"Mama," mewed Nox, his eyes had grown wide and full of mist. Which, in turn, led to the twins mirroring his features as well, "Where's Papa? What about the story?" Such words led to a sniff from his nostrils, and was quickly swept up into the arms of the Mother. Of whom quickly coddled and cuddled with the child before he had a chance to shed any of the tears which were forming. Yes. She did grab up her own children, but they were found giggling whilst wrapped up in her tails.

Here, the Kitsune glared at Sarah who had yet to move, but did widen her eyes when she found her son had been snatched up by the other. "What are you doing, Sakura?" she glared daggers upon the voluptuous female.

"What any mother should do when they see a child in distress," was her reply, and proceeded to stroke the young hybrid's head and back. Such an action, by the by, caused him to close his eyes whilst relaxing his body as he purred. "Aw," she cooed softly, "He's purring," and proceeded to rub her right cheek against his own.

Which effectively caused him to cease his purrs as he did release a, "Muu," upon her person. Of course, he also did turn to his own mother with begging eyes, and she did respond by standing tall, walking over to the pair, and snatching him from his captor.

"Hey," cried out the Kitsune, who proceeded to pout and held a desire to take back the child. However, she did nothing beyond taking up her own children who giggled from the softness of her tails before waving at Nox from across the way. Yes. He did also wave back, his own tails swaying back and forth as he was carried away towards the gardens.

Upon reaching the area, she did settle down upon one of the few chairs which allowed her to view the vast plains of Shadow Grass which only grew within the area of the Castle of Perpetual Midnight. Such a plant was viewed as the same colour and texture as the more common variety, save for the fact that this only thrived under the moonlight high above.

Of course, such a plant wasn't the only one present, but it was the most abundant. For the land which was her garden had many a colourful flower and tree that were treated with magick so that they could continue to be as beautiful without the light of the sun. Such a venture was difficult, yes, but when she was the Goddess wife of the Ageless, even those with the Nature Domain brought about miracles that were duplicated throughout their own realms.

In any case, the Mother had also sat upon one of the chairs with her children, but they quickly leapt to the ground and trotted over to where Nox was currently sitting. There, they mewed up at his person until his perked ears and head peered over his mother's leg. Whereupon he did leap down and was immediately tackled by the pair before dragging him away towards their own little sofa which was being brought out by several Elven servants.

Upon making themselves comfortable within the cushions, the trio stared with their wide and begging eyes at Sarah. Of whom sighed as an old and tired, yellow book was gifted to her by another servant. Whereupon she did open it and watched as the pages within drifted towards the portion of the story left off.

*****

"Where did our Lord go?!" screamed Amira as her body leapt from the battlements, then dashed towards the Humans with her scythe gleaming with an unholy light. Her own eyes, full of a crimson light, leaked a small, wisp of a trail as she continued forward towards a group of startled Humans. Of whom were trying to arm themselves with their weapons, but were unable to halt the path of the blade, as it tore through several of their bodies and horses alike with relative ease.

High atop the wall, on the other hand, the space where Karastak had stood appeared to have been scooped away by a large spoon and transported to someplace else. The same went for the Human who had sat upon a gilded horse. Unfortunately for the animal, the area in which its rider had sat upon was also missing. Therefore, it died a painful death from the loss of a spine and so much blood.

Here, where he once stood tall in his Devil King form, were the Undying, and they were in a rage. Many had leapt from the wall in order to join Amira in her thirst for vengeance at this point, charging off towards the now disarrayed army before their person, and left only Brutus and Rojaahn to stand where they were.

The Lich, on the other hand, was calling upon his strength and energies in order to summon forth his horde of ghost-like Skeletons, as well as his Wendigo. Of which howled an unearthly howl before dashing off to feast upon the Beastfolk below. Whereas the Bear Beastman called forth the Goblins around them, ordering these creatures to launch and reload the catapults as quick as they may.

"Wha' 'bout me?" huffed King Grub as he and the Summoners soon reached their positions after the first volley of the pair of catapults released their load.

"You five," grinned the crimsoned eyed Beastman as he turned towards their person. Whereupon their own eyes did flicker from their normal yellow and into orbs of crimson light. For such was the Madness within these beings, in that it was quite contagious to those who had the barest hint of the substance within their minds.

"You five," his voice repeated, the grin becoming ever larger when he noted the change in colour of their eyes, "will lead the Goblins forward to decimate the army outside the walls."

"No gate," grunted one of the Summoners.

"Then make one," Rojaahn commanded with an uncaring shrug and a wave of one of his primary clawed hands. Whereupon he did leave the Goblins to their own devices as he returned to the catapults at hand, only to glance once when he heard and saw much of the wall explode outward a few moments later.

There, he noted much of the city's Goblins scurrying and scrambling as they charged out with their cracked spears and broken swords. Their eyes, on the other hand, were also of a crimson glow, which caused him to grin as he directed those still at their stations to grab all of the stones they could find, and start loading up the catapults.

*

Inside the city, within a fanciful and Goblin styled inn, sat Melephas. Across from him were several brown and green -skinned Goblins. Each of which were being taught how to play a card game called "Poker". The teachings weren't going as swimmingly as he would hope, as they would each proclaim what they had in their hands, reveal them in some way, or would use their facial expressions to confirm everyone's suspicions.

As such, he was going to tell them to take a break, when the call to arms resounded throughout the city. This led to every Goblin within the facility, as well as without, to rush outside in order to answer such a call. Of which led to the Human to frown at the mess everyone made whilst leaving himself behind. Therefore, he shrugged his shoulders and calmly walked outside. Whereupon he did find an empty city with confused, but chained, Beastfolk staring around their persons with confusion.

Here, a few held the desire to take back their city, but were almost immediately struck down by the enthralled Lizardfolk which strode through the city as though they owned the territory. By some extent, they did so, but only due to the fact that their master, Karastak, claimed it as his own.

"Okay," his voice drew out the word for several heartbeats, then continued with, "This is weird. Well, might as well see what the fuss is about, and find my Goblins. I still want that casino, after all." Whereupon he did saunter off towards the north, of which was the direction of the most excitement.

Upon reaching the area, however, he did whistle at the carnage outside the city through the hole in the wall, "I don't think my brother will approve of this," he called out towards Rojaahn. Of whom ignored the Mage as he continued to bark orders of reloading the catapults present before himself.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," he reached the Beastman within a few strides, and placed his right hand atop the other's right shoulder, only to retract it with an, "Ouch." For the metallic fur upon the Bear was sharp and could penetrate a Human's skin with some ease.

This action, however, was what drew Rojaahn's attention away from his self imposed task and towards Melephas with a look of enraged scorn. For even though he allowed the Madness within to take much control over his mind, it still recognised the supposed brother of his Master. Whereupon he did growl, "What do you want, Human?"

"There's a giant hole in the wall," replied the Mage with a slight smile as he licked the scratches which appeared after laying a hand on the other.

"I'm well aware of this," came the reply from the Beastman, just as the catapults released their load of several Goblins and stones.

"Uh," the Human's index finger on his right hand followed the trajectory of the Goblins as they flew through the air and towards the chaos on the outside, "Are you... allowed to do that?"

"No one will miss a few Goblins." For the first time since the beginning of their journey together, the Mage did not have anything to say about the situation. Instead, he bobbed his head in agreement then turned to watch as the next batch soared through the air.