Reyna took William and Damien to a large area in the middle of the town that was deserted. Reyna walked a bit away from the two males before she spoke up. "William, I wish for you to gauge how Damien fights by watching him spar with me. I will be using my own dagger against him. That way it is on equal ground."
William nodded his head in agreement. "That sounds like a great idea Princess. I will watch him very carefully."
Reyna looked at Damien. "Don't hold back on me, I may be a female but I'm not your average female." She said with a grin
Damien nodded his head slightly as he grabbed his daggers. "I'd never do that, I wouldn't want to offend you."
"Good, great to hear. Now we're going to be back to back and take six steps away from one another. Once we are facing one another that's when things begin."
"Alright."
They went back to back with one another before they counted in unison with one another. Once they were facing one another Damien took the first step towards Reyna which made her grin seeing that he wasn't afraid to attack her. She went straight for him as well with her wings together behind her, her daggers clashing and scraped his as they passed by one another. When they were on opposite sides of the field the spar match had truly begun between the two of them.
Damien used all that he knew just to land even a slight bit of a mark on the princess, only for her to block and hit him back just as much as he tried to hit her. When things got too heated Damien's daggers cracked before they broke into pieces making it easy for Reyna to place him on his back placing her daggers against his neck in an 'x' formation, while she was on her knees on either side of his arms.
Both of them panted out a bit as she grinned down at him. "You did well, but like I said…your daggers broke."
"Yeah…no *." He said looking up at her
She grabbed her daggers and placed them to the side as she pulled him up. Once he was dusted off she gave him the demon daggers she had. "Here, take them. I need you to be able to protect me."
"A-Are you sure?" Damien asked concerned
She nodded her head. "Mhm, I'm very sure. They'll serve you better than they would me. Anyways I have Ryse, once I get done with my duty as the Prophet we're going back to Militia and I'm going to get a weapon from my grandfather that would do me better."
Damien hugged her tightly as he had the daggers in his hands. "Thank you, I will do my best to protect you." He said softly to her
She smiled as she shut her eyes and hugged him back. "You're welcome. I expect you to get as strong as possible. Listen to William well."
"Yes-of course." He said as he looked down at her
Reyna then let go of him before she looked at William. "Lord William, I leave Damien's training to you. I need to talk with my cousins."
"Yes of course, do what you need. I will not be soft or easy with the boy."
"I expect nothing less from you-you weren't with me when I got the mark of the elementals."
He chuckled a bit. "That's very true."
Reyna then left and went to the main building which was rather large, she walked around before she managed to see Joel and Stella talking with one another in a sitting room that was filled with large pillows. The duo stopped talking when they saw her.
"Hey Reyna, how did talking with your sister go?" Joel asked
"Her wings were demoted by Ryse, she's gone now. The three of us need to speak." She said seriously as she came into the room
Both of them looked at her curiously "What do you mean?" Stella asked
Reyna sat down between the two of them before she lied back with a large sigh. "I need the two of you to help me to convince Zeph, Avery, Nala and Hyun to stay here. I can convince Ella well enough that she won't be a problem…but the other four…not so much."
"They're probably going to ask why, so what's the reason for it, cousin?" Joel asked curiously
"I don't want them to die, the best possible outcome is for me to go to find Amara with Damien alone.If they want to still be known as my protectors and be connected to me-they need to trust me to do this alone." Reyna said sitting up as she looked down at her feet sadly
Both of them looked at one another before they looked at Reyna. "You really care a lot about them don't you?" Joel asked sincerely
Reyna nodded her head. "Yeah…I do. I let them take care of the Jeckle walkers for a reason. I knew damn well that facing Amara one on one would have to happen. Dealing with him is my battle not theirs."
"And what if they ask why Damien is going with you?" Stella asked
"He's a follower of me that isn't connected to me in any way. He is neither friend nor lover, he cannot be used against me." Reyna said seriously
Joel and Stella looked at one another before they looked at her. "You think that your followers will be used against you?" Stella asked
She nodded her head, "God Toni had came to me in my sleep, he had told me that if they went with me-they'd be used against me or I'd be used against them. I don't want that to happen. Damien has no attachment to me. He is just a random demon that just wants peace."
Joel and Stella got up. "We can talk to them now before things get out of hand." Stella said with a smile
"You have a lot on your plate as it is. We'll take care of them." Joel said with a smile
Reyna nodded her head. "Okay…Thank you."
Reyna then went to part of the small kingdom where there was a temple, she sat on the ground with the sword of Ryse in front of her. Ryse came out of the sword and sat across from her. "So…you don't wish for your death huh?"
"No, not really. I fear death-if there is a way for me not to die then so be it. I will take that route. I don't wish to be betrayed by the people that I love and hold so dearly." Reyna said sadly
"I can understand where you're coming from, I wouldn't want to be betrayed either. But that is how life is. Because Tyche and Aphrodite haven't been working together to bring those three boys close to you it'll be a miracle to see you even get close to them. Which is probably why you were given the choices you were given." Ryse said with a frown
"One thing does strike me as odd-why didn't we see Andre earlier? He blessed me yet he didn't stay around to see you or I." Reyna said sadly "He could have given Hyun a boost just like Toni had done to Nala and the other demonic dragons."
"I don't know what's going on with my husband, but I'll tell you this much-If what I heard Tina say before is true that boy better be ready for hell." Ryse said seriously "You may or may not be without Hyun for a while cause it will affect him if I have to deal with that *."
Reyna nodded her head. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Now I have a odd question for you."
"Sure thing, what's up?"
"I heard Tina, Tyche, Aphrodite and Bryce all talk about a male who they didn't name…Who is he and why didn't they say his name?"
Ryse let out a stressed out sigh. "Oh boy…Well I guess you should know. You are in the same shoes that Tina was once in. Before William was born, there was a man by the name of Eric that once held onto the title of Chaos and war. But he had overstepped his boundaries because of his own infatuation with Tina."
Reyna raised an eyebrow at Ryse. "Okay? Mind explaining that to me?"
"Sure, let's see where to begin…I guess I have to start from the beginning. Before anything you see now is how it is-it was mainly humans that roamed this planet. That was over a thousand years ago. This world Tina and I built up and created together to make a harmonious world for people to live on. We wanted to create a place where we could watch people flourish and do what they wanted without fear of darkness and hatefulness. But that went iry when Eric met up with Tina one day. Tina was just a mere teen when this world was built. She still had a long way to go to be the mature woman that she is today." Ryse began to explain
Reyna listened intently to what Ryse was saying she wanted to understand things were how they were.
"Tina and Eric always butted heads since they were introduced to one another. Tina was one of the few females that Zeus never saw as a play thing because of how she brought herself up. I know you don't know who he is and ignore it for now alright?"
Reyna looked at her confused but nodded her head
"The two of them fought up high and down here which made the world be how it is now. The world was once one big land but because of what Eric had done well…it is how it is now. He tore the godly powers from Tina, making her mortal with only her magic. Hades and Zeus saw this and chose to take Tina to a different time letting her live her life there to recoup from what had happened to her." Ryse said sadly
Ryse shook her head and she frowned a bit more. At that time Tina showed up within the temple and saw the two sitting down in the middle of it. "What are you two doing in here?"
"Oh! Tina! Just in time, I was telling Reyna about how things came to be here and your past. Mind chiming in for what happened to you dearie?"Ryse asked
Tina huffed a bit but nodded her head. "Sure, I don't mind. He's still out there."
"He meaning Eric?" Reyna asked
Tina just shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask how you know about him, but yes." Tina said before she sat on the altar and crossed her arms. "I want you to keep an open mind dearie, what I'm about to tell you is beyond bull *."
Reyna nodded her head. "Sure thing Goddess."
"Alright then, so what all did Ry tell you?" Tina asked Reyna
"She had mentioned you had fought with Eric and that your godly powers were taken from you, that Zeus-whoever he is, chose to place you elsewhere to live and recoup yourself."
Tina nodded her head. "Yeah-that sounds about right. The world I lived in made people I ended up going about being around seem fictional in a different time with different things happening to them. The Cheney family, The Akabane Family, The Asuna family, The Foster family, The Kirkland family and the Sakamaki Family were all tied and married to the Wright family which I was reborn into after Eric, Tyche and Aphrodite ended up fighting over what was happening with me. They all ended up killing me which hades hated. Soo to keep me from dealing with that bull * I was placed back into this lovely world and I had a quest that I had go do."
"That quest was to make peace with the kingdoms around huh?" Reyna asked
Tina smiled at her. "Yes, very much so. I hated that I had go deal with that * cause Eric possessed the Akabane Heir and the Foster Heir. Not to mention made one of my closest friends turn against me. I had to kill him in the end. Once my job was complete and I had successfully birthed children out of me for each kingdom I went back up above with my godly powers reenstated to me." Tina explained
"So…whatever happened to your children?" Reyna asked
Tina frowned "Eric happened, Eric is a sleazy as mother *ing * that I want to kill!" Tina growled out *ed "He assassinated all of my children and past lovers, he hated that he was chained to this world by mortal means. I don't know if there is anyone left with the remains of my lovers or my children."
She then spoke somberly and upset, it was obvious to Reyna that whatever happened really hit Tina hard. "So..what is Eric doing now? If he is mortal shouldn't he have died centuries ago?"
Ryse and Tina looked at one another before they looked at her. "Theoretically speaking…yes. But that's not how things are for gods turned mortal, he was sentenced to live his immortal years as a mortal." Ryse explained
"Meaning that he'll never die and that he'll always be stuck in the mortal plain."Tina said sadly "What he's up to…kinda goes with what you're dealing with dearie."
"Uh…okay?" Reyna said confused
Tina got up and she let out a stressed sigh. "There are large dark demons out there that look very familiar to wraiths-but aren't that suck up magical energy purely out of spite of me because of Eric being a complete short stick *. When I was in your shoes, I swore that those who followed me and cared deeply for me killed all of them. But I was far from right-Those things are looking for you now. Eric knows that I am aligned with you, I don't know how-but he does."
"So how does one get rid of them?" Reyna asked
"Well they are dark entities, they don't like anything holy." Ryse explained
"Anything that's physical they really don't like-and I've seen the fact that they hate water too. They don't ever get anywhere near it." Tina explained
Reyna was in thought for a moment before she looked at the two females once more. "Is there anyway for you to make a projection of the monster you speak of Goddess?"
Tina smiled and nodded her head. "I can."
"I have spoken with Toni and I'm going with my safest option which means that I am not taking those who are close to me with me to fight Amara. Ella, Nala, Hyun, Zeph and Avery aren't going to be with me when I fight him. I'm merely taking Damien cause I have no connection to him."
Tina's eyes lit up hearing her speak. "Oh he actually told you?! That's great news! If you are thinking about doing what I think you're thinking about doing I can go up to them and have them deal with the monsters for you!" Tina said happily
She nodded her head. "That is exactly what I was thinking about doing. I want them to feel useful while they are around me. They want to protect me I know they do but they can only do so much before I need to take charge."
"Oh I know dear, I know. Trust me. Having six Lovers who were all protective and concerned about me-whoo let me tell you…Just be glad you have just three. It could be much worse." Tina said standing up as she placed her hand on her book that was on her side
Reyna chuckled a bit. "I'll take your word for it, Goddess."
"Good, now I'll be right back. Let me get them up to speed and we can focus on strengthening your magic missy." Tina said before she left
Reyna looked at Ryse. "So when did everything get to where it is now?..and who is Zeus. I've never known of a god by the name of that."
Ryse took a deep breath before she leaned against her left leg. "Zeus was once the god of all, he was the brother of Bryce. But the moment that Zeus tried to hit on Tina cause she matured well Tina killed the dude which stunned just about everyone up in the heavens. No one knew that she had the power to kill the guy who was basically like the all high and mighty king of all gods."
"Okay…so now who takes his position?"
"Tina does, apparently she didn't like how he was treating the other gods and disliked how things had been. So she forced the change by getting rid of the one person who was making the changes she hated so much." Ryse explained
"Wait, does that mean that she could make the guy who wants to kill me be a god again?"
"If she truly wishes-yes. Which I don't know if she does or not." ryse said unsure
"Would you have a problem if I asked her?"
Ryse shook her head no before she stood up. "No, not at all. While we wait for Tina to come back, I want to have you really get to know my sword since you haven't had time to do so."
Reyna got up and held onto the sword. "Okay, so why exactly did you embody yourself into the sword and what is this sword supposed to do?"
"Those are two really good questions that I am more than happy to answer. First-what is the sword supposed to do? The sword you're holding isn't called 'The sword of Ryse'-it's actually called Shimmering midnight. The sword's purpose is solely to kill Amara, he is neither living nor dead he is in the inbetween of that. No sword or dagger forged anywhere else has the feat that the sword you wield has."
"How is that even possible?" Reyna asked confused
"He fought with Bryce and lost-he was once a follower of Bryce and thought that he was better than Bryce he found a way to be able to harness the souls of the dead like Bryce can but use them for his own devices." Ryse said sadly
"Oh…"
"Yeah, now as for why I embodied myself into the sword, had I not..well the sword wouldn't work. Plus it gave me space from the smothering of Andre. Yes I love my beloved to pieces, but that doesn't mean I want him to know every last damn thing I do at every since last damn moment." Ryse said with a sigh
"You don't like all the attention Goddess?" Reyna asked with an amused chuckle
"No…Not really." Ryse said, shaking her head. "I don't like dealing with someone who is so clingy. I didn't think he was when I married him but-boy was I wrong."
"Okay, so how do I harness the power you placed within this sword?" Reyna asked
"That's something that I had to test out on my own. You have to place your magic into it dearie. Close your eyes and focus on the sword." ryse said seriously
Reyna shut her green eyes as she held onto the sword tightly with both of her hands, she took a deep breath before she focused on the sword as she did she felt a dark surge of energy trying to keep her out of the sword, she tried to push through it only for it to push her back and for her to let go of the sword as her back hit the wall of the temple.
"Reyna! Are you okay?" Ryse asked concerned
Reyna opened her eyes as she whined out. "* me that hurt!" She said as she got up "I'm fine, I did what you told me but there's this dark aura that kept me from connecting to the sword."
"Dark Aura? That…that's not supposed to happen. Where did you find me again Reyna?"
"I found you in Goddess Yasmin's land. One of the Princes of the Ent's by the name of Shawn had been keeping an eye over it." reyna explained
Ryse furrowed her eyebrows a bit. "That…That's not where you should have found me. I left my sword here-in the land of the founders where I had aphrodite place it. Who else could have moved it?"
Reyna was in thought before she looked at Ryse. "By chance do you have any siblings Goddess Ryse?"
Hearing Reyna's question she stiffened up before she let out a stressed out sigh. "What in the name of all *!? UGH! Why do they keep doing this!? Yeah Reyna…I do…I have three elder sisters. Astral, Luna and Sola….They….they helped Tina and I make this place but they don't have temples or anything like that. They don't want followers or anyone to know who they are. Unlike me."
"What purpose would they have to do such a thing to your own sword?" Reyna asked
Ryse rubbed between her eyes. "They are overly protective over me, so they probably saw where Aphrodite placed me as unworthy of a place, so they chose somewhere else. Somewhere not a lot of people would be able to reach."
Reyna was in thought for a bit. "But why…why with the Ents of all places? I've heard from Lord William that Yasmin is a bit of a *. So why the * would your sisters do that?"
Ryse laughed a bit before she smiled at Reyna. "Oh my goodness child! Did William seriously say that about his younger sister?"
She nodded her head. "Yup."
"Well to be fair they've never seen eye to eye for reasons. So with that being said I can understand just why he'd say that. As for why they'd choose her? Favoritism…I've known for centuries that my elder sisters loved Yasmin more than any of my other children. My other children have always been salty towards their aunties because of it. So that may be it."
"So…how do I get past the dark barrier that's over your sword?" Reyna asked
Ryse rubbed between her eyes. "You're going to need to do a ritual tonight to get them. When one is summoned all three of them are called. The three of them called themselves 'three 'wise' sisters'. The only thing they are wise at is being wise asses." Ryse said unamused
Ryse laughed a bit. "You really don't like your elder sisters do you?"
"Pft-hell no. They coddle me and make me to be a mere child! I'm a *ing adult with adult duties! I'm Tina's right hand girl when she needs something. I don't need those *es breathing down my *ing neck twenty four *ing seven!" Ryse whined out annoyed
At that time Tina came back into the temple with William and Damien in tow. "Talking about your sisters Ryse?" Tina asked amused
Ryse just groaned out as Reyna giggled out at her reaction. Tina smiled a bit. "I'm glad to see you in good spirits Reyna, I've already sent the lot out, and showed them what they're looking for. Hopefully they'll be able to do good."
Reyna nodded her head. "Okay, thank you Goddess Tina." She said bowing her head towards her
"Of course, you're getting this flack * cause of my derpy ass-it's the least I can do for ya. Now for me to do what I need to do William needs to go get his kids that are in the elemental kingdom. So that'll take him a bit cause they be scattered everywhere within the four elemental kingdoms." Tina said, explaining what's going on.
Reyna nodded her head before she looked at William. "I look forward to your return, Lord William."
"Naturally, be back soon." He said before he left
Once he was Damien looked between the three women. "So…what am I supposed to do now that Lord William is gone?" Damien asked
"You can help me set up for a ritual I have to do tonight. I can't use Ryse's sword right now. It's magically blocks and Ryse believe's it has to deal with her elder siblings being protective *es. So I need to summon them and get them to undo what they did to her sword."
Damien's eyes widened. "Oh..well *. Alright. What do we need to do?"
Ryse leaned against the wall as she let a stressed puff of air out. "Damien you're going to need to be the one to get what's needed. Reyna under any circumstances cannot leave the protection of this kingdom until she is ready and can wield my sword with the power it holds."
Damien nodded his head. "Sure, I'm okay with that. Just tell me what I need to get."
"Alright then. The women Reyna will be summoning are the sun, moon and star goddesses. They are very fickle and will nick-pick everything. So be cautious with what I'm going to tell you." Ryse said seriously
Damien kept his attention on Ryse. "Sure thing."
"For Sola you're going to need to get Sunflowers, they have to be grown in a pot or something or she will flip *."
"Okay."
"For Luna you're going to need to get Moon Lily's, she doesn't care for how they are presented to her as long as they are white."
"Okay? That's odd."
"And lastly Astral…that queer mother *er likes Aster flowers, she's as picky as Sola is…so make sure they are potted."