Welcome to Gaia! ::

Syaoran cursed silently as he started to get up. He glanced around slowly before locateing an undamaged chair and sat in it, removeing his backpack gently and opening it in hopes of finding a bandage... or maybe some herbs or something for his arm.

Shelden blinked and nodded, glancing around at everyone before responding first to Magdalena.

"An arcane specter. They're like... how do I put this?" He said, standing back to his feet as he tapped his chin in thought.

"It's like a... magical golem. Yah, that's it!" He stated with a nod. "They're specially crafted from a stone known as Arcanite and arcane magic is used to make them come to life." He looked down at the stranger.

"I've seen a few before. They can be used to do pretty much anything the creator wants. This one's a fine piece of work, if I do say so myself." He glanced back at Sora, a small frown appearing as he opened his mouth to respond before Envy spoke up. He looked at her and his frown grew a little. He looked towards the bard.

"That's a good question actually... I guess we'll have to ask-" Shelden's ears twitched suddenly, his face contorting slightly into a mixed confused-annoyed expression. A sharp shrill whistle had suddenly erupted out of the blue and while the high pitch noise wasn't painful, even to the most sensitive of ears, it was very annoying. Shelden turned around, tracing the source of the noise back to the specter on the ground. He blinked and tilted his head to the side slightly as he looked confused. He knelt back down next to it, studying it quizzically with stern eyes.

"What by the mother god..." He muttered, focusing on the part of the body he'd revealed. The lines of purple arcane energy had changed from their original courses, now running to the center and seeping into the form of what appeared to be a circle surrounding the core of the specter. Shelden watched as it seemed to pulsate, eyes growing wide as the energy ceased flowing and the circle that had been formed glowed brightly.

"Oh cripes..." He yelped in realization, hoping to his feet and making to back away as quickly as possible.

"MOVE!" Shelden shouted, the circle dimming out right as he spoke, the specter's body glowing brightly for half a second before a rather massive and violent explosion followed, the magic used in the specter lashing out in large streams in every direction as it made it's escape. The force was enough to send any person flying at least half a mile away from the sight.

That was, if they survived it...

"Not... again.." Syaoran muttered quietly, quickly closeing his bag and grabbing onto it so he wouldn't lose it. As the explosion rang out he disappeared into the forest east of town. A loud noise was heard in the nearby forest as a tree began to fall over, a large dust cloud forming around it.

---

Syaoran's vision was blurred as he opened his eyes, his movement seemed slow and otherworldly. He slowly reached out from the small crator he had created from his landing, trying to get up... suddenly he collapsed on himself, blood trickleing out of his mouth.

The town's lights flickered as its residents emurged upon sight and sound of the mass explosion. A look of terror and 'what now?!' ran across each and every one of their mortal faces. Regardless of the cold snow beneath their feet, many of them bare, they stood gawking idiotically at the spectical. Then it came...a flying elf. As Shelden crashed to the town, all moved themselves from his path and none made an effort to catch him. Even as he lay bleeding in the snow, none seemed likely to help. They merely stared.

Idiotic humans.

Then, a pair of shimmering blue eyes peered out to the show. They were slightly sleepy, but curiosity overrode that. Delicate movements befell the outside, and another joined the gathering crowd. He did not think like the others; not terrified, but excited that an adventurous story was unfolding before him. He was almost thrilled. Fair skin met the bustle of cold air and falling snow, as he put up an umbrella to keep himself from being snowed on. This boy was warmly dressed in a fine dark green tunic, along with a warm winter shirt and pair of pants. He emurged from a rival Inn and curiously investigated the scene. Soon, his shiny blue eyes spotted Shelden.

"Ah! Another Elf!" he exclaimed, running over to the unconscious Shelden. Kneeling down over the elf boy, this new boy moved some whitish-blonde hair behind a pointed ear. This young lad was an elf, too. He twitched his nose at Shelden, smelling smoke and blood. He was confused how Shelden had arrived the way he did. The boy tilted his head to the other side and poked Shelden's shoulder, moving him slightly.

"Hey...hey you, wake up..." He spoke. Frowning when Shelden did not respond, he looked around as if expecting help immediately. Instead, he was offered only strange looks and murmers. They were too interested in the explosion far off anyway to be of any usefullness. The boy scoffed.

"Pleh. Who needs you anyway..." He took a feather from his hair, situated behind the opposite ear he earlier tucked hair behind, and threw it on the ground next to Shelden.

"Nil Halen!" he said. Immediately, the feather poofed to match Shelden's body length. The boy smiled at his handiwork, not letting himself be amazed it worked, and went about rolling Shelden onto the feather. He seemed to be having a hard time with it. The boy dug his hands roughly under Shelden's back, pushing him with effort onto the feather.

"Dang...you're heavy...elves are supposed to be light...you eat way too much!!" the boy managed out in a bit of frustration before Shelden finally was rolled over onto the boy's feather. "Phew..." The boy wiped his brow with his sleeve, got up and took the feather by its tip. "Les'go!" he chimed. All at once, the feather floated with ease and the young elf boy lead it into the Inn. He was all smiles as he brought Shelden over to the couch, this Inn regrettably not having a fire place. As soon as Shelden was placed, the elf boy snapped his fingers and the feather became normal, and replaced from whence it came. The boy siged and looked curiously at Shelden, just watching him, until Shelden would awake.

((i wanna peanut butter and jelly sammich...))

From its distance, it watched. Dead red eyes and a rotting corpse under half-new, half-decreped black garments krept through the forest and town, spreading a deathly toxin beneath its feet. It flexed its long, bony fingers which dawned uniform obsidion claws, kreeks and snaps lightly heard as it did so. The figure was tall and lean and draped in nothing but black. The tall hood hid away its face, but upon looking at its form, no one would be likely to even 'want' to see the rest of it.

The figure resembled something out of a hellish nightmare. Its movements were silent yet spoke volumes of its mystery and anguish. It was fluid and ghostlike, having no feet, but ragged black robes which swept the floor from beneath it as it hovered from the ground. It oozed a fowl oder of death, pain, and malic, as it left in its wake grey sorrow and ash to all it touched. It was fear itself...Death's brother, seeking to conquer the world for its own. It would fulfill its purpose and nothing, not even the dreaded Creeps would slow it down. Hell, it looked like the Creeps spawned from it.

The figure watched as Magdalena fell. It could kill her with a touch, with the poison that seeped from every orphace of its body...it would be a slow and agonizing death, but it would be death nonetheless...

But it refrained. Her time would come soon enough. It looked over at Syaoran now. The bard who caused so much trouble. The figure loomed over Syaoran for a time, watching a while and thinking. Blackish-red blood constantly, slowly, seeped from its hands, and from its cloak to the floor. It did not make the being weak, it merely was how it was. This nightmare left Syaoran to himself as well, while going off to seek out the others. It would not be seen, not be heard, only smelled as it made its trek through the forest to the village. It would only be seen if it wished, and it didn't. The only proof of it was the decay it left behind. And so, it vanished...

No into the town, the hooded figure now carried Sora, past Shelden and the crowd. He seemed to blend in, the crowd not seeming to notice. Sora still out cold. His hair poking out from the hooded figures cloak hiding his body.

Shelden frowned and gritted his teeth, quickly swipping the elf boy away as he poked him.

"Stop that dangit... my head hurts bad enough as it is thanks..." He grumbled. Shelden stared at the boy hard, using him as a focus as he tried to clear his mind. Suddenly his eyes grew wide and he shot up, nearly tipping over and misplacing blood that was trying to return to his head.

"Where... where are they?" He demanded suddenly, heading darting around as though expecting to find what he was looking for right. He looked at the elf again with slight panic.

"Where's Magdalena? The bard? That warrior?! And... and..." he said, still seeming panicked as he too caught sight of the cloaked figure walking. He noticed the hair poking out, his mind somehow clicking to a thought he most likely would've never considered in his normal state of mind.

"The dumbass bender..." he finished, the words somehow managing not to sound like an insult despite the wording. He shot up to his feet, going to shout for the figure to stop before simply collapsing back to the ground, having yet to recover the blood he'd lost and causing himself to become light headed and dizzy. He gritted his teeth.

"Damn..." He looked at the elf, studying him sternly. "Stop that guy..."