The Guardians: Spirit Wars

I want to make this a book one day, so that is how I'll have it set up.
The Chapters wont be wildly long, some can be just a few pages, some even more. Each Chapter will have a title and a picture to give a little foreshadow as you read it. I hope everyone enjoys it and any feed back is welcomed.

Synopsis: The Guardians, an ancient race of animal-human hybrid spirits, have waged war for control of our world for millenias. The one rule that has stood through out the war was to keep it away from the mortal realm. It was a sacred rule that was always respected, until now. The war crept into the mortal realm as Guardians under the leadership of Venom, a Serpent Guardian, broke the rule and began to attack humans. Now, a young warrior picks up his blade to lead a group of mortals and protect our realm from Venom and his evil army. With the aid of Venom's enemies, led by Kruger the White Lion Guardian, these mortals will defend our world before its falls to Venom's control.

Chapter One

Wild Things

The night was calm. The city was relatively quiet for this time of the night. It appears the local news reports about the strange murders was getting to the general population. The murders were completely random. Absolutely no connection between the victims. The only connection was the way they were murdered, gruesomely. Each victim was brutally torn apart, showing animal markings all over what was left of them. There was something loose in the city of Arnica, and the people were not going to risk it.

However, the general fear didn't reach the young population. The streets still had the occasional small group of teenagers acting stupid, drinking and doing drugs with the streets being so empty. Even the police stayed off of them, if they could help it. Not that they needed to be out. With the murders, there was a new organization watching over Arnica.

On the roof of a tall apartment building, a young hooded man stood at the corner, watching down to the streets below. Four young adults, about 18 or 19, were standing at the corner. Even with the streets so empty, they were shifty and kept glancing every which way, ready to stop their activities should another person grace the street. From the rooftop, the young man had a clear view of the street. He easily notices the shadows shifting in the alleyway across from the teenagers.

"Ya, man, I think I got enough for a dime." The thinnest of the four teenagers was shifting through a wad of cash, quickly counting it as the older teenager across from him was shifting a small bag full of pills in his hand. Their movements were rather slow given their nervousness. The slightest sound drew their attention. Suddenly, the night became dead silent. A chill ran up each of their spines as a low grumble pierced the silence.

The teenagers began to scatter as a massive creature covered in brown fur with grey patches dashed out of the alleyway towards them. It moved with incredible speed and within seconds had the teenager with the money cornered against the tall apartment building. The creature stood up on its hind-legs, standing straight like a man. With its face visible, the physical features of a grizzly bear were clearly present. However, standing the appendages of this bear resembled the anatomy of a man.

"Ordiz, that's enough!" The bear dragged its attention away from the teenager, who used the opportunity to escape and flee with the rest of the teenagers, to focus on the source of the voice. On the other side of the apartment building, the cloaked young man appeared from out of the alley. His silver hair just emerged from under his hood to barely cover his eyes. He raised his head so that his dark green eyes could meet the eyes of Ordiz. From that distance, the bear was confused by the appearance. However, a few quick sniffs of the air changed that.

"Azena. I should have known you'd be hunting me." Azena and Ordiz approached each other, a few steps each. Ordiz kept his sharpened claws at the ready, while Azena flexed his hand to keep it ready. The tension between the two was thick, each looked as though they could tear the other apart and feel no remorse for it.

Chapter One
Wild Things
Continued...

Ordiz became impatient with the staredown. He charged at Azena, who didn't miss a beat. They ran at full speed, not taking their eyes away from the other's. As the distance closed between, Azena became more and more unsure about this decision. He drew his sword from the sheath on his back and moved to slash Ordiz. Ordiz quickly crawled up the wall to avoid Azena's blade and landed hard behind him. With the velocity he had gained, Ordiz thrust himself towards Azena, ramming his head right into Azena's back.

Azena scraped across the rough pavement a good ten feet. When he brought himself to his knees, his faces was bloodied. Th"e slide had cut open his forehead. Azena managed to stagger to his feet only to have Ordiz's foul breath covering his face. Ordiz raised his claw, an enraged look in his eyes. Azena closed his eyes as the massive paw came down.

"Gawr!!!" Ordiz cried out in pain. Azena opened his eyes to see an arrow, gilded with a tiger running down the shaft, was lodged in Ordiz's arm. On the other side of the street was a woman with a silver bow as tall as her. She wore a black cloack like Azena's. Her fire red hair was so long she kept her hood down and let it flow. On either side of her were two monsters like Ordiz. On her left was what was apparently a werewolf and on her right was another creature like the other two, but this one was a white tiger.

"Thought you might like some help." The woman said with a slight smile on her face. Azena couldn't help but to smile to her as well. Ordiz roared with pain and anger. He ripped the arrow out of his arm and charged across the street.

"Altris, get Azena and Syrona out of here. I can handle this teddy." The werewolf charged across the street to meet Ordiz in mid-air. They immediately collided with the ground and began tearing at each other. Altris grabbed Syrona and threw her onto his back as he ran across the street on all fours.

"No, I won't leave Auduman behind!" Azena pleaded with Altris, but it was no use. Altris was too fast and strong for Azena to struggle against. Before he knew it, Azena was thrown up onto Altris' back behind Syrona. They took off down the street.

"Don't worry, Auduman can handle that overgrown idiot."

Chapter One
Wild Things
Continued...

Altris raced down the abandoned streets, well aware that Ordiz was not the only creature stalking in the night. The distant cries of pain and anger could be heard from Auduman and Ordiz as they tore at each other. The city was eerie now. No movement, no sound of any kind. The city had fallen quiet as the fight echoed through out the street. Nobody dared to risk investigating. All they could do was wait and listen and assume they were safe in their homes.

Azena knew that it was a foolish assumption. For once the war finally broke out, nobody was safe anywhere. The sounds of metal clanging and roars could be heard by the trio as they sped through the city. However, this set of noise was coming from ahead of them. They managed to pass a few still streets before Altris dug his claws into the ground for an emergency stop. A body flew across the next street, followed by a large Minotaur looking creature.

"Was that..."

"Yes, I believe that was your friend Aghod being man-handled by Taurus." Altris let Azena and Syrona get down from his back before he stood up straight. At his full height, Altris was taller than any man standing at almost ten feet. Even from the distance of the street, it was clear that Taurus was even taller and much larger in comparison. The horns on his head were half the size of Azena, who stood at a good five feet ten inches.

"Great, I hate Taurus, he's uncontrollable, violent and destructive, and he's even worse when he's angry!" Syrona drew back her bow string but let it lax as Tauras ran behind a building. Altris made after him, having to feel Syrona's hand try to grasp his fur to stop him.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Besides, he won't be alone." Azena drew his blade as he rest his hand on Syrona's shoulder. She smiled as he ran down the street, struggling to keep up with Altris, then took off to join them. Around the corner, Aghod was straining to avoid strike after strike of Taurus' massive hammer.

"Hold still, vermin! I'll crush you and end your pathetic existance." Aghod dove to his side, just barely missing the solid metal force. Between Taurus' legs, he could see Altris turn the corner, charging with remarkable speed. Aghod rolled to his side as Altris connected with the large bull, sending Taurus falling to the floor.

"It's about time you got here! I may be tough, but I ain't no Guardian." Aghod rose to one knee as Altris gave a snide growl to the comment and continued battling. Aghod heard footsteps speeding towards him and acted instinctively. He hurled his fist around, just barely missing Azena, who had saw it coming.

"That's how you greet an old friend?" Azena laughed, holding out his hand. Aghod accepted and rose to his feet. Behind Azena, Syrona had arrived and ran past them to get a better view of Altris. He was struggling against the sheer size of Taurus. Syrona drew her bow and released quickly. Her arrow struck Taurus in the back, but his rough hide simply snapped the arrow upon impacted. He merely twinged to the slight annoyance, but remained focused on his victim.

Altris was on the ground, Taurus' hammer across his neck to choke him. His rear legs clawed at the rough hide, leaving deep and painful scratches. But in Taurus' rage, they meant nothing in comparison to victory. Syrona paniced and ran into the fray, slicing at his hind leg with her katana. The cuts were less of an annoyance than Altris' claws, causing Taurus to react by raising his foot forward and slamming it back into Syrona, sending her flying back in front of Azena and Aghod.

This was the moment that changed the tide of the battle. Azena and Aghod move swiftly. Aghod grabbed Syrona from the floor and, with his large and muscular build, easily carried her out of harm's way. Azena drew his sword from his back and joined Altris in the fight. Altris became enraged at Taurus' actions and found the adrenline-driven strength to tear away the hammer and release himself from Taurus' hold. Now Taurus had two enemies, one on each flank. It was an opportunity neither Altris or Azena wasted. Together, in a synonymous roar, they charged at the massive bull.

Altris made straight for Taurus' throat, using his teeth to sink deep into Taurus' neck. The pain was excrutiating, bringing Taurus' to his knees. The lowered height of the beast's back was enough for Azena to leap into the air and pierce his sword straight through Taurus' back. This time, Taurus' let our a roar of pain so loud, even the heavens themselves could have heard it.

Taurus flailed about, the force causing Altris and Azena to detach from him and fall to the ground. Azena was the first to rise, ready to strike again at the beast, but Taurus' was gone. Vanished, into thin air. Azena looked around, frantically, still clutching his sword as if Taurus would reappear at any moment.

"He fled, as should we." Auduman had appeared behind the startled Aghod, he nearly dropped the unconsciencous Syrona. Auduman was bloodied and scarred himself, but still stood tall and proud. It was hard to tell where he was bleeding from under his red fur. His suggestion referenced to the sirens that now filled the city. The police could no longer ignore the disturbance, lest the city suffer riots from angry citizens.

Altris rose from the ground, nodding in agreement with Auduman. As the red and blue lights started to illuminate the streets, the group vanished into the shadows.

Chapter Two

The Key to Victory

Azena walked in a darkened hallway, alone. His stride was that of one with a sound destination. However, his mind was stuck on the events of the night before. It was rather unheard of for more than one Rogue Guardian to be roaming the city, but they also happened to be two of the most dangerous. Had Azena and his men not been on patrol that night, there would be a group of dead young boys and countless others. And yet, at the same time, they had almost lost their own lives.

Azena reached the lone door in the long hallway and paused for a moment, his hand resting on the handle.

"Enter." The voiced came from the otherside of the door, startling Azena at first. He quickly recovered and pushed open the door. This room was strongly contrasted against the hallway, well lit and brightly-colored, it was as if one had entered another universe. Inside the room, was a large and elegant wooden table, carved with golden trimmings of fierce lions. At the far end of the table, in front of a gorgeous fire, was a white lion creature like the others. Azena stepped forward and bowed to the regal creature before raising and remaining still.

"Please, how often have I said that is not necessary." Azena said nothing, instead he went to sit in the chair on the opposite end of the table that the white lion had motioned to. He relaxed his stance to lay his back against the chair. The chair was the same make as the table, and rather uncomfortable to rest in with its bulky wood providing no room to bend to its user.

"Kruger, it appears that the Rogues have become more ruthless. They freely prowl the cities, attacking anyone they wish." Kruger said nothing, but merely listened to Azena's concern. Even after all these years, Azena still wasn't used to the fact that the regal Kruger seemed to no everything, sometimes even before it happened.

"My fellow Guardians have grown restless. As everyday goes by that Venom does not give them the key to victory, they become more impatient." Kruger rose from his seat. Azena moved to do as well, but rest again when Kruger raised his hand in disapproval. Kruger stared into the dancing flames nested in the fireplace. For a moment, the remained silent.

"Enter." The door slowly opened. Azena turned rose from his seat and turned back to see his group for last night. Aghod entered first, a bruise on his right cheek from one of Taurus' fists. Behind him entered Auduman, still scarred and recovering from his encounter with Ordiz. Next entered Syrona, followed closely by Altris.

"Please, everyone, have a seat. We have matters to discuss." Azena turned back towards Kruger to find that, while his back was turned, the room and table had grown larger and more seats to accompany everyone had appeared. He smiled to himself as he returned to his seat. Syrona sat to Azena's right, Aghod on his left, and Altris sat to Kruger's left and Auduman to Kruger's right. Azena caught Auduman's eye and they exchanged a nod.

"So what the hell's going on Kruger!" Altris gave a Aghod a displeased growl at his comment, but Aghod continued, pretending not to notice. "Taurus was just wandering openly in the city, looking for something, when I found him." Needless to say, Aghod was on less than good terms with the Guardians. Azena was well aware of the strong tension between them, but Aghod was one of his best men.

Aghod was a well-respected member of a mercenary group known as Black Metal. The Black Metal mercenaries were running an operation in China, hunting a fugitive that was causing international problems. During the operation, the mercenaries were led into a trap and ambushed. Aghod, known as Samuel Young at the time, was one of the few survivors. He led the other survivors in a revenge quest that had them follow the fugitive to the city of Rexil. Unfortunately, while hunting the fugitive, Aghod ran into a Rogue Guardian. Had Azena not been hunting that specific Rogue, Aghod may not have survived the encounter and been able to join up with Azena.

"They are looking for the Key."

Azena's ears perked up.

"The key, you mentioned that earlier. What exactly are the Rogues looking for?" All eyes were on Kruger. It was a question that had been on all minds, but Kruger always evaded the question. He always refused to give a direct answer, if he gave any at all. It was times like that that Azena was never surprised when Syrona expressed her lack of trust in Kruger.

"Venom has been searching for the Ancient Magic." Altris and Auduman reacted in a slight shock. Azena and the others noticed their reaction and it began to spark their interest. Syrona was the first to lean forward, ready to ask the question, but she was cut off by Altris.

"It's an ancient scripture that describes how to unlock our inner potential to control power beyond imagination." Altris paused after his statement, leaving his fists resting on the table. He looked to Syrona to see if she was satisfied with the answer. Azena leaned forward.

"How well is the scripture hidden?" Auduman leaned forward to answer, but stopped as Kruger raised his hand.

"Very well hidden, there is absolutely no knowledge of its location." This raised everyone's curiousity. It was well-known that Kruger had command over various elements with the use of Magic. Auduman was the first to voice his concern.

"Then how, My Lord, do you command Magic?" Kruger's response was instant. He had expected the question and had no hesitation in his answer.

"That is knowledge passed down to me. They were specifically taught to me, but even I have no information to the location of the Ancient Magic." Kruger was not sure if they all believed him, but he didn't quite care. They were each entitled to their opinion. Azena used the momentary silence to gather his thoughts.

"We should find the scripture before Venom does."
"Impossible. Venom is already years ahead of us. There's no way we could catch up."

"There's got to be something we can do!"
"There's nothing! We wouldn't even know where to begin!"
"What about the Spirit Realm, that'd be a good place.
"The Spirit Realm is larger than your Realm, we'd never find it by just turning over stones."
"Well, we can't sit idly by until Venom finds it!"

The argument was getting out of hand. At this point, all but Kruger and Azena were standing out of their seats and shouting across the table at anyone that disagreed with them. They all made excellent points, but they all couldn't be correct. One of them had the right answer, the right course of action. It was simply a matter of figuring out which answer was correct.

Azena stared at Kruger from across the table, hoping for some sign of interest at any of the arguments. There was none. Kruger simply smiled at the little debate in front of him, interestedly listening to each argument as if at any moment he'd have to give a reward for the correct answer. It was then, at his moment of calm demeanor, that Azena saw what Kruger was thinking.

"Kruger can teach us." Only Kruger had heard Azena. The others were to heated in their debate to notice an outside comment. Not that they were meant to, it was more or less Azena thinking outloud. Azena let his own words sink in a moment before sharing them again.

"Kruger can teach us to use Magic!" This time, Azena shouted his thought at the table. All voice fell silent, all eyes fell on him. Azena had risen out of his chair and began pacing behind it. Kruger rose shortly after, pausing Azena's step, and nodded in agreement.

"Indeed I can, and intend to." The others sat back in there seat, amazed at what they were hearing. All this time, Kruger had been so determined to keep the secret with him and now he was ready to open up. Upon his return to his seat, Azena noticed a red orb was resting right in front of him, on the table. He looked around to notice that there was an orb in front of each of them.

"Magic is very diverse. It comes in all forms and powers. However, I only have the knowledge to teach you of the Elementals." Kruger motioned to the orbs around the table. Elementals. These orbs were the pure essence of an element. Azena's red orb represented Fire. Syrona's blue orb represented Water. Aghod's green orb represented Earth. Altris and Auduman orbs were blue and red, respectively. The other elements of both Realms were absent from the room. Kruger was only willing to teach them each a single element.

"While these will not aid you in your search for the Ancient Magic, you'll be ready should Venom find the scroll first."

"Great, we have useless orbs? How do we use them..." Aghod was holding his orb, turning it over and over in his hands to examine it. All he saw was a sphere with a green mist moving around inside. He could not see anyway to open it, and wasn't even sure if he needed to. Kruger raised his right hand. Five golden streams of light escaped from his finger tips. Each individual stream connected to a sphere, encasing them in a bright liquid. The orbs began to drift towards its user. The drifted until they reached their chests. Then, in a wonderous feeling of peace, each orb passed into its user and the lights disappeared.

"That was amazing." Syrona was clutching her chest where the orb had entered, still feeling relieved by the magical light. Aghod still looked displeased. He figured that now they had the magic, but there was still the matter of how to command it. Kruger never spoke any incantation, never had any scroll. Perhaps it was simply run by emotions. Kruger noticed Aghod's contemplation.

"The magic reacts to your situation. When you need it, it will be there for you." It was a very cryptic answer that gave no indication of how to command it. However, everyone knew it was the only answer they would get from Kruger and nobody pushed it further. Azena couldn't help but to wonder if he was being literal. Was the magic alive? Could it truely know what was happening and how it could best protect its user?

When Azena looked away from Kruger, back down at the table, he noticed that now a manila folder with documents had appeared in front of each of them. Azena opened his to be greeted with a few word documents and a couple of pictures. He held up the pictures first. One was of a ruin of a Mayan temple ruin. The other was of a man about thirty years of age with a jet black goatee and jet black, slicked back hair. His wore a dirty, tan explorer outfit. It had a few rips on the shoulders and sides of the torso. He stood tall and proud in front of jungle brush.

"That man is Hector Larenzo. Hector and his men live in a town nearby that Mayan temple. He has been sending a lot of expeditions into the temple." Azena looked at both pictures again. Then he read over the documents as Kruger continued. "There are a series of tunnels under the temple that lead to a large room deep underground. Hector is working with Venom, who believes that the Key is in that room." Azena read over the reports of Guardian sightings in that area and reports of Hector meeting with a large cobra.

"So what's the plan then, My Lord?" Auduman had quickly read over the file and was excited to get sent on a real mission. Since the attacks on the city over seven months ago, Auduman and the others had been stationed there night after night. Kruger was finally giving them something more meaningful to take care of.

"Azena, there are a group of Shadow Knights not far from there. I'd like to send them and their Guardians in first, having you meeting them and providing back-up as soon as you arrive." Azena squirmed in his chair uncomfortably. He was aware that he had sent men to South America, but he did not trouble himself to learn exactly who. He was unsure that they were the right men for the job.

"Kruger, I'd rather they wait until we arrived. I'd feel reassured knowing my men aren't walking into danger." Kruger nodded in agreement and understanding.

"They will merely investigate in the town. They are to gather all information they can so that you may be prepared upon your arrival." Azena immediately became relieved. Though he was unsure about a fight, he was fine with his Knights scouting the town out. It was far less dangerous and, if they did it well, a walk in the park that would make the attack easier. "You will have to leave immediately. I'd gather you're things and meet outside as soon as possible."

The group nodded together, and all rose together. Auduman bowed to Kruger and followed the others out the door.

Chapter Three

Secrets

"You think Altris is all right?" Syrona had a slight worry in her voice. Azena knew that it was more for her fear of flying over Altris' current condition. In order to get to the ruins, Azena and the others had to fly down. The plane had already taken off and they were just hours away from Guatemala. Once they landed they would continue by jeep to the ruins.

"I'm sure they're fine. Besides they definitely could use the rest." Since Altris and Auduman obviously couldn't ride as passengers on the plane, they had to be clever. Luckily, Guardians had the power to transform into their animal form. Azena checked them in as exotic animal cargo, a white tiger and red wolf were resting in cages in the plane's cargo hold. The pair wasn't exactly happy with it.

"Let's just be glad we're not down there." Aghod had piped up from the seat behind them. He had the two seats to himself and stretched himself out to relax and fully enjoy the trip. His face was rather smug at the thought of him being better than the Guardians. It was only a matter of moments before he was asleep, leaving Azena and Syrona to talk alone.

"You know, he really gets on my nerves." Syrona placed her hand on Azena's, who in turned grasped onto hers. It was an affection they had kept hidden from everyone, except for Kruger who, Azena figured, knew anyways. It's not that they didn't want people to know, but Azena had a rule that banned Knights from having relationships.

As leader of the Shadow Knights, an organization of humans that Azena gathered to fight Venom, Azena had to make some rules for them to follow. These rules led to a full dedication of service to the Knights. All Knights left their lives behind to serve this cause. Friends, families, careers, it was all gone. This was to keep judgement clear and not let emotion drive them. The last thing that was wanted was for a Knight to risk a mission by trying to save a loved one. It was that rule that kept Azena and Syrona's relationship a secret.

Azena knew they were being hypocritical, but sometimes things just happen that are out of our control. He had been on a mission with Syrona, investigating Venom's activities in Spain. They were there for two weeks, supposed to be undercover as tourists. They played the part well. For one and a half weeks, they roamed the beautiful country, taking in all the lovely cities and activities. It was during this time that Syrona began to fall for Azena's silly charm, and he fell for her resound but peaceful take on life.

Azena sealed their bond at the end of the second week. Syrona never came back from shopping one morning. Azena searched day and night for her until he found a clue to Venom's location. He followed the lead to a poor warehouse at one of the port cities. Inside he found Syrona, bruised and battered. They had been torturing her for information. That night, Azena had to fight off seven Rogue Guardians, including Venom himself. While he didn't defeat any of them, Azena did manage to use is creativity to cause a distraction and escape with Syrona.

"I'm gonna go check on them." Azena was brought out of his memory when Syrona let go of his hand and rose from her seat. As she walked past, Syrona saw that Aghod was awake and couldn't help but to wonder if he had saw.

"I need to use the jon." Aghod rose from his relaxed position and headed towards the back of the plane, just a few steps behind Syrona. Azena couldn't help but to peer his head into the aisle and watch them. Syrona stopped to let Aghod pass her. He paid her no attention and entered into the restroom. Syrona gave a relieved look back to Azena and continued on.

Once he heard Syrona pass by, Aghod emerged from the restroom and sat in the row just in front of him. In this row was another man who did not seem bothered with Aghod joining him. He wore a blue-pinned striped suit with black sunglasses on. The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small envelop. Aghod took it from him and emptied its contents out into his hand. A small ear device fell into his hand and he immediately placed into his ear.

"You are to do exactly as I say." A eerie, hissing voice ringed in his ear. Aghod rose, with no reaction from the stranger, and returned to his seat. He stretched himself out and returned to his slumber.

Tony & I had stories like this. Tony gave up on his & I lost mine.

This is one that I'm really into, so hopefully I won't be giving up on this one.

I think I'm planning on starting KtC (the story, not the RP) back up, actually. Time will tell.

Haha I find it interesting how you use words and terms that I do not know.

Tony = before my time...

KtC = no idea...

^^

KtC, or "Keys to Chaos," is the story, which has also been made into an RP every now & again. Don't ask why it's called that, I just couldn't think of a title. Most of my original characters appear in it in some shape or form.

Tony is...before your time. He was a member of the old site, a member of the OLDER site, & an admin at times. It's a complicated history.

A few hours had passed before the plane finally landed. Azena and Syrona quickly gathered their things, eager to get the Guardians out of their cages. With no Guardian of his own, Aghod could care less and took his time.

"Could you atleast try to move your butt?" Syrona grew tired of his laziness and turned back to bark at him. He was unphased by her outburst and simply sighed and got up to get his luggage.

"Ya, let's go get your kitten." He smirked at his retort and followed behind them. It was curious that Aghod was the only Shadow Knight without a Guardian partner, but no Guardian could bond with him. Kruger once said that it was because he already had a partner, perhaps one from his childhood.

The trio got off the plane and waited for the rest of their luggage to come down the conveyor belt. Next to them were the two cages with the fierce and wild animals in them.

"How much longer?" Syrona became startled by the voice and looked down to the cages. She crouched down and whispered into the cage with the red wolf.

"Auduman, shut it. You can't speak around people." Auduman gave a slight whimper and went back to resting while they waited. Aghod walked down the line a bit and grabbed his suitcase, walking away while the others waited for theirs to come down.

Outside, Aghod loaded his luggage into their jeep and waited in the back seat. He honked the horn as the others exited from the airport. Once everything was loaded up, Altris and Auduman hoped into the back with Aghod. Azena started the jeep and headed towards the ruins.

Five hours passed before they finally got off the muddy trail through the jungle and drove into a rather large yet broken looking village. As they entered, they got many stares from the local. Altris and Auduman were still in their animal forms, but wild animals loose in the back seat could turn some heads.

"Welcome to El Azul, the village just outside the ruins." Azena parked the jeep infront of a shabby looking cantina. As Azena got out he couldn't help but to wonder the integrity of meeting in the village. The cantina had one swinging door falling off, barely held on by one hinge. Multiple windows were busted out, and the filth he could see inside did not relieve his worries.

"All right, Syrona come with me. Aghod stay out here with Altris and Auduman." Aghod gave an irritated grunt. The feeling was mutual from the Guardians. Azena and Syrona entered the cantina. It was dusty, with broken bottles lying about. The patrons weren't much better. Besides the dirty usual drunks, there was also a group of thugs sitting in a corner.

There was no sign of the other Knights nor any suspicious animals hiding in a corner. Azena approached the bartender.

"Hola, amigo. Hablas inglis?" The bartender gave a slight chuckle at Azena's horrible accent and set down the cup he was cleaning.

"Si, amigo! What kin I do fer ju?"

"Have you seen some strangers dressed in black cloaks? They may have been accompanied by some animals?" Azena's question got the attention of the patrons, especially the thugs in the corner who had completely halted their conversation to listen. The bartender noticed them and seemed reluctant to speak further.

"Eh...sure, few days ago. Dey come to town." The thugs in the corner, each dressed like an 80's biker, stood up and approached Azena and Syrona.

"Azena..." He turned around to see the group gathered around them. The one closest to Azena started cracking his knuckles with a smirk on his face. From outside, growls and barking started up, followed by roars and then just whimpers.

"Syrona, go!" Syrona went for the door, but was snatched by a large thug with mutton chops. Azena quickly moved after her, but the thug that stood infront of him grabbed him with his huge arms, squeezing with all his might.

"Who...are...you?!" Azena could barely get the sentence out. The vice grip around his chest was extremely powerful. Having a Guardian partner granted a Knight untold strength and speed to match a Guardian, but even that wasn't enough to break the thug's grip.

The thugs dragged Azena and Syrona out of the cantina and threw them on to the street. Syrona managed to lift her head to see Aghod and the Guardians gone.

"Azena, Altris!" Azena didn't respond. He kept his head down, staring at the dust covered road. How could he have been so stupid to walk into this. He knew he wasn't sure about the Knights stationed here, yet he put all trust in them. The thugs had been quiet up to this point, but began bickering with each other about what to do with them until their apparent leader, a hefty man with a poor looking eye patch, spoke up.

"Our master wants them alive. We will take them to him and he shall decide what to do with them." The other thugs nodded in agreement and forced Azena and Syrona to their feet. Syrona struggled at every opportunity, but Azena remained calm and obediant. They were thrown into their own jeep and one of the thugs started it up, following the other thugs in their jeep.