The Luna Sage

Chapter Eight: Stains

Adam had taken us home and pulled out two large suitcases, filling them with various clothes, Helena and Amelia had joined us, carrying brown bags they handed to him to add to one of the suitcases designated for me.
 I attempted to help, but Helena had taken me to the kitchen and made me a cup of tea, trying her best to explain what would happen in Imperius.

Besides the five Royals who ruled Partos, there were five more throughout our world.

Latos had two, one hid in the wilderness of the Giants, a vast forest of enormous trees and legendary meat-eating plants, home of the Kioren people, elf-like creatures that were as small as children and possessed Witch-like abilities in the form of simple magic used to help them survive for years unseen.

The other group was the Vians, serpent-like beings, with the body of a large snake and the head and torso of a human, they were revered as fierce warriors who mostly warred with the Kiorens. They had avoided a lot of the War's brutality, keeping to their shores, only sending out armies when requested by allied Clans.

Everande, unlike the rest of our world, was dominated by three Clans. Rumoured to have been a major factor in the War, they ruled over humans, treating them however they chose under the name of King or Queen, only unleashing their true nature within the walls of the castles they built high above the cities they ruled.

They were barbaric and hungered for war, fighting amongst themselves for land and people.

The Xenians were the most peaceful of the rulers of Quilus, Helena's original people, they were mighty beings in stature, said to stand ten feet tall and have the skin of platinum and wings of gold. Helena's Coven were free Witches, roaming until they were caught in the war between territories and separated. Helena had managed to escape with a small surviving group on a human boat for Partos, where they resumed travelling and finding a home in Northlands.

The kingdom that had separated her from her home, was the Gorgons. Large, brutish creatures who were as enormous as Wolves but were haggard and grotesque ogres. They ruled Terana by conquering and killing, raiding and using overwhelming numbers to force their will, they used camps and stone monuments to mark their lands.

Above them all, holding the most land and power, were the Drakkons of Riden, human-like in appearance, they ruled with the ways of dark-age human rulers, laws, and justices were in place but public beheadings and punishment were ripe throughout. There wasn't much known about the Drakkons, they had used the War to further their hold on Everande, taking over half the country by the time the others had even realised.

They were left alone like the Clans of Partos, only interacting when Courts were called or something of interest called their attention.

It was odd to think how humans lived in all forms of life, some at stages that didn't match their neighbours in the slightest, but they accepted what little they knew and carried on from there.

Partos, technologically, was incredibly advanced, the allowance of humans to spread and create with their own will had in turn given Clans many things we wouldn't have considered. Warfare amongst themselves had blossomed and they had created a range of weapons, communications, shelters and survival tactics to have lived through their savagery for so long, until a time of enough peace came they spread it amongst themselves and a new course was created in our pocket of the world.

Nowhere else had what we did.

I felt a pain in my heart, anger mixing with it in fierce protection.

By the time Adam was done packing, he set our bags at the front door and then suddenly was in front of me, capturing my lips in a surprising kiss.