MickeyAdaptus

Alexander gave a nod "Yes, I could certainly get that job done, though, on a side note, it is not going to be that easy, there will be many that we would have to interview." He noted "But while that is going on, we will also need to send word to the other groups about what is going on, so I will be sending a messenger ahead to explain the situation, for IF something were to happen to us," Alexander added He then went over to talk to some other people regarding what Woody had told him to discuss regarding the interview. "Of course Windphaser, with us working together, it would work out much better." He responded with a smile "Tough if i may note, reading their intentions via my powers might be possible to an extent, but it is going to require something, that their overall minds are calm at the time that i do it, emotions such as to much anger, sadness, happiness etc in their minds can cause disruptions in my ability to read their intentions with a clear result." Keidor mentioned

Alexander looked up at Woody "Of course, if you have a plan then let's hear it." He said as he stood up. "How come you are willing to help to such a degree though? Most would not want to be bothered with such an investigation matter, especially those who are not under our command, so why tough? I am curious." Alexander asked him as he scratched his chin, trying to understand why Woody was willing to undertake such a big task without anything in return. "Some may feel the weight, but others sometimes thrive on the actions of what we would often consider evil and wrong brother," Morikai replied "Trying to understand one's actions can be futile unless you can recognize those intentions within yourself as well. Just because someone would steal, murder anyone in cold blood doesn't make them evil by default, it is where the intentions lay that truly matters. So you would believe me if I would say that this supposed traitor might not even be necessarily evil, but have good intentions and performs them in a bad way?" Morikai asked Windphaser with a smile of his own.

"That is an impressive plan you brought up Woodland, but it won't be easy to carry out, we have around 300 people with us, and you will also need to keep in mind that there can be no guarantee that the traitor is specifically in this group, or for the fact that there might be multiple traitors. So if we are going to carry out this plan of yours, we need to be vigilant but also subtle, so I would advise you speak with Alexander, the light orange Rauken over there, he is an old veteran, even rumoured to have fight alongside Karthspire during the bitter years of the civil war upon Raukan a couple centuries ago. So if there is anybody who will be able to make this plan work, it will be him, tell him about the lockdown." Terisha told Woody "And while you are at it, ask him about his life story, a strange thing of me to ask of you, but it will help you understand his motives better because he has a strong loyalty towards our people. While you do that, I will organize the lockdown and give out orders to our more experienced soldiers." Meanwhile, Morikai looked at Windphaser with a smile, before staring a bit into the depths of the desert. "My magic might help, but perhaps not to the degree that you might be hoping for, I am capable of seeking out somebodies intentions by searching through their memories, but it is dangerous, because if I make one mistake, the person brain could cease to function, and that will cause instant death. So instead I could use my powers to feel the tremors of the surrounding areas in which we walk, for if anybody tries to make a suspicious, reaching for a weapon etc, I can react fast. Would that be sufficient enough to help out?" Morkai answered

"Oh yes, it is very understandable Woodland, and I agree, perhaps I was a bit too eager, trust takes time." Morikai agreed. He paused to look at Woody's eye with a hint of concern, but then stood up again. "Hopefully we will have enough time to build up that trust friend, I can't say for how long I will be able to stick around though, because I need to greet my mother after all at some point," Morikai mentioned. However before he could say anything further, Terisha came up sprinting towards them. "Guys! Something is wrong, we have been betrayed, there is a traitor among our ranks because when I sent out some scouts, they returned that 5 of our men had their throats slit, while 2 others who had been presumably with them at the time were no longer there... What's more, we have received no news of Karthspire, it is possible that the others might be in danger." Terisha said with urgency. "So I am debating on what would be our best course of action... Windphaser, what do you recommend, shall we stay and continue our objective or rush towards the others and make sure that we can back them up and regroup? Because I fear that the traitor was not a soldier, but instead a civilian that travelled with us, and you know what that means..." She added in with a sigh.

Terisha looked at Woody and looked at him with a smile. "My name is Terisha, I am in command of the soldiers that have joined us here, with Windphaser being a great help. Though I believe I have seen you walk around the city before, seeing as your friends where around it would only be inevitable that you would eventually show up right?" She said with a wink. But before she could say more Morikai walked up to Woody and grabbed his hand as he inspected it, looking at it with a strong sense of interest. "I have met many magic users, but you stand out quite much compared to the rest, your magic is like an unpredictable thunderstorm, but under potent control, that I can feel when I feel out your blood waves. So I can say that it is an impressive feed that you are able to keep it under control to such a degree." Morikai complimented "But regarding the introductions, I am Morikai, founder of the Chronicles group, and a long lost brother from your friend/mentor Windphaser over there. Now... I look at your eye, and I don't need to see anything that you already know in this regard, but... I would like to help you out. Hear me out.." "Do you want your eye restored? I cannot remove the dark powers that have encompassed the scar, however, I can recover your sight, granted that it is not simply a flick of magic... No.. It requires careful management and good inspection, but I can do that part for you." Morikai offered him. "So you are saying that you are going to use your powers to restore his eyes? I do hope you are aware of what could happen if these powers... come in contact with him?" Terisha asked with a tilted eyebrow. "You are quite an observant person I must say Terisha, but yes, you are right, However... His case is different, it has to do with his eye, or more specifically, those dark powers surrounding the blind eye..." "If I use my powers inside the eye itself, it should not affect him, since those dark powers form like a barrier, preventing any form of magic from altering or getting inside it," Morikai explained. "Ohh I see... And you, of course, know that your powers will work in this regard because it is *not magic*." She said with a smirk. "Exactly! A fact that tends to really seems to help me whenever I work on something." Morika replied with a growing smile. "Now... What do you say friend? Do you want your complete sight restored? I can promise you that I will be careful, it is not my first time restoring someone's sight. A student of mine can vouch for that." He asked as he let go of Woody's hand.

"Things can always change Windphaser, your friend must have been through a train of thoughts and emotions before changing his mind, you might want to head up to him. Don't want to keep him to keep him waiting eh?" Morikai reassured Windphaser with a friendly nudge. "And I am not going to lose you again." "Well... We could use this to our advantage, yes, technicly speaking, The Blood Cult itself is a natural faction, meaning it doesn't have true enemies or true friends. If we could get one of the clans to aid us? Then we would get a strong advantage." Terisha admitted to Windphaser. "But like I said before, your father has the aid worth of 2 clans at once, definitely bribed with slaves or something, so you might want to be mindful of that as well." Terisha reminded him.

Keidor looked at Windphaser for a while, as a small smile appeared on his face. "Your resolve is strong, something that I can admire with pride, Mother is proud of you, and so am I," Keidor said, his smile eventually turned serious, as he needed to tell Windphaser something very important "But if you go through with this, promise me that you will not oppose Morikai, you may not know him, but he is a powerful individual, not just in terms of magic, strength, no, in terms of political power. With just a whim he can turn all clans againts a single opposition, for the blood cults still follow rules within their own unique society. Just remember the name Morikai, remember it good brother, our lives depend on it... Only then can you completely protect us." Keidor told Winphaser as he placed a hand on his back It was rather apparent that Keidor was talking about somebody very powerful within the Blood Cul Society, somebody who held sway over all the clans, and yet does not represent the leadership of the Blood Cult in its entirety, as each Clan had its own enemies and allies, yet followed a set rules where they are forced to follow the orders of this Morikai at any cost. For what the truth is that the Blood Cult was not inherently evil in itself, but rather many of the clans had their evil or aggressive desires, while other clans had their own goals, but there was one thing they all had in common, every blood cult member needs to sacrifice the souls of others in order to survive, which was their equivalent of other living beings needing food to live. This necessary factor forces many of the Clans to perform evil or aggressive ways of ensuring their survival, while others had more friendlier means of acquiring souls to sacrifice. But to Keidor's luck, he had not become one of them, but had changed into something close to it, but still holding independence on his body and soul compared to the other blood cult members. "That name... You are talking about.. you know who right?" Terisha asked with worry. "Yes, I must ask, do Karthspire and his people still pay tides to him?" Keidor asked her. "Of course we do, if we didn't then we would not be here right now," Therisa replied with a frown "Good, good... Better keep them as a neutral ally rather than aggressive foe." Keidor responded with a sigh of relief. He suddenly felt a string of vibration in the void and looked into the far distance. "Windphaser, I think a friend of yours is closing in, or atleast someone who has a strong presence within the magic spectrum." Keidor alerted Windphaser

Keidor gave a smile in return. "It is indeed good to have a family without him, I sought that for a long time, my people are like a family to me a well, but that is not the same as having your real family among you." He answered He then thought for a moment. "You mentioned cults, but perhaps I should explain it in better detail, you see..." He sat down as he started to talk, he knew alot on the subject since he had lived among them for many years. "While their society is called the *Blood Cult*, it is not really a cult at all, but rather, it consists of many clans, some very big, and some smaller. But don't let their size fool you, because... "They are powerful, while most people utilize magic, they utilize something entirely different, allow me to show you..." Keidor then started to gather some sort of purple powers in his hand, and a bunch of sand started to gather, to form some sort of person, though after a while the sand itself started to morph into clay, and then into some form of skin, although it was very crude. Eventually, it had taken the shape of a person, but what was shocking was that it seemed alive, although it acted more like an automaton. "It is said that these powers are even capable of creating true sentient life, but that is not entirely true, the person that you see here is like a puppet made out of transformed materials, and shaped into a new form. But let's go a bit higher, shall we?" As he took it a step further and blasted the puppet person with a burst of his powers, but instead of destroying the puppet, it transformed slightly from the inside, and now, it was truly acting alive... It started to act like a monkey, and walked around, picking up bits of sand sniffing it. "You see, these powers that the Blood Cult members utilize is the same type of thing that a soul would consist of. But these powers are not in our own bodies, no, we draw them from another dimension, or rather, we draw it from a living entity, some call it the Devourer since essentially it grows from the souls of others, and as you may know... many of the Blood Cult see the Devourer like some sort of deity that they own their entire existance too, which is plausible to assume." "To become a member of the Blood Cult, you must give up your own life, where your soul will be consumed by the Devourer, and an exact copy of your soul will be placed in your body, which will grant you the ability to bend these powers to your will, which you are essentially bending part of the Devourer itself if that makes sense," Keidor explained. "Now.. You might wonder how many people of the Blood Cult out there, they're not just a few, it is plausible to say they are the size of an entire race, around 46 million of them are out there. Many of them consist of the ancient Raukan empire, which is long ago." Keidor explained. "But hold on a sec, what you just explained does not add up with one thing, how are you even able to bend these powers? You are NOT part of the blood cult at all, either that or you are very good at hiding it." Terisha retorted, growing more interested in the conversation "Hm, very smart of you to notice Dear, because I am not one of them, or atleast I would have been, but I am cursed," Keidor responded. "Cursed? Cursed as in how?" Terisha asked "Their Clans often kidnap children in order to convert them and make them one of their own, hoping to breed killing machines to turn againts their fellow clans for a sense of power and territory, I was about to become one of them, but something had apparently gone wrong, because the conversion was interrupted midway by an attack from a fellow clan, and I managed to escape however.." "As it turns out? I am no longer a Raukan, I am no longer the part of a Unicorn that I had within me, I am something else now... A new type of race you could say, something is able to bend these powers, yet I still have a claim on my soul." Keidor explained. "Hold on... You mean that you did not... get converted during the process? I have NEVER heard of that happening." Therisha muttered "Indeed, I would like to explain but I am sadly not allowed to if I would then that Clan would come not only after me but the bunch of you as well since they do not want their closely guarded secrets to getting shared just like that." "Oh right, their ridiculous stance on their personal secrecy, right... Gotcha, I was about to ask you what happenend to you since Windphaser did not ask." Therisha pointed out. "Reason I mainly brought them up is that there was Blood Cult activity going around recently, you mentioned this one guy called Xicor correct? The faceless one wearing a mask?" Keidor asked her. "Oh yes that creep, at first we presumed he was friendly since he had been around in the city for a long time, but during one of our tournament when his masked got knocked off he went all aggressive out of the sudden, but I guess he started to act like that because everyone else realised that he was part of the blood cult seeing that faceless head of his," Therisa explained. "I see, well, it is true that my father has aid from one of the clans that have been doing some concerning activities here, but he is not part of that clan," Keidor said. "He isn't? Huh... That still feels off, since he has been trying to outright murder Karthspire, claiming that he had run his mouth too far, saying things that he was not supposed to so or something." Therisha mentioned "Just another reason why you should not anger them. But it turns out that this Xicor is part of clan Geigor, a clan which has started to grow a particular interest in Equestria it seems." Keidor responded. "Right... So what clan is doing that strange activity here then?" Therisha asked. "Clan Sabertorn, they are out there for a couple of individuals, but if there is one thing for certain, they are going to kill Karthspire." Keidor mentioned. "Damn... I was already afraid something like this was going to happen... Because he ran his mouth?" Terisha asked with worry. Keidor gave a nod. "He is presumably going to get killed in 2 days, but I am not certain with what method, all I could feel was tremors in the void, which tends to indicate that there are lots of powers being used in a nearby area." Keidor mentioned. "So... How can we stop this? It will be fighting like a ghost, since we do not know what they look like, where they are, at what time they will come.." Terisha said with a deep sigh. "Hard to say dear, keep in mind that it might not be 100% since I only felled tremors, but if that Xicor person was around, then you can bet then chances are likely. Best thing I can advise you to do is to stay away from them in the future, if you do not know them, you are not going to have many chances going up againts them." Keidor said as he shook his head. "This is so SCREWED! First, we have all these enemies chasing us, but now we also have an entire clan to stalk and haunt us? Forgive me for my current discomposure, but nobody and I repeats NOBODY could deal with those things at the same time!" Terisha exclaimed, before burying her head in her hands "Those armies can be dealt with accordingly, but that Clan? All I can say is, if you don't know who they are, don't bother to attack them, because you will not get anywhere." Keidor again advised because he knew one thing, not bothering to do research on your enemies will only come back to bite you back.

"It took alot longer than that I had hoped to find you Windphaser, and I am sorry about that..." Keidor said as he gave Windphaser a tight hug back. "Fathers deeds, deceptions, lies, they are part of a greater scheme, he does everything with an ulterior motive. Windphaser, listen to me.." He said as he looked him in the eyes. "He has many allies, your friends could be in great danger, these allies are not just Raukan, he has contacts with one of the Blood Cult Clans as well... Which means that one of your friends could just be snatched away with the others perhaps not even being aware of it. I know this, I have seen what those Clans are capable of... I was supposed to be inducted into one of them after father sold me out..." He said with shame. "But... you came into contact with one of them, haven't you? That is not a good sign... There might be more around if that is the case... But I need to ask first something.." "Where is Mother at? I NEED to see her." He asked with concern.

Keidor looked at WIndphaser with a hint of shame in his eyes. "You are correct, you don't remember me, neither would have you been able to know me because by the time you were born I was already gone. Star herself might not have told you about my existance out of grief, for what happenend is something that no mother would want to speak of when they see their own child being handed over to the clans of the Blood Cult..." He explained. "But I understand your reaction towards this, even if intimidation might not the best answer. And you want proof... If I were any normal person I would not be able to provide it, but with what I have become? I can, and will show you the truth." Keidor said he put his hand on Windphasers forehead, his brown fur showing numerous marks and some sort lining colours spanning over his arm. But it was correct to assume that Keidor wanted to get the truth across, as he went as far as to put his hand on Windphasers forehead, despite a blade being put againts his throat. "Do not be afraid of what you are about to feel..." He said as he was both encompassing them with some sort of strange powers. Everything around them then became dark as they seemed to witness some sort of memory, which Windphaser could see trough Keidor's own view. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Decades ago "So... They demand tribute again?" A voice could be heard asking as it showed Windphasers father and one of his closest advisors sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the table. "Yes, they do sir, and not one like the last time, they demand something of more value then slaves, in exchange for their services." The advisor said with a grim look on his face. "Hmph, they can never be truly satisfied, not even being gifted a thousand slaves would. So what do we have of value in our stock? Relics? Weaponry? Genetic Samples? What of it?" The father asked back with a tilted head, as he briefly glanced at Star, who was chained againts a wall, similarly to how she had been when the others had freed her. "Well... We have quite alot in fact, But if I may voice my oppinion, they not might like-" The advisor said but was interrupted. "Things that are not alive? Yes, I am quite familiar with their ways, what about the exotic species that we have in our collection?" The father interrupted. "As of now? We have many, however, what about the... what were they called?" The advisor asked pointing at Star "I couldn't care less what they are called, what I do care about is the value, and as of yet she is the only one of her kind here, but..." The father as he scratched his chin. "That little brat of hers... The hybrid one, now THAT might be an offer they will agree upon. Isn't that right, Sweety?" He asked Star with a sadistic grin on his face, before looking back at the advisor. "This will benefit us in a good number of ways, for one the brat was not what I had hoped for, I hoped that she would have given birth to a child that would have the majority of her side, but instead we got this half breed which has only 1/4th of hers, that won't cut it, so we dispose of this one and wait for the next one to be born.." He says with a grimace. "Fetch the boy for me, I will contact Clan Shaderheart that their demands will be satisfied." The father said before walking off. A couple of days later a group of individuals where walking through the desert, which included Star, her treacherous husband, and of course her son, which she would soon lose. Keidor, which was now a boy of 9 years old was walking rather nervous next to his father, looking rather uncomfortable. "Father... Why is mom in shackles, did she do something wrong?" Keidor asked his father. "Yes son, she did something very wrong, a few nights ago she had tried to attack me in my sleep, hoping to claim the family fortune all for herself, normally such an action would result in execution, but I am a generous individual, and I decided that she should live." The father said with a fake smile, as he lieing through his teeth. "But... Mom would never do such a thing, I love her!" Keidor exclaimed. "Sometimes good people can do bad things, son, but I believe that your mother has been in distress lately. Some minor things can turn a good individual into a bad person, we cannot predict such things." The father lied, which was ironically him undirectly explaining his own past on his actions where he betrayed the very people that he had fought for in the past. "If... you so say so, dad..." Keidor said with uncertainty, giving his mother worried looks. Eventually, they arrived at an empty place in the desert, where there was standing a cloaked individual, its arms and legs being hidden by the cloak itself. When the group arrived, Keidor looked at the mysterious cloaked person with distrust, while his father was standing there with a grin written all over his face. "Greetings, Shazarrai, we are here to give you our 'offer'." The father said. "Yesssss... It is about time you did, our services do not come cheap, and our terror will not be halted.." The cloaked individual responded back in a hissing tone. "Services? Offer? Dad? What are you both talking about?" Keidor asked with worry, his fears now truly starting to emerge. "Nothing to be afraid about Son, the reason we came here is for you to meet your new teacher, so you can be taken under his wing." The father lied. "Now... Does this satisfy you Shazarrai? He is not a normal boy mind you, he is a hybrid... Of a rare species." The father asked the mysterious figure. "It doessss... Hand him over to me..." The cloaked person hissed as he stretched his arm out. "Mom! Dad! What is going on?! That guy is creeping me out!!" Keidor exclaimed, backing away from the mysterious person. "Again, do not be afraid son, great things are awaiting you, you will make me and your mother proud by doing this." The father said with a nod. Keidor looked at his mother, not knowing to make out what her expression was, which was harder to see due to how she was standing behind her husband, which to make matters worse she was not able to speak due to being muffled by something being binded around her mouth. Keidor gave her one last look before reluctantly walking over to the mysterious stranger, before stopping again, but he then got pushed by his father towards the Stranger. But what happenend next scared him as the stranger grabbed his arm tight with an iron grip, which made him struggle. "Mom! Help me! He is trying to hurt me!!" He yelled in fear, but he was not getting far as the stranger was not letting go. "I guess this is where we part ways, you turned out to be quite the little brat, such a waste of resources and time, so I need to let you go. Die well, 'Son'." His father mocked him, before giving him an even more mocking wave, and then turned around to walk away. "No, Wait! Mom! Help me!!!" He yelled even bigger fear, as he noticed he and the stranger started to get surrounded by a purple mist, before disappearing completely... His fate after that was unknown, but whatever happenend, it was apparent that he would not become the same person that he had once been... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eventually, Windphaser and Keidor returned to their bodies, and he removed his hand from Windphasers forehead. "It always pains me to relieve this memory, but I had to in order to show you the truth, a truth you have might be looking for a long time, even if you were not aware of it..." Keidor said, closing his eyes briefly as he had no further words.