Firestorms [Closed]

"They were... attacked? What do you mean? How many lives were lost?" were the only words that the horrified leader of Aria Grand could muster when she got the news. Her aid was being requested; Did they have no other healers or was it really as bad as she feared? Of course, Lillianna accepted and was out of Aria within the hour. For the first few hours of her journey, she had a friends help. He provided her with a summoned horse, but it would only last for so long. The spectral beast vanished after six hours, but had gotten her far enough that the rest of her journey would only take about thirty minutes. Lillianna continued on.

From a distance, she could see the destruction that the dragon had caused and sighed, wondering how many graves would be created, or how many already had. As she approached, she heard some sort of whistle and looked toward the guard who had done it with a raised eyebrow. She would have confronted him if she hadn't been greeted in respect. In fact, she had completely forgotten about the rude whistle because her hand had been kissed in the manner of a queen. She was taken aback by this behavior and therefore fell silent. Surprised blinks were her only response for the moment. His hesitation was also noted; Had these men been starved of women for some time? She'd have to keep on her guard! Of course, Lillianna wasn't fully aware of how beautiful she was. She just liked her hair, quite a lot. It was pretty and soft and long and nice. Just how she liked it.

"You're welcome, though I cannot see any decent person not answering it." Lillianna replied, "And you are lord Vaughn McLelland, if I remember the name correctly?" She was looking around at the damage that had been done. The heartbreak could easily been seen on her face as she was led on. They reached the shelter that the survivors were resting in and Lillianna was understandably disappointed. This was all that was left? They should be moved to Ardale; They could not stay here long. After healing them, she would suggest it. Vaughn explained the 'Endellion' situation and Lillianna let out a quick chuckle. "Oh my goodness. I apologize greatly, but no, no, no, no." Lillianna shook her head as she whispered to him, "I know it is close to his time to reappear, but I assure that if Endellion was the one who attacked here, you would not need me."

"To ease everyone's fears... I understand how a Legendary Dragon can seem so, but no..." Lillianna spoke up for everyone to hear, "It was not Endellion that attacked this village. Endellion is large enough to cover most of Aria, if not all of it. If the dragon that attacked your home returns, it will not live to see the next day." She smiled. It was that smile. Though her guild had come to fear it, she doubted those here would understand it's significance. The tone still held a heavy promise, almost a threat. "Now... please, show me those with the more severe injuries; I will start with them first." Lillianna brought her hands up to tie her hair behind her back and looked to Vaughn to lead her.

Well, there was only one thing that Lillianna could do now and she began immediately, starting with the heavily injured woman. The suffering that one showed was immense. Were they burns? Is that why she was covered in bandages? It looked like she had taken a large amount of a fire dragon's breath attack if that was the case. "Just... leave it to me." Lillianna said. This was going to be harder than she originally thought. For one, this woman was heavily damaged and her healing was going to take a while, but beyond that, how many more were there? Lillianna began by placing a Full-Body Restoration spell on this woman. She concentrated heavily on this one for five minutes before moving to the next. Since the spell would linger until Lillianna pulled it off, there was no reason to not go heal the others. She moved to the next most severely injured and did the same. This process repeated until she had all of those who were severely injured covered.

Then she had to stop. Lillianna sat down in the middle of the hallway and sat in a meditation position. She kept her eyes closed and let the spells do their work. Her energy was so heavy and thick as it emitted from her body that traces of her white glowing and smokey Arcana seemed to seep outwards toward the injured, surrounding their bodies as the healing was done. These injured people took her concentration and a large portion of her energy. Luckily, three of them were fully healed within an hour and those spells dropped, easing Lillianna's energy output and allowing her to concentrate more thoroughly on the others.

Hours passed and even the woman with the amputated arm had been healed enough to move; She also had her arm back. The moment that arm was restored, everyone that was severely injured was stable and much, much better off. They were not perfect, but they were well enough to walk around and move. "I... think... that will do... for now..." Lillianna's head fell forward in a slump. Her face and chest were soaked with sweat. Her hair was sticking to her head and her skin was pale. She was not hurt, but she had used such a massive amount of energy without taking a break over the last six hours that it was not surprising she looked so horrible. That beauty they were talking about when she arrived was still there, but looked sickly and very very weak.

"I can't move..." she muttered to herself, though if someone heard her she would not fuss. Her breathing was labored. "Are they alright?" she forced voice louder, trying to get some sort of confirmation that they were well, especially the heavily bandaged woman.

Lillianna was not going to wake throughout that night. It was possible that the sound of a dragons roar would only get a "five more minutes" in reply. Before she slept, she bathed and that was it. There was no way a lady would sleep in someone else's bed covered in the sweat and grime from a long walk and a hard days work. That was just rude and unsanitary. Being able to lay back and relax without the worry of brutes surrounding her gave Lillianna the freedom to sleep and sleep quite well.

The next morning, she woke to the sound of someone entering the wagon. Her eyes fluttered open and she quickly sat up to see Vaughn come in. He apologized, but she shook her head and waved a hand. "No need to apologize. Thank you for allowing me to sleep here tonight." she stood up and straightened out her clothing. She took note of him being shirtless and raised an eyebrow. "Trying to show off?" she said with a giggle, stepping over to him and poking lightly at his well-toned stomach, "I can't blame you. You take good care of yourself, Lord McLelland."

Vaughn explained the situation with his men and Lillianna too became worried. Though he said he had faith, she doubted he wasn't worried. Could something have happened to them? If so, then what was it? The dragon? Bandits? An accident? There were so many possibilities, but being held up by weather or a closed road were one's that Lillianna was hoping more for. "When they do return," she spoke up with a kind tone, "We will have the meeting you spoke of, yes? What will we do until then? Do people need more healing? I can tend to them if that is the case..."

It wasn't a moment later that things outside seemed to get a little chaotic, at least by ear. Lillianna hurried to the exit and looked out to see what was going on. Some of Vaughn's men were rushing to the aid of others. Lillianna's eyes widened and she turned back toward Vaughn. "I believe your men have returned," Lillianna said and shook her head, "He does not look well." Lillianna hurried from the wagon and over to the side of the one man who returned. "Move! Let me heal him." Lillianna said, immediately beginning to heal the man, "Oh my... Young man... Please tell me what did this do you? Where is your friend?"

Lillianna did not know Vaughn well, or any of these men, so no behavior was shocking to her. It was just how he must be, a normal part of his personality. Even though she might have handled it differently, she had no right to criticize him; these men followed him for a reason. Also, his actions were actually similar to what she would have done, so change wasn't exactly a thing. Lillianna just listened and healed this man. The fear in his eyes upset her. It angered her. An innocent man was swallowed whole, huh? That's what happens when you fall into the territory of a mindless beast. That is what this dragon must have been. Lillianna knew that many dragons could be friends to humans, to love them, and even guide them at times, but this dragon was nothing of the sort. This dragon was evil and needed to be taken down.

Vaughn went to get ready as she was finishing up this man's healing. She was standing up when she felt a strange shift in power coming from a large wagon Vaughn was near. She said nothing as he gave his speech and smirked as the sounds of hitting shields echoed through the air. Lillianna took in a deep breath and looked to Vaughn again as he approached her. "Lillianna." she said as she dusted off her skirt and smiled, "And my dear, you couldn't keep me from this fight." There was that smile again, the one her guild feared. This time, there was a fire in her eyes that shined with determination. Today, Lillianna Aranhartte was going on a dragon hunt with some knights.

Whether they were walking or riding, the group would arrive almost an hour later and the crater that had been spoken of. Lillianna asked to stop quite a distance out to prepare for this fight. If her request was refused, she'd stay back and prepare herself. If allowed, it would take her about five minutes. It would be noticed that the sky would turn dark, clouds forming quicker than what was natural over head and Lillianna had her own power shift. After she finished, she gave a nod and continued along with them, moving stealthily through the area until they'd be able to find the dragon. "So, how exactly do you want to handle this? I'm following your lead." she said with a smile, ready to go.

That roar was something Lillianna shuddered at. It was familiar, yet strange. She had fought a beast like this before and it caused her a lot of pain. It was difficult to bring down, though one mistake allowed Lillianna the win. Would this be the same? No, this time she had a friend, an ally that she was going to fight beside. When the massive beast made it's appearance, Lillianna was not surprised. She seemed like she expected it. She was going to observe first, not wanting to run in. And soon, her first question was answered. What was it's element? Fire. A wave of fire overwhelmed the armored knights that Vaughn had made. It was part of his power, right? Yes, she remembered. Lillianna had indeed asked him about his abilities while they were on their journey here. They needed something to do or talk about during that trip. Either way, fire. That bit of information aided them both.

"One... two... three... Four... Five." Lillianna seemed to just be standing off, not participating in anything, but that was not what was happening. Actually, she was casting multiple spells on Vaughn at this point, allowing him an easier way of fighting this monster. The first  and second spell was a fire resistance spell, giving him 75% resistance to fire because it was done twice. The third was a strength enhancer, giving him a boost to strength. Theh fourth was a speed enhancer and the fifth was her Dragon Skin spell. All of this talking was foolish if you were going up against Lillianna; She's only use it to buff herself and her allies. In this case, she was buffing her ally. With each spell, Vaughn would feel it being put on him. His muscles would feel denser, his body lighter, his skin harder, and the heat was no way near as much of a bother as it would have been before. This was a good start.

"Tell me..." Lillianna spoke up to this rabid dragon of destruction, "Why would a being such as yourself, a might Legendary Dragon of fire... fall so low as to attack the weak and the innocent? Why did you take so many lives? What was the point of it all?" Lillianna didn't think Vaughn wanted to sit back and talk to the thing. Neither did she, but she needed her own buffs as well. There was also something about this dragon that just felt off. She had never seen one so... ugly before. It's teeth were strange. It's attitude was strange. The fact that it had come of age enough to speak to humans and was attacking them was also strange. She didn't understand it, but she wanted to. During this time, thunder began to sound and lightning cracked a few times. Lillianna's Arcana started to thicken, making the area around a little dense with Arcana, which the dragon would more than likely notice.

Choice? That was it? There was something about that answer that bothered her. What the hell was this dragon's story? Choice? A simple answer, but dark and vague. Lillianna did want to know more. She was curious, but the time for talk had ended. This beast had gone to far and Lillianna would not put Vaughn through that. This monster needed no second chance. It did not need to give it's excuse. It needed only to die. And by their hands, it would die. Buffs were up and Lillianna was ready to fly. Vaughn may not have been able to fight this thing very well, but the buffs were only going to aid him. He could dodge much easier and if he got hit, it wouldn't hurt as much. A fighter or not, the buffs she put on him were important and quite useful.

The battle began and the knights that were originally sent could not effect this giant beast. This didn't surprise Lillianna. The dragon seemed very concentrate don Vaughn, which was giving her enough time to charge up for her own attack. She'd end this beast. She'd humiliate him by ending his life with a single shot. The wind picked up and focused around Lillianna's body, whirling around her until she was lifted in the air. She quickly brought herself high, high, high above the dragon. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked above her, moving through the sky as if preparing for something. Lightning began to gather above her and collect in a large swirl. Vaughn then summoned a large guardian, something that intrigued Lillianna when she saw it.

"Don't worry, I won't." Lillianna said. For a moment, the beast had noticed her position and aimed to strike at her. She narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Don't take your eyes off your enemy." Lillianna said as the guardian struck at this untamed monster. The guardian, Argafleur, struck and struck hard. The overgrown lizard let out a roar of pain as it was once more forced to bleed. Lillianna waited and watched, witnessing the interesting magic that Vaughn possessed while she continued waiting for her attack to be ready. "What did I tell you?" Lillianna spoke up again to get Xalanth's attention. The large black dragon roared again, being damaged heavily by the guardian it could not catch, but then looked up to Lillianna, who just continued to smile.

"What?!" he yelled, knowing that he was being mocked. "You don't remember?" Lillianna asked and then pointed down at him. Her hair began to blow about, floating around her. Her eyes even glowed white, as if the Arcana she was using was strong enough to fill her body as well. When she spoke, a light like lightning shined out of her mouth. "Don't take your eyes off your enemy." Lillianna spoke. The dragon opened it's mouth in anger and shot a wave of fire upwards at Lillianna. The flames seemed to completely envelope her. When the attack finished, Xalanth laughed and began turning it's head back toward Vaughn. As he turned his head, he stopped when the glowing woman of white just appeared on his nose with her finger pointed at his eye. And still, he found that Lillianna was just smiling at him, like he was nothing.

"Told you." she said and a massive bolt of lightning shot forth, completely wrapping around the entire head of the dragon. With no time to even let out a roar of pain, Xalanth body began to fall. Lillianna's energy calmed, but only because she practically depleted it for that attack. She stood on top of Xalanth as he began to fall. She fell with, leaning back away form the beast and began to fall a far distance to the ground. She looked to the ground, her eyes wide in fear as she watched it coming closer and had no power or ability to stop herself from falling. The skies had cleared, the clouds were gone. The energy she had collected vanished with the attack and now Lillianna was falling to her death. She wrapped her arms around her head and screamed, "AAAAAHHH!"

"AHHHH!" Super rapid arm flail of fear! That is what was happening as Lillianna fell. Her scream came to a sudden stop when she hit something, but it was not the ground. She looked up to Vaughn, an innocent shine in her eyes as she blinked at him. Her expression was curious, but that fell quickly as she was complimented. She liked him; He was cute. She smiled and leaned her head in to his chest. "Thank you Vaughn." she replied with a tired voice, "I could say the same about you. Your power is impressive, highly." She sounded tired, like she could fall asleep at any second. This wasn't the case though; she was just drained.

"Choice..." Lillianna spoke up as Vaughn explained that beasts odd behavior, "Why choice? Why would a dragon choose to suddenly become evil? To kill? Usually dragons of his age are gentle, otherwise he would have been killed years ago, before he got to this power..." Lillianna sighed and shook her head. She feared Vaughn to be right. If there were some sort of disease, this would be a problem. How far was it spreading? How fast did it infect? "If you don't mind... before it's Arcana completely fades, can you have them take a sample of that too?" Lillianna looked up to Vaughn, asking sweetly, "Though it's blood made be what is contaminated, I'm curious how this may effect it's energy..."

Lillianna nodded weakly to Vaughn. "I will be okay... I've just used a large amount of Arcana over these two days..." Lillianna explained, comfortably lying in Vaughn's arms. If she didn't have to walk, she wasn't going to. It was nice to actually have a strong man carry her anyway. "I haven't entirely had enough time for my Arcana to naturally restore, so I haven't been at full power," she explained with her eyes now closed and her voice becoming more and more quiet as time passed, "Once I sleep... I believe... I'll be able to..." Lillianna fell asleep, shifting in Vaughn's arms by curling more into him. As if on instinct, she reached up and gripped onto his shirt, the buffs they had fading away.

"Night, Vaughn..."