darkSpyro

Angora said nothing when Orion introduced her. She kept her gaze far away from the guardians, hiding behind Orion.
"Ugh, humans. More humans! Why did it had to be humans?" Angora muttered under her breath, probably hating this situation more than facing Shade himself when he was corrupted.

Dex was slowly getting his spirit back up. And now that he had nothing to hide he could be his nasty self. He made sure he was long enough away from Angora "Ou now it is already a troll friend, you for sure have made a lot of friends now. Good for you i guess" Dex said To Angora. He was sure that Angora would not like that, but he kept his voice sounding more then anything jealous.

"Friends? These are what you call friends?" Angora replied bitterly, seeing no one as her friend. She had been looking forward to leaving the group and live in the solitude she loved so much, but once again, she was being dragged into another situation.

As the group went down the lengthy main hall, they would pass several Guardians, all of them either having their weapons put away or not carrying any at all. Though some wore dragonhide just like Latnok and Sere, many wore plain hardened leather - those who were wearing leather either had no symbol on their forearms, or had just one axe and nothing else.

These men, trained ever since their initiation to fight creatures similar to the members of the group, now readily saluted by shouting "Hail!" as they raised their right fist, with the exception of one of the Guardians wearing no rank, who raised his left fist instead.

"It's always your RIGHT fist, idiot," another Guardian standing to his left, one wearing dragonhide and having two axes as the symbol on his forearms, berated, smacking down the left arm. "No one cares that you're left-handed." The other Guardian adjusted his salute accordingly.

Visible up ahead was a very large chamber, with several sun crystals embedded in several places in the walls.

Even with the praise, Angora didn't like being there. Many of the humans were wearing dragon hides, part of dead animals. Despite not liking dragons, she didn't like it when people's wardrobe consisted of dead creatures, though that was probably cause trolls never needed such protection.
"Why did you teleported me here? Why do I have to come? I did my part with Shade. Wasn't that enough?" Angora complained to Orion, the croud of humans making her too uneasy.

"Well, uh..." the Guardian began answering, nervously, "it's a suh... salute. It's supposed to be... to show... respect. The right hand is offered because... it is tradition. Been that way forever. Gotta do it right. Customs and courtesies." He shifted around uneasily the whole time he answered. From the sound of his voice, he was clearly not very old, an older teenager at the oldest.

"Well..." said the Guardian, "not quite. Disrespectful to... to the person... to do it wrong, when there is a right way. Disrespects traditions." The other Guardian still stood by, completely silent.

Angora ignored the fact that Orion was talking to somebody else as well and interrupted.
"Oh no no no no. What's all this nonsense about a cosmo and a chosen? This isn't an epic novel! I want my life back!" Angora said bitterly, wanting no part in whatever destiny everyone was about to face.

Angora followed, still not accepting this fate. Typical of her, we soon found a culprit.
"I know! This is all your fault! This lantern... armor you gave me, it did something to me, didn't it? Why do I have to be dragged into all of these situations? You are the deity. Why can't you deal with this?" Angora asked irritably, feeling like she was cheated. She finally thought Orion was going to let her go when she transported her away, but if she had known about this, she would've found the exit to Shade's lair all by herself.

Raclaw followed the others, keeping quiet as to not be rude or disrupt any traditions. The last thing he was expected was to be welcome, however. He kept an weary eye on his surroundings, not wanting to fall into some sort of trap or trick.

Star had instinctively returned the salute, as it resembled that of the NeoNoctus Clan, then realized it was from Humans. His expression became that of surprise, though he hid it behind an Illusion of a neutral expression. "Huh. Somehow I mistook that salute for that of my Clan..."
Darkheart was visibly surprised upon seeing the salutes. Looking towards Icestorm, she asked "Is THIS how it feels to be respected? It feels kinda good."

Up ahead, in the large chamber, awaited Latnok and Sere in the center- Latnok holding the scale, not appearing any differently except for the rank symbol of two axes and an armored fist on his forearms, and Sere looking exactly like he did in the illusion - as well as several Guardians going about daily tasks. Notably, there was a gigantic poster on the wall, with the illustration of a Guardian clad in dragonhide fighting a hydra, swinging an axe at one head while blocking another with his armguard. "FIGHT LIKE YOU WANT TO LIVE" was the message on the poster. The other passageways in the main chamber were made for humans, and not for anything bigger. The sound of combat, both training and actual fighting, could be heard from a few of the passageways - as well as intermittent cheering where the fighting was coming from.

Latnok and Sere each offered a salute as Orion and the rest of the group approached. "Welcome, everyone!" Sere said. As if on cue, the rest of the Guardians, with the exception of Latnok, began to leave via the many passageways. "It is an honor to have you here, Galaxy Dragon. There is much I would wish to discuss, but, first things first..."
Sere nodded to Latnok. "As you wish, Godfather," Latnok answered. Immediately, he tossed the scale he held straight up into the air - then, taking a step back, rapidly grabbed the bow on his back, loaded an arrow, and fired at the scale. The arrow and scale flew forwards, stopping immediately in front of Orion. The arrow glowed briefly, then made its way to Latnok's grip.

Angora scoffed at Orion's last remark, still blaming him for everything. She already had a taste of that dark power thanks to Shade, and there was no way she was going to get back for it. She was thinking of escaping from this nightmare when she has the chance...

Star again saluted automatically before musing aloud "Two Clans from entirely different worlds and species have such similar salutes... Perhaps we're alternate reality versions of each other?" He realized what he said sounded insane to anyone unfamiliar with the possibility of a multiverse.
Darkheart looked at the scale, examining it. "This has far more wicked energy than I ever have. Star, you mentioned it being used for time travel?"
"Yeah, if used a certain way you can hop through time... Or dimensions..." He muttered the last part. Then he commented "It's incredibly dangerous if not contained. There are other, safer materials I've discovered through experimentation, Dark Matter is BY FAR the least stable and predictable, even antimatter is safer than it."
"How do you know about time travel?"
Star looked at her, then looked away and rubbed his eyes. "I got this scar through an incident involving it... It still hurts... Haven't tried it again since arriving here, mostly because that gadget's burnt out..."

Quote: Spyroconvexity

"Destroy the arrow. Dark matter has the ability to transfer corruption if it touches anything." Orion said. "Angora come here please." Orion said. "Draw your sword and destroy the scale."

Ignoring the conversation behind her, Angora obliged. She wasn't one to receive orders, but she had enough of that infernal scale.
"With pleasure." she said as she drew her new sword, striking with all her might. She was very small compared to other trolls, but her strength was nevertheless similar to those of her bigger counterparts.

As the arrow disintegrated in Latnok's hand, Sere observed the destruction of the scale. "Interesting. There is, of course, much to discuss, but I think a different environment with more privacy would be more fitting. With that, the loud sound of stones grinding began to fill the chamber, as a large section of wall, which had no distinct difference from the rest of the wall, began to open up, revealing another highly spacious chamber.
The most distinct feature of this new chamber was a very large, vibrantly-colored tree - large enough to be its own building, growing in soil which didn't seem to be present in other chambers. Various other trees, growing different fruits, were scattered all around the chamber, and grass thrived, with many of the insects which would typically exist in such a landscape. The sun crystals fed the plants a healthy dose of light, despite the underground environment. The large tree seemed to exude life energy, which would greatly invigorate any living thing.
"We do not have any other spaces large enough to accommodate most of you, but this should suffice. Please, let's continue," Sere said.

"What's? We're going to stay? Come on! Didn't I do my part already? I want my life back!" Angora insisted, making it no secret that she hated being there. Her way of life has been changed drastically and it was stressing her out, making her more irritable than usual.

Star sent a death glare at the troll. "You ever wonder if any of us had things change drastically? I first attempted time travel to repair a mistake that would destroy my Clan. Afterwards, I was trying to go back in time to see them again, have a semblance of a normal life. I've been through HELL, because of my failed attempts at time travel. I'd give anything to have things go back to what life was like for me when I was a wide-eyed, innocent child, living happily with my Clan..."
Darkheart shook her head. "At least you ever had anything resembling joy in your youth. For me, it was constant torment at the thought of being slaughtered helplessly."
Star turned his gaze rather mercilessly on Darkheart. "You never lost anything, since you had nothing to lose. Now you've gained what I lost. I'd HAPPILY switch places with you." He looked down, intent on continuing until he had something more interesting to do.

"This structure is quite... impressive. Say what you will about their kind, but they can certainly make something if they put their mind to it.," Raclaw commented inspecting the strange indoor-but-outdoor chamber as they entered. The strange indoor-but-outdoor chamber was certainly impressive to say the least and it only made wonder about what else they could do; hunters or not. They were underground and yet-- here they were surrounded by trees and life. His curiosity was certainly pleased by the whole thing, regardless of what may happen to them by their "generous" hosts. At least for time being, they seemed to be on the same side and he wanted to believe as such.

'And these humans seem to quite the magically inclined kind. I wonder if they know-- nah. Although they certainly seem like the kind to know..," he then thought out-loud in a much quieter tone as his curiosity continued to get to him. These particular humans could no doubt create powerful artifacts and they were certainly the type to want to control something. Part of him wanted to ask if they knew anything or could perhaps even explain part of his past-- and the still active (but overridden) artifact that adorned his neck by his own self-choosing. He never quite understood why he wanted to keep it so long ago. It was almost as if it wanted to be worn and used if given the chance. And then there was the presence of someone or something that resided within it. Could it be possible that he might meet its maker or some distant ancestor of its maker..?

As the group entered the chamber, the huge earthen walls slowly slid and eventually shut behind them. "This is what we call the Tree of Vitality," Sere said, waving towards the tree while continuing to look ahead. "Its power, and that of the soil, allows us to grow highly nourishing food very quickly. What's more, we can tap into its power via several exposed roots in various parts of the stronghold in order to heal wounds. The wood in our most powerful weapons is provided by this tree."
Sere paused a moment, then turned towards Orion. "Now, for the matter at hand. The scale, though it possessed only residual energy, possessed much power. As far as I know, the creature responsible for it had come into contact with Shadowstone, a material which has historically plagued us. However, old as I am by human standards, I cannot say that I'm very familiar with dark matter, having only an extremely cursory understanding of it. What connection, if any, do the two have, and what sort of threat does it pose to us? It would seem that there may be a mutual interest in getting to the heart of the matter."
Well, this is quite ironic, Latnok thought to himself. Working with these creatures, then fighting them, now possibly working with them again... Regardless, he remained silent, waiting to speak only when Sere wanted him to or it was otherwise appropriate.

Dex was looking around " This kind of place fits very well for anybody feeling like they are the most important thing in the world" he thought.

Then he walked closer to Orion making sure that also Sere would see him. He then looked at Latnok, but turned his eyes towards Sere "So you know it all guys, I have only few questions so I think it is better to get those out of the way sooner then later. This thing we are talking about can totally take somebody over right? Does it have mind of its own? I was working for possessed one and i can tell he is pretty different now. He does not even remember anything he was doing. And now the big question does somebody controll it and of course if so who?" Dex said

Star spoke up. "I'm extremely familiar with Dark Matter and its uses. It's similar to antimatter, actually. You could call it a corrupted form of matter. It is, to say the least, incredibly dangerous. If used incorrectly... It could create a black hole or worse."
Darkheart looked at him and asked "What could POSSIBLY be worse than a black hole?"
Star grinned mischievously. "A living nightmare. No, that isn't a joke or exaggeration." His grin vanished. "I've seen creatures turned into that by Dark Matter. You say you've seen Elves become Drow? I've seen a fox turn into a living pile of literal nightmare fuel." Glancing at Dex, he grinned again. "Even worse than him!" He giggled, which sounded odd from him but was normal for his species.

"Very well," Sere replied, "but what can be done about it? Will there be any sort of opposition, or is it something which simply takes some time and effort to dispose of? That is, who, or what, are our enemies in this regard?" Latnok was curious as to what the creature he had shot previously was doing with the group now, but figured that any such question could be answered later.

Angora remained quiet when they entered the chamber. She opened her mouth to reply to Star's remark, but then shut it up when even she realized that what she was about to say was exceedingly cruel. She believed she was already in hot water with a few members of the group, and didn't want to make things worse. It was only after Orion said that last remark that she finally spoke again.
"I what now? Neo? Stopping? Come on, are you seriously going along with this? Why me? I'm no heroine! I'm not this... chosen one you keep mentioning! Why are you keeping up with this nonsense? Stopping dark matter? That's crazy talk!" Angora said skeptically, still not believing that she was being talked about as if she was some grand individual mentioned in a prophecy. She was simply a nomadic creature, a troll for heaven's sake, one of the most hated beasts of the land. She didn't even had magic of her own, so all this talk about chosen one and darkness stop was silly talk with her. She didn't believed in special destinies or anything of the sort.

Quote: darknessdawn

Star spoke up. "I'm extremely familiar with Dark Matter and its uses. It's similar to antimatter, actually. You could call it a corrupted form of matter. It is, to say the least, incredibly dangerous. If used incorrectly... It could create a black hole or worse."
Darkheart looked at him and asked "What could POSSIBLY be worse than a black hole?"
Star grinned mischievously. "A living nightmare. No, that isn't a joke or exaggeration." His grin vanished. "I've seen creatures turned into that by Dark Matter. You say you've seen Elves become Drow? I've seen a fox turn into a living pile of literal nightmare fuel." Glancing at Dex, he grinned again. "Even worse than him!" He giggled, which sounded odd from him but was normal for his species.

Dex decided to ignore other comments and turn to Star and Darkheart "Dont put your words against those you can not handel. I am very used to dealing with much stronger creatures then you. And just a fair warning me dealing with somebody means they will be dead" Dex said with a grin.

"Now is most definitely NOT the time or place for infighting," Sere reprimanded, before looking over at Angora. "As for you, troll... some equipment can be quite finicky. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, for whatever reason, not everything you come across will let everyone utilize its full power. Take this, for example..."
At this point, Sere unsheathed his sword - it would seem to be just an ordinary sword, with a fancy hilt, except it slowly alternated between radiating strong light and seemingly devouring all light that came into contact with it. "This is Grimbane. This is a weapon which predates the Ardent Guardians - but, as of now, only some of us can utilize its full power, those of us with mastery over light and dark magic. In addition, the spirit within Grimbane will only grant power to those who meet the desired qualities, in addition to the aforementioned abilities - according to Grimbane, it looks for a wielder who is dedicated to doing what is necessary, regardless of the cost.
"The fact of the matter is, whether it be some bloodline or mysterious quality, the equipment, as far as we all know, can only be wielded by you. And thus, if this dark matter is a serious enough matter to have Orion here involved, I would urge you to think of more than just yourself."
Sere then turned towards Orion. "What are the threats you will face in regards to dealing with this dark matter? Who are your enemies? I am willing to offer some assistance in the matter."

Angora scoffed at everything that she was hearing, still unable to believe that everyone thought she was somebody to defeat some kind of darkness.
"I don't believe this? You seriously want me to do this? And you..." Angora said, turning to Orion this time.
"If I'm wearing this armor is cause you gave it to me! I wanted to return it, remember?" Angora pointed out, now believing it wasn't a good idea keeping it. As she waited for a reply, she started to wonder if Orion set her up with this destiny cause he didn't want to take the responsibility...

Star rolled his eye at Dex's comment. "You must think you're so powerful. You know, I've faced off against some of the so-called 'deities' of my homeworld and won. I'm pretty sure you're a lot less powerful." Star neglected to mention that he beat those foes because he was immune to their powers, while he was NOT immune to poison.
Darkheart picked up Star and murmured "Silence" in Draconic as she swiped along his mouth, leaving a brief, ink-black trail. The Zorua opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out, and his expression briefly displayed something akin to fear and confusion before he played it off like he didn't care. Darkheart told him "THAT should keep you out of trouble." Turning to Angora, she commented "Fate is a fickle thing. If you're prophesied to stop Dark Matter, you will. What you can do is take advantage of that. Chances are, things are going to conveniently line up to keep you alive until you do so, so I'd recommend enjoying the fact that it's going to be near-impossible to kill you. I'd also recommend cooperating with the prophecy though, because things go badly if the chosen one doesn't cooperate."

By that time, Angora couldn't take it anymore. Too many things were happening in a short span of time. Nevertheless, she retained her composure long enough to rep,y to Neo.
"You? I think you're misled. Trolls don't have any of those qualities. We're just seen as mindless monsters that need to be extinct." Angora said with depression, having faced racism by many creatures in her past to the point where she believed that how her kind was destined to be seen. She knew that some of her peers could be irrationally violent, but the mayority of trolls didn't even looked for trouble. Their ugly appearance and implacable strength made them the target of a lousy reputation, to the point where some were persecuted, especially humans. Some were even unlucky enough to have to live in dragon territory and have to avoid their brutal assault.

Darkheart finally lost her temper. Glaring down at Angora, she asked "Do you have any idea what I'VE been seen as? Every time a dragon with these markings dies, the next Dark-aligned one is forced to bear them! People consider them to be a sign of utter, depraved wickedness, even though they're on the dragon from birth! I won't let myself die because it will only perpetuate the cycle!"
Star tapped Darkheart, and showed her something he typed and translated for her. She read it aloud. "'Zorua are seen as bullying tricksters with no sense of honor and a habit of betraying those on their side. They're seen as cowards who always hide behind an Illusion because they're unwilling to be in a fair fight.' Star, what's a Zorua?" The little fox pointed to himself. "Oh. You may be biased, but your point still stands." She glared back at Angora. "You seem to think dragons should be extinct, you'd probably make a fantastic Dragonslayer." Her voice wavered mid-sentence, but the biting tone of her voice remained. "We all have to deal with bias, but you seem to think ALL of us are trouble, and plan to hurt you without cause." Her eyes took on a reddish glow. "I'm certain none of us will, but you really shouldn't be tempting us with your endless, incessant complaints." She pulled away and looked at Orion. "I think we should leave. Beings with purely Darkness-based powers have no place among the light." Now she sounded bitter. "Besides, our dark powers are of no use for the tasks ahead."

"Enough," Sere said. "If the troll will not perform this task, then we must find someone who will." Sere then turned his attention towards the armor.
"Spirit in the armor, I do not know why you chose this troll in particular, but it is clear that she does not possess any determination to stop this - the only determination she possesses is to go back to whatever she was doing. I fear you have made a mistake, and if this threat is as dangerous as you say, it would be in our mutual best interest for you to pick someone who is willing and has the mental fortitude to see the task through. I do not see the value in forcing someone who has no interest in the role to perform it when you should have no problem finding others willing in many places of the globe."

Quote: darknessdawn

Darkheart finally lost her temper. Glaring down at Angora, she asked "Do you have any idea what I'VE been seen as? Every time a dragon with these markings dies, the next Dark-aligned one is forced to bear them! People consider them to be a sign of utter, depraved wickedness, even though they're on the dragon from birth! I won't let myself die because it will only perpetuate the cycle!"
Star tapped Darkheart, and showed her something he typed and translated for her. She read it aloud. "'Zorua are seen as bullying tricksters with no sense of honor and a habit of betraying those on their side. They're seen as cowards who always hide behind an Illusion because they're unwilling to be in a fair fight.' Star, what's a Zorua?" The little fox pointed to himself. "Oh. You may be biased, but your point still stands." She glared back at Angora. "You seem to think dragons should be extinct, you'd probably make a fantastic Dragonslayer." Her voice wavered mid-sentence, but the biting tone of her voice remained. "We all have to deal with bias, but you seem to think ALL of us are trouble, and plan to hurt you without cause." Her eyes took on a reddish glow. "I'm certain none of us will, but you really shouldn't be tempting us with your endless, incessant complaints." She pulled away and looked at Orion. "I think we should leave. Beings with purely Darkness-based powers have no place among the light." Now she sounded bitter. "Besides, our dark powers are of no use for the tasks ahead."

"Hah, well at least you can defend yourself with magic." she said to Darkheart, then turning to Star. "And you are small and seemed harmless. Plus, you're fluffy, and I'm willing to bet humans find you adorable! Trolls have none of that to back them up!" Angora discussed, believing that whatever trouble they both had as a species, it couldn't be worse than the racism and genocide her kind usually faced.

She then turned her attention on Sere, who was very focused on having someone else perform the task. Not that Angora had any objections. She already had enough saving Orion from Shade and having him torture her and nearly killing her more than once. She went more than the mile extra with saving the world, and didn't want to keep it up. Despite her potential to be the one to stop this darkness everyone kept talking about, she simply didn't have enough faith in herself to know she had a chance.

Angora opened her mouth to reply... but no words came. She was bewildered. Just why did she do that? Now that the subject was brought up, she seriously didn't know what happened back then.
"I... I thought you were influencing me or something. Weren't you? I... thought it was you the one who avoided it." she finally managed to say, not remembering why she saved Shade's life after he had tormented her so much.

Raclaw remained close by, but remained quiet letting the interactions play through without interruption. He was mostly lost in thought, but also didn't want to make anything worse.

Dex ignored Star and just thought " It does not matter what you have been against, with me it is one bite and it is over"

"So what should we expect to happen next?" Dex said pretty much giving the question for anybody to answer.