全城危机

It was a beautiful yet fearsome sight. Five hundred Wyverns of various colours and sizes, (mostly over twenty meters tall) roaring at the same time and shaking the very land itself. The Wyverns were restless, and they roared and stomped their feet and snapped irritably at each other, creating an ear-breaking din.

It scared the men out of their wits.

But before the Wyverns could go on roaring, an even mightier roar sounded out from Vernie.

GROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!

Instantly, the five hundred Wyverns turned silent. They laid down on their bellies obediently and whimpered.

Bloodline suppression was no small matter, and the 4th Generation Wyverns found it impossible to resist the will of a 3rd Generation one.

Dubaza leapt down from Vernie and prepared the beast contracts.

"Whoaa. That roar from your Wyvern worked like a charm." Battalion Commander Justin gave Dubaza a weak grin as he caught up with him.

Dubaza chuckled as he observed Justin\'s pallor. "Don\'t worry, you\'ll feel much better soon."

"What exactly are we doing here?" Justin asked Dubaza informally. The two were pretty good friends, and had shared more than the occassional beer together. They had shared battlefields, victories and crushing defeats.

"Finding you guys much better mounts!" Dubaza laughed.

Justin stared at the Wyverns with wide eyes as a surge of excitement hit him like a sledgehammer.

Dubaza waved his hand, an an utterly massive black Wyvern lumbered forward.

"These are fourth generation Wyverns. They are still capable of magic, but they had lost the ability to breathe out fire. No loss for you, though, esteemed Fire Mage Justin." Dubaza grinned as he made the Wyvern walk all the way to Justin. He handed Justin the beast contract.

"Is this…" Justin looked at the translucent piece of parchment with great disbelief.

"A beast contract." Dubaza said softly. "It allows us to form a contract with these Wyverns and establish a mental link between our souls. These Wyverns will then obey us."

"Incredible." Justin said in awe.

"Just read the words on the contract and mean those words. It will take effect immediately. Try it." Dubaza urged Justin.

Within seconds, the parchment lit up in flames. Justin looked at the Wyvern with great surprise, before smiling out with joy. The Wyvern lowered its head and allowed Justin to climb up.

"Go, experiment." Dubaza waved him away. Justin grinned at him and with a mighty leap from his Wyvern, he was off!

"Next! I want officers to step forward. The rest of you wait for your turn. Hurry up! I don\'t have all night!" Dubaza roared out instructions.

The men immediately jumped into action. They had seen their commander get on a Wyvern and fly into the sky, and their trepidation had turned into great, great joy.

New mounts! They thought. Ha! No more need to deal with those cowardly horses! Give me a Wyvern anyday! Their previous fears were completely forgotten as they waited eagerly for their turn.

As more and more mages signed their contracts with the Wyverns and took to the skies, it became rather chaotic. First it was tens, then hundreds of Wyverns roaring and flying above the City of Rin.

And of course it brought Alexander\'s happy and romantic moment to an end.

"You could have waited." Alexander said accusingly and rather sulkily at Dubaza.

"My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty. The impression I had was that we were extremely pressed for time." Dubaza bowed deeply. Not because he was apologetic, but because he had to hide his smile.

Alexander glared at Dubaza for a moment before sighing deeply and smiling in resignation. But everything was good, actually. The greatest feeling in the world was loving someone, and then finding out that she loved you back. It was a euphoric feeling, and nothing could actually dampen his spirits at that moment.

Wars were fought for power, land, fame and sometimes love. Alexander was no stranger to wars, and he would not hesitate if he had to go into war for love. But he was glad that he didn\'t have to spill any blood for Aleyria. He did not want to have the blood of millions staining their relationship, as it did with his wives back on earth.

He didn\'t have this issue back on earth, but strangely, with Aleyria, he wanted everything to be perfect. It was like he was a young man once more, falling in love for the first time.

"Would the Princess like to have a Wyvern for a contract beast? I\'ve already signed a contract with the strongest one…" Dubaza began.

"No need. Aleyria has no interest in signing a contract with Wyverns. She says that she\'ll only sign one with a beast that she actually likes. She\'s probably waiting for something like Fluff-fluff to come along." Alexander surmised.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Dubaza replied smoothly.

"Come, Dubaza. Since your work is done, let us do a little bit of adventuring. Prepare supplies for two months, we\'ll depart at first light." Alexander said.

"As you command, Your Majesty."

*-*-*-*-*

A beautiful elf stood silently before the Lich King\'s Throne. Her head was bowed, and her luxurious white hair cascaded neatly on her left shoulder. She was dressed in a faded yellow gown that still managed to look opulent and elegant. It was a highly sensuous dress that covered just enough to inflame any man\'s imagination. Her voluptuous chest and perfect figure was the type that could send entire nations at war with each other. And it probably did.

Unfortunately for her, her beauty and sensuality held no value where she was now. And judging by the sad, bittersweet smile that sometimes flashed on her face when no one was looking, she was probably aware of that fact as well. Aware, and in complete approval of.

She had no more use of her body, and whether or not she made anybody lust after her no longer mattered. Her beloved had been murdered by her own father, the King of Symphonia.

Her name was Caerose Symphonia, Exiled Princess of Symphonia, Scion of Zegaro, White Archmage and Grand Advisor to Lich King Avernos.

And she thirsted for revenge.

"Siriokash was the most powerful banshee under my command. For him to fall in battle meant that Magius had personally intervened in this war. He had empowered our enemy. What is your view on this, Elven Witch?" The Lich King rasped emotionlessly from his throne.

"Siriokash was powerful. He was strong enough to fight multiple Scions of God at the same time. Defeating him was already an extremely difficult thing to do. To kill him simply meant that he was overpowered to the point that escape was not possible. And that would require either five Scions working together, or a... Scion Lord." Caerose said carefully.

"Scion Lords are myths. None survived the last war, and Magius would never grant his power upon Scions of Zegaro or Perses."

"He could have granted his powers to a newly awakened Scion of Paladinos." Caerose pressed on her argument. "That would be more probable than the idea of five Scions of Magius converging on this planet. In fact, weren\'t there rumours that a Scion of Paladinos had awakened in the dragon race, many years back?"

The Lich King remained silent. What Caerose said was true. Magius had very few Scions, and they all had extremely critical missions to accomplish. For five to converge on such an insignificant planet seemed extremely unlikely. Yet, the alternative was extremely unlikely too.

"A Scion Lord is someone who has gained mastery over the powers of two or more Gods. As you have mentioned, My Liege, it would be impossible for Magius to empower Scions from our side. It had to be a newly awakened Scion of Paladinos. We need to plan for the worst. If there is really a Scion of Paladinos who had ascended into a Scion Lord, then I believe our options are clear. You are the only one strong enough to fight him. You will have to consolidate our strength and attack him with everything we have. The alternative is to withdraw from Arcanus 26." Caerose said.

"Withdrawing from Arcanus 26 is not an option." The Lich King rasped immediately.

Caerose remained silent. She had said her piece, anything else would be superfluous and meaningless. The Lich King only considered points and angles, never emotions or persuasions.

After a slight pause, the Lich King made his decision.

"Gather all the Scions. I will lead us to Rin-Turah and get to the bottom of this."

"As you command, My Liege." Caerose bowed.

"We depart in three days."

The Lich King closed his eyes and dismissed Caerose.

Caerose stared at the inanimate Lich King for a few moments before turning around and leaving the throne room.

The Lich King was her ticket to vengeance. After being exiled for betraying the Empire, Caerose had burned with hatred, causing her to seek out her father\'s enemies - The Scions of Zegaro and Perses.

She had went directly to their Headquarters and surrendered herself to them.

They had welcomed her with open arms and made her one of their own. She was quickly assigned to assist the Lich King in charge of taking over Arcanus 26. Their mission was to weaken Symphonia\'s training ground for their mighty armies.

She had instantly agreed. She would make sure that all the obstacles in this Lich King\'s way were swept clean. By God, one way or another, sooner or later, she would have her father\'s head, and she would bury it next to her beloved\'s grave so that he would be comforted in the afterlife.

She was Caerose Symphonia. And she thirsted deeply for revenge.