Daemon Lore Info: Forever Entombed

"I can't believe I am to marry such a fool!"

"I can't believe I am to marry such a pussy!"

The two younglings spoke at once.But, the black robed scholar, with the golden jackal headpiece scolded them at once. His voice was deep, and threatening. "Princess! Watch your mouth! And you, Valeas! Don't speak to royalty that way! Now... Cease these tantrums of yours, and head out to court. The King will be speaking to you."

"I can't believe this..."-the girl grumbled. "I told you to hit him, but all you did was stand there... And looked like a fool while doing it too! And then what happened? We got the fifth place! Always the FIFTH place! There are ten places and we get the fifth, even because I am obviously the superior warrior. I beat all of them... ALL... OF THEM. And... Now tell me, WHY, just WHY, did we get FIFTH PLACE?"

The boy was bruised, beaten and even bleeding a little. Yet he managed to muster some considerable will, returning her words with similar resistance. "Ah, yes... You know... Maybe if I hadn't been BEATEN TO THE GROUND, like this, we would have done better. Besides, we also got fifth place for your performance in the examinations. And we all know I am the most knowledgeable of all the advisors and heirs, but even that does not land me a first place. And that is all YOUR fault. Stupid... And... Y... Okay... I can't even believe..."

"What, nerd? Please, fill me with all your incredibleeee knowledge! Come on... "

"Well, first of all! You claimed Mogos had been the one to harvest the red flare! Yet that is... And I cannot even believe... That is what your very FATHER, you know, our CURRENT King, has done. And then you said the Moon was brought forth before the Sun. Incredibly... Wrong! Not to mention saying Zemaris is an architect! The Great Jackal Priest... AN ARCHITECT! And don't even get me started on the ACTUAL ARCHITECTS!"

"Yeah yeah...you outnerd everyone else. If only you could also kick them in the balls when it counts."

"That... Is not..."

"That IS! That is exactly it!"

"And YOU? You failed the...."

It was too late to conclude the talk, as they had reached the grand hall. It was there that King Sectis held court. The other eighteen heirs and advisors, forming nine pairs, were already present. Zemaris was there as well... And he seemed to have taken on the jackal form... This meant serious business. Right next to him, was standing the great Sun, in all his blinding, golden glory, and in the sun's arms, the Moon.

On the other side, were the three chariots. The sky mover, and the night bringer had put their one sister, the dawn bringer in their midst...and it seemed... Yep... A meeting, to select the future Entombed. Both Valeas and the Princess knew, obviously... There were storms brewing all around, and the sand was growing unsteady. Powerful magics were at work, either from the sky, or earth... Zolkar, their ancient and thriving realm was currently in need of a protector.

"Two Entombed are a BAD idea, I tell you! It has never been done before..."-the Jackal Priest would of course protest. And...there seemed to be one just this time.

"Zemaris, perhaps you forget how I was forged out of a thousand daemons, within a single ritual. There is no reason to believe this does not mean the same..."-the sun spoke, confident.

"It does! These two will have very different goals. One to shield us from the sky, and one from the sand! And I daresay, with what remains of the original text on the rituals we have, it will turn out to be a very, very bad idea! There are warnings against only using it after certain time has passed, and then, only for one purpose! It is not a magical solution to any problem!"

"And what would you suggest, most wise Zemaris?"-the moon spoke, before clutching closer to the sun, as if to find comfort, but the expression on the sun's face right before it, indicated she was doing it to keep her husband calm instead.

"I... Don't know. All I know is that this ritual will bear horrible consequences for all of Zolkar. For the ones present... I would say even Ecrimath would find it impossible to scavenge any bit of their essence."

"But what other choice do we have?"-asked the dawn chariot. Zemaris shook his head. "Perhaps if we could contact the Twelve..."

"At this time, they are busy. Me, as well as the Sun and Moon, will be participating into one of their great contests. I have heard Overlord Zordus will as well, so we cannot rely on his magic for help as well... We can only hope that the contest of the Twelve ends soon....and that it will be in time for us to protect ourselves..."

"Perhaps the Gugin Empire can help..."

"If Zordus cannot do it, then that fledgling of an empire most certainly cannot."

"Ahem! I believe, esteemed gentlemen and ladies, we have another issue to discuss. The Hakiinian emissaries have come with a demand for us..."-Sectis shifted the subject of the conversation. The Princess and Valeas could see the emissaries now, as they moved in closer with the crowd. There were there warriors, two women, and a man. They all looked fairly dangerous, and had come in armed.

"That black haired foreigner looks hot..."-Valeas more than anything mumbled to himself. This earned him a shoulder punch from the princess. And then, folding her arms, she looked forward defiantly. "Her name is Nero... I heard she is a pretty grim person so... You aren't getting anything out of..."

"DAUGHTER! You are here to hold council with the great Entombed, and esteemed Emissaries of Hakiin! Not to chat! Same goes to you Valeas! Now, the Jackal Architect will be taking you out of this meeting! And consider yourselves grounded..."-but... Everyone was laughing at the time. This earned the princess a deadly glare from Zemaris.

"What? What did I say?"-said Sectis, and only then could he see the Moon's lips moving, and whispering. "Priest. Priest, not Architect". And...only when he noticed what he had said... "I... Doubly grounded then! And you shall apologize to Zemaris as well!"

The jackal wiseman left the meeting, gloomy at his humiliation, and taking them out. The punishment, and grounding? Cleaning the top walls of Zolkar. Well...some of it. It was too huge for them to clean themselves. On the way, the princess pleaded with him a few times and he was almost going to let them go off, and make up some excuse about it....

But she called him an architect on the way... The night fell shortly after, the the sun leaving the area, and the moon remaining. Before she left the palace, she had told the two she would be watching over them. She was a nice person and even though it did not lessen their work, it did make the two feel...a little bit more at ease. And...then they begun cleaning.

"Hey! I wonder... Which ARCHITEC..."-the princess could not finish her words. Valeas moved behind her, and with his hands, covered her mouth. "You don't want our punishment doubled, do you?! Zemaris might be aro..."-and then he heard steps. "Oh no... He heard you... Okay, make something up..."

Yet before he could say more... The princess shushed him. "There are three different pairs of steps... Nobody is allowed to walk the wall at this hour, the patrols don't come in here at this time...and Zemaris always walks alone... "-To which Valeas only nodded. He looked around... Nothing...

Until the princess basically...kicked him in the face. He fell down... Only to notice an assassin standing on top of him. "Sorry!"-yelled the princess, before Veleas conjured a burst of magic, to knock the assassin back. But... It was an uncontrolled explosion, and it brought the princess off her feet as well. When they both stood up, they seemed to have been surrounded by six of the assassins.

"Oooh...cra.."-Valeas did not even get to finish. The princess jumped and went to punch one in the stomach... Only to find herself about to be punched, kicked or even slashed by the other five. One of them cut her hip slightly, only for Valeas to essentially conjure some sort of dark blue arcane bolt, blasting him back, and right into another assassin, opting for punching the daylights out of her...

Which led to, obviously the princess reacting, sweep-kicking one of the assassins i to the other and... Bam! They were done. Three of the assassins disappeared out of thing air too. "Shifters...or maybe Glyphs. Magicians usually don't.."-"Make clones..."-Valeas interrupted her. "Yeah. Shifters. Not the most populous around Zolkar you know...."-but the princess took over this time.

"That is why they must be from here. Trying to take our doubt away? We should probably consult Zemaris either way..."-and with that, they left. Well, would have left. It appeared the night had more in store for them. On their way down the walls there was a compartment, built on top of the old sewer system, which flowed into the new sewer system, and was just for the poorer, closer-to-the-walls districts.

Problem is this part of the stairs, the above mentioned compartment was wooden. So as they ran down it, they...tripped. Or, more specifically fell through the wooden bits into the old sewer system. Which would have been a purely unfortunate event, was it not for a ...curious finding...

"I... Can't...fucking...believe...this!"-the princess shouted, angry at the turn of events. Valeas...kept his distance, briefly. "I... I think we could just take a longer walk back to Zemaris. It's... Lamia, look!"-he suddenly turned, and pointed at the other side of the sewers, past the canal where the actual waste floated through! There was some sort of... Actually, the princess could not even see what it was.

Valeas projected some sort of circle, atop his hand, and out of it came a bright, but small wisp. It moved closer to the other side and it was there she could notice some sorts of drawings... On the ground. They looked to be in a foreign language. "If I am to bet, these seem eastern..."

"Hey aren't we supposed to be eastern too?"

"In theory, yes... But we have fled that place long ago. Nobody knows why really. You should ask your dad... Hmm... Now, if only I could... Waaaaaaaah!"-and he would scream well justified, as the princess snuck her neck between his legs, lifted him above her neck, gathered some momentum by running from the end of the sewers and then jumped over the canal! Right next to the writings.

They both fell on their sides. It hurt. "Ouch! H... Hey, warn me next time alright."

"Yeah, sure thing... Sorry. So, what are these..?"-she looked at the strange glyphs on the ground. Valeas bent over and begun examining them more carefully, running his hand over the circle and the symbols. "Hmm... Well. If I was to give my opinion, likely belonging to the Menchias cult."

"Is that the one Saril's ancestors came from?"

"Yeah that one. They have some pretty nasty warlocks in their ranks. I mean, in terms of sheer knowledge of the dark arts I think even Overlord Zordus would find himself challenged. Luckily their raw power is not as vast...so they rely on complexity of the ritual and similar tricks. Those three shifters might have been rite produced for example... I do not know what to say."

"I do. Let's take this patch of ground with us, and leave. Then we show it to dad and...maybe he will know what to say. Definitively, yeah. Or Zemaris! I mean... This does count as architecture? Stones... On the sewers?"

"Sigh... Do you even.... Let's just leave before you confuse something else."

"Don't you get a laugh out of these?"

"No! I mean... You're funny, but laughing at you'd be just..."

"Just what?"

"Let... Let us just leave."

"Meh... Tried."

-------/-------

"If you had to say it twice..."-The princess jumped to the side, performing a spin while in mid air to avoid some more of the projectiles. As they had been firing on her, Valeas unleashed a volley of arcane bolts, onto the attackers. Armored foes, wielding large hammers, maces or whatnot...but the magic bolts went right through them! Armor was conductive of whatever those were made of...

The princess landed some space from them... "You were probably... Aaah!"-Valeas had to duck at the time, as the princess kicked the incoming soldier, from behind. "Well now! Let us just... Move on."

"Can't we just stay here? Uuuufu! I hate moving around so much!"

"You know we have to... I can sense many more of them coming... We will not be able to finish our job here! Princess I..."

"Okay stop it. It's Lamia. I mean... We are even supposed to MARRY eventually. I am almost imagining you forgot my real name..."-and she...basically dragged him off, from the cavern. It might be proper to describe where they were now...well, obviously at the exit of a cavern.

Said cavern being surrounded by high ground, snd in front of them extending a massive canyon. Surrounding the cavern, and entirely on its inside, were beaten out daemon bodies, armed, and fully equipped. Some of them even had some strong auras as well...but yes, they were in the hundreds.

"You know... I, was thinking..."-Valeas was interrupted again. The princess grabbed him by the wrist and they jumped down the canyon. "DON'T THINK SO MUCH! JUST... GO AHEAD AND.... WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"-they jumped, basically. Down to the ends of the canyon.

It was... Suffice to say very windy down there. The sand had stormed up, and had been grinding against the rocks for a while...and it did seem to be far from stopping. The two of them proceeded to have the capes, summoned by Valeas thrown over and walk through...

"Remind me why we're here again Val..."

"Well, because as it seems, Arch Impquisitor Merevor has demanded that Zolkar send aid, and that we help him with uprooting the "evils of the desert" that had recently sprung up. And so, your father, the king, sent a large force of soldiers, with us at the..."

"No, no, I mean... Why us?"

"Well because the oth..."

"You know what I am getting at Val..."-she blew out in frustration, a lock of hair falling over her face. Valeas moved it off, slowly. "I mean... Yeah. I get it. We are here because they think we aren't royals proper."

"And... Umm, I don't really agree with that."

"I mean, it is the authority and word of your father, the..."

"King. Yeah, I know who my dad is thank you very much."-she spoke, before sitting down, clutching her legs closer, and hanging her head over her knees. "I just don't...think this is right. You're definitively the best advisor and mage. I am probably one of the best fighters... Why do they have to do this..."

"Well, it is their right and..."

"Please... Don't. Don't tell me you AGREE with this."

"I... I...."

"Heh. I should have kno..."-a hand, fell over her shoulder. "I don't. But we need to move. We can't stay here Lamia... We both know it. Let's just... Finish this up. And then when we get back home, we'll drag these "evils of the desert" along with us, and throw them in front of your dad's feet. And... And if he doesn't AGREE to our right to rule... We'll..."

He might not have realized, but the princess was looking at him the entire time he spoke. "We'll challenge him! To a fight! We'll BEAT him, and then we will claim the throne, by FORCE if the need be... And... And then we'll..."

"Umm... What are you doing?"-were his final words, as he saw the princess hugging him. "I am glad you finally managed your job... Giving advise and all... That's it..."

"Well... We should kinda..."

"Oh just wait there for a moment! We wiiiilll! Just be a little PATIENT for once!"

"Hey! I'm ALWAYS patient! You're the one that's..."

"Are you gonna shut up and let me continue hugging you...?"

"Umm... Yeah...sure."

-------/-------

Turns out the evils of the desert were...a bit tough to deal with. First of all. A crew of giant undead scorpions, and scarabs... Not to mention the sand sorcerers... Which were sort of like undead...except mummified..and with sand powers! But, well...in the end, it wasn't a big issue for the princess and her advisor! Well...almost

A giant arm of sand, extended from the ground, grabbing Valeas, and flinging him off, to a large rock... But luckily for him, the princess came in the way, serving as some sort of pillow, for him. After all she'd be far less hurt by the attack! Once she and him both fell down, they commenced the assault.

This last sorcerer, had been the most powerful. Not only that, but the sand protected him in a mysterious, almost mystical way. They tried beating him, but... It did not work. The sand just brushed them away, or simply rose to protect him. None of their tactics were producing any positive outcome...

"Fuck! Val, we...we need to... Somehow!"-she was knocked off her feet again. The sand came crashing down, but the arcane shield was enough to save her life.

"I... I don't know we... We need to destabilize it somehow...these kinds of beings are usually maintained by an artifact or something but I just... I just don't KNOW what artifact or WHERE it is..."

"It must be in its body obviously. That's why the sand is defending him!"-she spoke, before throwing her arm around Val's neck, and them both rolling to the left, dodging a series of sand bursts, from below the ground that went in a line, towards them. But soon, the sand begun rising around then, in an orb. The mighty, mummified sorcerer, started then clutching his now open palm.

Laughing briefly, at the demise of his enemies... He was surprised, to see the sand grow unstable, the orb no longer obeying to his commands, as the blue mystical lights burst out of it... It appeared.. It appeared this was not the moment to celebrate. The sorcerer however, would have none of it.

He conjured a sandstorm..and begun forming the sand around him in huge rising pillars...forming large waves, one after another, ready to come crashing down on the duo... However, this was something that'd take time. On the other end of the deal...

Valeas had been pumping the princess full of arcane power...so much her aura had blown the sand orb open. She was standing there, afloat... Covered in the bizarre, intense blue light, as her skin was traced by hot, bright, white lines. Her eyes went bright as well as... Well... Valeas summoned a circle behind her...and then expelled force through it!

The princess was thrown in the direction of the monster, like a thunderbolt. The arcane energy was absorbed, and focused at her fist...as a massive amount of sand rose to defend the mage. Thing is, the white, hot fist, punched its way through, quickly, and reached into the mage's chest.

Breaking through the ribcage, she managed to pull out the blue, gem like phylactery but..she could not smash it. It required more power... Or... No! It needed more focus. So she channeled it at the tips of three fingers, and pushing them against the surface... Crack! The first few cracks appeared...as the sand focused around her body, almost to rip flesh from bones!

Except she cracked it again, a set of dense, blue bolts spreading out, to the mage. And then another crack. More bolts... Soon enough, the gem was completely shattered, as the mage became engulfed both in the sands he had unleashed against them, and the blue beams...burning the remainder of his skeleton, and leaving but bits of dust...

"Well... We don't really have any proof... But... Well, at least we did it!"

"Val! We still have the amassed corpses of their army! You do that "dream force conservation" thing and we can keep them from decaying too much until we get back to Zolkar!

"That's... A valid idea I suppose. We could do that... Yeah!"

-------/-------

And so Zolkar awaited them with open arms...and... A lot of celebration. The main street was opened up for them, dragging in the decomposing corpses of the many monstrosities spreading firefly like lights all over the crowd! It was a spectacle! Well... For a bit.

Sectis, and the four other couples of royals and advisors were awaiting them, at the end of the street, up a long stairway, leading up to the entrance of the palace... "I can see you have returned victorious. Good...your realm thanks you!"

"That's it?"-Valeas asked, suddenly. The princess herself was shocked! And... While Sectis was about to turn around and leave, he stopped dead in his tracks, and slightly turned his head. "What more do you want?"

"None of the other couples have managed this before. They were here, doing who knows what... Some diplomatic trivialities I am sure... We... We went out there and saved this nation! And while I appreciate the need for diplomacy I think them getting big, lavish parties after the parade and us getting just a small thank you... Is not fair!"-he even stomped his foot down at the end!

"And... You want a lavish party?"

"We want recognition! For all that we have done!"

"Do not be so hasty boy.... Think well before you speak..."

"I HAVE thought... I... I won't back down!"

"It is not what I meant, child. You said "we".  Are you sure this revolt of yours is not one carried out by you alo..."

"He is sure!"-the princess had grabbed Valeas' hand, and stood by his side at that moment. "And I'm sure too."

"Well, well... This is quite strange..."-Sectis turned around indeed, sat on his throne and pondered for a moment, fist clutched against the cheek...

"Fight me."-was all he said, before summoning an ornate longsword, in one hand, and a large axe on the other and suddenly... Springing forward, bringing them down on the duo, if not for the princess, still holding Valeas by the hand, kicking them both down the stairs.

Valeas made an arcane platform, to hold their backs from breaking down on the fall... But Sectis was unrelenting. He charged forward... And it was when Valeas, sent out a small spell, to the side of his axe. Right before he was to cut them in pieces, the princess kicked that side of the axe, having it move slightly closer to the sword.

It is when the magic remnant sprung up, releasing a bolt that connected the weapons, pulled them towards one another, and as they touched, the arcane energy was unleashed, in a large, spherical explosion. Sectis was knocked back, as the two of them made it to the bottom of the stairs.

Breathing out in relief however, they found it was no time to rest. A large, golden arrow struck right next to them, leaving behind a small crater, and spreading out considerable dust and rubble. Then another... Then some more... Sectis was firing in volleys now. The two of them had to run off.

Hiding behind an alleyway, they found themselves hunted again, as a series of long, black, thin spear like objects crawled from both entrances/exits to the alleyway, forcing them to perform a high jump, both from the princess's strength and Valeas's magical push!

Then a rooftop chase begun, as Sectis sent out what seemed to be orbs of fire, all of these rolling and homing in on them, quickly... When two got too close, they melded together, making the assault even more fearsome. But Valeas, knowing the city well, lead them towards the water supply.

Rolling down on the massive deposits, the fireballs followed in, dousing out quickly. They had the idea of swimming up first, but Valeas instead decided to lead them down one of the pipes... Where the water would be faster moving. Sectis certainly wouldn't opt for destroying the water pipes after all.

Turns out he wasn't so right, as Sectis was waiting at the end of it, the next water station. There, he summoned some sort of long, silver lance, and charged forward. The princess pushed Valeas off, and then, as they were split, Sectis opted for taking him out first. However, the princess had another idea, jumping on Sectis back, and trying to choke him out...

It didn't work out too well, as she took an elbow to the stomach, but Valeas was free to run. He summoned an arcane platform again, and extended his hand to take the princess up... Yet, Sectis persisted. Baleas had to move closer, as he lunged with the spear, literally grabbing the tip, cutting his hand up badly.. But the princess had already taken the other hand, as they flew off!

Out in the open city, they were quite close to the grand Library. Valeas here, had an idea, watching some sort of primitive crane like device, lifting some sort of heavy weight, the other end of the rope being free, and close to the ground. He approached it, quickly...but Sectis was on their trail. As Valeas was left to deal with the device...

The princess was handling Sectis, her father, on her own. He summoned two blades, on with a heavily curved, scimitar like edge and another "chain" blade, splitting into sharp segments, moving like the body of a serpent. He struck first, with the scimitar... But the princess dodges easily.

She attempts to kick his shoulder, but the chain blade strikes first, cutting up her foot. She retreats, opting for a series of speedy, randomly thrown punches..each costing her a lot, as Sectis expertly swung the chain blade, her hands ending up bloodied the more she struck out. It was a tough situation...yet she did not seem worried.

Sectis did however, grow tired, and charged forward, with all his speed and strength. The scimitar would be brought down on her? Maybe... Or would it be the chain blade, warping around and flinging her to the side as he finished Valeas off? She did not know...but she did move out of the way.

Valeas saw the king...yet he did not react. Sectis soon saw why. The moment he was to take his final step towards reaching Valeas, a feeling came onto his greater toe. The princess had spun around, reached behind him, and grabbed his toe, on the left end with her thumb, and on the right with her index finger and...

She pincered it, rather harshly so, putting all her strength and pressure into it. Sectis retreated in pain, crouching a little. At this time, the princess placed one foot on his back...the other on his shoulder, and leaped forward, to grasp Valeas. In the meantime, he had fired two bolts of magic.

One at the heavy weight dangling high on, and one at the device holding it there. The device targeted one hit first, as Veleas held on to the close by, free end of the ropes...he begun pumping dream force on it as well, hardening the rope a lot. The princess had taken his hand now, as they flew up...

At this time, Sectis smiled... And when they had flown a bit high up, jumped himself. He would have reached them in a second was it not for their speed...tremendously increasing. He turned his head, seeing the weight seemingly...altered? Yes, he could feel it, the spell Valeas had cast on it was one to make it heavier.

Sectis found himself losing distance, as Valeas had both, made the weight become heavier every second to further boost their speed, and hardened the rope with dream force to keep it from cutting up. In the last moment, when the rope hit the high end, the princess grabbed Valeas by the waist and jumped towards the library's topmost, green-painted glass dome ceiling...

And broke through it, falling through some wooden construction stands, renovating the upper levels of the library and...right down on a pond, at the base level. It was there they saw the unamused, and wet visage of the towering jackal wiseman. Sprawled around him were ancient scrolls, books... Tomes...

On architecture. The princess let out a relieved smile... Well, so did Valeas, at least until Sectis came crashing down the roof. "Dad! C'mon! We need a break here!"-she complained, as she ran away of the library's main hall, through some of its thinner passages...

They were opting for a quick run. Both she and he knew, a densely populated district was that way... What they did not know however, was that repairs had started there, somewhat recently...and a good bit of the population had been temporarily sheltered elsewhere. Neither them, nor Sectis would attack within the library...so it was a simple chase.

Once they made it out, they ran through some of the construction stands, emptied out as it was a celebration day and... Into a wall. Turning around...they could see they were surrounded with naught but crates, and other wooden structures left there, and their backs were now against a wall, their faces looking at Sectis...

He shook his head, in disapproval as many golden, glowing blades, ethereal visions of the weapon proper appeared behind him... More correct would be to say they were projectiles, shaped like blades. The duo however just... Held hands. Sectis proceeded to fire...well...everything.

It was at that moment, the two released a burst of dream force. Valeas had, charged a teleportation spell...with a bit of a trick. The spot they disappeared from had pulled in all of the surroundings... The crates, the blades, the construction stands... A massive explosion was produced, engulfing that block of buildings and then...well, Sectis was face to face with his daughter.

A quick sight behind, could tell his Valeas had charged up a powerful orb of energy... And it was then, that he fired, sending the beam right at Sectis and... At the princess! Absorbing it... She proceeded to channel it to her fist, entirely, as she had done in the battle before!

Sectis however, conjured what seemed to be a large, golden chest-plate, with a lion's head at its front... It was thinning out the dream force from her fist, at the moment of contact! Not good...not good... Valeas kept hitting Sectis from behind to keep him distracted from attacking the princess...and...

Then it hit her! She focused the dream on her middle and index fingers, and then poked straight through with them. However as it appeared, a second layer of armor laid just beneath it. She had no choice...focusing it on her index finger alone, she poked through once more...

A second after, a slight crack was heard. A small round hole formed through the second layer of the armor.. And Sectis was forced to take a single step back. He smiled... Before vanishing. The next thing the duo knew, is that a pair of hands pulled them close together, and bashed their heads in!

-------/-------

The princess yawned. She... She was woken up by the sun rising. She looked around briefly, and... Oh! The moon was there! She was asleep, sitting in a chair! And the princess herself was in some sort of large bed...covered in this massive white sheet. She tried to pull it closer up at is only went to about her chest but...

"Ah! What's... What's this!"-she moved around in her "sheet" only to soon enough find out it was tighter on the waist and... Did not really cover much space...as well as... Apparently being a dress! A ceremonial one as well, fitted with all the shinny buttons, and several golden jewelry all over her.

But why was it white. The five royal couples were assigned a color. Red, for the eldest... Green, for the most aspiring, white for the more naturally talented, yellow, for the... What was the point, these clothes were for high tier ceremonies! Weddings, city foundations, coronations...

"M.. Miss... Moon! What happened?"-the princess coughed a little, and looked to her side. Valeas was there, sleeping like a baby, himself, in a fancy white robe! "I... I don't... How did I get in these clothes!"

"It.. Took me a while actually!"-the Moon sprung back awake, a bright smile across her face. "Changing your attire and hair to something more fitting for the greatest of events! Smile! Smile my darling...oh! How wonderful you'll be, I wonder!"-the Moon spoke, moving over to the bed, and hugging her tightly!

After she was let go, the princess found herself bedazzled. "You mean... My father agreed to it? He... He is going to make me and Valeas rulers of Zolkar?"

"Oh no, no, no silly! Melegar and Marina will be taking that."-the eldest brother, Melegar, and the best diplomatic advisor, Marina... The red pair. But then why....why had the Moon gotten their hopes up so much? The princess refused to believe the Moon was ignorant of their...

"Oh, I see... I..."

"You! You darling...together with Valeas here, are going to be the next two Entombed! A fate, more glorious than that of any king!"-and wasn't she right! Entombment was reserved only for the greatest figures of Zolkar... It was a honor several times greater than being a mere king or queen...

"I... Me and... Me and Val? The two of us?"

"Yes! My sweet child, you are going to be the first double Entombed in history!"-it took the princess a few moments to get up. She... Was still dazzled when she stood, almost collapsing, if not for the moon e,bracing her gently and stopping her fall.

"Now now dear... It is not yet time to faint! You know..."-she brushed off some hair from the princess face, putting on another one of her smiled.. "I always knew you'd be great! Both you and him! Guess I was right then! Now... I suggest you rest a little more! You need to be very relaxed!"

With those words, the princess laid on her bed again. She looked at the Moon, and then Valeas... Before falling asleep once more... Peacefully this once.

-------/-------

"You know, the great tower of Mogos was built long ago... About 500 years or so... When the peace with the feral imp raiders came to be, and we needed a tribute to it. Zemaris proposed we built a great tower filled with statues and..."

Sectis was interrupted. He was looking down the large balcony of the palace that night, with his daughter at his side. The streets had been lit up with many bright lanterns. He was looking towards said great tower at the moment, an elongated cylindrical structure...

"Actually no. While it is true the great tower was built to appease the imps, it wasn't Zemaris proposal. It was the Sun and Zemaris simply convinced the current king to also go with it. Also it was circa 600 years or so..."

"Are you teaching ME about history? May I remind you you failed ever.."-the king was cut off, once more. The heavy steps of the great jackal priest were heard, as he was  reaching out to the balcony. "I am afraid however, she is right your majesty. Both me, and the Sun can confirm the origins of the idea, and as all records have shown, it was indeed 614 years ago."

"How did THIS happen? I... Zemaris! It must thank YOU then... I supposed she just wasn't a gifted academic, but I am sure you can make even on..."

"Not really your Majesty. I believe you should thank that advisor... Valeas? Yes... He was very fond of these sorts of things. I assume, the princess will agree..."

"Yep! Back when you stranded us on the desert for months we had nothing to do so I decided "why not". Val brought a bunch of books too so, it was easier!"

"Books? How did you take books with you? I thought there was a law against it..."

"The ability for royalty to peruse literature for extended periods, as it assumes it is done for self improvement in order to further their chances in coronation is... A clause. I believe...you can check it again..."

"Zemaris?"

"She is...right... Again, yes."

"Hmm... Zemaris, where is the boy?"

"Valeas you mean?"

"Yes, yes..."-Sectis nodded lightly. "You should go find him..."

"Val probably went to buy some cookies! We...would..umm, get to the roof and eat them together. Tonight. Before....umm..."

"Zemaris..."-was the only response from her father. The jackal nodded, turned around and...left. Once he was gone...

"I like cookies too."

The princess looked up, at her father, eyes widened. "What?"-where was he getting with this.

"Is something wrong with enjoying some nutrition?"

"No, no, but I mean...."

"Ah, yes. Probably wondering what am I getting at. Well, I shall be brief. I found your performance excellent not because of your strength, no... You have millennia to go, before you become strong enough to match me. The two of you. What I was impressed by, that made me convinced to grant you the double Entombment was..."

"Was...?"

"Your collaboration. You... Were fighting as one. I was caught by surprise, for.. I have never seen something like that before... Dream World... Dream world in its entirety hasn't! You were...like a Shifter daemon...but composed of two very different entities. Somehow. I felt like I was fighting both two, and one opponent at the same once... "

"So...your answer is "you had good teamwork, I'm impressed, here is your reward for it?"-a question that had Sectis approach the end of the balcony, and look down. Silence took over for a few minutes, before the princess predictably shattered it.

"So?"

"You...had good teamwork, I'm impressed, here is your reward for it."-and then, leaping over the edge, Sectis vanished down onto the city. The princess sighed, turned around and decided the stairs were a better, more comfortable, even if slower option of exiting the palace.

-------/-------

The three thugs rushed out of the alleyway in a moment, one of them, holding out an old baton, and the other a dagger, at the throat of the strange, fancy dressed man with the cookie box. "YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE. CHOOSE! RIGHT NOW!"-the one with the knife, their leader, yelled out. It was dark, they were unlikely to be found.

The man was however, surprisingly calm. "Now, now... I'll give you all the money you want, just...let me take these to my friend, and..."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOUR MONEY, NOW."

"Look, you really don't... "

"MAYBE THIS'LL CONVINCE YOU!"-the thug leader had no patience. He opted for making a deep cut in the man's arm with the knife. Unfortunately, as his hand lunged forward, a strong grip turned it over, twisting the arm as well, and then, an elbow, right at the inner side of the elbow.

It hurt like hell, especially as he was thrown over to the side. He could see one of his men, the one with the baton, ready to hit the stranger they were so close to robbing, only to have his knee kicked, and then a punch to the face. The other had gone to pick a bottle, break it and madly thrown himself at the stranger.

All he got was his face grabbed, pulled down, and introduced to the stranger's knee, twice. The leader stood up, confident he would bring this fool down. He was standing right behind a crate full of bottles, for the celebration...  The thug leader would definitively do this. He'd throw the man down, and the crate, with the bottles in it would break on this fools back.

He was so close, he'd tackle the man in one second...if not, for this stranger moving first, grabbing the thug leader instead, throwing him over his back and... Again, back first, right down on the crate. The shattered bottle pieces were the ones that hurt the most. The drinks mixed with some of his blood...and it looked as if the damage was far more severe.

The baton man, and the now unarmed third thug charged forward. "We can get him!"-the baton thug slithered. He sped up, overtaking his friend, only to have his face sweep kicked down to the floor, in a small, dirty mud puddle left from a week ago, when a rainstorm had come over. He did not bother getting up this time.

The third thug backed up, but the man was faster. He did not know what impressed him more, the fact this man had been beating them so easily, or that his cookie box had been entirely untouched. He backed up, shivering, slowly. But the man did not seem to be ready to kick him to the curb just...yet.

The thug begun running, yes, but he was not quick enough. He felt the man's hand over his shoulder, quickly turning him around. In a commanding, deep voice now, the fancy cookie man asked. "What is your name?"

"J-Je-Jenkins... I... Ple..."

"I won't kill you Jenkins, no. Didn't kill your friends either. But I am going to have to ask you to never do this again. If you have issues... Go enroll in the military or something. Go take it out on the jungle monstrosities. Don't...steal, from anyone. Theft is a pretty big problem around...everywhere."

"Y-Yes! I-I won't-won't do this anymore!"-which, even if said with a stutter, earned him a hearty pat on the back from the fancy man. "Good man. Now go. Run, before the city guards catch you."

Then the fancy man left the alley, out in the town. Jenkins ran the other way obviously, back into hiding. The man however, made it to an encounter with what seemed to be a fairly tall jackal man.

"I see you have taken to beating thugs now? I should have recommended you to the city guards if I knew you..."

"Sorry. Back then I didn't really...."

"Huh?"

"I didn't really know how to. Or if I could. As you could tell sir."

"Ah! Yes. I can assume what happened. If I told the princess about this..."

"I'd rather do it myself sir..."

This, had the nice side effect of getting a long laugh out of Zemaris. "Yes, yes, as you wish! Now let us head back to the palace!" And he begun leaving, only for Valeas..not to follow. Zemaris stopped, after having a few steps.

"Is everything alright, Valeas?"

"Sir, I... I need to ask a question."

"Hmmm. Isn't this a rarity. I am curious. What is it that bothers you?"

"Sir, how... How was your Entombment?"

"Valeas, you...know the story. The jackal-men were a small species guarding the temple region, west of here. At some point, large raids of feral imps went in, and endangered the ritual knowledge stored within the temples. So in an attempt to save themselves, the jackal-men took the rituals to the main temple.

The other temples were made points of defense, but the feral imps were vicious, and cunning. We had  managed to cause them few loses, when they reached the main temple. The army of Zolkar came when the last stand was almost over and only..."

"I know sir. Only you remained. Then the rite took weeks to complete, to make you an Entombed, because you needed to memorize the entire tablets full of rituals. The process involved etching them forever in your memory, but it also slowed down time around the temples. So the decomposing bodies of your fellow jackal-men had their dream force bound onto you...

It is why you have some degree of power over death and decay... But... This is not what I meant sir. I meant to ask...how did it...well...feel?"

"Ah! Yes, I can see your reason for asking. But I cannot help you. Or rather, the knowledge will not help you. Your own Entombment will involve a lot more energy. But, something I read about the hypothesized double Entombment, one I do NOT agree with, mind you...but my orders have been given either way... Something I read, said that the Entombed must always trust one another. Even if it looks as if their partner has failed them. Always have faith on the other...."

"I... Thank you sir."

"It is alright, Valeas. Now let us go. The king, and the princess are awaiting."

-------/-------

"Hey! These cookies...hmmm, they smell kinda funny, you know. Where've you been?"

"I...umm, I was delayed a bit. There were a few thugs and..."

"Oh! Luckily, Zemaris got to you in time!"

"When Zemaris got there there were no thugs."

"WHAT?"

"I...umm, did that arm thing you taught me back on our last quest and all to their leader. He had a knife. And then the others were easy. Kicked them around pretty easily!"

"W o w! Is that really you Val?"

"Yeah... I was shocked too."

"Nah!"-she gently punched his arm. "Knew you had it in you! And oh, you're gonna love this!"

"What?"

"So my dad was talking about the Tower, downtown. And he said it was Zemaris' idea to build it. Plus that it was build around 500 years ago. I pointed out the mistakes and ZEMARIS, of all people agreed. Then I slapped the legislation about borrowing books since I had to tell him we did that on our last quest."

"Oh no.."

"Nah! He was pretty happy. I could tell. I wish we had an actual mother though..."

"I mean... The Moon is pretty nice and..."

"I know, right! She'd... But she's married to the sun, he is..."

"I was just kidding, but... Yeah. It'd have been nice to have a mother like her at times. For you, I mean... I've never had any family or.."

"WRONG! Technically, we have been locked in marriage very, very early on. So...for most of the time..."-words that caught Valeas by surprise. He turned around, as if a genius finding had hit him!

"Yes! Yes you... You're right, we..."

"Silly! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

"I mean... "-and they were silent. Until the princess broke it. Again...

"Val...are you scared?"

"About the Entombment?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I am.... I..."

"Look... We... We're gonna be together there. So... I don't think we should worry!"

"I... I suppose..."

"Don't SUPPOSE. Promise me! PROMISE me you won't worry!"

"I... I promise. Now... Now you too!"

"I promise too."

-------/-------

The sun was shining especially brightly that day, and the moon too, at the same once, on the other end of the sky. Above them, loomed a set of dangerously fast flying meteors...as the ground shook. Yet the people had filled the streets, and held out large torches in celebration. Two large dais had been set, one above the gates, and one behind the palace...that is, in diametrically opposite parts of the city.

Separately, on top of each of them, stood Lamia and Valeas. This moment was..historical to say the least. Zemaris remained at the center, surrounded by the priests as he begun reciting the incantations. The dais lifted off soon after, as the people cheered, raising their torches. The platforms then begun spinning...quickly...

From Lamia's, a golden light sprung, leaving behind a trail. The same happened with Valeas, but his was blue. This soon enough formed a circle, and then a swirl...the colors mixed and fused as the circle ascended.. The priests begun reciting too now... As the other Entombed spread out at key points in the city.

The Sun and Moon, below Lamia and Valeases original positions, Sectis at the palace... Zemaris at the center etc... Lights rose up from them...as the circle further ascended, growing smaller, and whiter...the light fused, before within a few minutes there was but a glowing  orb, of the same white descending above the people...

The orb soon enough, let out some sort of energy wave... And the tremors stopped. A barrier was erected around, stopping the first few incoming meteors from hitting...and celebration already begun! Fireworks were lit up, food...drinks...

Wild parties spread out all over! Within the orb, Lamia and Valeas were together, smiling at one another. They were close yes, but not making contact yet.... Yet, beneath them, Zemaris looked on with concern.

He had predicted some of the continuation to the incantations, to maintain the barrier, but the actual writings lacked them. So far he had had to predict over 60% of the text, and he had been correct with it all. With help from everyone of the scholars he could find, he had managed it...

And he went to read the last incantations. He read them out loud, quickly... It seemed he was right, the barrier would hold. Zemaris left the tablets down, and relaxed. The barrier had held up. The ground shook beneath his feet as if overjoyed... Just like he was, overjoyed and relieved that...

Oh...no. The ground had shaken beneath his feet. Zemaris looked skywards, seeing the barrier suddenly close in, and become reabsorbed into the ball that shrunk even further, bringing Lamia and Valeas into a forced hug. He took out his great staff, and released a wave of his dark dream force.

In the meantime, the two of them were slowly melting, their dream force peeling away. The ritual had begun to stabilize however slightly... But it was consuming them. They both felt themselves being drawn towards each-other and losing out themselves at the same time...as their dream force had just started to disperse... At least until...

Lamia broke off. She opened her arms, letting out of the hug-lock she had with Valeas, their bodies beginning to drift apart into two separate orbs of light now forming around them, as an aura... It had been the end. They were on the way to Entombment... But the ritual of protection had not been completed. None of them would be sacrificed that day...

"Lamia! No! What..."-Valeas spoke, as soon as he noticed what had happened, as if brought out of a trance. His body was not as strong as Lamia's... The Entombment was tougher on him.

"I am sorry... I..."

"No... You will doom us all!"

"I... I know! I did not want to! I just... I just wanted us to...."

"NO! YO... YOU... NO... STOP... PLEASE.. PLEASEE..."-and then, they were apart... The spheres they were locked in were now too far away for them to hear each-other...

Sectis went to summon Point, the great red flare of the skies... Striking out the meteors with great force yet... It was not enough. Some of them fell on the city, cratering mass bits of it. The sun and moon flew around trying to save as many as they could, yet under the pressure of the earthquakes and the meteors from above... It seemed rough.

In the meantime, Valeas and Lamia begun filling up with energy, as the sphere dissolved. "N... No! Val! No... "-she cried out, seeing his body dissolve into blue, electric matter... Soon enough, what was left of him being a mere...image of his former self, crafted out of the pure arcane energy...

Her own skin was turned a tan color, her hair suddenly shifted to a golden blonde... Same with her eyes, glowing in that color, as both of their bodies, were covered in white, bright lines... But they only stuck out with Lamia. Valeas plummeted on the ground, bringing her down as well...

His arcane power spread out, transforming the rocky bricks of the buildings he had destroyed into some sort of black metal...and pulling them closer, melding them into pieces of armor... Soon enough, he had enclosed himself within this "suit"l the essence of his being being the blue energy within, shown only through the two round holes in the armor's "face".

Lamia suddenly shrunk down, being brought to the size and shape of a single, golden orb as... Dream force formed around it. It looked to be more of a strange, statuesque shape, but soon enough showed to be moving. Dressed in a pair of really broad, baggy pants, a bandeau of some sort, mixed in with a sash tied around it... It looked to be a more aged version of herself...

"Y... Youuuuu!"-Valeas shouted out. "What... What did you do! Lamia, WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"I.... I am sorry! Look, I... I couldn't..."-she rushed forward, and hugged him tightly. But a burst of arcane energy pushed her slightly away.

"Lamia you... You let our kingdom be destroyed! Do you... Do you realize..."

"Val... Please! I..."

"V. It... It is just V now! I understand what... What this means! UNLIKE YOU... YOU... JUST..."

"I know! I ruined everything.."-she kicked some of the rubble off... The city around them had been destroyed entirely. Houses, palaces...the great library, the water supplying system...everything, even the... Even the walls had been torn down now. Tears rolled down her cheeks, or perhaps they had been rolling from before too...

"Val... V... I... I..."

"There is no room for more words."-a burst of the blue energy turned all the rubble around them into fine dust. "I shall spare you...here and now...but you cost the world, and this realm a great lot... It is my duty to let you live... In case I perish, you will be the last of the Entombed and the last of the royalty of Zolkar... As well as rightful rulers of the east"-his words still echoed in her head after they had been spoken...

"I must leave you. This... You destroyed EVERYTHING! Do you not realize..."

"Yeah. Yeah I do you silly... I... I just... I just thought I couldn't...manage any of this without you for a second... For a second I wanted us both to live, you know?"

"That second cost us much more than we'll ever be worth! HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS?!"-his last outburst sent out blue, arcane thunder all over the city, as clouds gathered...

He floated off, into the air... As the dream force, gathered around him space begun to wrap, preparing to have him teleported...

"Hey! You big idiot!"-he could hear Lamia shout from behind... He turned his head briefly, for one moment, only to see her tears welling up, covering her cheeks...

"Don't tell me... DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME... YOU WOULDN'T...You wouldn't have done the same..."-she sobbed... Falling in her knees as well. Perhaps down there, the words "I would have done the same... Always...Unfortunately." did not reach her. She was left alone...Her soul torn apiece, her heart carved in two... The curse of double entombment some say, is that the entombed will be unable to separate...

-------/-------

"Ah! I have finally reached it! The lost realm of Zolkar! Take note boys, take note!"

"Sir Fluffcuddle, I... The men are tired. We really...really need a break."-a tired, humanoid looking daemon, in a short sleeved shirt, and a pair of shorts, spoke. He had gone red, sweat dripping down his forehead, as he bent over on his knees, with his hands, catching a breath.

"WHAT? I cannot believe this! Gugi, shuurula, mookan neii ful! Muzu! What do I pay you for, ulakaai! Nuuura! Gugi, gugi mookna, paluchi-luchi!"

"Sir, I know you are angry but there is no need to call us "filthy bat-piss cleaners"! That's... "

"FINE! YOU TIRED LITTLE.. Do you not UNDERSTAND, we are uncovering HISTORY here! But... Ah! I understand. Take the men...set camp, and rest!"

"THANK YOU SIR!"-the man bowed once, and ran off. For a second only as he turned around to look back at "Sir Fluffcuddle". The white furred imp in the fancy black suit, wearing his characteristic monocle and black top hat, swung his cane in one hand.

"What will you do sir?"

"I, shall explore Zolkar on my own!"-he smiled, the little furry mustache rising up, even on the hair filled relief of his face. After all, imps ARE cute little gibberish speaking furballs most of the time. Sir Boopy Fluffcuddle, premier archeologist and explorer of lost civilization, the most renown artifact finder in all of Dream World's history, was no exception.

"You and the men deserve your rest. Your names will become legendary, after word of this expedition reaches out into the rest of Dream World!"-and as the man was relieved of his worries, Fluffcuddle headed out, into the ruins.

-------/-------

"Hmm...this is strange. It appears someone was...kneeling here? But there is no altar in this spot. And these rocks..they have been melted somehow. There is a lot of residue.. I wonder, if small scale religious ceremonies were held out in here... All over the town I mean."-he wrote down, examining the area in front of him.

"It would certainly fit in with the rest of the celebration the city had before its end. I wonder... Why have I not found any other traces of such events. Perhaps it was simply a pair of zealots then... And the dust, the quality of it... Seems to have been affected by the destruction prematurely...from the ceremony."-he further examined the sand, kicking around a little too, picking up some rocks, and then moving over to the "kneeling" area.

"Hmm. Let me see... Oh!"-he picked up some of the sand from the front of it, giving it a brief taste. "Salted water... Could it be...tears? The person on their knees had cried...and the person on the other side conducted some...high dream force levels magic? This makes no sense... You know, perhaps...it has to do with the myth of the Double-Entombed?"

"Well! Even if the science of archeology does not support it, I will make sure to leave a small note at the very end of my writings for it!"