The Guardian Cathedral Ruins (Chapter One of the story of Sev and Darius)

Darius is pushing his horse to its absolute limit, trying to reach the Guardian Cathedral before Sevarrien does. Sevarrien is rapidly gaining, sword and shield drawn and at the ready, but in his shield hand is a plasma pistol. Sevarrien aims and pulls the trigger, hitting the horse's back leg. "Darius Arrothrin! If you wanted to finish this, you should have killed me already!" he says as he shoots the horse's other back leg, slowing Darius down tremendously as he puts the pistol away, steadying his shield, sword, and his horse as they both slow down at the entrance of the Cathedral, which is now the Foyer due to the fact that it is nothing but ruins.

Sevarrien quickly dismounts and has his sword and shield at the ready, already in a combatant's stance as Darius basically launches himself off of the horse onto the cathedral grounds. He has his sword and his shield ready as well. They begin to circle around each other at a slow speed, exchanging a few words.

"Long time, no see, brother." Darius says, a vindictive smirk on his face as they circle around each other.

"Likewise. Tell me... how have you been?" Sevarrien says, holding his sword at the ready. "Or should I ask who YOU have murdered lately?"

"Well... I am about to add YOU to my list of those I have killed. I killed mother and father. You better prepare yourself, for you're up next!" Darius says, charging at Sevarrien, swinging his sword swiftly, and Sevarrien does the same, sparks flying up into the air like a bolt of lightning had struck.

For hours, Sevarrien and Darius fought in the Guardian Cathedral Foyer unrelenting, sparks flying in every direction as lightning struck all around them, most likely getting the attention of a few of the members of the Guardian Empire's army and most likely one of Sevarrien's personal bodyguards. "You are not pure enough to wield the Sword of Kings, Darius! It will kill you if you touch it!" Sevarrien says, finally managing to break his brother's guard and getting a few attacks in, breaking his brother's shield and wristplates. The force of Darius' shield breaking was enough to break Darius' shield and rifle arm. Darius smirks and begins sprinting toward the Hall. As soon as Sevarrien sheathed his sword, and basically threw his shield up, a bolt of lightning striking it to signal for Mariam in case he needed her help and get his pistols out and ready, Darius had his rifle out and began firing plasma rounds at him. Missing by just centimeters of Sevarrien's head, the plasma bullet lets off a light that can be seen from miles in every direction. Sevarrien then sprints toward Darius, pistols aimed, locked, and firing a massive volley of plasma based rounds toward Darius, hitting his shoulder, knees, shins, thighs, and forearms. The armor on each of those limbs fall off of Darius.

With rage, Darius does a suicidal charge toward Sevarrien, kicking both of his hands and the pistols go flying out. Sevarrien surprises him with a right hook, knocking him down to the ground as he makes it to the Sanctuary. It is then that Darius gets his rifle right as Sevarrien gets one hand on the Sword of Kings. A loud gunshot is heard throughout all of Guardian, and Sevarrien falls to his knees for the bullet had went right through his chest, missing his heart and lungs by a matter of nanometers. Nothing tore, nothing ruptured, it just caught him by surprise and shattered a few ribs. Sevarrien let out a scream in pain as his knees hit the ground.

Darius begins walking toward his older brother who is on his knees, crying out in pain. "We both know I am the sneakiest one out of us both... Your chivalry will do you no good here..." he says, holding the rifle up to Sevarrien's head.

I had been watching ever since the lightning, standing at the highest point of the Cathedral. The moment Darius puts a bullet in Sevarrius, I launch myself from the rafters faster than an bat from hell. Rage fills me, unquestionably the most anger I'd ever felt. It burns through me like a disease would affect someone without white-blood cells, affecting every part of me. My hands turn into fierce claws ready to rip flesh from bone; my face contorts into an expression that would only be rivaled by a mother grizzly bear; my wings become weapons to be used for bludgeoning and battering; my legs transform into deadly weapons that will send a man to his knees without even going for the low blow. Gliding on silent wings as Darius moves in to make the final move, I have to bite my lip to keep from letting out a low, wrathful growl. As Darius taunts my fallen king, I back-beat my wings, coming to approach him from behind with my feet before me. Using one of the most basic Arena moves, I quickly wrap my legs around his unsuspecting neck and twist. As he starts to pull me to the side, I turn my body the opposite way and land in hand-stand. By flexing my abdomen, I am able to pull him over me and slam his head into the cobble-stone floor.

"Hey little, f*****," I say, indulging my long hidden desire to cuss out the king that sanctioned the many horrible tests that were done on me. "You may be sneakier than him... But you forgot about the sneakiest creature in all of Stellius - Night Wings," I taunt, dropping into a crouch as I refer to my old Arena title. While he is on the ground, still gasping and wondering what happened to him, I flip over myself, and attempt to land with my knees in his stomach.

Not expecting Mariam to come at all, Darius had just started slowly inching his finger closer to the trigger and then was blindsided by Mariam. Everything that she attempted to do to him, happened starting with him coming down to his knees which does send the gun flying out of where the window once would have been. The next thing Darius knows, he is getting pummeled by a woman, and when he heard her Arena name, chills went down his spine. "It wasn't Renald... it was me..." he says, knowing that she would know what he was talking about. Then, after her knees hit his chest, and before her or Sevarrien would have a chance to deal the finishing blow, Darius vanishes, laughing vindictively and maniacally as he is transported out of the place. His laughing is heard even after he is gone.

Standing amongst the rubble, I freeze at his last words. 'Not... Renald...' I sway for a moment before falling to my knees, trembling. My rage is chased away by a taunting fear.

Weak and groaning out in extreme pain and agony, Sevarrien comes up to his feet by pulling himself up on the Sword of Kings, a seventy two inch greatsword (blade) and a twenty-four inch hilt with a pommel much similar to his plasma sword Aiona. Though weak, he begins to pull the sword out of the ground, the groaning of the tiles surrounding it before they crack being heard as the blade slowly begins moving centimeter by centimeter, his wound closing up due to the fact that the Sword of Kings was made using Ancients' technology, but his strength does not fully return to him. The tiles around the Sword of Kings shatter as over a quarter of the blade that was sunk into the floor is revealed. A light fills the room because of the Sword of King's strength. A voice echoes from the sword, 'My son Sevarrien, you are meant to wield this sword... with it, you can destroy all of Stellius... or at least the power thereof. Do what you must... but ultimately, slay your brother, no matter what happens to you. You will be the Ruler of the world of Two Paths.' The light fades as the sword is now fully out of the ground, the light being seen from all corners of Guardian, even the City of Stellius. Weakly, Sevarrien goes to Mariam, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, his eagle wings now white, one of them wrapping around her in a comforting way. "Don't worry... I'm here..." he says, his voice weak because his body is.

My body reacts in an unseeable way, shying away from his wing like it is a rabid wolf. However, with a quavering hand, I offer him a cylinder - this one is full of electric green powder. As if sensing my darkest wish - to become invisible - my hair falls forward, hiding my face. Unwaranted, and unwanted, memories come rushing in as fast and unstoppable as a flood.

The first time we met when I was twelve.
Him telling me that he secretly was in love with me, two months later.
Him asking me for IT the first time, two weeks later. Forcing it on me when I said no.

Fifty-Three memories escape my control, knocking me to the ground and forcing me into the fetal position, wings wrapped around me like a protective cocoon. But, I do not cry. Three emotions grow in me. Remourse - it was my fault. Every single time was my fault. Rage - he took everything I had and hurt me in ways I can not even fathom. Fear - what if he comes back for me?

Sevarrien had went through his brother's files whenever he raided the castle of Stellius and saw where he documented that he had raped a specimen who was pictured and it was Mariam. Her purity was taken from her, her innocence stripped because of his brother's desire and lust for her. "Mariam, I swear to you that in order for Darius to even THINK about touching you or ordering someone to touch you, he will have to kill me, because I will fight to protect you until there is absolutely nothing left of me." he says, hesitantly taking the powder and ingesting it. Granted it does not taste very good, his strength does return to him. "If I had known he had treated you in that manner... I would have killed him when we rescued you..."

I nod, still wrapped around myself as I try to still my trembling muscles. "Don't promise that. Your life is SO much more valuable than mine. I'd kill myself before I let you give your life for me. Don't be foolish," I mutter scornfully, replacing the cylinder and staring at the ground beside my head. Something about the way he had said it makes me want to hide my face, to hide my shame, my impurity.

"Mariam... no life is more important than the other. They are all equally important. To me, your safety and your wellbeing are two of the most important things that I care about most. I would rather face the destruction of Guardian five thousand times over than hear of you getting hurt in that manner again..." Sevarrien says, speaking the truth. Mariam does mean so much to him, but he has yet to understand why, to even comprehend the concept. "My brother will pay for the crime he committed. It wasn't your fault because you refused. It wasn't your fault at all. You were trying to keep yourself pure, and in my eyes you are still pure because you did not have any choice in the matter."

I look up at him with new eyes, confusion clear in them. 'What is he trying to tell me?' My heart beats erratically, threatening to escape it's bone cage. With renewed strength, I rise to my feet, placing a hand lightly on Sevarrien's shoulder, a smile touching my lips before it disappears a second later. "Let us fly, Sevarrien. The commander is probably worried sick about you."

Sevarrien nods, smiling warmly, holding the Sword of Kings in his left hand. "Let's." he says, looking down at the scar that is on his chest, and the hole that was blown through the chest plate of his armor. "Plasma rounds hurt when you get hit by them, y'know?" he says, looking at her and mouthing the words 'thank you for saving my life' before his now twenty foot from wingtip to wingtip eagle wings come out from around him, his appearance more righteous than ever now. "You'll have to tell the commander what happened. all i remember is seeing black and then coming to when I heard the sound of your voice." he says, his wings flapping once and he is up out of the Guardian Cathedral, waiting for her to come up there with him.

With a smile, I leap into the air, beating the cool night air with my onyx colored wings. Flying had come easier to me than anything I had ever learned before, it was in my nature and in my blood. With the speed and dexterity of a sparrow, I dart around Sevarrien. A playful grin upon my face, I beat my wings toward him, trying to create enough of a gust to side-tail him.

Sevarrien does get caught by the wind, but he turns around, flapping his wings once, a powerful gust going toward her. The grin on his face lets her know that it was playful as he then begins to speed around her. "Ready to go to Guardian City whenever you are, Lady Mariam." he says, still flying around her, getting used to the feeling of the eagle wings.

"Hey!" I yell as his gust catches me, sending me speeding toward the city faster than I had anticipated. With a smirk, I begin to beat my wings, further increasing my speed. "Catch me if you can! Those aren't wings! Their lead weights compared to my little beauties!" I call tauntingly over my shoulder, now almost a mile ahead.

Sevarrien flaps his wings twice and is already a quarter of a mile from where he was, gaining on Mariam faster and faster as he flaps his wings even faster, more force being applied which causes him to be like a missile flying through the air in comparison to her. "Come on!" he says as he flies right over top of her, not letting up.