Guild Wars

Heroes Within the Mist

The Mist Of The Fallen Chronicles

"Though one door closes with sadness of the past; a new door opens to reveal a happy future."

Prologue:

"Alright guys, Prince Rurik has asked for our help. I have already told him that we were on it," Reika Healing Light started, "Our mighty Prince has informed me that the Charr have invaded Diessa Lowlands. He is sending his soldiers to defend the Grenditch Courthouse, but it is gonna take some time. He wants us to go and meet them there. He wants us in the front line, fighting with him. If we get there before his troops, he told me that we should try and force them back as best we can; the courthouse can not be lost to the enemy."

"You got it, we won't let you down Reika!" Vaan assured her.

Her other officers and her members were saluting and cheering. It has been a while since they had something to do. She looked around, they needed this mission. Her members were now pulling out their weapons, polishing them and getting them ready for battle. Everyone was so excited…..everyone but her best friend.

Reika checked in every direction, but the Amazon, Jada Kay, her best friend was nowhere to be found.

"Aiden, Vaan, Kevlar, where is Jada?"

"We don't know, she was gone when we woke this morning. We thought she was with you," Kevlar said.

Suddenly worried, she ran up to meet the guild lord.

"Where is Amazon?" she demanded of him.

Before he had a chance to answer, a female voice interrupted.

"I'm right here, Reika."

They all turned and Reika's heart stopped pounding. She was okay. Jada, the Amazon warrior from Magumma Jungles, stood before them. She had new armor and a brand new weapon, they noticed.

"Well, I guess I don't need to ask you where you've been," the monk, Reika, smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to worry all of you. I finally had the gold to upgrade my armor and weapon. This is my new green staff, got it from a guy in Lion's Arch. He traded it to me for a good price. I gave him four thousand and a few rare materials I will never use."

Jada was smiling, she was so happy to have a new weapon. The one she had owned previously was the same one she got when she first graduated from Nolani Academy. It had been time.

"Wonderful, and where did you get the armor? I've never seen it before."

"There was a merchant from Cantha in Scoundrel's Rise. I spotted him on my way home. He was on his way to Yaks Bend in the Shiverpeak Mountains. He said it was his first time in Tyria, and he was not a fighter. He wasn't armed, and I thought about the Stone Summit. Without weapons or protection of any kind, the Stone Summit barbarians would tear him apart and steal anything he had with him."

Jada led them to the barracks, stopping at her door and entering. They all sat inside. She used her magic to start a fire in the center of the room; it warmed up fast.

"Anyway, I told him about the danger and told him I would not let him go alone. I traveled with him, protecting him from centaurs, the Stone Summit and minotaur beasts."

Aiden turned in his seat to look at her, amazed, "It was just the two of you?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"And you fought all that off by yourself?" he exclaimed.

"I'm not new at the art of battle, Aiden. I am twenty years old; I have already bypassed you and your skills. I have elite spells remember. I handled myself fine. If you recall, I have already had to save your butt a few times."

They all laughed, including Aiden. Reika slapped him on the back and smiled.

"Anyhow, we made it to Yak's Bend safely. For protecting him, he gave me Canthian armor as my reward. I told him it was not necessary, but he wouldn't take no for an answer."

"I see, so now you have new armor. That was very generous of him. It looks awesome, and I like the silver color. It really brings makes you look angelic. You are so pale, but it works for you. I also noticed you got a new golden hair piece. The flame aura lights it up, you practically glow Jada." Reika said, walking around her, admiring her new look.

"Thank you, but there is more."

The four of them waited for her to continue, "What is it?" Vaan asked.

"I was on my way home from the Bend, and ran into the King's advisor. He was panic stricken. He said that the King's personal guard were slaughtered on their patrol of the northern territories just above the breach. Lady Althea has been taken captive."

"Oh no, poor Althea. What are we going to do now, we have a mission to carry out. You missed the announcement early, Jada. The Charr are invading the Diessa Lowlands. We are setting out in a few hours," Kevlar said.

"That's fine. It is all in the same direction. I'll go and rescue Althea, and you guys go to the Lowlands and protect the courthouse; I assume that is why our Prince is sending you there."

"Yes," said Reika.

"Then it's settled. When I have Althea safe, I will come and join you in pushing the Charr back from the courthouse."

"I won't let you go all alone, Amazon."

Jada could tell Reika was serious. She only called her Amazon when she was getting angry. Reika cared too much for her to let her go alone and possibly get killed or captured herself.

"Reika, you and the rest of the guild are going to be busy battling the Charr, you will all need to be there…"

"And we will need our nuker. Jada you are just as important as the rest of us; you also need to be there."

"Reika, I am going to go and get Althea. I will sneak in and find where they are holding her. I can go around their camp. I won't get caught. I'll be fine."

Reika was growing impatient, but she knew that Jada would do just what she pleased. She had to learn to trust her abilities more. Jada was a very powerful Elementalist, and a phenomenal Mesmer. She could handle herself in battle even if she was alone. Reika had to learn to let her friend go and work on her own.

"Okay, Jada….you win. We all leave for the Lowlands in an hour. Everyone should be ready to move by then. When we reach the Breach, we will split up; Jada you will go and find Althea and we will continue on to the Lowlands."

"You got it!"

* * * * *

"Ok, Reika, I'll see you as soon as Althea is safe. When I have her out of harms way, I will bring her to Grenditch Courthouse. I will join you then," Jada said, kneeling to her guild leader.

She gathered her backpack and filled her belt pouch with powders and potion bottles. She saluted the other officers and Reika, and said goodbye and good luck to her fellow members.

"Take care, Jada." Kevlar and Aiden said, hugging her.

"Yes, if you need help, Jada, alert us with your magic," Vaan told her, laying a hand on her cheek.

She smiled; it was no secret that Vaan liked her very much. She was flattered by all the attention he gave her, but she just didn't feel the same way.

"I will, Vaan. I promise."

They watched as she ran off towards Dragon's Gullet. Reika hoped she would be ok. She forgot to remind her about the large two and three headed beasts that lurked in the Gullet.

"You coming, Reika?"

She turned to see her members already a few yards ahead of her. Aiden was waving to her, beckoning her to him.

She followed them and took the lead. She couldn't think about Jada right now, she had to lead her guild into battle.

"Reika! Look!" She squinted and could just barely make out the massive forms of the Charr heading toward the courthouse gate. She counted at least fifty of them, maybe more.

"Okay, people, let's move. Protect the gate!"

They ran at the beast army, taunting and yelling, doing anything to get their attention. They needed to draw them away from the courthouse. Reika used her powers and covered the entire guild in a blanket protection spell.

"All nukers to the rear, warriors to the front! Let's take them out!"

* * * * *

Jada had to go the long way around to get to the Gullet. She saw a devourers' burrow, and decided she didn't want to waste time destroying them when she could be saving Lady Althea. So she went around their den. She cut through the tar pits and as she crossed the second bridge, she was cut off by rock elementals. She rolled her eyes; they were so annoying. Rock elementals were big, but slow and hard headed. They were not very smart.

Six large elementals blocked her path to the Gullet. She rose in the air, chanting the spell to conjure a fire storm. She raised her arms in the air above her head and called forth the storm on her targets.

The fire storm rained down on the elementals. They were being broken up into pieces. They were not on fire, but within a few seconds, the six were destroyed. She continued on her journey. She bumped into a few obstacles, but they were minor and easily taken care of.

She ran another couple of miles before she could see the smoke from bonfires.

"That must be the Charr campsite……" she said to herself.

Jada could see the site when she climbed over the hill. The campsite was down in the valley; she would have to really sneak in to avoid being seen.

She opened her belt pouch and pulled out one of the bottles. She drank a restoration potion, restoring her health, taking care of any wounds she had from before, should she be spotted. The beasts were sitting around the fire, talking furiously in their own language.

'Idiots,' she thought, 'Now where could Althea be?'

She moved about the camp, ducking behind barrels, dodging around tents and boulders to avoid discovery. There were far too many of them for her to take on alone. She knew that.

Suddenly, she heard it; a faint cry for help. Someone was crying.

Jada was about to find out who when a massive shadow hovered over her.

She started to spin around when she was picked up like she was nothing more then a doll. Its massive, clawed hand was tight around her neck, her feet dangling pitifully. She stared into a horrible, shaggy, face that was growling at her.

She managed to say, "Phoenix!"

The spell exploded in their location, creating a crater. The creature dropped her and she took off. She ran into the Gullet further, checking behind her every so often. Within a few minutes she was safe; they were not pursuing her. She didn't understand why. There were far more of them. What were they afraid of?

Without warning, she was knocked on her back. She was in searing pain. Her body had been shelled with a powerful flame attack. She had never been on the receiving end of a fire elemental hit before. It was pure agony, but it would pass. But what had done it, who had conjured it?

She tried to get up, then she was bombed again. It was a meteor spell. Where was it coming from? Her armor was singed. She held her hand in the air, summoning her fire staff. She stood and saw immediately what had attacked her. It was a hydra, a three headed creature that lived in Dragon's Gullet. She had completely forgotten about them. They were the only thing that she had fought so far that could beat her.

She was alone, but it was only one. How hard could one be?

She stood, holding her staff high, she called a meteor shower down upon it. It was working but slowly, the creature was just too big. The monster was huge, at least ten times her size.

She called, "Immolate!" setting the beast on fire.

That didn't work very well, it hardly phased it. It only made it more angry. It roared and the ground began to quake. It was almost like thunder. She tried another tactic. She decided that maybe if she could weaken it, take all its energy, she could kill it without any problem.

She reached into her belt pouch and took out several of the bottles. Two of them contained purple powder. She threw both of them at the hydra. The fumes that were released seeped into the beast and sucked all the energy out of it. It roared angrily again. The ground shook more, almost more violently, as though the tremor was getting closer.

More roaring, then she realized that it wasn't the one she had been fighting. As she stood, she looked toward the mouth of the Gullet. There were at least ten other hydras closing in on her. The beast that attacked her had roared, calling for help.

She was surrounded and already badly injured. She was going to die here. She had failed. Althea was still in the hands of the Charr, and Reika would be expecting her return and be sadly disappointed. She started to cry at the thought of Reika worrying for her.

The hydras were closing in on her. She was going to have to think of something fast, she was running out of time. The hydra to her right chomped its jaws at her; one of its fangs pierced her arm. The wound was deep, and bleeding profusely. Then the one beside it, swiped at her with its tail. It missed, but narrowly. She tried another spell, and conjured a phantasm to distract it. As it flew around its target, he inhaled, stealing some of its life force.

Angrily, the single male hydra came at her, and kicked her, its claws slicing the side of her abdomen. She was sent sailing across the rocky, desert ground. She was bruised and bleeding. She was weak, her pulse was slowing with every breath as the blood was pumped out of her into a puddle on the ground.

She stopped rolling when she hit something solid. She moaned and tried to look at what she had hit, but she was in too much pain. She could hardly lift her head. She moaned again and curled into a ball. Her life was draining out of her and she did not have the energy to save herself.

A darkly clad man had seen the flames flying in the valley. He had come down to see what was going on, he always loved a good battle. He and his pet, Akamaru, ran till they witnessed an elven looking female fight a pack of hydras all on her own.

As she was being kicked across the harsh ground by the buck of the group, he was running down to help her. She had been kicked right to him. She attempted to look up at him, but she was too badly beaten to move. He saw the lacerations on her smooth, pale skin, and the tears on her interesting garments.

'She must be a foreigner,' he thought. He had never seen armor like she was wearing.

"Akamaru, you stay here and guard her. I'll take care of them." he grinned.

The wolf, his pet and partner, stayed behind obediently. The canine licked at her wounds, trying to stem the bleeding. He then sat next to her, protecting her from harm, and watched impatiently as his master took on the hydras alone.

The man, a necromancer and skilled hunter, faced his enemy. It didn't take him long. Between his life stealing spells, his poison arrows, and curses, he had decimated the entire pack. They all lay at his booted feet, dead. He chanted a spell and bone minions, and bone horrors rose from the corpses. They followed him back to the wounded female.

He sliced them all down, killing them instantly. The corpses fell around the woman.

"Well of Blood," he said quietly.

A bright flash of green swept over the three of them. He did not need the well, but she certainly did. It was giving her the life she needed to regenerate. The life from the corpses was soaking into her.

He watched as the spell worked its magic. He was happy to see her open wounds closing fast. As he gazed upon her, he suddenly wanted nothing more then to hold her. He couldn't understand why.

He took the time to really look at her. She was very pale. He thought that maybe she was half elven, but he was certain she was also human. She had short, silver hair that went to the middle of her cheek. A gold and crystal hair piece lay over it. She was wearing strange armor that he had never seen before. She was very pretty.

He found himself wondering what a pretty thing like her was doing way out her in the danger of the Gullet alone.

She began to stir. She groaned, and brought her hand up to her forehead. She seemed to be feeling for something.

"Oh no," she practically whispered.

Akamaru, the necro's pet, licked her face gleefully.

She pushed at the wolf, fending him off.

She opened her eyes and saw the wolf first, then saw the man who owned him.

"Who are you?" she said, petting the canine.

"My name is Ray. That was quite a performance, Miss……" he waited for her name.

"Jada, Amazon Jada Kay."

"An Amazon, huh? Well, Miss Jada, you are very lucky to be alive."

"Yes…" she stood, brushed herself off, then kneeled, "I am grateful to you, Sir. I am in your debt."

He stared horrified. She was kneeling before him like he was some sort of royal. He never thought of himself as anyone important.

"Stand up, will ya. I'm nobody special. Don't bow to me," he said, taking her hands and helping her stand.

She blushed at his touch, but hid it well.

"Well, if there is anything I can do for you, Sir…." "Call me Ray."

"Very well, Ray, if there is anything I can do for you, you let me know."

"Okay, I will. I might think of something I need."

She gave his partner another scratch behind the ears, and started to walk away. She held her hand in the air, and her staff magically appeared. She pulled a red stone out of her hip pocket and chanted, "Shalen Nila."

A flame shot out of the stone and started circling her head.

Ray was astonished, "What is that?!" "It is called a Flame Aura. I got it from a merchant from Cantha."

"So, you are from the eastern continent, then?"

"No. Look, Ray, I'm sorry to do this to you. I really would like to talk and get to know you better, but I simply do not have the time."

She started to run in the opposite direction. He glanced at Akamaru and then the two of them ran after her. They followed her to a Charr Army encampment.

He grabbed her wrist as she was about to walk right into the enemies layer.

"Are you nuts?! What are you doing?" he said, quietly.

"Let go of me, I must go in there. I must rescue Althea."

"Then, I will go with you. I'm not letting you go alone."

She simply looked at him. She was stunned to see the determination in his emerald eyes. He would not let her go alone. She didn't have time to argue. So, together, they saved Althea.

* * * * *

"Reika, duck!"

Aiden pulled back his arm, three arrows notched and ready. He let them fly. Their poisoned tips penetrated Charr armor. Three of them went down, gasping for air; the poison worked fast. It was constricting their lungs.

"Nice shot, Aiden." Reika praised.

Unfortunately, her and her guild were losing. The only elementalist they had in the guild was Jada, and she was not back yet. They needed her to nuke these Charr, and she was off on her own saving the damsel in distress.

"Where is Jada when we need her?" Reika asked out loud, wishing that she were there. They needed her to force the Charr back.

Suddenly, a meteor shower fell fiercely from the dark sky. Reika saw the Charr run for shelter, while others fell to their deaths. Aiden, Vaan, Kevlar, Reika, and the others looked in all directions.

Jada was waving at them from several yards away; but she was not alone. There was a stranger with her. Or was he stalking her to kill her, he seemed dangerous. He was sort of skulking behind her, and she didn't seem to notice. He also had a pet wolf, they were known to be vicious creatures.

As Jada got closer to them, the strange man following her, raised his hands, ready to attack her.

"Jada! Look out!" Vaan yelled, running to protect her.

Vaan tackled the man that moved like a shadow. The two of them tumbled to the ground with a crash. He was punching him anywhere he could manage, fore he kept blocking his movements.

The rage seemed to grow the more he struck the stranger. There were cries behind him, but he wasn't listening.

A fireball struck him in the side. His armor was more then enough to take the damage lightly. He turned to see Jada dashing at him and knocking him sideways. She used all her body weight to shove him off the dark clad man.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"Stop! He is a friend. He helped me rescue Althea. Please, stop hurting him."

"Enough, we don't have time for this. We have…." Reika was cut short. An arrow was sticking out of her side. It had gone deep. She dropped to the ground slowly, trying her best to stay standing.

"R E I K A!!!!!" Jada screamed.

She ran to her best friends side. She pulled out the arrow and tore a piece of her skirt to pack the wound. She was crying, her tears smudging her makeup. She was rocking her; she didn't know what to do. She was not a healer. She was devastated.

"Reika, say something."

"I'll….be alright……Jada…." Reika managed.

She was fading fast, she didn't want Jada to watch her die. She was in so much pain, she passed out. Amazon Jada Kay thought she was dead when her companion didn't respond.

Vaan, Aiden, and Kevlar were coming towards her to comfort her. Ray, who was simply standing by, watching, seemed to fill with anger. The Charr that had made this girl unhappy was about to pay dearly. His brow furrowed and he started forward, then stopped in his tracks.

He watched in astonishment as Jada rose to her feet, and turned. Her eyes were glowing bright white, there was no color in them at all.

"What is happening to her?" he asked, rushing forward.

Kevlar moved closer to Ray, putting a hand against his chest to keep him back, "This has only happened once before. When she gets really angry, her magic seems to have a mind of its own and takes over her. It's like she is a different person."

"Yeah, the only thing to do is to either listen to her, or get out of her way," Aiden said.

"Half of you, move left, the other half move right. I will nuke these evil bastards once and for all. They will pay for what they have done."

She suddenly burst into flame, her body was fully engulfed.

"The Amazons she used to live with called her the Phoenix. She turns into something, we don't quite know how she does it."

Ray watched, but did as she asked.

"No, you are coming with me, necro," she said, pointing to him.

They all obeyed her command, Ray followed close behind her.

"Hey, Amazon, are you gonna be okay?" he asked, testing the waters.

She didn't answer him. She was too far gone. The Charr saw her coming and charged. She was gonna wait till they had her trapped and were all in one area. She started to rise into the sky.

"Ray, go and bring Reika here. I'll need you to work your magic in a minute."

While he ran back for the female monk, she started chanting. As she did, the flames grew around her body. She called for the storm, the meteor storm. It crashed to earth, knocking all the Charr over. Immediately following that, the fire storm rained down once more. As soon as she had the energy for the next spell, she conjured a phantasm to fly around the lot of them and drain their life away slowly.

"NOW!"

The entire guild ran at them, attacking with everything hey had. Once Ray had Jada's monk friend on the battle ground, he helped as well. The Charr that were still alive were attacking her. She was a sitting duck in the air. He had to protect her.

He used his own life to aide her, "Blood….is…..power!"

He felt his life force weaken, but it was worth it to see her gain hers back. It gave her the power to keep fighting. Within a few minutes, the beasts were destroyed. They lay dead beneath her. She looked down at him, "Perform your magic, the blood magic you performed before…….to save me."

Her fellow officers surveyed the look on her face. She was back to being depressed, but she had shed light on the strangers reason for being there. He had saved her. That alone made him a friend.

"Ray, help her. Work your blood magic…now….please."

She was begging, Ray couldn't stand it, "Very well."

"Well of Blood," he whispered.

The flash of green light occurred again, and enveloped them all. Those who had been wounded, were healing. Reika, was being regenerated. The life that had been left in the bodies of the Charr was seeping into her limp body. Hopefully, she was not already dead, or this spell would have no effect at all.

"Stand back, you," Vaan said to Ray, rather rudely.

"My name is Ray," he retorted.

"Whoever you are, the Phoenix is descending. Move aside."

Ray listened, but only to be out of Jada's way. This way she could see to her friend.

"Reika?" she said in the strange voice that was not her own.

Her body was still aflame, her eyes still aglow. The monk began to wake. Jada stared down, hoping to see her smile. She just needed to know that she was okay.

Reika's eyes fluttered open. She stretched and yawned as though waking from a nap. She sat up and her gaze fell on the fiery being before her.

"Jada, is that you? What….what have you done?"

Reika looked around silently demanding an answer. Her gaze fell on a man with a scar across his eye. He had black, spiky hair and armor of a necromancer.

"Who are you? I don't believe we have met," she stated, locking gazes with him.

"My name is Ray, your friend and I met in the Gullet," he folded his arms, showing that he was no threat.

She stood, and laid a hand on Jada's burning shoulder, much to her own discomfort, "Phoenix, we have no need for you. I want Jada back this instant."

Suddenly, the flames disappeared and the Amazon's eyes returned to their normal baby blue. She fell to her knees, seemingly out of energy.

"Hey, what's wrong with her?" Ray asked.

"I have been monitoring her movements. She has been turning into the Phoenix more frequently lately. The others have not known this. It seems to me that the power of the Phoenix drains her. We will have to figure out a way to keep the Phoenix from taking over."

"I see, Miss Reika. That is your name isn't it?"

"Yes."

"I would like to join your guild. I would like to be given the opportunity to fight with you all. I would also like the chance to help you, help her."

Reika paused, thinking, then nodded her head, "I'll introduce you back at the guild hall. Come with us. We may have to carry her. I'm not sure she has it in her to walk."

"No worries, I got her."

Ray turned and picked Jada up in his arms, "Let's go, princess."

Jada relaxed against his shoulder, allowing him to do as he pleased. Ray let the monk lead the way. She was leading the way to the guild hall. Finally, he would have a place to call home.

* * * * *

Back at the Hall…..

"Well, Ray, give me a minute. I'll be right back." Reika walked away into the hall on the Frozen Isle.

Ray followed, his mouth dropping open at the grandness of the guild hall. There was so much space. The guild he had been in before didn't even have a hall. He gazed around; it was even fully loaded. He could see a storage agent just inside the doors. The guild lord was at the gates, watching outside for invaders. There was a merchant, a dye trader, rune trader, a skill trainer, and many other wonderful things. It was like its own little town.

He followed her to the center of the hall and stayed back just far enough for her to gather her members and officers. When she was ready, she beckoned him to her.

Still carrying the Amazon in his arms, he went to her.

"Everyone, for those of you who have not been formally introduced, please welcome Ray into our ranks. He is a skilled necromancer and ranger. He is experienced, but still has a lot to learn. Please make him feel at home," Reika announced.

The small group nodded, but no one said anything yet.

"Here, Ray, the guild lord will take care of Jada."

The guild lord took Jada Kay from him, and walked off toward the barracks.

"Also, welcome, Satual of Old. He is also new to our guild this day. I met him days ago, he has just arrived from Ascalon City," she continued, then turned towards the two new comers, "We are your family now. Please do not hesitate to ask for help in training if you need it, though I am told that Satual is Aidan's nephew. Aidan is one of the great heroes of Ascalon."

There were some oohs and ahhs from the group but nothing else.

Reika turned to a male hunter, "This is one of my officers, his name is Aiden Amun, no relation to the great hero of Ascalon, I assure you." "Welcome to the nut house!" he offered a hand to them both.

'He's going to be fun to hang with,' Ray could already tell, taking the hand shake.

Moving aside, Reika pointed to a male warrior.

"This is our warrior, Vaan Striker."

"Hey, welcome to the guild. Need anything….just ask." he smiled, though it seemed forced.

Reika knew the reason, but Ray didn't seem to understand his silent animosity.

Then, as Reika moved on to an empty space, "Amazon Jada Kay, you have already met. She will be attended to when we are through here."

At that, the group suddenly seemed dejected.

The pale female from the Gullet slowly walked toward them. Ray saw her immediately, and frowned. The guild lord was running up behind her.

Reika saw his face and turned to see Jada limping up to them.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Reika asked as Ray caught Jada from falling.

She bowed her head, then looked up at him and Satual, "I'm sorry, Reika. There is no excuse for my absence, I'm perfectly well. Welcome, young traveler, to your new home," then she smiled sweetly, "And congrats Ray, on joining our guild. I was hoping you would be one of us. If you had not asked Reika to join, I would have. I thank you for your help today."

"Oh, it was nothing," he blushed, but he was dark skinned and scarred, no one could tell, "But, Miss Jada, shouldn't you be resting. You are still very weak."

"I'm fine, please Reika, continue with the announcements."

Against her better judgment, she did, "This is Amazon Jada Kay; she is a true Amazon warrior from the Maguuma Jungles. She was raised their way, though she is half human and elf. She is my commander, and always here if you need her."

Reika smiled at that, she was proud of her team. Jada was her best friend.

"Well, seeing as we have already met, Princess, looking forward to getting to know you better," he said, still helping her to stand. Though, he blushed even as he did so. She didn't seem to notice.

Jada smiled again. She turned and saluted the woman monk, then fainted in Ray's arms.