After the eight-day journey to reach the location, the queen and king had told us about. I was surprised to see the place was well guarded, surrounded by tall wooden walls, guard towers every couple of meters, was this place really that dangerous.

The moment we arrived in the area it began to rain heavily with lightning. Arata who walked beside me was instantly on guard which made me very nervous, lightning was his element after all, if it made him this irritable something big must be going on.

We’d all put hoods up to keep our vision clear from the heavy rain, keeping at least a small part of me dry as my fur was already soaking wet.

A knight stepped forward to greet us, unsurprised by our arrival, had Queen Daz’s informants told them of our arrival to deal with the situation which had been getting worse here.

“At last, you have arrived Fang,” he nodded to the others to acknowledge them to.

“Has the situation become any worse since I was told by Queen Daz?” I asked getting straight to the point.

“Yes.” The knight’s expression was a serious one, he also seemed tired. “Those within have tried to push back our forces multiple times in the last few days, they have been doing this over the last few years since we made first contact.”

I put my hand up. “I know the details.”

“Understood,” he nodded. “Like I said they are very skilled warriors with many wielding wind talismans, attacking many of our guard tower simultaneously. I fear we cannot out last these attacks as they happen before we are even able to fully recover.”

“When was the last attack?” asked Ibiki.

“A few hours ago, but they’ll be back soon.” His eyes shifted in multiple direction; the constant attacks seemed to be causing him a large amount of stress. I had no reason to distrust his words, sure he had a small amount of dark mist around him, but this far away from Dumah he wasn’t currently being manipulated.

“How long between attacks?” Ibiki asked another question. I found he was good at asking questions.

“Usually five maybe six hours,” answered the knight.

“Then we have a small window before they attack again.” Ibiki glanced at me. “The plan?”

“We’ll head into the undergrowth surrounding the village from different directions,” I began. “Everyone is in their usual pairs, approach the village, but do not engage in combat, keep in contact through Larana’s wind, if you see something inform each other at all times.”

“Roger.” They all responded.

“I heard rumours you were the best unit in Cathopia,” commented the knight.

“The best,” I shrugged.

“You do the things others can’t,” he said.

“Awesome, they have even heard of us all the way out here,” grinned Edge.

“Edge, not important.” Lin jabbed him.

“Sis,” he moaned.

I shook my head. “Any chance this weather will clear up?”

“No, this storm rages on constantly, it never ends.” He flinched as another lightning strike came down.

“Alright then, move out!” It was all I needed to say, and we were on the move. We entered through a gate the knights opened for us, this was going better than expected, no force was needed to gain entry.

Beyond the wall was a thick undergrowth of plants, not just trees like the forests around Cathopia but ferns and palm trees, it was a most strange place. The smells were rich and strong, making it hard for me to even pick up the scent from my unit.

I felt a pulse of dark energy that almost made me hesitate, thinking about our encounter with the Draco, was he here? If so, were we strong enough to face him?

Heading in a little deeper, hearing the gate closing behind us. As soon as we were within the undergrowth I felt a power surge, and so did everyone else, it made us stop.

“What was that?” asked Kiba.

Arata looked around. “They know we are here.”

“How?” questioned Edge.

“It was the same energy Lin can do,” responded Arata, but said no more.

“Still the same plan?” asked Finn.

“Yes,” I nodded. “Stay in your pairs and we’ll meet at the heart.” I glanced between each one of them. “Go!” With that command they all headed in different direction.

I looked ahead, gazing at the thickness of the undergrowth, who knew where they were hiding, they could be watching me right now. I glanced back for a second to see the watchful eyes of the knights on guard duty, each seemed nervous.

I headed in working my way through alone. I had decided to always have everyone to team up, me alone as I had Arata and Raziel to cover my back, this place needed to be covered as much as possible.

I continued on, my nose itching as the smells overwhelmed its senses, I wouldn’t be tracking anyone in these condition. Lightning striking randomly all around us, occasionally hitting a tree, splitting it right down the middle, some real strong stuff.

I put my hand on Arata thinking perhaps it would comfort my own nerves, I could feel the tension in his body language.

“Arata,” I said.

“This lightning is fuelled by dark power,” he snarled. “The source is most probably caused by a concentration of dark energy, perhaps dark crystals.”

“What are dark crystals?” I asked.

“They are the same ones absorbed by that great vulture.” Arata looked at me. “Dumah most probably sent the knights to retrieve these crystals. Be careful, anyone in close proximity would become infused with it, far more than those surrounded by the mists.”

“Great.” I sighed, but at least he’d answered my questions.

“I apologise if I cannot maintain my form, this lightning is interfering with my power.” Arata’s body sparked, fazing in and out of focus.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll still be able to summon your power,” I smirked was he worried about me.

I stayed close to the trees, hiding in and out of the thick ferns, which grew almost as tall as me. I rubbed my nose as I picked up a slightly difference in scents. Arata’s ears twitched and so did mine.

I used Larana’s wind to check the locations of my unit, they were too far to be the ones making any noise near me.

I heard it again, the rustling of leaves, someone was coming. I reached up grabbing hold of Raziel’s hilt but continued to move forward towards the cause of this storm.

The skies got darker as I ventured further in. I had heard nothing from my unit, obviously they had yet to come across anything.

I saw an impending attack to the right. Both Arata and I jumped back as a flaming sword came down from above. I recovered staring at the newcomer, a cloaked Feles. I tried to pick up their scent, but my nose was blinded by the overwhelming scents.

He raised his sword ready to strike again, he wasn’t even going to address me, ask who I was. I was about to ask those questions, but before those words could even leave my lips he attacked again.