The Three Dark Angels

"I used to like coming here back in the old days because this place was bustling with activity. This was before the war started, but back in those days, inside the Palace was almost like being in a city inside the mountains, always bustling with activity since nearly all of the Dragoons, aside from the core crews in the cities, all lived here. The Palace even had it's own market place with stores and bars and such back in those days, since there was so much space from being added on for the past two millennia."

"Nowadays though, it's nowhere near like that. It's more like being in an oversized admin building, which is pretty much what it is now with a simple skeleton crew consisting mostly of those who are unable to serve in the front, or are here on a brief vacation from fighting so much in the war. I hope someday those times return so that you can see it for yourselves. It really was impressive."

"What's the war like, Veteran?" Scorpia, speaking up for the first time, asked of Veteran Brandall. His gaze slowly turned to her, and his face grave, before his eyes returned forward.

"Like nothing that can be explained in words. I could try, but it would do no good. You'll understand what I mean when that day comes. I will say this though, don't let it overwhelm you when you do see it. If you do, you will die, it's that simple."

"Is it true that the Alliance is expected to cross the Lost Desert?" Scorpia asked next.

"...yes, we expect them to fully invade our side of the Desert within the next month or so. We'll be making our stands at Pirus and Nekropolis and prevent further incursion into our lands since we cannot face them on the open field anymore."

"Is it...is the situation as bad as I've heard? I've been asking around a lot, and from what I understand, we have almost no chance of winning because most of the top Dragoons have been killed, drastically reducing our overall effectiveness. As of right now, the only Master Dragoons left are the four Masters of the Magi, and Master Phoenix. Even Veterans such as yourself are a rare sight, for most of the Veterans were taken down as well." Scorpia asked next.

"...it's best not to ask such questions for many reasons. The first, and most important reason of all being, if the order comes down, you must follow, regardless of the situation. Instead of questioning whether or not you are capable of winning, you should be asking about how can a victory be achieved. An uneasy mind will hesitate, show weakness, and ultimately get themselves and those around them killed. Even if you think it's impossible, never stop walking forward. It's only impossible for certain if you stop."

"No Veteran, that's not the issue. I just want to hear the real story from someone who's been there and understands what's going on. Living out here on this side of the desert, you almost never even hear of the war, even though so many have been away and fighting in it. So, now that I know the situation is that desperate, it's even more important that I stay alive because they need all of the help they can get."

The Veteran glanced at the young Graduate for a moment. "An interesting perception Graduate..."

"Scorpia, sir. Graduate Scorpia."

"Graduate Scorpia." Veteran Brandall nodded. "In fact Graduate Scorpia, I hope you continue to hold on to that kind of thinking. I have seen many massacres in this war, but I have also seen many miracles. There are times when the will to live is simply stronger than anything else. Whether or not it's fate or the Dragons or something else, I couldn't tell you, but I can tell you that it feels like magic of that power when you witness it. I hope you continue to hold on to that will to live, even if the entire world burns to the ground. Otherwise, it will never rise again. You, along with your brothers and sisters tonight, you are our future."

That wasn't what Scorpia was concerned with. She was concerned about her two sisters, Rachel and Crystal. If she were to pass on, then the world would be unable to protect those two in her steed. That was her primary concern above all else, always has been, and always will be.

They continued the several mile journey with light conversation, and though most had seen the Palace a number of times in their life, nearly everyone still had to stop for a moment of silence at the sheer grandeur of the Palace, which began coming into view through literally hundreds of large torches, lamps, candles, and any other matter of lighting which was spread all across the outside of the palace through windows, or on poles built on the outside walls.

The Palace of the Ascendance, beyond a shadow of a doubt the largest structure ever created by man on all of Magicka, Tech and Magi alike.

Originally, it was first built during the time of Osirus, and originally was both a refuge and a base of operations for Osirus and his followers during the height of his power. Though back then, the Palace hardly compared to what it is today, and was about a tenth or less the size that it is now.

Back then, it had simply been a speck on the face of the mountain at the direct center between the Twin Rivers that flowed from either side of the southern face of the Dragon Mountains. Now, it encompassed the entire base of the south side of the mountains, stretching the several miles across the face of the mountains to the walls of the valley past the Twin Rivers, which were now a little more relegated with dams that were built as a part of the foundation of the Palace to help control the rivers during flooding seasons which would damage Skytown and Templar's major crop fields if left unchecked.

It's design almost made it seem like a giant staircase which led up into the mountain, with giant towers at regular intervals going both across and up the Palace, the number of these towers going into the hundreds all the way across. And that was mostly it, because of it's sheer size, it's not surprising that the actual exterior design of the Palace was a very bland and simple design. It was just simply done on a massive scale that has never been seen before or since it has been turned into what it is now.

At night, however, with so many of those open windows and towers dark and empty, aside from the scattered torches and candles, it seemed as empty and void of life as it was imposing. It felt like thousands could get lost in the dark upper floors of the Palace deep in the mountains to never return. In fact, many wondered if there were any such ghost stories, and there were plenty of strange urban legends to be shared even within such glorious walls.

Though the Palace was massive beyond belief, it's entrance was not. Several bright white large marble arches stretching for several dozen yards with two large torches which were lit on the top on either side of the arches with multiple pillars which led up to the main entrance, and each arch possessed two guards, who were currently standing aside to allow the Graduates to proceed. The main entrance of the Palace itself was a series of thirty plus bright white double doors with golden handles, enough to handle major traffic in the hundreds in and out of the Palace at almost any given time.

Various entrances of the same kind stretched on all sides of the Palace, each entrance representing a district number inside the Palace in the days that Veteran Brandall had spoken of. Most of these were now closed off and have not been used in years, and the interior of the Palace was maintained by a skeleton crew, the remaining Palace crew that was unable to fight in the war.

The group were now at the Palace doors, and Veteran Brandall had stopped them and had the Graduates formed up before him with the three leaders directly in front of him.

"And now, at long last, it is my utmost pleasure to welcome you home, Dragoons. Graduate Beasley, Graduate Fortuna, and Graduate Scorpia, you may step inside first, and then turn and welcome your brothers and sisters."

Although Beasley and Scorpia were not the type to get excited at events like these, but even they could not help themselves and wonder what lay beyond these doors. Only Dragoons and their families have ever been permitted in the Palace in the past century, and the only time anyone else could get close to the Palace was at the start of the new year.

Fortuna, however, barely managed to contain her excitement by exercising all of her will, reducing the show of excitement she wanted to burst with into a simple smile.

Veteran Brandall then turned and began approaching the doors, and the three leading Graduates followed him while the others remained still. As they approached, something began happening that they had not been expecting.

The walk here had been a very repressed one with a large dark cloud which had hung over everyone's heads, completely killing any sort of excitement in the atmosphere. So, to hear the beginnings of applause and cheers, that was something that had caused everyone to stop and turn to see it's source.

It was all of the staff that had been at the Graduate Tournament, all of whom who had joined the Graduates on the walk as they were supposed to, and several of them decided to give the Graduates the cheers and applause that they deserved.

It was a heartwarming moment for all, and the applauses was allowed to continue for several moments before Beasley, Fortuna, and Scorpia turned and followed Veteran Brandall as he opened the doors and they stepped into the Palace for the first time in their lives.

What they found inside was a massive hallway, massive enough to fit thousands in just it's entranceway alone, with pillars evenly spread on two sides of the immensely large corridor, with a giant red carpet which was spread out in between the two sets of pillars which continued deep into the hall. Each pillar had a built in torch which gave enough light to reveal the giant hall in all it's glory.

Along the walls on either side were an almost unbelievable amount of staircases and doors, all leading only the Dragons knew where. Veteran Brandall saw that the three Graduates seemed a little overwhelmed as they openly gawked at it's size, which seemed even bigger than it used to be because the hallway was almost completely empty. He smiled at them.

"You don't need to worry, most of these doors and stairs that you see lead to areas that you probably won't ever see in your lifetime. The only thing you need to worry about is further down the hall, where the main headquarters of the Palace rests. Once we get there, this place will seem a little more normal. Also, I would be careful what I say while in this hall, the voice travels easy in this space." The Veteran concluded with a smile, knowing that there was no way the Graduates could miss the echo that he had produced while speaking at a normal voice.

"Yeah, I'll definitely-oh by the Dragons I sound awful." Fortuna said as she heard her own echo. "Do I really sound like that?" Fortuna asked Scorpia in a whisper.

Scorpia rolled her eyes. "Relax, it's just something you're not used to hearing. It's one thing to hear it from your own mouth, it's another to hear that same sound thrown back at you, that's all."

"...I hope that's what it is."

"Worry about that later, let's just greet everyone and get going." Beasley said as she turned and began to walk back outside.

Scorpia followed close behind while Fortuna shot a quick dirty glance in Beasley's direction before following. Beasley was okay to get along with sometimes, but sometimes, she just had her bitch moments. Like something suddenly crawled up her ass and bit her hard.

The three Graduates stood outside before their classmates, and slowly took a bow together.

"Welcome home!" They announced, once again to the applause of the spectators, and the Graduates began entering the Palace for the first time n their lives.



Sabrina sighed as she awaited the incoming flood that would come tonight. It was the start of the new year, and the Graduate Tournament should be over soon. And in a few moments, the beginning of perhaps the busiest night of the entire year for bars would begin. The celebrations, all which had begun on a massive scale at the tournament, would continue deep into the night as it did every year.

Hopefully, at some point, Aegis, Angelus, and Azreal would be making their way here soon and she would hear all about how they did. Sabrina, for most of the night now, couldn't help but wonder whether or not Aegis would win it all. He was number one after all, and it was generally understood between the family that Aegis had always been the strongest, much to Angelus' displeasure.

So, the idea wouldn't be impossible, and it would be a nice thought. Her lover, Aegis, champion of the Graduate Tournament. That thought gave her goose bumps, something entirely new when compared to where they once were just five short years ago. As different as night and day.

On top of that, it was a nice thought for her to hold on to for a little while before all three of them got sent off into the war, and the horror of waiting for them to return...if...

Sabrina shook her head. She would just have to have faith in them. It was all she had the power to do...no...she had the power to care for Benjamin, and that was perhaps the most important power of all.

Her thoughts turned to Benjamin as she looked up to the ceiling above her. Currently, he is fast asleep in one of the three spare bedrooms of the second floor that her boss allowed his employees to use for various circumstances, such as when Sabrina was working and couldn't find a babysitter or caretaker for Benjamin.

She then turned back to the glass in her hand and continued to wipe it clean before setting it aside, prepping the bar as much as she could before the flood began. Although this was a lower key bar and won't see a typical party night, it did get pretty crowded in here on New Years, since nearly everyone was all out tonight looking for the same thing. A bar to continue to get more drunk.

Three of the regulars were already here, and the atmosphere was quiet, allowing nearly everyone to hear the conversation of three men who had walked through the door.

"-absolutely un-fucking-believable man, un-fucking-believable, can you imagine if that shit had hit us?"

"Yeah, I can imagine, I can imagine that all three of us would be able to fit in the palm of someone's hand. I have never seen that kind of power displayed in almost all of my life. The fucking Grand Dragoon himself had to step in, it honestly was the craziest few seconds of my life."

"And to top it off, all of our bets got fucked up. How the fuck are they going to do this? They didn't even bother to announce an official winner, they just rounded everyone up and sent them home. I hope they give back refunds."

"Something happen at the Tournament?" One of the regulars asked the men who just sat down, and this conversation now had Sabrina's full attention.

"Yeah, something happened alright. Some really crazy fucked up shit is what happened. Everything was fine until the finals, especially for me since I had picked Graduate Aegis to win it all, and he was in the finals along with what's his name...the Hothead guy."

"Angelus."

Sabrina suddenly had a feeling of dread and terror on where this was going, and her heart began to race as she listened in.

"Right, Angelus. Anyway, the fight starts out slow and good but then, all of the sudden, fucking Angelus just suddenly snaps and in mid fight, throws a fireball at Aegis, who responded with one of his own, and then came back with a Fury of the Skies like I have never seen before. If either of them had fucked up and hit the crowds...they could have killed hundreds in an instant, easy."

CRASH!!!

The glass that had been in Sabrina's hand that she was absentmindedly cleaning had slipped and fallen to the floor without Sabrina's notice, nor did she notice the eyes that had all turned to her as everyone present jumped in surprise. Instead, her thoughts were focused on what she had heard.

But that...that shouldn't be a problem anymore. The last time something like that had happened was five or so years ago, when Aegis had brought her into his, Angelus, and Azreal's life. She had only seen it twice, and to this day, those blood eyes still continued to haunt her dreams.

But now, now all of those nightmares had suddenly sprung to life, that evil side of them trying to surface and take over, a side that will destroy anything they touch, a side that Sabrina dreaded would one day take Aegis away from her and never give him back.

Sabrina's hands began to shake as she fought to keep her panic under control as she bent down and began gathering the large pieces of glass together in her hand. For all of this to start happening now, just when they're about to be sent off...

"Sabrina, you alright?" Leslie, Sabrina's coworker, asked.

"Y-yeah." Sabrina answered distantly, who hadn't even noticed that Leslie had bent down next to her.

Leslie may have been an eighteen year old blonde, but was far from stupid. "I just heard all of that too and I know I wouldn't be alright with it. That doesn't sound like Aegis at all." Leslie had met Aegis a number of occasions when they had come back from Candidate school, and Aegis struck her as cold and distant, almost the polar opposite of Sabrina, who normally is full of life and warmth. At the same time, there was an undeniable connection between the two, a type that Leslie dreamed of having someday.

"No, it isn't, it isn't him at all." Sabrina whispered, more to herself than Leslie, who raised an eyebrow.

"Sabrina, what's going on? Is there something else?" Leslie asked.

"No, it just, it just caught me off guard, that's all."

Leslie didn't believe that, for Sabrina had gone to an almost scary pale white. But, she decided not to press it since Sabrina wasn't about to talk. "Look, talk to the boss, maybe she'll let you go and you can find out what's going on. I'll look after Benjamin for you, okay?"

Sabrina smiled at the offer, glad that one of Leslie's favorite hobbies was babysitting Benjamin and learning how to be a mother first hand which she always tried to volunteer for. "Thanks, but I shouldn't. It's the busiest night of the year, and you guys need me, and Benjamin needs me, and-"

"Sabrina, honestly, you don't look like you're ready to do anything until you go find out what's going on with Aegis. The boss will throw a fit if you start dropping glasses and zoning out all night. Just go and tell her what's going on, and she'll let you go."

"But-"

"They probably went to the Palace. If you head up there now, you'll probably find him and find out what had happened. You have the pass that says that you're an honorary family member of the Dragoons right? They should let you in and be able to help you track down Aegis and find out the story straight from him."

Sabrina remained silent.

"Look, if you don't go to Mrs. Stapleton right now, I'll take you and drag you over to her myself. Leave this mess for me to clean up and you go talk to her."

Leslie smiled in triumph upon seeing Sabrina stand. "Okay, okay, I'll go. And...thanks for everything Leslie."

"No problem, and don't worry about Benjamin. I'll take good care of him, and if you're not back by closing time, then I'll stay here with him overnight."

Sabrina nodded. "Thanks. Hopefully I won't be that long."

"Good luck." Leslie called out as Sabrina went to go find her boss, who was most likely in her office on the second floor at the moment, attending to paperwork as much as she could before the night got busy and she came downstairs to help.

There were actually two bosses here, since Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton jointly owned the bar, but had come down hard with something and wasn't in tonight, thus already putting a strain on the staff tonight and why Sabrina didn't want to up and leave them. They were already one short on the busiest night of the year.