed Rafe appeared to honestly fight against the chains, but they held firm. He let out a monstrous roar and he snapped out at Candira, the shadowy, smoky form of a raven's giant beak snapping in front of his face, so close to Candira that she could feel the wind blow from it. "Calm myself?! This is my nature! I told you, I am a creature of instinct and nature, and my nature is wrath! To destroy and cut down those in my way!"

"Please, you must not harm these people!" She stared down the creature. "They are trying to help you! Both of you!" she was instantly afraid for Rafe, though she knew the raven lord was bound to him. She turned to the mages and said, "Ask your questions now!"

The thing's inhuman voice roared out. "I don't want your so-called help, I want to destroy!"

The young man struggled to straighten his thoughts past the shock of all that had happened in so far. He took a moment through the concentration of focusing the binding spell to think of a proper question to ask. He swallowed a bit before speaking. "Raven Lord, who could possibly have the power to do this?! To fracture a piece from a god?!"

"Who indeed, mortal. I can only say that my ken, my kind, those of my ilk may know more than me. My memory of existence is fractured and fragmented. I know not who summoned me, but that there were three and they have such power. They were those whose hands secretly guided the previous war, led it to their own ends and we were a key part of it. Your lands, your people..." His head turned to Candira, a shadowy form mimicking a long raven's neck and head. "Were forfeit for something they sought. Mere ransom was a lie told to the others, but Fate knew a truth he did not share!" Its voice grew demanding and angry. "Fate, and the beast in him know of the true reason why this was done!"

Any normal person would probably have wet themselves at this point and left the room as quickly and disorderly as possible. But the arcane mages and Lady Candira were not ordinary people, and they were currently in the middle of something important. So the Black Riders were key in this after all. If she ever wanted to free Rafe and the raven lord, she would have to find them...but there were more people involved...people with political power. Her eyes darkened as the Raven turned to her as if to mock her pain and the pain of her people. Fate, she knew, must be the key...but what other gods had been fractured?

The young woman seemed to be thinking the same thing and so she asked the question first. "Raven Lord, can you tell us what other gods have been fractured? Perhaps we can find more answers if we know..."

The creature slowly lumbered up, having lost its footing. It seemed to be growing weaker. "I do not know much of the others, for most of the time, we kept such things to ourselves. But you need not go looking far for the Black Riders...they are looking for you. Rafe more specifically...they're going to try to get him to continue their cursed quest. And if he refuses...his life and mine will be forfeit."

"Unn...rage...needs fuel to keep it alive. Without anything to strike, anything to beat, anything to shatter...I sleep...I warn you...your...petty mortal war...is not confined to this world. You are so hellbent on exterminating yourselves over titles and power...the gods have taken notice..." With that, Rafe collapsed to his knees, his armor peeling off as black dust in the wind, his unnatural nature leaving him.

"Rafe!" Candira ran to him as the older man told them to release the chains. She put her arms around him and held him close to her. She'd been afraid that he wouldn't come back this time. She sighed in relief and kissed his head gently. "I'm so sorry," she murmured. "I'm so, so sorry."

The elder of the group frowned and looked at the others. "This does not bode well. We must find the motive of these riders or some catastrophe will befall not only this boy, but all human kind. We must work to find the cause and solution to all this....and we must hurry."

He watched his dear friend as she comforted the man with the beast inside. Of course it would be her. Of course she would have to be the one to fall in love with this one. Sighing, he knew that he would have to provide his help as well. She couldn't handle this alone. He looked at the other two mages and saw this as well.

"One thing is certain, Lady. You cannot afford to stay in one place. You must leave the capitol as soon as possible. And you must take him with you," the woman said.

Rafe was visibly shaken and weakened. He slowly staggered to his feet, looking around as if getting his bearings. He accepted Candira's help, but he gently pulled from her, not sure what to make of everything that happened. He did remember it. He didn't want to. Rafe felt lost and caught up in something too big to comprehend.

"I..." Rafe couldn't finish his statement, he ran from the mage's residence, stopping outside to breathe firmly, feeling suffocated by the weight of what he had just expereinced. "Its too much...I..." He shook his head. "I feared this day...when I would be made to pay for the weight of my sins..."

She let go of him as he pushed her away and hugged herself as he ran away. She'd pushed him too hard. And now he wanted nothing to do with her. She looked down and the mages sighed as one. "Give him time lady, but do not let him go alone. He's a danger to himself in this state..."

Candira turned to them and bowed. "Please stay in touch. Tell me whatever you find out and I'll do the same." With that, she bowed and then ran after him to try and find him. This was her fault, and she wouldn't forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.

Rafe looked at her briefly before he leaned against the building. "I...I can't do this..." He shook his head slowly and frowned deeply and sorrowfully. " I can't..." He repeated as he tried to catch his breath again, the stress, strain, and shock making him woozy.

She got on her knees and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry, Rafe...Please forgive me...I didn't mean to unleash this on you...I'm so sorry for taking away all that joy I thought I was giving you..." She shook her head and frowned. "If you don't want to come with me, I understand...I won't ask you to help me. But please," she looked up at him with shining eyes. "Please call me if you need me."

"I can't stay here..." He shook his head softly. "That's what they said...the...further away I am from people, the better. And...I can't leave you. You're...I need you." His eyes showed how lost he felt and his pain. "I...can't do this without you...I'll go with you, anywhere..."

She got up and put her arms around him. "I will always be here. And no matter what happens, I'll do my best to help you." She held him tightly, as if her grip alone would tell him how much she wanted him to stay. "Come with me out of the city. We'll see what this job is and we'll get away. I'll stay in touch with the mages and we'll figure something out, I promise."

He'd been so many things to her--enemy, savior, friend, lover--and all in such a dizzying amount of time. Leaving him alone was unthinkable. Their fates were inexplicably joined now, and she wasn't willing to leave him to himself when he felt like this.

He nodded slowly, walking next to her, keeping pace. But the joy was gone from his eyes, the spring in his step was dampened. Once again, the child had been forced to grow up before his time. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world upon him, as if the guilt and darkness he carried were attached to him by weights and chains.

She put her arm around him as they started to walk, wanting him to know she was there. She'd given him a taste of what life could be like, and then taken it away from him in her quest to understand the nightmares they both seemed to be plagued by. Candira sighed and looked up at him. "You shouldn't let this stop you from living your life," she said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "You still have me. And you can still have your happiness, Rafe. And you will always be welcome in my lands."

She smiled softly and squeezed his hand again, leading him toward the castle.

Rafe was still downtrodden, but when he noticed where they were headed, his curiously and alertness was snapped awake and temporarily pulled away from his depression. "The...castle? Are you sure we should be here?" When they arrived at the walled gates, the guards blocked their way with their halberds and challenged their entry, demanding their purpose.

Candira smiled. "I guess I never told you who requested my presence in the capitol, did I?" She stood confidently before the guards and held up her family crest. "I am Lady Candira. My presence was requested by the royal family, and I am here for an audience with them." It took only a moment for them to recognize her.

"Our apologies, Lady. Please, enter." With that they lowered their weapons and went back to attention.

"Very well then. Keep up the good work." She smiled and hurried Rafe along with her before the guards could question his presence. "The job I'm taking on, is one offered by the royals here. Perhaps it'll be something really worthwhile. Maybe I'll even find out something important. Who knows? But it'll bring me one step closer to restoring my people's livelihood."

She smiled and turned to him. "And you'll be able to help me with that."

He blinked, still a little starstruck as he walked inside with her. "I...I think if it is for the royals, it will pay very well...this could mean a lot for you, titles, advancement...and for your people as well." This appeared to be bringing him out of his dark mood.

Inside, David stood near his sister, smiling a bit. "You make a very adorable priestess, my sister." Lionel was standing near her, dressed as a simple pilgrim with a short sword carefully tucked under his large, floppy shirt, strapped to his body.

"Titles don't mean much to me. My place is with my people. So long as they're happy, so can I be." She smiled and tugged his hand. "My reward for this mission will not be unsubstantial, of that I can be sure...If they've called me, it is important." The two of them neared the main hall, and Candira wondered what it was about as the Raven's words came back to her. The hands that guided the last war...Someone with influence?

Still, Rafe appeared to be more cheerful. It was best to keep him in these spirits. "You know, if I go up in rank, you'll go too. After all, you swore yourself to me, brave knight." She winked and chuckled a bit as they walked.

---

Nora was not amused with her brother's teasing. Still, she did kind of like the outfit. The garb was simple enough. And it covered her nicely, the large pockets missing from this garb like the rest. She did look kind of cute, her shiny brown hair done in a way that down-played her elegance. Lionel looked a little silly in her opinion. Much too serious. Still, at least that meant he was dedicated. Sighing she turned to her brother.

"Aren't we being awfully presumptuous about this? She hasn't agreed to do anything yet..." She looked at David and wished that she had some of the answers he had.