Fear (open)

[Quetzal]

She had nowhere. She had no one.

Ragged breathing came from a seven-year-old girl dressed in cheap wool, mist rising shakily as her lungs expanded and contracted erratically. Empty sobs echoed around the cold abandoned room. The short and skinny child hugged her knees, tears and snot staining her face, more tears flowing from puffy red eyes. Farria had never felt worse in her life. Her head throbbed in agony, but she let the pain seep through to smother her. It was nothing compared to the emotional pain she felt.

Her mind was not her own. There was something else there. When she touched it, she half-saw through different eyes, felt different feelings, thought thoughts that were not her own. Her own thoughts were scrambled, bits of the other thing scattered here and there. Deep instincts from the animal consciousness freshly bound to her were threatening to drown her and it was all she could do to not loose complete control again. She had done that last night, and this morning she had heard news of a person found dead from an animal attack. In her memories she knew she had torn out their throat with long teeth, held them down with white-furred paws. It could have been from the other mind, but she was confident it was her own. At the very least, she had known she had taken a different form at some point between fleeing the snow leopard yesterday and waking up with it curled protectively around her.

Fear was strongest. Fear and confusion and panic. The instincts strengthened anger, which made her more scared of herself. What if she got really angry and hurt someone again? Was she a monster? Was she evil? She had to be. Everyone said she was, and it looked like her demon had finally caught up to her. She had found her parents after the snow leopard had spared her life and threw its mind into hers, but they had turned her away. Her family had put up with taunts and threats at housing a demon child with strange dreams and the odd sign of even possessing magic abilities. Now it had gone to far. For them, the snow leopard had taken their daughter and dragged her down to hell to serve as an enemy to all the world.

A sympathetic whine made her look up. The snow leopard was there. Sheratan. Forest green human eyes met watery blue feline ones. The forest green eyes turned watery again as Farria buried her face in her arms again, a loud sob escaping her. The stupid snowcat was not a welcome sight. She was only a reminder of the terrible things that had happened. Hatred filled Farria. This monster had ruined her life and turned her into a monster as well. As if sensing her distraught feelings, Sheratan padded over to the child silently. She sat down beside her, lending her warmth to the newly made warg, the first of her kind ever to be found. Despite her hatred, Farria found an odd comfort in the snowcat's presence. Still she loathed whatever she had become, and turned away, facing into the wall she was sitting against as if turning away from Sheratan would make her leave her life.

[Brenton]

Air and freedom. The two greatest things about being as old as Arathale was there was a house in every city with your name on it. Right now the dragon spirit was in his house just outside Therinsford resting next to the fire with his eyes closed and mind cast outward like all magic users did when meditating. A small girl was outside in turmoil? Sighing, Arathale stood up and pulled on a silk shirt with a cotton overshirt. He wrapped a wool cloak around his shoulders and looked at his weapons on on wall just to choose a belt of six daggers. Might as well go in armed just to be safe but this was a girl who he was dealing with.

As Arathale walked from the house he grabbed another cloak and a loaf of bread in case this girl should be hungry. Silently he walked outside and looked around before walking at a quick pace to where the girl was. As he neared he noticed a snow leopard and instantly went on the defensive but forced himself to calm down. Hail, youngling, it is a cold day. Why do you choose to sit in this temperature and cry when you could be warm?

[Quetzal]

Footsteps drifted through Farria's mind without triggering any response from the distraught girl. Sheratan's head snapped around to look at the source. She stayed by Farria, muscles tensing. She bared her teeth and snarled at the stranger. There was no telling why, but her mind was messily tangled with that of another, and the strong protective feeling she felt towards this human child told her it must be her. Just as her thoughts were giving Farria new more animal thoughts, Farria's thoughts were giving her deeper, more complex emotions, and increased intelligence. It was confusing, but the snow leopard hadn't been cursed and rejected as Farria had so was much more welcoming of the change.

Farria did turn to look at Arathale when he spoke. She froze in panic, not knowing what to do. She didn't recognise him as she did most other people in Therinsford, which meant she could not predict what he would do. Hurriedly she wiped the tears from her face, not wanting other people to see them despite it being obvious how upset she was. His words were kind, but that didn't mean it would stay that way. The townspeople might have sent someone to settle their fears of her. She herself was afraid. What if she lost control again? Her thoughts were so jumbled with Sheratan's that it was hard to suppress instinct. There was a chance she might lose concentration and slip into that other form, where she had no control, and attack this man however nice she was.

Vivid green eyes stared wide at Arathale. Her jaw was clamped tightly shut. She tried to press herself further into the wall, afraid of the man. Speaking to him was not an idea she'd had. Sheratan could feel the panic growing, and gave her a calm nuzzle. She licked the girl's cheek gently, feeling her relax. It was odd but she knew the human found comfort in her. Turning to Arathale, she stood up, not leaving Farria, and tried to touch his mind. If she could get so much from this child, perhaps she could get the same from this man? It was difficult, but she managed to send out her own consciousness to Arathale, feeling his mind there. He seemed concerned and kind, which put him in her good books. It was very tricky to actually try any sort of communication with him. Her mind was just like a feather feebly brushing to try and make contact. Closing her eyes with effort, she finally managed to make a faint connection which Arathale could use to listen to her. Having only a weak understanding of words from Farria, she found it easier to simply send him a series of memories of the previous night. Sheratan looking for the person she felt drawn to, being afraid of the loud crowds, Farria stepping in front of the people she was trying to attack, the feeling of their minds merging... nothing was filtered out. She was confused and wanted answers, and knew Farria wasn't going to speak up.

[Brenton]

Arathale watched the leopard carefully, baring his teeth in the faintest of snarls to show he was not afraid of her, yet he kept his hands away from any weapons. As the girl looked at him in fear and confusion he wondered what could have made her react in such an unkind manner to his caring words. That was until Arathale felt the snow leopard touch his mind and start conveying images. With a nod he sent images of a younger Arathale slaying dragons and being turned slowly. Then images of his family casting him out and finally an image of Sheraton being ripped in half by a large dragon. The last image was accompanied by patience but annoyance as a partner. He wanted this large cat to know that he was stronger and would win if provoked.

[Quetzal]

Sheratan was cautious of Arathale, more because of Farria's fear than anything else. The child was fragile at the moment, struggling to keep a grip on herself. The snow leopard paid close attentions to the images she was sent in return, which raised numerous questions about the man before them. A dragonslayer? An outcast, too. And - her lips curled up in a snarl upon receiving the image of herself being ripped in half by a dragon. That to her was a clear threat. What this man showed her felt like true memories, although she wasn't sure how she would tell a lie from the truth. Arathale had killed dragons and could turn into one. She had no intentions of attacking him but wanted to make sure he wouldn't try hurting Farria.

Farria could feel what was going on. It was odd seeing in her mind the events of yesterday from Sheratan's point of view, and she even got a faint few images of Arathale. The man was strong. He could either be a valuable ally or a terrifying enemy.

Sheratan pressed at the bits of her mind that weren't her own. Farria felt her trying to make her speak. She wanted her to commune with Arathale aloud as normal humans did. Arathale was not one of the townspeople that feared her, but he was a stranger. Besides, regardless of who he was or how friendly he was, she simply didn't feel ready to start talking again any time soon. Instead she copied what she had just felt Sheratan do and reached out to Arathale's mind, looking him in the eyes. "I don't know what I am. Help me," she pleaded. She spoke directly into his mind rather than talking aloud. She wasn't comfortable with it, but it was better than speaking aloud.

[Brenton]

It was when the girl reached her mind out to Arathale that he recognized the fear and confusion that came with a first transformation from human. So he gathered his thoughts and showed Farria images of werewolves, men capable of being wolves, werecats, a cat and human mix, dragon spirits, a basic weredragon. Each race could change. Then came changelings, a Northern deer people he had seen one time. Yet he had no idea what Farria was until he showed her dragon riders. You are young, fearful, and shy, but something good has happened. Each race of people is unique and within them are unique people. You have bonded with this snow leopard through some manner similar to dragon riders. With that bond you got the ability to change forms but it scares you. I can help with the changing forms as I am not so different as regular humans.

[Quetzal]

Farria stopped sniffing as images of werewolves, werecats, weredragons, changelings and Riders filled her mind. Her bright eyes widened in awe. Had this man really seen all those? Her heart yearned to see them. Anything to escape where she was now. She dreamed of running from her old life to see all these things. Yet she was hardly capable of taking care of herself. Sheratan would have to come with her. There was so much out there. How could she decide where to go, which to see?

Arathale's words actually made her smile. She couldn't help it. To hear the words 'something good has happened' was wonderful. She hadn't heard anything of the sort in a long time, and this was the first time anyone had been positive about what happening to her. Surrounded by so many negative views, it had never crossed her mind that something good could have possibly happened. Hope flooded in. With it was caution; old skepticism wouldn't die so easily.

Sheratan and Farria looked at one another. They knew they were connected. They had dreamed of one another since Sheratan had been born. Their minds were tossed together like a cheap salad. But a bond like a Rider and dragon? Was this the same? They had never seen a dragon before, so couldn't begin to think what such a bond was like. They could figure that out later. What Farria wanted to learn urgently was about changing forms. She stood up, stepping slowly towards Arathale. "Does it get easier?" she frowned, sending the man a couple of memories of her feral and instinct-driven mind that had been prepared to kill.

[Brenton]

Arathale crouched down and brushed a stray strand of hair out of the little girl's eyes so he could see her reaction. He smiled sadly but nodded as memories of his first change came to the surface. What had been peace was violence and weakness was aggression when his body had first welcomed the new form. You will always be violent like an animal but once you accept who you are, the world will make sense and you will be able to change safely. He thought carefully and then held up one finger as Arathale stepped back.

Shimmering skin and then a dragon was standing where Arathale had been. The creature was taller than any trees and had wings that could cover two houses but he was peaceful. A rustle of the green scales and then Arathale was human again. He crouched next to Farria yet again and spoke aloud. I know how it feels to be confused by a change.

[Quetzal]

Farria watched Arathale curiously. She had a notion that he could change through Sheratan, who had been shown his gradual transformation into a dragon spirit. Actually seeing it was no less incredible and surprising all the same. The mind could barely register the body stretching and changing before a dragon was in front of her. He took up a lot of room in the abandoned street, towering over the short seven-year-old. Farria's mouth gaped open in awe. After a moment, Arathale was back to his human form.

He was like her. He could change. Dragons were far more fiercesome creatures than snow leopards, but Arathale hadn't tried anything even slightly violent or threatening. He was calm and peaceful, even like that. There was hope for her! Once the look of awe passed, a hopeful smile lit up her face. She might master her own mind, somehow stop all the nasty thoughts from making her do bad things.

Sheratan blinked in surprise, but was quickly brought from her thoughts of how impressive Arathale was proving to be - powerful, yet actually nice and caring even towards some little peasant girl - to Farria. The girl's mind was feeling different. This time the slip was intentional. Her eyes were closed, breathing carefully controlled as she tried to figure out how to do it. It was like falling asleep. She just had to let herself slip into another state, and quick as Arathale's transformation, fur shot along her skin, her bones changed and a snow leopard stood in her place. Farria looked older as a snow leopard, most likely because animals aged faster than humans. She was struggling in her mind already. Sheratan was helpless as she growled, glaring at Arathale and taking a step forward as though she meant to attack him. Some dull part of her mind let out a muffled scream at herself to stop, and with visible effort she halted, tail swishing, eyes gleaming with malice.

[Brenton]

What caused it? Later Arathale wouldn't remember but when Farria changed into a snow leopard he growled. His eyes flashed dangerously close to black and a shimmering outline of a green dragon appeared around him. It took all of his strength but Arathale closed his eyes and when they opened again he was no longer angry. Sometimes a dragon's rage built within but Arathale was often able to control it. He looked at Farria and raised his hands in a sign of peace to try and calm her down. Hopefully the little girl would stay calm and not force him into violence.

[Quetzal]

At first Farria tensed ready for attack as Arathale growled back at her, threatening to turn back into a dragon. Her leopard mind was afraid of the dragon and hesitated, too wary of the giant scaled beast the man could become to attack. In that moment a change came about Arathale. He calmed. A small part of her wanted to be calm too. It was a buzzing at the back of her mind, something fuzzily trying to remind her she was normally opposed to slashing people open.

Raising his hands in peace was a gesture only vaguely recognised by her confused mind. She made no moves forward or back, staring at him. She was waiting to see what he would do. Attacking could be dangerous for her if he turned into a dragon.

Sheratan let out a small whine, moving closer but not so near as to invade personal space. Farria turned to look at her, assessing the threat. She wasn't happy about there being another snow leopard so close by. Yet somehow she did feel calmer with Sheratan there. The true snow leopard noticed this and tried taking a step closer, but Farria only lowered her head and narrowed her eyes, challenging Sheratan by looking directly into her eyes. It wouldn't be so easy to calm this one down. She was not mature enough to know herself well, too weak of mind and young to seize control when in a new situation, shoved into the corner of her mind and filled with strange and scarily dark new thoughts.

[Brenton]

Arathale watched and was horrified when the girl challenged Sheraton like that without thinking. His next move was not something he would normally do but the situation was dire and called for drastic action. Arathale cast his mind straight at Farria's in an attempt to subdue her with mental force. His mind was coalesced with all of the dragons he had killed and they lent him strength. Arathale bellowed mentally and his mind called for obedience. Farria do you think attacking is smart?!? Calm your mind now and turn back so blood is not shed! Arathale left no room for arguments in his tone.

[Quetzal]

The sudden mental attack make Farria freeze in shock, unsure of what to do. It was a threat, but she couldn't fight it. It was in her mind. How could she attack that? Sheratan was there somewhere, she knew. But the snow leopard was hard to tell apart from herself right now. The other presence was like a giant neon sign lit up inside her brain. It bellowed, drowning out her thoughts, and shouted at her in human tongue. Not listening was an impossibility. She wasn't hearing the words, it was as if she was thinking them herself but they felt wrong. It must be Arathale. Crouching slightly, she let out a weak whine. How could she hope to conquer this threat now?

The human words only fuzzily registered when spoken aloud, but the human part of Farria was trying to make sense of them. She had not thought anything about attacking. Now she did... no, it wasn't smart. She wanted to calm but how could she? Every instinct had told her to tear out Arathale's throat, but now it told her to flee. As for changing back, how had she done it before? She couldn't remember. Did she even want to? Like this she was stronger, faster. She was powerful. Sure, she might have trouble thinking, but it was better than being a vulnerable human child?

Sheratan's mind swam through hers, trying to make her think. Bits of snow leopard were floating around in the girl's mind. It was too disorganised for her thoughts to make connections, so she was having real trouble finding memory of changing back as well as trying to think through what she should do. Frozen as she was, she nudged Arathale's consciousness warily. He would be able to see the messy state of her mind, as though a bomb had gone off and left scraps of her and Sheratan all mixed up. His words had seemed to have gotten through to her at last. She sat, taking deep breaths. That was a way to calm down she remembered so she clung to it.

[Aelodil]

(Could I give a hop into here? I think this would be a good time for Arathale to not only help Farria, but as well Nelfarion. If not, please do ignore this post and accept my sincere apologies c:)

A man with ragged and parched skin stumbled through the bushes. He was close to a city. A city that he had almost ravaged. Inside of this man, Nelfarion, were the evil and detested spirits of the demonic dragon spirits infused within him. He fought for control, knowing if he lost this battle then hundreds of people in that city would lose their lives before he regained conscious. As he tripped on a root of a tree, the evil spirits within him echoed at him to demolish the tree as a punishment while the rational side of him refused to listen. Being evil was not in his heart, he was a Dragon Spirit, a being of purity. He got to his feet again, when he heard a little muffled scream. He turned, panicky as he saw a little girl staring at him with wide eyes, scared. He frowned, wondering why then when he looked at himself, he realized that he looked terrifying. His ragged clothes were worn and torn and a few patches were ripped. He looked charming in a wild kind of way. But that wasn't the reason this girl was scared. He felt it. The spirits were trying to break free. In a rage, they had pushed so hard they caused a huge lump to form on his back, stretching out to form a miniature face of his dragon form. He fought the spirits and crushed them for the millionth time that day and they receded. He looked at the girl, and said,"Quickly, run. Do not come back here. Warn everyone else." his voice cracking with pain as his parched lips cut apart. The girl dropped her hands from her mouth and ran towards the city, with a pair of eyes glaring at her back.

The spirits were disappointed. It would have been a simple kill. They would have had fun devouring the body. Nelfarion closed his eyes and continued walking. Soon enough, he tripped once again. This time, it was not a root that caused him to fall. It was a large stone slab, apparently used for building the houses. He mumbled under his breath and got up. What he saw in front of him frightened him more than anything else. There were two people, a young man and a little girl. The girl was on the ground, sobbing as if someone had tortured her. The man was surprisingly calm and impassive. Nelfarion struggled to form the words, but finally, he managed it."Run... please... before they regain control again.. I can't keep them in" he said, his voice so low it was almost a whisper. Suddenly he threw out his right hand. It was aimed to hit the man, as the spirits yelled for blood. He fought against them and quickly threw his right hand into the stone he had just tripped on rather than the man. His hand shattered the rock and as he retrieved his hand, he saw it had grown claws rather than nails and a weird aura surrounded it. He clenched his fist hard and it went back to normal. He stumbled back, eyes wide."Don't get near me. Please, leave now!" he said again, voice straining.

[Brenton]

((Six daggers against half mad Nelfarion?!?))

Arathale backed off slightly when he felt Farria beginning to calm down and try to sort everything out. Inside he knew he was one of the strongest dragon spirits, legendary really, but using such strength against a young girl. It was wrong and reminded him too much of another legend, Nelfarion, who enjoyed attacking people. Just then it hit him, intense fear from living beings around the area who should be anything aside from fearful. Something was wrong and he could sense it like it was a beacon in the night. You should know better than to tell me to run, Nelfarion, or have you forgotten that some dragon spirits choose to remain hidden because they are so powerful? It had taken all of a few seconds for Arathale to identify the man telling him to run.

Out out the silence rode a chestnut stallion with a young girl on its back. She was searching for any dragon spirits who could calm Kialandi. Then the girl saw a tall and muscular man wrapped in a wool cloak. He looked familiar from the fight with Nelfarion at her lake. A small smile touched Skailah's mouth as she thought about that time when Camarat had tried to help her and she fled. Then she saw Nelfarion and a vague outline of a water dragon touched her body and flickered before disappearing. Many days training with Camarat had taught her self control. Skailah growled but walked over to Arathale hoping he wouldn't attack.

((Skailah is more likely going to convince Farria to calm. Saves Arathale for Nelfarion))

[Quetzal]

((Might send in Eragon to lend a hand, if that's OK))

Farria and Sheratan both growled at the sound of another man approaching. Farria felt Arathale backing off from her mind, but couldn't relax due to the new threat. The two snow leopards, one true and one a warg, watched Nelfarion unaware that he was like them in the sense that his mind was confused. It was not spirit that clouded Farria's mind, but the effect was the same. The man shouted at them in human tongue and looked like he was about to attack Arathale. The pair's fur bristled, ready to defend. Their stance changed when he proved to be stronger than any man should be, shattering a rock, and the clatter of hooves heralded the arrival of a woman.

It was too much. The fight-or-flight response had been steered away from fight by Arathale, and with all the commotion it switched to flight. Farria bolted, claws digging into wood as she climbed up to the roof of the first story room jutting out the house. Sheratan gave Nelfarion and Skailah a calmer, more calculating look before following. Her ascent was quicker and more graceful. Farria was not used to her leopard body so was less capable of using it. She found the warg peering over the edge at the men and woman below, and lay next to her to comfort her.

[Aelodil]

((Go for it. But I don't plan on having Nelfarion change to a huge scary dragon who wants to eat the world as a chicken nugget))

Nelfarion dared a glance at the woman who was approaching. When he saw her, he instantly recognized her and once again, he was flooded in emotions. Doubt, rage, anger, sorrow, and most of all, guilt. He had unintentionally murdered her sister in a rage. Even if he was not in control and although he said that to himself to convince himself it wasn't his fault, his every waking hour was spent gnashing his teeth in anger at himself for losing control. He looked at Skailah and said,"Please.. convince him to walk away." and then to Arathale himself,"Pride is a mountain that only the strongest can get through. Sometimes, as I've learned before, you must swallow that mountain of pride and let conscious sense drift you away. Listen to Skailah and run away. Leave me as is. I don't want... I don't want to go mad again." his voice was tinged with sadness and guilt but beyond that, under a heavy layer of emotion, was pain.

The spirits within Nelfarion roared in anger. Clutching his head in pain, he backed away a little bit. He had a splitting headache and then suddenly, the transformation started. His hands began elongating and his skin turning to hard and tough scale. His body grew and his legs turned to hind-quarters just as he stopped it. He went back to his normal size, but unlike Arathale who glowed as he changed, Nelfarion had a weird fel aura around him. He bit his lip and clutched his sides as he began to cough. If it had been blood coming out his mouth in spouts, it wouldn't have been surprising. Yet, it was more of a shadowy goo. The goo grew until it formed three different beings. Nelfarion gasped. Those were the same dragon spirits who had been infused into him. Yet as they grew to human size, they no longer were surrounded in shadows. One was a jade green, another a sapphire blue and the last a ruby red. They were humans and yet their aura was that of a dragon and behind each of them lingered the spirit of their dragon form. They opened their mouths uttering words that weren't there. Nelfarion frowned. Were they trying to tell him something? Just then, he felt a change in him. He was still fighting the spirits but he felt a force with him this time. It was more than just one. It was three. He sat, eyes closed as he concentrated. The voices of his allies whispered him promises of freedom. Just win this one battle. He nodded to himself and continued his struggle with renown strength.

[Brenton]

((That's fine with me. Go for it))

Arathale gave a rough bark of laughter and raised his eyes to Nelfarion's in defiance. Such an insignificant being as Nelfarion was telling him to run and abandon him. As disbelief filled his gaze he took on a glow like that of a god descending to eradicate evil. His eyes shifted and soon they were black with green pupils as his body elongated and grew in bulk. Wings sprouted from Arathale's back as his skin turned to hardened scales. He roared, revealing long teeth that were razor sharp. I do not flee from a fight and will protect the innocent. Listen to me and give me a chance to help you.

Skailah glanced at Farria and Sheratan as they bolted toward the roof in fear. With a sigh, the girl muttered a few words in the Ancient Language and suddenly she was landing on the roof next to the leopards. She sat down, crossing her legs, and looked over at Arathale with disinterest. In her peripheral vision was Farria and that was who she was keeping an especially close eye upon. "I know you are more than a leopard for Arathale took interest in you. I am like him but understand fear as it is not uncommon or foreign in my life. Will you listen as I explain and perhaps it will help you with whatever fear you face right now?"

[Quetzal]

Farria and Sheratan tensed as Arathale changed again and Skailah appeared next to them. Farria remained nervous, but Sheratan could make sense of her words and made the connection. She was like Arathale, which probably meant she was a dragon-shifter too. Nelfarion was far more disturbing. His body contorted horrifically, partway into changing, and he choked up a stream of liquid. It was enough to make Farria feel squeamish. The distorted shapes of different colours forming meant nothing to her. The whole scene was like something out of a nightmare, and she had a nice spotted fluffy screen to hide behind.

Sheratan gave Farria a mental jab, making her look up at Skailah when she was spoken to. An explanation that might help. She could listen to that, yes. She nodded. Perhaps then she could sort out her thoughts from Sheratan's, start learning to control the feral instincts, and think calmly and rationally. No more freaking out and running or attacking or not understanding.

A deep blue speck against the blue morning sky grew in size but did not come near the group. Eragon could see the two men facing one another, the woman with two leopards on the roof, the writhing spirits taunting one of the men. The other turned into a dragon. A dragon spirit, then. He'd met one before, Farore, but he knew they were rare and seeing such an odd sight gave him no choice but to investigate. Saphira landed nearby in the deathly quiet area of town. Eragon dashed around a corner and was about to run out to see what was going on when Saphira's voice stopped him. "No. That man is clearly struggling with those spirits. The dragon spirit will help if he loses. I have no idea what the woman with the snowcats is doing. The spirit-man will need extreme concentration, you'll only break it if you show up now," she warned. Eragon frowned, frustrated to watch and do nothing, but couldn't deny she had a point. He leaned against the wall in his alleyway, hoping he wouldn't be seen, and watched. Saphira was in the street behind him, completely out of his view or that of anyone he was looking at.

[Aelodil]

It was for the good that Saphira stopped Eragon. Had he come one step closer, Nelfarion would have spotted him and shattered his concentration. He looked at Arathale, the pain obvious in his eyes. There was too much noise and too many people. He put his hands on his head as he began breathing slowly. He blocked everyone out, blocked out the noises and began hearing stuff he had thought he put in the past. The anguished voices of the people he slaughtered while he looked on with nothing to do to stop himself. Their screams filled his ears as he laughed in triumph. Then, a momentary shine. He listened to Arathale tell him to fight and suddenly a sensation of self duty sparked within him. The three dragon spirits looked at him."We will aid you against the dark spirits. We have been infused into you with dark spirits forcefully. The spirits tainted us, but we have answered your call, Nelfarion. Fight against it, give in to your true nature. Listen to your heart. Now, push them away from your mind." they ordered him, their voices resonating as one.

Nelfarion opened his eyes. His whole body was shimmering and shaking violently. He looked at Arathale. Could he truly help him? Or would his aid end up in his death? Nelfarion shook his head. First he must at least silence the spirits within him. He thrust into his own mind and recoiled. It was worse than a physical war. Shaking off his shock, he began strengthening his barrier, slowly but surely pushing out the Spirits. Some screamed and dissipated as the shield touched them, others hissed and backed away but the result was generally the same: they backed off. Soon enough, he had routed the Shades and trapped them into a prison within his own consciousness. Perhaps with the help of his fellow dragon spirits he could tap into their power when in dire need. The Dragon spirits took on physical form as he opened his eyes. They smiled at him."You have proven yourself worthy. We will guard the spirits and with time help you master them so you can call upon their power without too much of a penalty. But that time is not soon. You must first grow stronger. In the mean time, we will help you when in need. Remember, you are never truly alone." they said as they faded into small whisps that floated into him.

Gasping, Nelfarion opened his eyes. He looked around him. Everything was the same. Nothing had changed. Had he just imagined all that had happened? But the silence in his head said otherwise. He looked at himself. His body was no longer covered in a fel aura, but rather he was, for once, normal. He gave a maniac bark of laughter at the relief and happiness of it all. He was free! His body and mind were his own at last! He turned to Arathale who seemed angry enough to let pride cloud his judgement as he turned into a dragon. Nelfarion however, was not intimidated. He in turn, transformed into a dragon and roared back."Arathale, I am fine now. For the first time in centuries, I am in relief and are in control of my actions. I thank you for encouraging me to fight, without your words I would have lost hope long ago." he said, as he admired his dragon form. For once it was his normal self. He turned back to a human, giddy with happiness. That's when all the exhaustion hit him. All the energy he had spent fighting the spirits left him as he fell as a heap onto the ground as darkness surrounded him.