Saberfang

The wagon toppled over
“Let the girl go and I might let you live!”
Silence fell.
Suddenly the wagon exploded in a ball of white. When the dust settled Mila was encased in light. Her eyes shown a solid white and she glared at Seth. Creating a light whip she lashed out at Seth.
"If you want her, fight her for it." The dark man said.
Mila kept hitting at Seth, forcing him back.
She had no control over her body of her magic.

”If you want her, Fight her for it”
Dodging the lash of Mila’s whip, Seth stepped backwards to put some distance between them. He couldn’t afford to take more damage with the current amount of magic he had - not if he wanted to win Mila back. Frustrated, he growled threateningly stranger, “Why are you doing this?! Answer me Human! ”

Flicking his tail in clear agitation, Seth felt his body tremble. His feline form had begun to destabilize, He had almost at his limit.
Shit, I need to more time.

Allowing the shadows to return him to his human form, then Seth dove towards the remnants of the wagon wheel; He narrowly missed the lash of Mila’s whip. Scrambling for one of the metal spokes of the wheel, Seth dislodged it and used it to knock back Mila’s whip. It certainly wasn’t the best make-shift sword, but it was better than being burnt by white magic.

“Mila! You’re being controlled, snap out of it!”
Seth continued to call to her, but it was clear that the curse mark had complete control over her body and mind.

He was running out of options. He had an idea on how he could save her, but it was a very risky plan. He would only have one chance to force out the dark magic from her body, and not only would that risk his life, it would risk hers too.

Mila kept going at Seth with a flurry of light attacks, most got dodged, but the ones that hit hit hard. He was losing stamina fast and she could see it. She kept screaming at herself to stop, but she was a prisoner in her body, unable to control what she did. She felt a swell of light energy forming inside her.
No, not that. He can't handle a blow that big. Please STOP!
She cried out into an empty void. A ball of light shot from her hands and hit Seth full in the chest. His body was motionless on the floor. her body moved towards him. No, not motionless, he was still breathing. Her body crouched down next to him. His head lifted to look at her. Another ball of light was starting to form.
Run Seth. Please. DO something!
Energy growing inside her, ready to release.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tears spilled out.
I'm so sorry....

A Surge of magical energy suddenly hit Seth square in the chest. He had dodged most of Mila’s other attacks, but his stamina had failed him at last. He crumpled backwards into the dirt. Struggling to stay conscious through the pain and exhaustion, he thought silently, ”This is it...You’re lost in the darkness... I couldn’t save you.”
Helpless, He gazed up at Mila; readying himself for the final blow.

Her hands trembled as she prepared for her next attack. Tears began to trickle down her expressionless face. She was fighting against the curse, Her will power unyielding in its struggle against the darkness.
One of her tears struck Seth’s cheek.
Realizing that Mila was not yet lost to the darkness, a sense of hope seemed to awaken within Seth. He smirked, “You and I are not going to die here”
Using the last of his energy, Seth threw himself at her. Locking his arms around her body, he forced her into submission. His fangs pierced through her skin and into the curse mark. A gush of blood and magic filled his mouth.

Seth began to siphon out the dark magic within her body. Each draw on her blood seemed to bring him closer to the tug of her soul. If he wasn’t carful he could kill her.
Carefully sucking at the last fragment of darkness, Seth pulled back from her neck and slowly released Mila from his hold
“He has no hold over you anymore…”
Breathing heavily, Seth stood up and turned towards the stranger. His eyes glowed dangerously as new power ran through his veins. ”Your magic has no hold over me stranger…I am darkness. Now let’s see how well you fair in a fight against a demon ”

Mila felt the taint of dark magic seeping out of her. Slowly she became aware of her body. Seth was holding her. A sharp pain radiated from her neck. Then her whole body hurt. It was as though something was being torn from her. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't move. The pain stopped when Seth released her. All of the dark magic was gone... Ripped from her. But somehow she still felt different. She wasn't as pure as she once was, the black magic had left its mark.
Seth had a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Mila felt a chill run through her as she felt his magic. She didn't have the strength to hold him back. But did she really want to?

The man that had taken her did not seem afraid at all.
Light, you should be afraid. You should run if you value your life.
Seth hadn't had this much magical energy since she found him. It was bound to end badly for anyone who upset him, and this man had.
"A demon? Why you look like nothing more than a pup. If this weakling could almost defeat you, I won't even break a sweat."
A flurry of magic attacks hit Seth, creating a cloud of dust. A smirk played on the stranger's face, until the cloud vanished and Seth stood exactly as he had, unscathed.
"Don't kill him, please." Mila requested of Seth.
"I can't promise to keep your boyfriend alive." The stranger said
"Not you." She corrected him and turned back to Seth. "It isn't worth the trouble we will get in, do what you want, but do not kill."
And with that Seth was loose and she could only pray he would control himself.

Rolling his eyes at Mila’s request, Seth obediently purred, “You’re too soft Princess… But if that is what you wish, then I will not kill him”
Flexing his claws, Seth stared at the stranger hungrily, “Upsetting me was a foolish mistake...Now, I’m going to make you regret it”

Moving with lightning-like reflexes, Seth was behind the stranger in seconds. He didn’t hold back.
Claws gleamed like steel as they cut through the shadows, a spray of blood signified each successful hit. The older man was clearly taken aback by the sudden change in Seth, A demon’s bloodlust was a fearful sight, after all, it was like a predator waiting to feed on wounded prey.

The man continued to parry helplessly against the attacks, but it was clear that Seth was growing bored of this game. When he had finally had enough, he struck the stranger with such force that it sent him flying backwards into the trunk of a tree. The crack of the wood was a sickening sound, but to Seth it was like a symphony before a pleasant meal.

Standing over the stranger, Seth grabbed the man by his hair and forced him to stare into his four threatening eyes, “This is what it feels like to fight a demon…understand the difference between us Human”
Releasing him, Seth stepped back and elegantly waved a hand over the man. A thin wisp of shadow wrapped around the stranger like rope, binding him in place.
“You know, normally I would have ripped your soul out and eaten it, I would have gotten a good meal out it too…consider yourself lucky Human, You owe your life to that girl”

Taking in a deep breath, Seth turned to Mila, “We cannot stay here. His guild will start to search for him. I cannot guarantee that I will not to kill them if they find us. ”
Crouching to the ground, Seth felt his skin ripple, he returned to his panther form.
Rubbing his large feline-head affectionately against Mila, he gestured for her to climb onto his back, “You’ve lost a lot of blood, it will be better for you to ride on my back.”

Mila slumped onto Seth's back.
"Go down the road, we are close. I have a score to settle..."
Seth obeyed and soon they arrived outside a mansion. She gates opened to accept them and the stopped in front of the door. The heavy door swung open and a man in a suit bowed them inside.
"A pleasure to see you again, My Lady." The man said.
"Nice to see you too Miles. Where are they?" The man Led them to a big room with a couple sitting on a big sofa.
"Oh darling!" The couple rushed at Mila to embrace her. A light shield struck them like an invisible wall.
"I am not your darling. I am nothing to you. You are nothing to me. We made this clear years ago. Do you know why I am in this state? Your 'employees' did this. I told you I was done with you. If you ever send someone after me again there will be hell to pay."
The man stared at her in bewilderment. "But... You... You are my daughter! I just wanted you back..."
"I am not your daughter anymore! Remember? You wrote me out of the will and the family. I have no bonds to you and that will not change. Why would you want me back now? You didn't want me then."
A wild fire burned in Mila's eyes. She had pushed down these scars for years and now the emotions were bubbling over."You have tainted my magic with your last trick" She spat the word. "You made sure our bond was broken when you chose this woman over your daughter, years ago. Do not expect me to come back now."
"Things have changed." The woman chimed in. "I accept you now. We heard about your success in the guild... I am sorry for doubting you."
"So now you accept me? Now that I have control over my magic. Now that I have grown into a successful young 'Lady'. Now that it will take no effort from you to clean up after my mishaps or to explain to other mothers why your step daughter is so 'strange'. Now you want me back to answer your beck and call, no doubt. It is too late now. I might have needed you as a child when you abandoned me, but I do not need you now."
She turned to walk out, but the doors were locked.
"I cannot let you go again. I am sorry for what we did. We shouldn't have tried to take your power away. We should have tried to understand, but we need your help! Please! I have an illness... I need a powerful mage to heal me..." The woman was on her knees.
"Of course you do." Mila regarded the woman then sighed. "I am not at my full strength. I will not be able to much. I will do what I can, and after that I have no connection to you. You will never contact me again. You will forget about me. And do not for one second think that I am helping because I care. I am simply a light mage and as such I am obligated to help those who come to me in need. If it were up to me you would live with the illness as my mother had. You would feel it slowly eat away at you. She did not deserve it, but you do. If you break the agreement the spell will dissolve and your illness will return, so best to not try to get to me again. " Mila put a hand on the woman and a bright flash engulfed them. The doors blew open. Mila walked through the door, with Seth beside her. Only leaning on him enough to not look like she needed help walking.

The fight, the mansion, and the unpleasant introduction of Mila’s parents left Seth buzzing with questions. He still knew so little about Mila and was curious to ask her about her parents. For the moment though, he held back his curiosity and focused on helping Mila walk. She had grown incredibly weak from exertion and needed to rest.

Rolling his eyes, Seth sighed and scooped Mila into his arms, “We’ll never get out of this building at this pace. I know you want to get out here, so no complaining Princess”
Carrying Mila down the stairs and through the many corridors, Seth eventually found his way outside. He wasted no time in leaving the estate and soon they were back on the road.
Shifting into his panther form, he growled at Mila, “Don’t fall asleep until we reach town. You need to stay awake while I carry you, Got it?”
Allowing the girl to climb onto his back, he then proceeded to make his way towards the nearest town.

The town they eventually reached was not the mountain village they had been vacationing in, but Seth knew that Mila needed to rest. Booking out a room at the local inn, Seth placed Mila on the bed and inspected her with cat-like curiously. “You look pale. How are you feeling?”

Flicking an ear thoughtfully, he narrowed his eyes and scolded her, “You really shouldn’t feel obligated to save everyone, y’know. You’ll burn yourself out doing stupid shit like that...Then I’ll be forced to carry you everywhere, might as well be a walking furry chair”
Sticking out his tongue playfully, he swatted his tail over her head. It was clear that he was just teasing her.
“Seriously though, be more selfish...I’m going to end up with grey hairs at this rate!”

Mila smiled weakly at Seth. "I can't not help someone. If you use white magic you do not have the choice of refusing someone who comes to you for help, if you do, you will lose your magic, even if helping them means you will die, it is an oath that binds all light magic users."
She sighed and sat up on the bed in their room. "I'm going to take a shower, we should go get some food..."
She dragged herself to the bathroom and felt the water rejuvenate her.
When she walked back into the room it was filled with food and desserts. Seth held out a glass of wine to her and she took it from him, sipping while looking around. "I know I said we need food but what is all of this?"
She sat down and started munching on desserts. Seth had ordered one of everything on the room service menu. Soon they were getting close to drunk and Mila started to vent.
"My whole life they only ever try to contact me when they need something. You wanna know why I ended up in saberfang? I ran away when I was 6 years old. Master found me doing magic on the street for for money. He took me to the guild and helped me. My dad and that woman tried to suppress my magic. I got beaten any time I used magic. And when you just get your magic you don't know how to control it, so sometimes I had outbursts. I only got my magic when I was 5, after my mom died, how do they expect me to get control of it so quickly?!" Her words were slurred and she was leaning on Seth. "You are a billion years old and you have outbursts!" she giggled. "But that's my fault cause you're my kitty." She took another gulp of wine and pulled Seth up to dance with her.

While Mila showered, Seth took the intuitive to order them supper. He still struggled to pick meals from the menu, usually, he’d just pick the same meal as Mila when they went out. Demons didn’t need to eat regularly, and when they did eat, it was usually a diet of souls and raw flesh (Eww). Cooking was a human thing – though he had to admit that it was growing on him.

Giving up last, he decided to pick one of each item on the menu.
Seth waited patiently for the food to arrive. When it finally came, he laid out the platters and plates neatly across a table and began to pour some wine into two glasses.
When Mila had finished up her shower, he smiled charmingly at her and passed her a glass. For a good 30 minutes, they drank and chatted. Seth was glad that Mila was finally opening up about her parents. He could see that she needed someone to talk to and it was interesting to learn about her past. She had always looked so sheltered and innocent; He hadn’t expected her to have feelings of hurt and betrayal behind that fair facade.

The wine soon began to work its magic, and Seth became silly and giggly rather quickly. He could tell that Mila was in the same boat, they really were a couple of lightweights.

"You are a billion years old and you have outbursts!...But that's my fault cause you're my kitty." Mila blurted, draining another glass and suddenly standing up.
Seth blushed at this, and responded dramatically, “I’m not that old! A demon never reveals his age, young lady.” Draining his own glass, he took Mila’s outstretched hand and proceeded to dance with her.  Flicking his cat ears, he suddenly paused and narrowed his eyes, “This will not do, we are missing something…Right! we need some music!”
Eyeing a piano in the corner of the room, he smirked devilishly and cast a wisp of shadow into the air. It floated overhead before settling into the keys of the piano. The keys began to move and soon a seductive tune began to fill the room.

Turning his attention back to Mila, he winked, “Now, where were we?”
Whisking her into his arms, he followed her steps to the rhythm of the music. She was indeed a noble; he should have picked it up the first time they had danced, she had a natural knack for it.
They moved together completely in sync, movements came as easily as breathing.

When the music finally began to slow, Seth brought her face to face. He purred flirtatiously “For an angel, you dance like a demon…You're keeping up well, Princess”

Mila blushed and stepped back from Seth. "Well they do teach nobles to dance..."
She sat down and had some cake. After talking for a few hours and getting progressively drunker Seth moved closer. His face was inches from hers and she could feel his breath on her lips.
She closed her eyes and waited to be kissed, but a limp weight on her lap made her open her eyes to see Seth passed out.
She sighed and a small smile crossed her face. Just as well. It wouldn't be smart to get involved.

The next few days were spent relaxing and having the vacation they had set out for. Soon they started back to the Guild, their drunken night all but forgotten in Mila's head.

The guild was busy as ever. Members laughing and chatting. Everyone was happy to see Mila back and looking her old self again.
The guild master called them to his office after a few hours of them catching up with the other guild members.
"Sorry to push you back into the field so soon after your return. I ope you had sufficient rest on your time away. There is a problem at the theater. It seems the lead actress chosen for the play has lost her voice completely. This would not have been troubling if it hadn't been the 5th actress in this role to lose her voice. I need you two to go investigate." After a few moments he sighed.
"Also, there seems to be a large increase in demonic activity lately. Not only the count and the moths, a lot of other guild members have encountered some demons on their latest missions. I fear there is something bigger happening, but I cannot say what."

Standing quietly beside Mila, Seth mulled over the guild master’s words.
Demon activity? What were they doing in the human world? …Might be worth my time to investigate this.
Eyeing the guild master, Seth chided arrogantly, “Yeah, Yeah, I’m sure that it’s nothing we can’t handle.” With a cat-like stretch, he leaned lazily against the guild master’s desk.
“So what exactly do we need to do? You mentioned an Orchestra and an actress?”
Owlen seemed irritated already with Seth’s attitude, but he managed to compose himself, “Yes, right…what you will need to do is audition and join the Banterbury House of theatre. Once you two have secured uncover positions there, I’ll need you to investigate this whole vocal ordeal.”

"Sounds good", Seth smiled," I think that you will enjoy my music. I'm a little out practice though"
Flicking his tail playfully, Seth teased Mila, “I hope that your acting skills are up to scratch, Princess. If not, I’m more than happy to give you a private lesson in poetry and… love languages.”

Blushing a deep shade of red, Owlen hastily shooed Seth away from Mila, “You behave yourself Demon! You know the laws!..Mila please watch yourself with this one.”
Rolling his eyes, Seth stuck out his tongue peevishly, “Laws are merely rules… and everyone knows that rules are meant to be broken.”
Taking on a more serious attitude, he sighed,  “Well that’s enough games. We better get going now. We’re not going to solve this mystery by standing here, now are we?”

Heading outside, Seth prepped the horses for their next journey.

Mila had no trouble getting an audition for the play, they had grown desperate and no one wanted to come near the show after hearing about the previous leads' bad luck.
She was not great at acting, but they were more focused on a good voice. This she had.
She fidgeted with her skirts nervously. 3 pair of eyes stared at her and the piano music began. Her voice rang through the theater. A melodic angel voice. Everyone grew quiet and listened, even the people backstage stopped their conversations midway and stared.
The auditioners were close to tears as she ended her song and stood up to clap once she was done. She got the part without any trouble.
Getting Seth in didn't seem too big of a mission either, after one of the members of the orchestra conveniently broke a finger. Mila was still skeptical about that timing, but let it slip from her mind. She could heal it easily enough, after the mission was complete....

When Mila started to sing, Seth closed his eyes and listened. It was relaxing sound, peaceful and pure. When she had finished, everyone in the room cheered and clapped, She had gotten the part with ease.

After a little magical assistance, Seth managed to get into the orchestra. He could play a few instruments, but the Violin was his favourite.
Once they had finished applying for their parts at the theatre. They were surprised to find out that they were also required to stay at the dormitories inside the opera house. This wouldn’t have been such an issue, but they weren’t used to being separated. Seth was forced to the south wing where the men stayed, while Mila stayed in the North wing with the woman.

For the most part Seth kept to himself while in the men’s dormitory, occasionally he would entertain himself with little bouts of magical mischief, but on the whole he found the men of theatre to be a bore. He also hadn’t noticed anything strange, other than the weird meals and terrible food offered.

After two days of separation, Seth began to felt the strong tug of Mila’s magic . It was a strong feeling, like hunger or emptiness.
Transforming into a cat, he decided to head off to the woman’s dorm. Slipping through the passageways, he found the entrance and carefully made his way towards her bed.
Jumping onto her lap, he purred, “Hey Princess, how're things going here? I haven’t picked up anything strange with the men. They’re all kinda dull and ugly…the ladies on the other hand. ”

Mila had a strange sense of being watched the whole time she was unpacking. The dorm was nice, spacious. The other girls seemed nice enough, but she could hear whispers about what her fate held. No one seemed to think there was any hope of her keeping her voice until opening night.
Once she got settled in she met Seth. those unseen eyes followed her.
“Hey Princess, how're things going here? I haven’t picked up anything strange with the men. They’re all kinda dull and ugly…the ladies on the other hand. ”
Mila paid no mind to Seth staring at the female cast members. She felt cold.
"Something feels... off. I can't tell you what. I just feel like someone is watching me. It might be best if you kept close."
They went to rehearsal together. Mila was not great at acting. Pretending to be something you weren't felt like lying, and she could not lie.
After a few hours of reading lines and learning songs they went back to their dorms. Seth followed in cat form.
"You better not look while girls get changed." she whispered harshly.

A Pretty young girl with big eyes and a broad smile stopped Mila. "So what's the deal with you and that Seth guy, huh? You a thing?"
Mila blinked in surprise. "Uhm... no, we are... We are just friends."
"Great, so then you won't mind if I snatch up that hotty?" the girl gleamed at her.
"uh, snatch away?" Mila felt her face redden.
"Great! I'm Simmy. Nice to meetcha."
"Mila." Mila smiled back. "Hey, you don't perhaps have any idea of what happened to the other girls who had my part do you?"
Simmy stared at her blankly for a while. "You didn't hear this from me, but I think the director did something. He is always coming on to leadin' ladies. And he don't take no for an answer."
"I will keep that in mind."
Mila went to her bed and rubbed her arms. her hair was standing up and a shiver ran through her. Where were those eyes coming from?

Seth enjoyed his time in the orchestra. His skills with the violin had given him quite the reputation, However he had started to grow worried. He constantly thought about Mila; She wasn’t her usual cheery self. She looked gaunt and stressed. Deciding to keep a closer eye on her, he started to follow around her in his cat form, he even escorted her to her dorm every evening.

By the time they had finished their third day of rehearsal, it was already late evening.
The two friends made their usual trip through the opera house towards the girl’s dormitory. On their way there, a loud call from a familiar face stopped them.
Seth recognized the girl as one of the ballet dancers in the play. She was pretty thing with short blond hair and an athletic figure. She happily introduced herself as ‘Simmy’, then proceeded to question Mila about Seth.

The two ladies talked for a while, while Seth lazily groomed his coat. He hadn’t really being paying attention to them, but his ears pricked up when heard Mila ask Simmy about the voice thief. The young Girl looked hesitant, but responded in a whispered voice, "You didn't hear this from me, but I think the director did something. He is always coming on to leadin' ladies. And he don't take no for an answer."
Seth mulled over this silently, they would need to keep a close eye on the director if that was the case. He could be the one they were looking for.
When Simmy excused herself, Seth eyed Mila curiously, “Looks like we might have our first suspect…I think I’ll drop by his office tonight for a moonlit tour of his personal belongings”
Rubbing against her leg, as cats do, He purred, “Go rest up Princess, you need your beauty sleep…not everyone can look as fabulous as me without a good night’s rest.”
With a teasing wink, he then trotted away.

Later that Evening Seth made his towards the director’s office. As promised he rummaged through the man’s belongings. He didn’t find much at first, but that changed when he opened the man’s closet. The director seemed to have a strange fondness for woman’s clothes. He had closets filled to the brim with intricately designed dresses and frocks. The clothes were clearly expensive, but what really caught Seth’s attention was the scent. They smelled like flowers and… drakesroot?.
’How strange…drakesroot is not from this realm. Could I be mistaking it for something else?’
Feeling the tug of Mila’s magic, Seth abandoned his searched and quickly darted towards the Girl’s dormitory.
”Something is wrong”
When he arrived in her room, Seth was movement. He growled loudly, “Stand back!” Jumping in front of her , he hissed loudly at a hazy shadow in the corner of her room. The shadow wobbled a bit, then shot a dart of acid towards him. Dodging the liquid, Seth smirked and agilely pounced on top of the shadow. For a moment he floated ontop of the invisible creature, then The creature’s camouflaged gave way, revealing it’s true form; a large winged eye-ball.
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a familiar!”
With a hard bite, Seth managed to crash the beasty into the bookcase. He fought with it for a while, but soon it was stunned and pinned to the ground.
“Let’s get this guy sealed quickly, He’s been watching you…He’s been watching you on behalf of a demon.”

Mila wove flows of light around the familiar, trapping it in place.
She was not sure how they were supposed to get it to speak without a mouth, but then a voice spoke out.
"Let me go. My master will come after you when he realizes I am gone!"
Mila tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. Such an odd creature. She leaned in close to it without realizing. She was staring intently. Then she stretched out its wings and poked the eye.
"How odd..." She mumbled, trying to make sense of it. Then giggled uncontrollably. Such a strange little thing had made her so worried.
"So who is your master?" She smiled at the eye.
"I will not betray my master by revealing him!" The eye screeched.
"Well then we will just have to keep you until he comes for you. A fine doorstop don't you think Seth?"
"My master will destroy you!" The eye's voice grew shrill and small.
"I will wager that your beloved master is a demon. Well I have quite a bit of experience with demons. See that guy over there?" She pointed to Seth. "He is a billion year old demon, one of the strongest, see that collar around his neck? He is my pet. My little kitty." She smiled menacingly. Seth seemed annoyed at that but she pulled at his leash when he tried to protest. "And oh he has been awfully lonely. Your master would be a great friend for him I wager. Though I doubt he will be too pleased at being led into my hands by you..." She went on nonchalantly. Somehow the eye looked shocked, a strange thing to witness of something with no eyelids or eyebrows.
"Master Roland will not be pleased at all..." The eye gasped when it realized it had mentioned its master's name.
"Roland, huh? I don't recall a Roland..." She towered over the cowering eye. It hid behind its wings. She gently pulled away a wing to look at him. Beaming delightfully. You have done good my little creature. She patted its head and her hand came away slimy. "Now take us to him..." She looked into its head and saw the panicked thoughts of a familiar trying to think of anything but where its master was. Mila found the path easily.
It was not a great method to use, very invasive and quite rude, but desperate times... She set off to where the eye had led her in its thoughts

(I think that Mila is definably becoming darker. It’s very cool to see how she’s developing… I think that they should go through a maze and get around some traps before they find anything. Oh I also thought of something interesting, Seth can get past a few demon barriers and spells by using ability called ‘kings call’. It only works if the demon clan is loyal to the king. He has to speak the following phrase in the clan’s native language - “Pledge loyalty and magic to the King’s call, By Oath we are bound, by blood we have sworn”)

Seth was surprised that Mila had the ability to probe the familiar’s mind. The ability certainly wasn’t a light magic technique; one needed darkness to pry open a creatures mind… Was this the result of the curse mark? Or was it perhaps because of the link that they shared?
He shaking his head, he returned to his human form and focused on their mission.

Following Mila’s lead, they quietly made their way through the opera house. Mila finally stopped in front of large metal grid; it appeared to lead down towards the basement.
Seth tilted his ears thoughtfully and investigated the grid, “I hear water down there…This thing isn’t a door. It’s welded on and won’t budge, there must another way to open it”
Curling his tail, he eyed a shiny strip of silver embedded into the stone archway. “Pretty…”, he murmured curiously. Running a finger over the mark, it began to glow and reveal more symbols.
“These are Sangrian runes... this is a very old demon language.”
Seth felt uncomfortable seeing this; A very powerful demon had nested here. He had an idea of what it was, it was strong, old and a master of Aquatic magic.
“We need Aquatic Magic to enter here, it’s protected by a barrier.”
Seth felt Mila tugging at his leash; he could tell that she knew that he knew a way in. He didn’t like using this method, but it looked as though they had no other choice.
“Yeah Yeah, I’m working on it...It’s been a while since I’ve spoken Sangrian okay”
Finding the words he needed, Seth uttered a phrase in the mysterious language. The grid reacted to this and slowly began to melt away. They could now enter through the dark corridor.

(I feel like Mila will be a bit more immune to dark magic since it is integrated in her now as well. SO maybe some really powerful demon can attack her and be surprised that it doesn't affect her at all even though she is a light mage which will probably also help later on in the demon realm both to hide her and for her to be a bit more protected)

The grid melted away to reveal a corridor filled with water up to their ankles. Mila made a globe of light that hung above them and illuminated their way. They started down the corridor and it soon became apparent that they were in a labyrinth of halls.
Mila stopped dead when they rounded a corner. A faint singing played in her head.
"Seth. Do you hear that?" Seth turned to look at her and the singing grew to a painful screech that filled her head. She clasped her head between her hands to block it out but the sound sent her to her knees. Only then did she realize the water was now around her waist and still rising.
Sirens... It must be. A faint voice said over the screeching.
She focused as well as she could and made a bubble around her and Seth. The screeching grew dimmer, more bearable.
"We have some siren friends..." As the words left her mouth the bubble shook and from beneath them hands clawed at the bubble to get in. The water had already reached their necks outside the bubble. A current swept the bubble down a passage, hands clawing at them all the way.

Once Mila had encased them inside the bubble, Seth assisted with reinforcing it against the attacks. The water had already engulfed the entire room. All along the curves of the bubble were fish-like creatures that resembled woman.
Siren’s of the clan Sangrian?…why are they in this realm? Something’s very wrong here…
Once the Sirens had them surrounded, One of the leaders of the group swam forward. Her skin was made of gold and orange scales, and her appearance reminded Seth of a lion fish, fierce and barbed.
She pointed a gnarled spear in their direction, then spoke threateningly in her native tongue, “Unt tanya Vreya human?”
Seth flicked his ears and listened to her accusation. Growing slightly irritated with her tone, he responded sharply, “Neh, Un trey fa kuln. Drey es Spar Seth unt tigressen”
The Siren’s expression seemed to darken when she heard Seth’s words. She tentivelly ordered her warriors to lower their weapons. She and Seth conversed once more. When they had finished speaking, Seth noticed her lips curl into a coy smile.

Turning to Mila, Seth began to explain their situation, “I’ve told them who we are, but we may have a problem. In order to earn the right to talk to their Clan Mother, we need to enter into the Labyrinth and face 3 challenges…if we fail, they will drown us and suck out our…um insides. If we succeed, we will speak with the clan mother”

The Lion-fish warrior started to grow impatient and snapped a few snarky words at them. Swirling her spear above her head, she released a gush of Aquatic magic. The magic it took the form of a massive jellyfish, which swam toward Seth and Mila. It wrapped its tentacles around their bodies, transforming them into merfolk for the trail.
Seth felt his cat-like features disappear; instead they were replaced with the black fins and tail of a Beta fish.
“I have a bad feeling about this…”

Mila's legs transformed into a tail of pastel rainbow scales. Instinctively she help her breath as water surrounded her but soon she was forced to inhale water.
Mila could hear beautiful singing, but soon blocked it out with flows of magic. Sirens' singing could only be dangerous, however beautiful. Mila looked around to find Seth. He was swimming away from her, toward the singing. She followed him down the passage and stopped at the entrance to a big empty room.
Trap
She called out to Seth, but he only stared at her blankly. Her voice felt muffled under water. Sirens swam in to surround him from all sides.
Not good. Seth get a hold of yourself.
She darted toward him and was met by sirens waving spears at her.
"Your friend belongs to us now."
Mila filled herself with light and promptly made a small explosion, pushing them back. She pushed forward until she was in front of Seth.
"Seth! wake up!" She shook him with heavy arms. He did not respond.
Pain filled her as spear points pierced her skin from all sides.
"He is ours! leave him!" Blood filled the water around her. She steeled herself against the pain. She had to get them out. She had read what sirens do to their pray and it was not a pleasant thought. She tied a weave of light around Seth and herself to keep them together. Sirens darted in around her and claws scratched at her, teeth bit at her. She couldn't use that much light around Seth and shielding him would take a lot of magic she could not afford to use in her current injured state.
"Seth, some help would be great."
Then it hit her. she formed a column of air around them, holding her breath. The sirens fled to water and she and Seth started to fall. The room seemed to be a bottomless pit and when Mila couldn't hold her breath and longer she released the air and water flooded in around them again. They were quite a distance from the sirens, but Mila could hear them chasing after them. She pulled Seth behind her, swimming with all her strength. The sirens were gaining ground fast. Then Mila saw a small opening in a wall. She swam to it . suddenly she was pulled back and lost her breath at the impact. She turned to see a siren pulling at Seth. She called on her magic with her last strength and turned herself and Seth into small fish. Seth slipped through the fingers of the siren who looked surprised and uttered a word that Mila could only imagine was a curse in their language.
Mila rushed to the opening she had seen and squeezed thorough it, pulling Seth in behind her. The opening closed behind them as claws scratched at and wails of frustration filled the water. Mila swam further in, praying for the small hole to open into something bigger. She could not hold transformations for very long.

As they squeezed through the small opening, Seth noticed a light shining through from one of the cracks between the stone. He and Mila followed the light into the next room.
The moment they entered the larger space, Mila’s transformation spell gave way, allowing them to return to their humanoid forms. Seth ran a hand over his head, he still felt quite dizzy from the Siren’s spell. Their singing mostly worked on men, but woman could be affected too – Seth, in particular, didn’t have a very strong resistance against beautiful creatures or music for that matter.
“Well that could have ended badly…though being trapped by a bunch a beautiful fish people might not have been so bad. Then again I do like having a soul”
Swimming up beside Mila, Seth begrudgingly thanked her for saving his scales. He then proceeded to swim down towards what looked a sunken building…a coliseum.

“This is pretty interesting…looks like battles have been waged here…and most of them lost.” Seth wrinkled his nose at the site of leftover bones and bits of armor. It seemed littered all over the coliseum grounds. He was about to investigate a very promising pile of weapons when suddenly a voice spoke to them.
“You have passed the first test Mortal and Demon. Sangarian prize loyalty to their kin. You have proved your loyalty to your own kin.”
Seth looked at Mila and added playfully, “I guess if you had left me behind, we would have failed the task. It’s a good thing that you’re completely over heels for me”

The Voice continued, “The second task is to prove your worth as a warrior. Sangarian can hold their own even in the toughest of battles. Defeat the Fey Greysnout. Your magic will not help you here”
Seth felt his expression change when he heard the word, “Fey Greysnout”
“We might have a little trouble this one…You’re not familiar with demon creatures of the fey, are you? ”, he added thoughtfully.
All along the edges of the Coliseum, beams of light began to shine and weave overhead, forming a dome above them. There wasn’t any escape.
Seth felt his magic drain away and form part of the dome, it was a sickening feeling, He immediately felt weaker. He looked over towards Mila, She was in the same state as him.

Once the dome had formed completely, the gates near the base of the Coliseum began to creak open. A massive creature began to creep out from the darkness. It’s beady eyes, locking onto Seth and Mila.
The Fey Greysnout, looked very much like a bad mix of creatures; It had an armored body, similar to that of a Sealion, it’s the tail was like that of a dolphin and its head was full of long barbed tentacles and teeth. The Sheer size of the creature was frightening enough.

Reaching hastily for a discarded Sword, Seth pulled on some the old armor. He tossed a bow and some old arrows towards Mila.
“I’ll take care of this guy, Arrows aren’t going to pierce his hide, but I’m going to your help with distracting him so that I can get in close. I hope that you remember how to those Princess?”

Mila scowled at Seth. Knocking an arrow she aimed at the face of the beast.
"Hey ugly! Come get a taste of me!" The Fey Greysnout turned to her and charged. She loosed the arrow and the creature squealed as the arrow bedded itself it its eye. Thrashing the creature continued its charge and Mila swam up rapidly to avoid being crushed. She loosed another arrow, which bounced harmlessly off the creatures hide.
It turned and charged at her again.
"Any moment now Seth. I think I just made it mad." She loosed another arrow hitting home in a tentacle, but the creature hardly noticed.
Mila tried to dodge again but her tail got hooked on a barbed tentacle and she she tried to free herself. Her bow and arrow floated away. the creature curled its tentacle to its mouth and Mila grabbed at the arrow she had shot into it. Pulling it out she stabbed at the creature desperately.
"Seth!" She squeaked as teeth loomed before her.

Mila’s arrow hit the creature square in the eye, forcing it into a rage as it barrelled towards them. “Good shot, now it’s my turn”
Unsheathing the old sword, Seth lunged forward and cleaved into the creature. He was aiming for the neck, but the armoured plates on the creature body’s hit the sword instead, causing it to bounce off.
Furious, the creature knocked Seth back using its powerful tail. With Seth out of the way, it made a bee-line towards Mila who had just let loose another arrow. Mila had moved quickly, but the creature was faster and reeled her in using one of its tentacles.
Seeing how the situation had turned from bad to worse, Seth wasted no time. With the creature distracted, He swam in quickly from behind. With a single swift movement he swung the sword and lobbed off it’s head.
Blood spread through the water like dye around him and Mila. They had completed the challenge.

Breathing heavily, Seth made his way to Mila’s side, “Well…that was gross. Also you still have a little something sticking to your fin there”
Shooing a piece of leftover tentacle from Mila’s fin, Seth teased, “Now if we had fire, we could have made a great meal off of that.”
Gradually the dome overhead began to dissolve, and with it their magic returned. Deciding to hang onto the sword, Seth used some magic to dissolved the blade, a blade doused with demon blood would always be handy.

The Voice called to them, “You have completed the second challenge. You may call yourselves warriors. Warriors need a sharp mind though, You will find your last challenge through the eye of the Fey”

Seth frowned at the Voice’s words, “Yay, I love riddles…”
Swimming over to where the Fey Greysnout’s head floated, he took hold of the tentacled mass and yanked out one of it’s eyes.
Showing Mila the bloody eyeball, He smirked, "Demon riddles are usually more literal than one would think. There is a portal inside this thing, think of it as a key. Can you open it using your magic?”

Mila looked at the eyeball in disgust and brought her hands close to it, careful not to touch it. She channelled flows of magic into it, searching for something she did not entirely understand. Something clicked in the flow and a bright light broke through the eye. A portal.

Seth and Mila stepped through it into a dark room. The portal disappeared as soon as they were through it. Suddenly a faint light shone.  Mila could make out a pedestal in the middle of the room. She walked closer and saw an engraved plate on the pedestal.
Lay upon me the 3 sacred treasures. The light of beauty, the strength of growth and the magic in all.
Mila touched the engraving and trickles of light floated from it. A message formed in the air in front of her, the firefly-like trickles coming together.
From grain of  sand become ivory in the struggles of darkness, encased in flesh and rock.
The walls around them began to rumble and close in.
“Looks like there is a time limit.” Mila exhaled. “The first one is beauty. From a grain of sand… It must be something in the ocean then? Or a river. Maybe a gem or jewel? Like seastone?”
She made a gateway to an ocean and they quickly stepped through it.
She had not entirely focused on which ocean they were going to and they found themselves falling into deep water.
They paddled water to stay afloat.