Hello, everyone! I'm Jashire486 and, well this is my first story on here! Woo hoo! I've been reading stories here for a long time and now, I've finally gotten the courage to actually write one! Since this is my first, I want as much feedback and comment as possible (especially on ways I could improve) so PLEASE REVIEW!

Now, about this story…well it's mostly focused on Raven. I've basically made up her entire past…yes, her father is still Trigon, and she still has that I'm-a-half-demon-and-I'm-eventually-going-to-end-the-world problem, but I've made up everything about her mother, her family, her (other) friends, and her home. The other titans don't come into the story until way later so…yeah. Just to warn you.

Things to know:

"…." Talking

'….' Thinking

"…." Talking in a different language

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, or anything else about Raven that was made up by Cartoon Network and DC comics…but I do own the characters I made up for this story. (There are a lot of them) Please don't use them without my permission. Oh, and I don't own the prophecy…or at least, the first part of it…Everything from the words "But when it seems that all is lost" and the words "And give us back our world" I do own so…don't use them without asking.

On with the story…

The Caged Bird

Prologue: Metrion's Prophecy

It was a dark, cloudy night on the planet known as Azarath. Delsetor, the moon, along with the many stars nearby was hidden from all below. The wind howled, causing trees and other tall objects to bend in its direction. None of the usual night time animals were out and about looking for food, but were rather in their nice cozy burrows, nests, caves and whatnot. Around here, these were definite signs that a storm, most likely filled with rain and floods, was coming. It would be best to stay indoors, and that's why the whole place looked so deserted. Everyone was safe in their homes, making sure they were prepared for what was coming, including the king of that land.

He dwelt in the huge castle settled on top of an enormous green hill, where he could see for miles around and watch over the townsfolk. When one of his servants saw the signs of a storm, the king immediately ordered all his workers to close the gates, bring in the animals, and do what needed to be done. That had been two hours ago. He now sat in his study in front of the huge glass windows that covered nearly an entire wall. His back was to the door as he looked outside, deep in thought, sipping on red wine.

The king was a tall man in his 30's. He had neck length, brown wavy hair, and wore comfortable yet expensive looking clothes. Over that he had on a dark blue velvet cloak, lined at the edges with silver lace. He had gray, kind eyes and a kind looking face. He was well liked among the townsfolk for being caring and generous, and always putting his people first. Many of them wondered why such a good man had no wife and children of his own.

The king continued to sit there in his favorite chair, watching as the clouds rumbled with thunder and lightning came shooting out of the sky. He had work to do tonight, work that scared yet fascinated him. A sudden knocking brought the man back to this world as he turned around and shouted, "Come in!"

A tired, middle aged woman in a tan colored dress with a white apron over it opened the door slowly. "Your Majesty," began the woman. "A man who calls himself Lord Rythor is at the gate. He says he is here because you sent for him."

"Very good," answered the king. "Before you let him in, remember to check that he's actually Rythor."

"Of course your Majesty." The woman bowed and exited the study. The king slowly got up, put away the wine, and headed toward the door. Just as he was about to turn the knob, he heard a strange noise behind him. Turning around, he saw something next to the windows, on the other side of the glass. There wasn't much light in the room, and it was dark outside, so he could only see the shape of whatever it was.

The king could make out that it was some kind of…strange creature, definitely not human. It had a head two times the size of a normal man's, with two long pointy ears that stuck out at an angle. It had a huge, muscular body, with two strong arms and legs. The king could see a tail three feet long behind the creature, ending in a flat, spade shape. The thing had a pair of bat like looking wings, which were keeping it in the air. But the thing that was freaking the king out the most were the four red eyes in the creature's face, glowing with a light that he just couldn't stop looking at.

The thing was staying in the same place, doing nothing but staring at him. For a minute, the king just stood there, in shock and fear, not sure of what to do. Then, as he saw the thing lifting its arms, he spun around, flung open the door, and ran out of the room, not once looking back. The moment the king was out of sight, the creature lowered its arms, bowed its head and disappeared in a cloud of black mist.

TT

When he got to the top of the stairs, the king stopped to get his breath back. Many thoughts were running through his head, but the one that he was most afraid of was the idea that that creature might get into the castle. 'What if it wants me?' thought the king as he slowly descended the steps. 'After all, all it was doing was looking at me…just at me…'

The moment he reached the bottom step, one of his servants quickly approached him. "Your Majesty, the Lord Rythor has arrived."

"Has he come alone?" asked the king as he stepped off the stairs and stood in the nearly empty hallway.

"Yes, he has, sir," answered the servant. "He says his brother was not able to accompany him, for he has become terribly ill."

"Really? Goodness, something must be going around, it seems like everyone is getting sick."

"You're right, Galvion. I suspect my daughter is catching it too, but she hides it cleverly so she can ride in the woods with her brothers," answered a voice around the corner.

The king and the servant turned to see a tall man, dressed in fine clothes, coming down the hall. He had shoulder length black hair and wore an ankle length maroon velvet cloak, lined at the edges with gold lace, similar to the king's cloak. The man's hood was down so you could see his facial features. He had a handsome face, like most of the humans on Azarath, and pale skin, another Azarathian trait. The man's eyes were dark green and had a stern look in them, but he had on a joyful smile that betrayed what they showed he was feeling.

When he reached the king, the two hugged, for they were best friends, and had known each other since they were little. This was Rythor's first visit to the castle though, so no one but the king knew who he was. The servant, still standing there, began to feel nervous and out of place. The king finally noticed him, and said, "Oh my, I forgot you were still here. Goodness, I must be getting old. Thank you, young man. You may leave." The servant bowed to the king, then Lord Rythor, and walked quickly down the hall and around the corner.

"So," began the king as he turned back to the smiling man. "Rythor, my good man, I haven't seen you in so long. How are your wife and children?"

"Very well, very well. My wife is away visiting her relatives, and my sons, goodness Galvion they are growing so fast, but not as fast as my daughter. She always tries to keep up with her brothers, and never wants to be left behind when they go out on their horses. I assume you are doing well here?"

"Yes, and I am very thankful you were willing to travel all the way out here, Rythor-"

"Oh it's nothing, friend," interrupted Rythor. "After all, I didn't come here just to visit you. We have…business to take care of, correct?"

"Oh yes," remembered the king. "I almost forgot. Well, we must deal with this first, I guess. He is in one of the guests' rooms on the third floor. Shall we go there now?"

"Um…wait Galvion," said Rythor urgently. "I need to…speak with you. Privately. Is that possible?"

The king looked at the man with concern. "Is there something wrong, friend?"

Lord Rythor was no longer looking at the king's face. Instead he was looking at the floor, as if he was nervous and ashamed. "I…I just need to talk to you about this…business we're going to get ourselves into."

"Oh…okay. Hmm…well we could discuss this in my stu-" The king stopped, remembering the beast he saw lurking outside the windows of that room.

"Yes? Discuss this where?" asked Rythor, looking up at him.

"Uh…in the…library. Yes, yes, the library…you see my study is…uh, quite cluttered. You wouldn't want to be in there, trust me," answered the king as he led the way up the stairs to the library. Rythor, confused, responded with an "…okay, sure" and followed him up the steps.

TT

Once they were in the library, sitting in the comfortable chairs near the fireplace, Rythor asked his friend a question. "Galvion…do you really think we should be getting involved in this, ah, well this unusual situation?"

The king, who was currently pouring wine for both of them, stopped, put down the bottle and looked up at him. "Rythor…please don't tell me you are thinking of backing out now?"

"Galvion, I am really…unsure whether we should really be doing this. I know we worked very hard to find him, and it took even more work to convince him to come with us, but these matters…they are…dangerous, to say the least."

"Dangerous? Rythor, you knew from the start that this would be very dangerous indeed! You seemed so eager to do this before, why are you acting like this-"

"Because, Galvion!" cut in Rythor. "This situation is filled with magic! Old, old magic that we know hardly anything about! I know…I know I was so excited to do this before, but during the past week, I've been…I've been having second thoughts about what could happen. Haven't you ever thought about that, Galvion? About what might just happen if we meddle in these things?"

"Of course I have!" yelled the king at his friend. "I…I always think about the consequences of what we're doing…but what I fear even more than that…is what would happen if we didn't do anything about this. If we just…let it all occur without taking any action to do something about it. We need to find out what's going on, Rythor…we need to know what's happening so we can warn our people, before it's too late."

Lord Rythor did not speak for a moment. He stared at the fireplace, watching the lights dance and the heat burn the wood. After a while, he spoke. "…You're right. You're absolutely right. We…I…I'm sorry for having doubts about this, Galvion. I-"

"No need to apologize, my friend," said the king as he placed his hand on his friend's. "It just means you care about-"

"No don't say I care…my thoughts were selfish, while yours were only filled with helping your people's, the way a king's should be. You really are a good ruler, Galvion."

The king didn't respond to his friend's words, but said, "Come. Our…guest is waiting."

The two got up, threw water on the fireplace to quench the flames, and exited the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

TT

As they walked down the hallway to visit their mysterious "guest", the king began to speak to Lord Rythor about what had been going on during the past few weeks.

"Rythor, remember the day we found this man in his home near that beautiful waterfall in the North?" Rythor nodded his head. "If you can recall, he was a bit ill, wasn't he? Well he has not gotten better…the healers have no idea what is the matter with him, nor do they have any idea what he has caught! I am worried…they say they do not know if he will survive this."

"But Galvion," answered Rythor. "This man, he is the greatest prophet to have ever been born on this planet! Prophets usually live longer than his current age, don't they? And furthermore, you and I both know he is not mortal…he's one of the divine immortals, blessed with long life! The man is only 107, but looks younger than the both of us! How can he die now?"

"I don't know, Rythor," answered the king as they stopped outside a door at the end of a long hallway. "But he is deeply involved in magic…who knows what he could've gotten himself into?" After saying this, the king put his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

The room in front of them was not very big, it was the typical size of a normal bedroom, but it was in the royal castle, so it was furnished with very high class looking furniture. The floors were smooth stone, but it was mostly covered with a huge, soft violet rug. The walls were also made of stone, but there were hangings on them to make the room more comfortable. Two medium sized windows were in the wall across from the door. In the left wall there was a small fireplace whose light was the only light they could see. A very comfy looking bed was in the corner with its back pushed against the wall opposite the fire. It was a four-poster, with see through white curtains hanging on them. The two could see a figure lying under the sheets through the curtains, though they didn't know if the person was actually asleep or not.

To answer their question, a raspy, weak voice spoke from the bed. "Your highness, please come in. If you have the desire to speak with me, I do not mind at all."

Both slowly walked inside, Lord Rythor closing the door silently. The king grabbed two chairs in one of the corners of the room, placed them near the head of the bed, and sat on one of them. When Rythor had sat down, the king began.

"Metrion," he started, slowly. "H-How are you doing? Do you think you feel anymore better than you felt yesterday?" Metrion slowly lifted a hand, and Lord Rythor, realizing he was trying to pull away the curtains, did it for him. "Thank you, my lord," said Metrion tiredly. Without the curtains in the way, Rythor could properly see the man's face.

He was a handsome man, who looked younger than Rythor and Galvion. He had straight, shiny silver hair that reached his shoulders, and had beautiful lavender eyes. When the lord and king had found him on their little journey to the North, he was pale, as most Azarathians are. But now, it seemed to Rythor that he had gotten even paler than that. At his home near the waterfall, he had an air of mystery yet power around him, and when he first saw him, Rythor looked at him in awe. But now, that aura seemed to be hardly present. He looked weak, fragile, and Rythor found himself pitying him. But Metrion still had that strong look full of wisdom in his eyes that made the lord respect him so. He knew he was a man who wouldn't take anyone's pity for him.

"I see you have arrived here safely, Lord Rythor…I hope it-" He paused to cough, and seeing this, Rythor's eyes saddened. "I hope it brought you no trouble to come and see me…"

"Oh sir, please don't worry, I came here willingly, it was no trouble at all," replied Rythor softly. In truth, it did cause him a bit of trouble to go to the king's castle because he lived a bit of a distance from his friend, and in the town Rythor lived in the storm was already starting. As he left, it seemed like it followed him to his friend's home, and since his brother was ill, he had to travel alone. Of course, he didn't bother to tell the sick man this.

"Still, I am very thankful you came all this way," continued Metrion. "Anyway your highness, I am assuming that the two of you wanted to speak to me?" The king, who was once again deep in thought staring at the rug on the floor, remembered the business they had to attend to. "Oh yes, uh…well Metrion, I'm guessing you know that there is a reason why we brought you here beside the fact that we found you a little sick?"

"Yes, I have indeed known that there is something you have been hiding from me…I even knew before you arrived at my home that I would be getting some visitors from the West, you see I had a vision the night before that one. I found it quite strange you two came to see me, for I usually don't have many visitors this time of year." The prophet coughed, and the king kindly patted and rubbed the man's back. "Thank you, thank you," said Metrion after his little coughing fit. The king smiled in response.

"Sir," began Rythor. "You see…for a while now, the king and I have been searching for you. A man we met in a town far from here said we should go and find you to get some answers to our questions." He paused, thinking of how to word his thoughts. "Galvion, I think that maybe we should tell this tale from the beginning, it will be much easier for us."

The king nodded as he said, "You're right…hmm…so, where shall we begin?" "Start with Jorya, after all, that's when we got ourselves into this mess," replied his friend. "Okay…sir, I'm sure that you know who Jorya is, correct?" Metrion, resting his head on two pillows and looking at the fireplace across the room said, "Of course I do. Even though I live isolated from most, I still hear the many rumors and gossip spreading about. Jorya…yes I have heard that name. She is the one that brags to have inner sight far greater than all the prophets' sight on Azarath…including my own. Am I right?" He looked up at the two sitting near him.

Rythor smiled and nodded while the king said, "Exactly right, Metrion. You see, when Lord Rythor and I were in the village she lives in, we were visiting a friend of ours, we came across her in the market. Somehow she recognized me instantly as the king, and urged the two of us to go to her home for a visit. Not wanting to be rude, we agreed.

"Her house was the biggest among the villagers, I guess she is wealthy enough to have a huge home. Anyway, we followed her inside. As you can imagine, she was very excited to have met the king and one of his lords, and she used this time that she had us to herself to brag about her 'great gift' and the wealth and fame she had. Rythor and I knew about her as you do, Metrion, and unlike others, we didn't believe she was actually a real prophet. But that day, something happened that made us have second thoughts about it." The king stopped, letting Rythor take his place.

"Galvion and I were sitting in her living room, waiting for her to return with some azalian tea she had in her kitchen. When she came back and had finished pouring some for each of us, she took a seat at the other side of the table across from us. We chatted for awhile, and of course she had sugar coated her words that were full of greed and vanity. We honestly wanted to leave as soon as possible…and we were going to, but before Galvion said a word, I stopped him. I had seen a strange look in Jorya's eyes, which were no longer greedy but were rather dazed, a kind of far away look had taken them. Her head was bowed, and she was looking at the floor.

"The two of just sat there, watching her. All of a sudden her head snapped up, making us jump. We thought she was looking at us, but she was actually staring at the wall behind us, as though there was a window there with something interesting outside. Then she began to speak, slowly at first, then with a little more speed later. I don't remember all of her actual words, but I do remember what she was talking about.

"She spoke of something…an event that would occur here in mortal lands, but not when. An event that would be so tragic and horrible it would be a danger to everyone. She didn't give too many details about it, but she said that it would bring about the death of all humans. Galvion and I were worried, we weren't sure if we should trust her words, but my friend was certain that we should because things would be simply devastating if we didn't. I agreed reluctantly. When Jorya finished speaking, she fainted in her chair. We carried her to her bedroom upstairs, and then left the house."

Lord Rythor stopped to rest while the king continued, "After that happened, we went on a little quest to find out more about this. The person we saw before you was an old man who lived in a town near the huge lake east of here. When we talked to him, he advised us to look for you, Metrion. We already knew you as the great prophet, but he said that you were also deeply involved with magic, and that you have traveled to all four corners of this planet. He said you were very wise, and that you might be able to give us some answers." The king paused to look at the prophet lying on the bed. He had closed his eyes for a few minutes now, but the two could still see him breathing, so they did not worry. They just assumed he was tired. Lord Rythor reached out a hand to wake the man, when Metrion suddenly opened his eyes, and sat bolt upright in his bed, staring straight ahead.

This made the two men fall out of their chairs onto the floor; they had not expected that to happen. Through the windows they saw the sky getting darker than it was before, and they heard the clouds rumble with thunder...but if it was possible, the thunder seemed to have gotten louder. The king slowly rose, helping up his friend. Both their gazes stuck to Metrion, who wasn't moving at all. He just sat there, as if he was in a trance. Afraid of something strange happening, Lord Rythor planned to leave the room and get help, while the king stayed to make sure the other man wouldn't get hurt. Just as he was about to turn the doorknob, something was happening to the prophet.

His eyes slowly began to glow with green light and he opened his mouth to speak. "The gem…the gem," began Metrion. "The gem was born of evil's fire…the gem shall be his portal…" Lord Rythor and the king stood frozen on the spot, listening to his words. "He comes to claim…he comes to sire…the end…of all things…mortal." Metrion's eyes closed, but he did not faint, like Jorya. He just sat there, still upright, not moving. The two were silent…neither moved. Then, Lord Rythor came back to his senses and ran to the door, shouting, "I shall come back with help Galvion!" The king heard him run down the hall before the door closed. He turned back to Metrion, and saw something different than what he had been looking at before.

The man was no longer sitting up, but was rather lying down on the bed. His eyes were barely open, and he looked tired, but it seemed as if he was trying to keep them from closing. They were still glowing, but the light was not as intense as it had been before. He had lifted his arm off the bed, and he was pointing it at the king, as if he was reaching out to him. The king rushed over, knelt by him, and grasped his hand in both of his own. Then Metrion began to speak in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Your…Your highness," started the man, stopping to breathe as if he had run a mile. He was just acting so different from how he was a moment ago. It was scaring the king and he began panicking in his head. "Y-yes, Metrion?" he replied in a fearful voice.

"Ple…Please listen to my words…I'm afraid that…that they will be my last." The king's eyes widened and his grip on the man's hands tightened. "No! Metrion, you…you cannot die! I-" "Please let me finish," insisted the dying man. "I do not know what has happened to me and why I must leave this world so soon…but…" By now, he was panting very hard, and all the while the king was getting more and more frightened. "But…I do know that my cause of death is not natural. Someone…someone has interfered…and I fear that killing me is not the end of it…so your highness, I am warning you now…beware of what lies in the shadows, of what you cannot see…you must protect your people…you must. The prophecy Jorya made is true…what I have seen tonight confirms it…but-" Metrion stopped to make sure the king was still paying attention, for when he heard what he said about what lies in the shadows, Galvion had looked as if he was going to faint. Hearing the "but", the king looked back up at his face. Metrion tried to smile, but couldn't, and winced in pain instead. The king squeezed his hands even tighter as he continued.

"But I have not finished my prophecy. I see more in the future than what I have said, so listen, please. You are the only one here to hear my words, and they are important. So don't leave, don't faint, just…stay and listen." The king nodded, and sat down on the rug next to the bed, not letting go of his hand. Metrion closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them. Once again they were glowing with a fierce green light, but he did not look like he was in a trance. He was not looking at the king, but rather at the window, as if he was expecting something to appear there. Nothing did. He then turned his head to look at the door, and he began to speak, first a little quick, but then, as he went on, he got slower.

He repeated what he said a moment ago when Rythor was in the room. "The gem was born of evil's fire…the gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire…the end of all things mortal." Then, instead of stopping, he continued on. "But when it seems that all is lost…and hope begins to fade…four heroes shall try, but shall fail…to heal the wounds he's made." The king listened intently, trying to remember all he said. "As a shock…the gem shall…reappear…with no faith in…what's light…but then a bird…shall dry her tears…and give her strength…to fight." He was getting slower and slower, and that just made the king worry even more. His heart was pounding so fast, he thought it would burst out of his chest. "The gem…shall stand…against him…and refuse to let him stay. He will brag…he will curse…but she will not sway. Light shall clash…against…the dark…and fire shall be hurled…she will fight…she will endure…and give us back our world." After saying this, Metrion's hand lost life in the king's, and he let his arm drop on the bed. The prophet's eyes closed slowly, and Galvion knew that he was gone.

For a few minutes, he just sat there, on the floor, staring at the ground and not moving. So many thoughts were in his head, but the thing he focused on was the sudden death of the greatest prophet on Azarath. The realization that he was dead still hadn't hit his heart…he hadn't gotten over the shock. He didn't shed a tear, or scream in grief, but just sat there. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the single bolt of lightning that came down from the sky and illuminated the land outside, and the creature that was hovering by the window. Thunder rumbled, and another flash of lightning came. It lit up the room for a second, and if he had been looking up, the king would've seen the horrible creature that had been outside his study presently in the corner of this room. It was standing there, folding its wings and staring at the king with its frightful red eyes. It was only when it snorted out steam and growled that the king knew it was there.

Galvion, suddenly realizing he wasn't alone, froze. He didn't dare look up, for he was afraid that he'd see that horrible winged beast. As he heard it stalk across the rug towards him, he finally forced himself to raise his head. His eyes widened and he stumbled to his feet, preparing to run towards the door. "Halt, mortal," it said in a deep, growling male voice. The king stopped, his foot still in the air where he was going to take a step. He slowly put it down as he turned to face the thing. It was six feet in front of him, standing between the fireplace and the foot of Metrion's bed.

"I presume you are the king of this land?" Galvion nodded quickly. "I don't care to tell you who I am…all you need to know is that I am a servant of Trigon, the great demon and one of the rulers of the Underworld. I am his messenger, or at least, I started out as his messenger. He sent me to find you, to give you a warning. You know that in the ancient days of this world, the people of Azarath united to defeat my lord and trap him in the Nether-Verse, correct?" Without waiting for a response, the messenger continued.

"He came to warn me that before, he was still raging with anger and once he had calmed down was willing to wait, to give you all time. But now he is getting restless. He does not desire to linger anymore in that place, and is planning to break out. He will gather his armies, the millions of creatures, devils, and beasts that would like nothing better to do than to serve him, and he will take back the world that was stolen from him. He knows how weak and pathetic the human race is, so he is giving you an opportunity to prepare yourselves…I believe in your time it is a hundred years? You'll have that long to put up something of a defense…but I doubt that it will be enough to get you through his attack."

At this point, the king was in complete shock. He was so…lost and confused that he felt he would be going insane soon if this all didn't stop. First, the death of Metrion who he had been the only one to witness, and now, this creature was telling him about the attack that Trigon, one of the four greatest evils, was planning on his world? He hadn't experienced this much shock and fear ever before in his life…he didn't know how he was going to deal with it all. Suddenly, the creature began to speak again, taking him out of his thoughts.

"So, human, that was what I had been told to do, but I'm afraid my master did not expect to find Metrion here…he hates him, and the gift he has to see into the future, one that he of such high power and might does not have. When I had arrived, and had heard the prophecy he spoke through the walls of your castle, I knew that this would ruin his plans. If what Metrion said is true, then everything my master worked so hard for would crumble in front of his face. You see, I can't have that…and fortunately for me, you are the only one to have heard the prophecy."

"B-b-but," stammered the king as he interrupted the messenger. "I…I wasn't the only one t-t-to have heard it…my-"

"What? That other pathetic human, Rythor?" interrupted the creature as he growled. "Heh…he only heard the first part of the prophecy…it won't hinder my master…in fact, I think that it will benefit him…that way, fear will spread among you all and create chaos, which will make it easier for my lord to defeat and slay you mortals." He smiled evilly, showing his sharp, white teeth. The king cringed, imagining what it must feel like to have those teeth run against his skin. "Oh, but your highness," said the creature as he stalked towards the king. "You will be able to experience the feeling of my teeth ripping you apart." The king's eyes widened as he stuttered, "H-h-how did you-"

"Know what you were thinking? Your highness, I possess the power to be able to read the minds of others…it is quite useful when I am on missions, when I want to know what people are hiding from me…or when they are lying." His smile grew even wider. "I assume you know why I am going to kill you? It's because of the fact that you, unfortunately, were the only one here to hear the rest of the prophecy besides me. That means you know how "the end" will end…and I cannot have that…I absolutely cannot have that, so your highness, you must go…" The creature drew its arms out to its side and spread its fingers as its sharp claws began to grow so they looked like daggers. "I'm sorry that things must end this way for you…" He was now a foot in front of the king, who, instead of running, stood frozen to the spot. "…But I serve Trigon the Terrible, lord of the Underworld…not King Galvion of the Western Corner of Azarath…so I must do what's good for him…not for you."

And with that, the creature brought his head down and tore the king to pieces with his teeth and claws. Blood splattered the wall and floor of the room and the sound of crunching bone and squishing guts was heard as the creature devoured the king, not wasting a bit of his body. His long tongue licked his fingers and lips as he rose. Suddenly, the door banged open as the Lord Rythor and three strong men rushed into the room. Rythor's eyes darted from the bed with Metrion's dead body on it to the creature that stood in front of him. The three men around him panicked and hid behind the lord.

Rythor's eyes widened in fear, but as he looked down on the ground he saw the clothes of King Galvion, his best friend. Seeing the blood sprayed everywhere, including on the creature itself, he realized what had happened. Just as the beast was going to speak, Rythor, angry tears falling from his eyes, drew his sword and ran at the monster. The thing was strong, and made good use of his tail, whacking it at the man like a whip, but Rythor had exceptional skill with a blade, and in the end, he slayed the beast, cutting off its head. It fell on the floor with a thud, and rolled near the fireplace, where it started to smoke and suddenly disintegrated into a pile of black ashes. Its body staggered, and suddenly its right arm started to move forward, but Rythor immediately sliced it off. It too, fell and turned into ashes. Then the headless body swayed, until it fell backwards and hit the ground, hard. But instead of turning to ashes like its head and arm, it vanished in a cloud of black mist. The two piles of remains suddenly blew away by an unseen wind…and disappeared in thin air.

Rythor was breathing heavily, still trying to catch his breath after slaying the beast. One of three men in standing in the doorway had run to get help a while ago. Another just stood there, frozen with fear, his mouth hanging open and eyes wide, still unable to believe what he had just seen. The last man had come to the same conclusion as Lord Rythor about the blood and clothes, but now that the fight was over, he had rushed to the bed, checking to see if Metrion was still alive or if he was only asleep. Rythor, bending over the clothes that were thrown on the floor and grasping the dark blue velvet cloak in his hand, turned around when the man said "My lord, Metrion…he is…dead." More tears fell from his eyes as the lord stood and let the cloak fall to the ground.

"…Th-thank you, young man…if you will, please run up to the east tower and send a message to Lord Maeretar and Lady Emmadaea…tell them of the prophet's and the king's death." The man bowed and was about to leave when Rythor stopped him. "Wait! Please…please do not tell them about the…the creature you saw. It would be better if I told them in person." The man nodded and quickly left the room, dragging the other man with him.

Lord Rythor stood alone in the middle of the room…shocked, confused, angry, and hurt. Tonight was a terrible night…two people…two men that he cared for and admired had been cruelly taken away from him. Never before had he seemed so lost…arriving here, he had been happy for he would be able to see his best friend once again…but he wouldn't have imagined that he would leave here knowing they'd never be with each other again. If this night had taught him anything, it was that you should always live while you can, cherish your loved ones and all that you have, for you'll never know when it will be taken away from you…forever. The lord sank to his knees and wept, for his friend and for himself. Outside, the rain began to fall, as if the angels looking down on him were shedding tears for his tragic soul.

Somewhere else…

In the shadows in another world, someone had a smile on, an evil, cruel smile as he watched what was happening on Azarath. He laughed with malice and began to speak in a low, frightening voice. "The end of the days of mortals is near…soon I shall be free of this prison, and when that happens, I shall put my plan into action and take back what was stolen from me…their world shall be mine!" Four huge red eyes glowed in the endless darkness, filled with rage and deceit…

So…how was it? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Was it so long and boring that in the middle of it you fell asleep on the keyboard? Please tell me what you think, and I'll try to do better for the first chapter! So…you can go ahead and click on that lavender, err…whatever color button down there and REVIEW!