AMazing stuff, you should write a novel on Illyriad

Nokigon heard the solid rumble of hooves behind him.

He had quickly rode to Mortifera, told Gothic what was what and gathered a small army. Then, him and three hundred knights rode north, planning on attacking a small horde of Blood Reavers. Scouts kept constant update on the various factions' movements- especially the aggressive ones- and it had taken Nokigon precisely thirty seconds to find a nearby army. He had been following ever since.

Suddenly, the column turned a corner and the horde came into sight. Nokigon grinned broadly. Things were going well so far. 

He roared the order to advance, and set his spurs to his own horse. He sped up gradually; he could taste the scent of victory in the air. The Blood Reavers were starting to panic; they were running ever faster, casting increasingly frequent glances over their shoulders as they run faster and faster in their ranks....

Wait a minute. In their ranks?

Nokigon could see that there was something wrong. As the orcs were panicked and running, not one of them had fallen out of their line. And not one had dropped his sword, or some other weapon. 

Nokigon could smell a rat. There was only one thing for it.

"HALT!!!" He roared, in the voice that was trained to carry over the noise of a battlefield.

His men respected him greatly, and immediately halted. And a damn good thing too. The Blood Reavers chose that exact moment to whip around and thrust. The air directly in front of the horses suddenly became a forest of deadly spikes, as the Blood Reavers snapped into a painfully obviously rehearsed movement.

Nokigon cursed mentally. He realised that he had been careless, and the orcs had been expecting him. He called the order to retreat, and regroup, but as he turned around the full extent of the horror of this situation was revealed to him. Whilst he had been distracted, another, even larger army of Blood Reavers had came from the bushes around the corner, and had Nokigon flanked between two opposing forces. He closed his eyes briefly, allowing to let himself sink into the depths of this situation's horror. It was every commander's nightmare- flanked between two superior forces- and no way out. And then he snapped into action.

"DISMOUNT! WE'LL FIGHT IN A SHIELD WALL!"  Nokigon bellowed, and not one knight even thought of disobeying. Within seconds, the horses were in the centre of a tight shield wall, with the 100 knights on each side grim and determined. Nokigon sighed. They would sell their lives dearly.

But then came the sound of bowstrings.

From the woods come a huge hail of arrows. The orcs were taken completely by surprise. They were vulnerable, and Nokigon saw his chance.

"CHARGE!!!" And with a curdling war cry he mounted and in seconds had his forces galloping towards the startled orcs, stil being decimated by the storm of arrows. It was not long before the orcs, pushed to breaking point by this completely unexpected attack, broke and ran. Ran for their lives. And even then, the arrows did not stop. They were harassed, and harassed, until not one orc was left alive.

Nokigon turned away from the slaughter, and faced his savours.They were coming out of the forest, and although the mottled green cloaks they wear camouflaged them perfectly they were much more conspicuous in the open. They all held bows, and wore some other weapon- usually a sword. There was about three hundred of them.

The leader stepped forward, and flung back his hood. He had jet black hair, with white streaks. He had a scar on his lower lip, that to Nokigon's experienced eyes seemed to have been made by a dagger cut. There was no other scars, which gave a clear message to Nokigon- this man knows when to duck. His eyes were a deep, soft brown, with an unmistakeable light of humour in his eyes.

He held a bow, made out of pure yew. It had clearly been shown a lot of love and attention. At his side was a sword, and Nokigon could just see the glint of a blade hidden up his sleeve.

"I am Belthazor, Captain of the Rangers of the North. Guarding the borders of Wolgast. And you are?"

"Nokigon. Captain of the Palace Guard in Mortifera. I must say, your intervention was very timely and welcome. But why did you intervene?"

Belthazor flicked his eyebrows up. "The Blood Reavers posed a threat to Wolgast. It is my job to eliminate that threat."

Nokigon smiled slightly. "Well, I'm on a... mission, I suppose, to exterminate the Blood Reavers. And your assistance would be most helpful."

Belthazor was shaking his head. "That would be to leave my post. To leave Wolgast unprotected. I cannot do that."

Nokigon knew that there was no point arguing with him. "Well, I thank you again for saving me and my men. I hope that circumstances never mean that I am forced to face you on a battlefield with a sword in my hand."

"No. I would regret that."

Nokigon, on an impulse stepped forward and slapped the man on the back. They stepped away, neither realising that this would spark a friendship that would last until they were grey and old, until they had grandchildren and the days of their youth were distant memories in the setting sun.

Nokigon mounted his horse, and called the order to ride on. Meanwhile, Belthazor and his Rangers were already invisible in the green forest. 

And another:

In the previous skirmish, 7 Knights had been put into a small wagon, where they would be returned home and buried in the Graveyard of Mortifera. A further 3 had been put out of action by injuries, and maybe 14 had been injured lightly. All in all, a pretty impressive sum after killing a good 700 orcs. 700 less to fight!

Nokigon looked back in his saddle, and surveyed the his little army. After his skirmish,word had been sent to him that reinforcements were coming- about five hundred knights from Keppen, captained by Doom, and then- this is where Nokigon got his big shock- King Sigurd had sent 300 knights from the Council of Illyriad's Royal Guard- the elite, of the elite.

Those knights were the greatest in Illyriad. They were handpicked. None of them was Nokigon's match (Nokigon was actually the sixth most prominent swordsman in Illyriad), but they were still fearsome warriors. Nokigon felt awed, and extremely proud when he thought of the immense responsibility placed into HIS hands. Nokigon could see a promising future ahead.

He frowned slightly. The knights should've arrived an hour ago. So where were they?

Another hour passed, and Nokigon was seriously worried. He turned in his saddle and called for the army to turn around. He would find them himself.

After a long ride, Nokigon turned a corner-and groaned. Doom had clearly been careless.

The Blood Reavers had heard about the reinforcements. They chose to do something about it. Around 1500 orcs were standing between the two armies- spears at the ready. 

Nokigon cursed, then roared at the top of his voice to ready. Even the troops across from the blockade heard him, and they all saluted. 

"AIM BOWS!" All troops in possession of a bow, crossbow, etc aimed their weapon carefully at the pure mass of orcs. "FIRE!"

The mass of arrows shot through the air, and fell gracefully to fall upon the orcs. A good three hundred fell. 

"FIRE!" Another 100 fell, but the orcs were starting to form a tortoise, a well known military defensive move. It made them almost invulnerable to arrows- but it made them almost blind. It was an opportunity that couldn't be missed- Nokigon just hoped that Doom would follow his example.

Without a word (that would alert the orcs to his plan) Nokigon started to ride. He kept up the steady rain of arrows in an attempt to disguise his plans, and he saw in relief that Doom was following his example. He continued riding, throwing away his crossbow now and steadying his lance. He aimed the lance dead at a crack.

About 10 yards away, the orcs realised what they were doing and broke out of the tortoise. But they had no time to get in a defensive formations, and so were in an even more precarious situation when the knights struck.

Nokigon could physically feel the shock running along the ground. The heavy battlehorses hit the more or less defenceless orcs like a hammer, and the entire front line or orcs was thrown backwards. The knights kept moving, riding and slashing and cutting, until suddenly Nokigon, at the tip of a wedge of knights, broke through the blockade. He had breached them, and moments later Doom did the same. He looked back, and raised his eyebrows at the devastation behind him.

Almost all of the orcs were broken forms on the ground. Nokigon quickly looked, and reckoned that for every fifty orcs one knight had been killed- which is a very impressive figure. However, there was one small group of about 12 orcs standing around the standard of the Blood Reavers- and they weren't about to surrender. Nokigon and Doom, in identical movements, galloped towards them.

They didn't stand a chance.

About 5 minutes later, Nokigon was carefully wiping the blood off his blade, when a shadow appeared above him. He looked up. It was Doom.

"Where are we off to next then?"

Nokigon stared into the distance. "I think we should take the fight to them this time. We go... to Gajik Hinor"

Another update (hey, I'm bored!):

Gajik Hinor was a black, black city. The wall were made from pure black rock, the buildings were black and the orcs that manned the walls wore black clothing. In fact, the only thing that wasn't as black as night was the banner on the top of the keep- a strip of bright red. Red as blood, with a black Sickle in the centre.

Seeing that, Nokigon felt a flicker of hopelessness. How could he tear down an entire fortress?

"You don't need to destroy the fortress." Nokigon looked to his right, and rose an eyebrow at Doom. Doom was a serious help in the moments when Nokigon went into pessimistic mode- although Nokigon never told him that. It would make him almost unbearably smug.

 "I think that the Circle will be satisfied if you kill the soldiers- and that snake, Tlachcog. Since they also will have reinforced Hinor, the city will be teeming with orcs, so therefore killing it's occupants would leave the Blood Reavers foundering."

"Yeah." And without another word Nokigon was moving. He called for the soldiers to be ready. They aimed their long range weapons. But just before they fired, a sight happened that sent every eyebrow shooting up in surprise.

The Blood Reavers were clearly unused to fighting in cities; they had therefore chosen to fight the Knights on their own term. They had formed a mass of orcs, standing around the gates, in a shield wall. Spears at the ready.

Nokigon surveyed this turn of events, and wondered whether it was a turn for the better- or the worse. The orcs had lost the advantage of the wall, but they were in the ground that suited them. Probably neither, Nokigon decided. At least it meant that the situation would be over quickly- for better or worse.

"FIRE!" The arrows shot through the air and felled a fair number of orcs- about 100. The orcs, however, had been expecting it and most arrows bounced off a hastily raised shield.

Another volley fired; another 50 fell. And another, another, another until 500 orcs had arrows in their sides. They were losing only a small portion of their men, however- and Nokigon knew that he had to simply go all out. That was, quite simply, the only thing that he could do.

But to horses, that wall of bristling spikes would be deadly. Therefore, Nokigon dismounted and called for them to attack on foot. Although the knights were now missing their favourite weapon- their horses- Nokigon was confident that their swordfighting abilities would compensate for both this and the fact that they were outnumbered. And without another word, they charged. Charged so it seemed that a steel river was flowing to wash away the puny orcs who dared to stand against the might of King Sigurd. Nokigon smashed into the wall with all the force of a mighty Daedalon.

The orcs fought back furiously, and for a moment it looked like the orcs would prevent the knights from breaking through the shield wall. But then Nokigon's blade bit once more, and a breach was formed in front of him. Nokigon quickly stepped through, his sword flashing left, and right,, until the gap was big enough for three men. Nokigon's knights filled the gap; widening it until finally the knights flowed through like a river breaking through a mighty dam. The forces were in the orc; suddenly, it was every man for himself.

Cut. Stab. Slash. Block. Nokigon's mind wasn't using conscious thought; it was running on instinct. Every moment of his entire career was being used to keep him alive.

Every moment wasn't good enough. 

As Nokigon brutally cut an orc down to the ground, leaving him screaming in agony with a massive cut in his neck, Nokigon felt some sort of sixth sense warn him of someone behind him. But as Nokigon whipped around a shield rammed into him; Nokigon was sent flying onto the ground, temporarily stunned. Even startled, Nokigon recognised the man standing in front of him. Tlachcog. And then all thought was obscured by pure fear as Tlachcog stabbed downward with his sword. Nokigon went for a block, knowing he was too late.

But why had his sword cut through thin air? What had happened?

Nokigon opened his eyes to see Doom in  front of him. And Tlachcog had stabbed him.

Nokigon's thought were obscured by a pure fire of rage. Tlachcog looked at him and felt fear. But then a whistling storm of deadly, smashing blows from Nokigon. He nearly lost his life a thousand times; and then a smashing overhead blow shattered his blade into dozens of pieces. Tlachcog barely had time to stare numbly at his blade before a sword cut him in half.

Nokigon lowered the blade, feeling the rage drain out of him, and then he ran to Doom. Doom's face was grey, and the second Nokigon saw the huge wound in his chest Nokigon knew that he was going to die.

"You idiot!" Nokigon said gently, as he held Doom's head. Doom smiled gently. "Guess this is it." 

"Nokigon's vision was obscured by a film of tears. "No! No you can't die! I- just can't-" Nokigon could not go on.

Doom smiled gently. "Take... care... of... yourself." And then a great sigh came from him and he died.

Nokigon stared at him, and gently closed Doom's eyes. He was conscious of his knights slaughtering the Blood Reeavers, of them surrendering now Tlachcog is dead. But Nokigon didn't care. He leant over Doom's body- and wept.

Genocide? Even orcs aren't that extreme.

Hey Noki ! When do we get to the part when you rescue the princess?

Nokigon carefully watched Belthazor's eyes, waiting for some sort of hint that would give away his movements. It came, lightning fast.

Belthazor's sword seemed to move of it's own accord as it flashed out of his sheath and came whistling down at Nokigon's skull.

But Nokigon was equally fast. His shield blocked the weapon, leaving his sword open to stab at Belthazor's torso. But his opponent was wickedly fast, faster than any other opponent he'd ever faced, and his sword was sent bouncing away.

Nokigon used his momentum to spin, however, and flash a deadly strike at Belthazor's neck. But Belthazor's speed saved him, and Nokigon's sword went flashing through mid air.

Hell! He's good! Nokigon knew that one mistake, one careless movement could get him killed. But Nokigon was a soldier. There was nothing he enjoyed more than an honourable fight against a good opponent, and this ticked both boxes. And as Belthazor's sword flashed at his ear, Nokigon stopped day dreaming.

He leapt forward in a confident attack, his sword moving almost too quickly for the eye to see. But Belthazor blocked each one. Not one blow got inside his defence; not one even came close. Therefore, Nokigon realised he would have to do the unexpected.

Nokigon roared a war cry and feinted at Belthazor's neck, then his leg, then struck at his sword hand.

Belthazor eventually took the bait. He didn't fall for the first feint; but he did the second. Thrown off balance by expecting a blow that never came, he was completely unprepared for the blow that knocked his sword out of his hand. And then Nokigon's sword was pressing against his neck.

Nokigon grinned. "Yield?" he asked. Belthazor grinned as well- too confidently. Nokigon looked down to find Belthazor's knife pressing into his stomach.

"I thought a draw." Belthazor joked. Nokigon nodded, and they both withdrew. Then they burst out laughing.

"How did you do that? That was fantastic!" Belthazor asked the second he got his breath back.

"Oh, I don't know. That was the best swordfight I've had for a long time." Nokigon grinned broadly.

"Oh, come on. You never even broke a sweat." Belthazor said self-disparagingly. Nokigon opened his mouth in mock horror, and pointed a finger at one of his many sweat patches.

"And what is that, exactly?" Nokigon asked, with mock retort.

Belthazor grinned. "Dribble."

Nokigon shook his head disparingly. Then he became serious.

"Where are you going to go now?"

Belthazor stared into space. "I think that I'll spend the night here, in Mortifera. We can go our separate ways in the morning." Belthazor met Nokigon's eyes, smiling. "And Elissa and I have an appointment I simply can't miss."

Nokigon grinned in response. "I'm sure you can't."

Nokigon stood up. "Anyway, I have to see Gothic right now."

Belthazor raised an eyebrow. "Don't be too hard on him."

Nokigon smiled. But his eyes were bleak.

*

Nokigon strode into the Great Hall, and felt a flicker of humour as he witnessed the shock of Lord Gothic.

"Nokigon!" Gothic said, angry now that he'd gotten over his shock. "You should really introduce yourself next time. Anyway, welcome back. You're dismissed."

Nokigon stared at him, feeling blood roaring in his ears. He couldn't believe that someone could be so uncaring. This had gone too far.

"What about my report?"

Gothic waved his hand airily. "Doesn't matter."

"Don't you want to know who has died?" Nokigon hissed.

Gothic looked up. "I said it doesn't matter, Nokigon. And I also said you're dismissed. So get out."

Nokigon spoke then. Each word fell merciless and cold like a hammer blow. "People died out on the fields in front of Gajik Hinor, Gothic. Real people. People I know. That you know. Many were my friends. And you have the cheek to sit there and say it DOESN'T MATTER?!"

Gothic's eyes blazed with anger. "You watch your tongue, Nokigon!"

"Oh, you should watch yours, Gothic. Because I'm reporting to King Sigurd himself tomorrow. And your attitude is not going to go unmentioned. I won't rest until Mortifera is rid of you."

Nokigon stared with hate into Gothic's eyes. Then he stormed out.

Nokigon saddled up and rode away from Mortifera, Belthazor beside him, in a surprisingly good mood bearing in mind that he'd just told his ultimate superior that he wouldn't rest until 'Mortifera was rid of him'. He had a feeling of freedom, and bliss- as if a great weight had been lifted from him. Which, he supposed, it had. And he meant every word. The day that Gothic was no longer Lord of Mortifera was not a day too soon.

He and Belthazor rode in companionable silence for a while, until they reached a cross roads. From here, Belthazor would continue south east; whilst Nokigon would go east for his appointment with royalty. They faced each other.

Nokigon could see the wind, pulling gently at Belthazor, pulling towards Aeris; but at the same time it gently pushed him away. Nokigon smiled faintly. Elissa was certainly eager!

But Belthazor was going to be his for a few seconds yet, and he drew breath to speak.

"Well, I guess this is it. Nice meeting you." Nokigon said, smiling slightly sadly. Belthazor nodded.

"I'll still keep in touch- still write to you, and who knows? Maybe we'll meet each other again."

Nokigon nodded, and with that they turned and went their separate ways. Neither looked back.

*

It was the next day. Nokigon had stayed for the night in Hastelbury, a Trade Hub belonging to the Council of Illyria. He had been travellling for three hours now, and he then rode to the top of some sharp crags. Nokigon whistled in appreciation.

Centrum. The dead centre of Illyria. The capital. The place where the Council of Illyria meet on the summer and winter solstice, where King Sigurd presides over his Kingdom. And what a place it was!

It was tiered, creating a look somewhat like a cone. The wall's were made out of pristine white marble, fit together so flawlessly that it appeared as if there was not a single blemish. Somehow, Nokigon had a feeling this was the case.

The gate was made out of pure steel, and had been reinforced by Iron. Planted into the centre of the gate was the Council's personal symbol- an elaborate I, surrounded by coiling flowers. This symbol was repeated on several flags, around the city.

At the very top, there was a beautiful, serene palace. No, not a palace, Nokigon thought to himself. A Senate.

As Nokigon watched, the sun rose from behind Nokigon, and bathed the citadel (for it was too powerful to be called a city) in a soft, butter yellow light. 

Finally, Nokigon gently took his eyes away from the beautiful sight and rode on. It would not do to keep King Sigurd waiting, after all.

nok you were asking who wanted to be in the story a day back and i wanted to ask if  i can be in the story?

Nokigon walked through the citadel, his thoughts full of one simple question.

Who the hell is going to be my third member?

Any of the contestants at Centrum would do very well. There was however a problem. Aureaus seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth, Fateful_Ending had returned to his castle at Lan larosh and Urgorr, although she was definitely in Centrum, seemed to have hidden her room with sorcery.

Finally, he turned a corner and saw a a light blue door, with a plague next to it. The plaque read:

Urgorr the Old

Miles Militaris of rex

Cor benignum

Nokigon knew a lot of Latin, and he saw with amusement that there was sorcerous blast marks on the last line of the plaque. He studied them with his mind, and knew they came from Urgorr. Grinning, he knocked gently.

Urgorr called from inside: "Come in!"

Nokigon opened the door. Urgorr stood up from a luxurious armchair, and smiled warmly at him.

"Nokigon" she said."How good to see you. Come, sit down." she point at another armchair. Nokigon gently lowered himself into it, not wanting to appear rude. But before he could start talking, Urgorr began to speak.

"I know why you're here, Nokigon. I can't come with you to Shrapnel's funeral." 

Nokigon was slightly put a back by this. "Why's that? And how do you know?" 

Urgorr smiled. "I was asked by the king to be your third member. He wondered whether you would ever make your mind up." 

Nokigon shook his head. Clearly he was too slow for King Sigurd. 

Urgorr continued: "And the reason why I can't come is behind that curtain. Go on, have a look."

Curious, Nokigon rose and walked slowly over to the curtains. Before he reached there though, he hesitated. Urgorr gestured for him to continue though, so he gently opened the curtains. And gasped.

Two young boys were lying down, asleep. Nokigon watched them for a minute, then slowly closed the curtain. He stepped back, and looked straight at Urgorr who had shining eyes.

"Wow." Nokigon said, shaking his head wonderously. "Wow."

Urgorr smiled. "Wow indeed. So do you see where I stand now?"

Nokigon nodded, and turned to leave. He closed the door gently behind him.

He walked away smiling, but this did still create some problems for him. He needed that third member. 

He heard fanfares outside, and peered out of the window. A powerful knight was dismounting from a horse, and Nokigon felt a jolt of surprise as he recognised who it was.

Nokigon smiled. He knew who his third member would be. A mighty warrior from Keppen, one of the greatest the world had ever seen. A warrior whom even Nokigon feared.

"Aberdon." Nokigon murmured.

Nokigon, Belthazor and Aberdon were walking along through the graveyard, allowing themselves to relax in each other's easy company, when Aberdon froze.

"What?" Nokigon hissed, some primordial instinct warning him to stay quiet. Aberdon didn't answer, just pointed. In the corner of the graveyard, almost beyond the range of human sight, stood a man who at first glance appeared to be just an ordinary human, paying his respects to Shrapnel. But if you looked closer you could see the bronze gleam of a sword at his side, and when he turned you could just see his trade mark scar over his right eye.

It was Nige.

Nokigon had split seconds to think, and he gave into to instinct. He call softly to Abe and Belth; "Attack Plan Macedonia."

They all nodded, knowing what he meant. They all did Praetorian training. 

Nokigon crept along, attempting to escape detection for the moment. HE succeeded for a while, but eventually he was spotted.

Nige leapt forward, his sword flashing out. Nokigon was quicker though, and dived forward with a long dagger drawn.

The plan worked. Nige leapt aside to avoid the deadly weapon, which had green marks on the tip (it was one of Nokigon's military tactics. People would think the knife was dipped in poison, and would not wish fight it, therefore surrendering. They didn't know it was simple green paint, disguised with sorcery). In doing so, Nokigon was inside his guard, and slashed his knife with flickering, fast motions at Nige. Within the blink of an eye, Nige had three slash wound on his right wrist, and as Nige cried out in pain Nokigon stabbed at the man's face, aiming for his eye.Nige managed to turn, but the blade still managed to cut his cheek open partially.

Nige screamed, and Nokigon pressed his example fully. He opened the palm of his hand, pointing at Nige with his hand splayed. He roared a powerful incantation, a spell invented by Tenaril. A teleportation spell. He was going to send Nige to the depths of the Wastes.

But Nige was a powerful magician too, and he thrust his hand at Nokigon. In using such a powerful spell, he had left himself vulnerable, and Nige's spell was one of the most basic in the world. But effective. He pushed with his hand and Nokigon went flying. Then he quickly used a basic healing spell to heal the cut on his cheek.

But when he looked up, he saw Nokigon leaping to his feet, throwing the knife in a viscous overarm throw.

Nige barely leapt out of the way, then allowed himself half aa second to relax.

Quarter of a second too long.

Three shurikens (a surprisingly common knightly weapon, also known as a throwing star) flashed at Nige. The first whistled past the man's ear, the second hit his shoulder and the third cut into his calf.

Nige screamed out in pain, then shouted out a potent sorcerous word. Impressive, seeing as words of sorcery were, although very powerful, hard to remember and even harder to use. 

"Karamicha!" Nige screamed. The throwing stars dissolved, and the wounds healed over. He then dived at Nokigon, his sword flashing in an attack fuelled by rage.

Nokigon gave more and more ground before Nige's smashing assaults. Several nearly knocked the weapon out of his hand.

It continued, until Nokigon was at the point where Aberdon had first seen Nige.

The planned location.

Nokigon suddenly pulled away from Nige, and they pointed their weapons at each other.

"Stalemate." Nige said.

"Not quite." Belthazor said, stepping out of the shadows pointing a crossbow at Nige. Aberdon did the same.

THIS was Attack Plan Macedonia- A fake ambush, a retreat then a true ambush.

Nige smiled grimly. "No, it's not Stalemate." And suddenly figures rose up around them. And Nokigon recognised several leading figures, enough to know who they were.

It was the Mal Motshans.

Belthazor and Aberdon threw down their crossbows and drew their swords.

Nige stepped forward, and ugly smile on his face.

"Drop your weapons." Nige said contemptuously.

Yeah. Like THAT was going to happen.

"We'll go down fighting." Nokigon said to his friends. They nodded grimly, and together they prepared for virtual suicide.

Nokigon could barely see through the wave of pain and agony.

Each movement, each TWITCH brought another wave of pure pain. It was hell. Nokigon damned Nige to the deepest corner of hell, and remembered that that was where Nokigon had sent him. He tried to laugh. It hurt too much.

Briefly, Nokigon wondered what sort of hellish poison it was that could do this to him. It must have been one hell of a deadly creature that produced THAT. Nige must really hate him. Well, Nokigon reflected, the feeling was mutual.

Nokigon wondered whether he would survive. He doubted it, since Nokigon was a fair judge on poisons and this felt worse than any he had seen. Yet strangely, he felt only a calm acceptance at this. And pain. More and more pain....

Yet strangely, he could feel the pain beginning to lessen, as the shadows and darkness around him started to scatter. A burning white light penetrated the blackness around him as SOMETHING, ripped into his unconscious state. Fighting back flashes of more and more pain, Nokigon looked up to see what it was.

A man, probably about 20, walked through to Nokigon. He wore a crossbow belted at his side, and numerous knives. From the easy and familiar way that he stood with them Nokigon guessed that he could use them.

He had jet black hair, with light blue eyes. There was a healed burn mark on his cheek, which didn't deform his features- in fact, the burn was mild enough to add to his features rather than the opposite.

"Hello, Nokigon." The man said. "My name is Harry, caption of the group known as the Enemies of Malice. EOM for short."

Nokigon  gathered his strength and replied. "How do you know who I am?"

Harry smiled wanly. "The tales of your deeds have spread far and wide, Nokigon Cediris. There are few who don't know who you are. But you must not die here, from the poison."

Nokigon looked Harry in the eyes. "You got into my dreams because I was weak under the influence of the poison and my defences were down. Why?"

Harry looked down at his feet. "I have my reasons. But you must gather your strength, and tell Belthazor something. It will save your life."

Nokigon was not afraid of death. But he was by no means someone who wanted it, and would take any chance to escape it. "What do I need to tell him.

Harry smiled, and began. "You have been poisoned with Melder poison. Belthazor must come to the Hub of the Windseekers, where he will meet my group. We have an antidote to Melder poison. Do you understand?"

Nokigon nodded, and managed to gather enough strength to ask one more thing. "Why are you doing this?"

Harry looked down at the floor again. Then he replied: "I was rather hoping you might do something for me." Then, Harry was gone and Nokigon prepared himself for the ordeal ahead.