Cerberus was looking at Angelith with an irritated expression that she recognized easily. In order to get the meat and other things back to the camp, the bandits relied on Cerberus to act as some sort of pack mule, a task that Cerberus found rather degrading. Angelith had to agree. Cerberus was a rare, one of a kind beast of legend, and here it was, hauling fresh animal corpses back to a bunch of people who showed little appreciation to Cerberus, if any at all. But then again, the Summon and Angelith were prisoners, so expecting gratitude was kind of a wasteful hope.

Angelith also noticed another thing about her dear monstrous friend. Cerberus had been acting uptight lately. It's like something quite serious was happening and Cerberus was picking up on it, and was reacting mostly by acting more protective of Angelith. Angelith didn't think asking Cerberus would get her an answer she could understand, and assumed that the Summon knew what to do in these situations. Whatever it was, it was probably pretty distant, the influence not felt by anyone or anything near here but Cerberus itself. Still, for Cerberus to act this way...it must be something huge. Maybe something disastrous? Maybe something to do with other Summons? Angelith had never met anyone else in her life that had a Summon. No other person in the village she lived in had that skill, and none of the bandits have any abilities of the sort, either. Angelith silently prayed that whatever was going on, it wouldn't affect them.

Gabriel left the grave as it lay. In the night sky, the grave gave off a very faint glow, as did the rest of the graves in the church graveyard. This graveyard was famous for being the most pure in Terra. In this place, if you dug up a man who was buried several millenia ago, you'd find that their bodies were perfectly preserved.

Gabriel stood in the grand church doorway, and yelled inwards.

"My partner has sensed blood being spilt off towards the west. I'm heading out that way to lend my shield and sword in the help of the innocents that might be in the way. Any strong fighters or mages may accompany me."

With that, Gabriel turned, his glowed studded cloak swirling around his armored body.

DAY TWO....

A ragged figure approaches the church. His back bent with his strange load, a small child wrapped and bundled much like his courier. Stumbling haphazardly up the steps he nearly collapses into the arms of a priest.
"Help... my caravan was attacked in the woods, I need food....please, if only for the child!"
The priest stumbles backwards and calls for assistance, and the unfortunate stranger is carried inside, the child is taken from his back and they are laid together in the sacristy untill a room can be made ready.
"thankyou..."

If only they knew...

The rest of yesterday had been pretty much uneventful, and before Angelith could begin to full awaken, she was before chief Jirahd, awaiting today's orders. Jirahd usually always had something for her to do, but it wasn't too uncommon for him to give her days off, like today. She wasn't permitted to leave the camp or visit Jirahd as she pleased, but she could pretty much do anything else.

Angelith was spending her time watching one of the bandit captains teaching some of the more uneducated troops about the ambush, hit, and run tactics that the camp employed on superior forces. Most bandit parties had their camps out in the woods. Trees and beds of dry leaves and brush offered many hiding places and distractions to unnerve even battle hardened veterans and make ambushes a much easier task. This camp was no exception. However, these operations were only so effective without teamwork. Jirahd wasn't a fool.

Kithar looks at Mikay and gives a suggestion, "I can sense some sort of summon magic at the battlefield - we must hasten there as soon as possible. You intend to tunnel with Manda? I'll request Bahamut to carry me there."

He takes a few steps away from Mikay and then stands still, his eyes closed as he draws upon his power to summon Bahamut. Then he speaks twelve simple words, "By right of the pact, I call upon Bahamut, King of Dragons." Above him a shape of fiery light appears, growing and unfurling into the form of a massive dragon with wings outspread. Then with a clarion call, Bahamut bursts into existence, glorious and terrible to behold.

Kithar watches as Bahamut flies around in a large curve before swooping in extremely low over the clearing. Then he coils his legs beneath him and leaps upwards, Bahamut snatching him gently in one claw. The tips of Bahamut's wings just barely brush the top of the trees at the edge of the clearing as he beats them for height. As Bahamut transfers his summoner from his claw to his back, Kithar yells back, "I'll try to disrupt that storm." And with that, he soars off on dragon-back, heading straight for the castle.

OOC: Note that the first level Bahamut has only one pair of wings(I'm basing this on FF7's version of Bahamut). Neo-Bahamut have to pairs, and Zero has three. Their ultimate flare attacks range from Mega Flare, Giga Flare to Tetra Flare. :) It's up to you whether you want to make these three separate entities or just as one(meaning the greater as an evolved version of the weaker).

BiC:

"Dragon!" A sentry on one of the guard towers shouted in alarm. True enough, the great form of a gigantic dragon, a dragon larger than any in the realm had ever seen, flew towards the castle with tremendous speed. A fireball struck the post where the sentry stood, causing the tower to erupt in flames.

Riding atop the back of the great dragon was clearly a man, probably it's master, in heavy armor. Tarathiel could sense the aura of power emanating from that one.

"That's the commander of these legion!" Tarathiel informed the assembled mages. "Focus on it!" Obeying, the mages began focusing their powers unto the bronze idol once more, and it flared brighter as the raw energy was fed into it.

"Incastus, Terra Modricere!(Incantation: Lightning Concentration)" Tarathield uttered the magical words of spellcasting.

A great flash blinded them as the idol focused all the gathered energy into a single, powerful bolt of lightning, and the bolt flew straight towards the dragon in a speed ten times faster than that of a crossbow bolt - or a normal lightning strike - could even hope to compete. The dragon was too near to avoid, Tarathiel knew. The bolt will not miss.

Novaras got up and walked outside. "Have you any means of travel? I have a... er... large bird companion, who could probably hold two, maybe three. Any more than me would probably annoy him, though. Personally, I'd rather not walk, but I don't want to leave you behind." He said to the three.

TwoMoon stands in the greying light, examining the strange creature that looks back at him from the small wash basin. The child lay discarded on the bed, it could take care of itself as well as anyone.

He reaches one hand to his eyes checking that the lenses have settled right and that his eyes will stay the same mud-brown, nothing must mark him as special in the priest's eyes. It was a common trick, many a time he had been called upon to play the firey-eyed demon or take up the deep black eyes of a lost-soul. His hair had been died with a mixture of lime-water, it had taken on a ragged sheen and was far lighter than the his own raven black, which seemed to be uncommon in this land.

Returning to the matter at hand he dipped a cloth into the shallow bowl and slowly began to wash the caked blood from the wounds on his legs. Those had been a masterful deception, he had taken a thin razor and sliced thin wounds into his legs, they would hurt little but would leak more than enough blood, the cuts had been easily embellished, few would doubt the authenticity of his tale. Still, there were more precautions that could be taken.

Walking to where the child lies wadded in brown blankets, TwoMoon outstreches one arm, the hand splayed.
"Dream-Brother, I call you, awaken from your masquerade."
A pale white mask rises from the blankets, Its face one of puzzelment, they eyes and mouth are merely holes in its pearly form, formless mists pour away from it, giving the vague impression of hands, limbs and even heads.
"Dream-Brother, I ask that this night you become a courier of terrors."
The strange creature recoils slightly, TwoMoon knows that these soft spirits dislike to bring nightmares, but the beings that normally bring the night terrors could not be trusted, and this was a delicate matter.
"Go forth and find the sleeping priest and bring him the dream as I prescribe"


The pale dream-wrought glides silently through dimmed passageways seeking its quarry. There is a guard at the priest's door far more alert than his predecessor. The Dream-Wrought reaches one out one delicate tendril and the guard is alseep. Oozing silently inside it approaches the slumbering priest. It cocks its head almost quizzically before a long barbed tounge slides from its mouth, dipping into the high-priests subconscious. The tounge pulses darkly as it imparts its menacing burdern.

All night the priest will be tormented by a strange assasin, but TwoMoon had planned this carefully, the dream-assasin would be taller, and too gaunt to be truly human, its movements would be strange and alien. When this night was through the priest would not suspect the poor stranger in his midst and when the truth dawned, it would already be too late...

Gabriel looked at Novaras.

"I have my own means of travel. It's a perk of having being very close with my partner. We can borrow each other's strengths and powers. Watch."

Gabriel walked out a bit from the group and began to converse with his partner.

ArchAngel, I have need of your wings.

"Would you like to perform the complete Holy Armor technique? Or do you just want the wings?"

The wings will be fine. I currently have no need for the Holy Armor or the Deity Blade.

"Alright, then. The wings it is."

To the others, it seemed that Gabriel was simply standing there, muttering to himself. But, after a few moments, Gabriel straightened up, as if he had been struck hard in the back. A vein pulsed out in his forehead, and beads of sweat appeared on his face. His teeth were visibly clenched, and his gauntleted hands tightened into hard fists. The glowing cloak fluttered out behind him, and the others could see what was wings pushing out from his back.

Through much pain and frustration, Gabriel now had four feathered wings protruding from his back. Alongside his white and gold armor, he seemed like an ArchAngel himself.

With a small push-off with his legs, Gabriel hopped into the air. The wings on his back began to flutter, and he was soon hovering above the ground.

"Now, it's your guy's turn."

Mikay nodded as she produced a dagger with a ridiculously small blade. She turned her left hand over and opened a small cut on the back with the skill of an experienced surgeon.
Then, she carefully undid the snakeskin necklace from around her neck, and dribbled a few drops of her life’s blood upon it. As the drops of blood landed upon the dry crackling necklace, the cut on her hand closed and healed with a soft hiss.
There was a sigh of the earth, as if it was releasing something willingly into her item of power, and she tossed the suddenly writhing necklace into the air.
It grew and thickened as it fell, sinking deep into the ground as it hit the earth.
Mikay waited a moment, and smiled.

The low, venting hiss announced the final arrival of the ultimate serpent. The earth crumbled beneath Mikay’s feet, although she did not bother to run. A thick, scaled head three times her length and twice her width rose underneath Mikay, driving her high into the sky as Manda rose and hissed delight in being free to move again.
“Move, now, Manda. We have a castle to destroy.”
“With pleasure,” he replied and dove into the ground, Mikay safely riding on him.

They tunnelled at the speed of a freight train, slowly gaining speed and momentum for a devastating ram. They raced towards the castle, deep within the cradle of the earth so as not to create a tell-tale tremor that would announce an underground assault, leaving behind them a tunnel large enough for two chariots to run side-by-side without banging into each other.

Normally, of course, this would not be possible for Manda alone to travel at such a speed without harming himself, but Mikay, calling upon her power to control the earth, softened selected spots for Manda to drill through.
They will reach the castle just a little moment after Kithar.

**Gaian Army**

As if on some unspoken command, the army charged wrecklessly towards the castle.
The lightning elementals, no longer hindering them due to the new distraction, had faded into mere disturbances in the air, the energy that used to feed them diverted in a powerful lightning bolt hurtling towards Bahamut and Kithar.
The army flowed across the earth, uttering deafening roar after deafening roar. It seemed like one ultimate suicidal attempt, but it wasn’t. They knew exactly what was going to happen, and will be ready for it.