Screams resounded through the quiet village. A man gritted his teeth as he ran. One thought engrossed his mind, Astrid. He picked up his speed, something felt off. Wrong almost. The scream could have come from anywhere so why did he think about his wife?

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he neared his house. The man sucked in deep breaths as he reached out for the doorknob. Running two fill blocks to reach his front door took a lot out of him. He grabbed the knob. A baby wailed from within the home.

Taking a deep breath, he stilled his nerves. Astrid was fine, perhaps she was having a hard time with the newborn. A frown pulled at his lips. The door was open? Surely Astrid would have kept the door locked. Fear gripped his heart as he pushed the door open. The house was dark aside from a light coming from the nursery.

The man progressed through his life and down the hall. The cry's of his infant grew louder as he drew nearer. The door to the nursery was cracked open. He pushed it slightly and peered in, whispering a prayer that his wife was forgetful as he did so. Up till now, life had been perfect for him. He had a good job, a loving wife and beautiful baby girl, what more could a man want, however, there was a nagging feeling telling him that was all about to end.

Peering in the room, he surveyed the surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The child's pink room glowed from the overhead lighting. His eyes widened as he progressed to the floor. "Astrid," he cried out as he flung the door open. He rushed in and fell by the Fea's side. She moaned as he pulled her into his arms. She whimpered as she flexed her black feathery wings. "Astrid, please take to me!" The Fea let out a scream as black lines began forming all over her body.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them." She whispered. The man ran his fingers through her black locks. What does she mean she couldn't stop it? What was happening to her? Tears formed in his eyes, there was so much he wanted to know, yet, his wife's slow lying breaths told him there was nothing he could do. A yellow orb appeared in his hand. He held it against his wife praying that his magic could save her. Her body went limp against him. He was too late.

Kissing her forehead, he glanced towards the cradle where their new born lay unaware of her mother's demise. "Vasanta guards!" Cried a voice from within the home. The man laid his wife down on the rug before jumping to his feet. Why were the guards called? Who would have called them? Has someone else been in their house? The man bit his lip till a copper substance graced his tongue.

Reaching into the crib, he pulled his child out and hugged her close. An animaloid, who was a tiger in nature, appeared in the room holding a sword ready to attack. The man hugged the girl close. He understood how this looked. His wife was the rarest of the Fea. As far as the guard was concerned he was kidnapping the child and killed the mother.

"Stand down, I am the child's father and my wife had an accident, please you have to help her!" He tried to keep his voice calm. He tried to not sound desperate but how could he not. He left the house several hours prior to work, and came home to a collapsed wife.

"I recognize though strips," he growled, "you're trying to cover up the fact you prance death magic!" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Ever since Astrid and himself had moved to Vasanta they had been following them assuming one of them had death magic. They would be right. He gritted his teeth, he had to do something before this tiger pounced on his prey.

"By order of Cedric, the king of Vasanta, I will arrest you and sentence you to Death." The man gritted his teeth and glanced towards the window that rested above his daughter Pram. He was not going to go to jail, not when his daughter needed him most. The tiger charged forward with his sword drawn. The man caused a yellow orb to appear in his hand and slung it around on a snow white ribbon.

The orb came into contact with the sword snapping it in half. The animaloid threw the hilt on the ground before charging. The man slammed the orb into the window causing it to shatter into several fragments. Protecting his daughter the best he could, he jumped out the window and ran through his lush green backyard. He glanced towards the window and watched as the tiger pursued after them.

A black shadow overcame them. He glanced upwards as a Rekin flew overhead with an arrow knocked in a bow and pointed towards his chest. A yellow circle appeared under his feet shooting him into the sky. Another white orb appeared this time on his foot, he held his daughter close as he spun and aimed for the Rekin.

Flapping his Fea like wings, the rekin dodge the attack. The human glared at him as he fell back on the ground. He turned his head in time for the rekin to release an arrow from his bow. The man grabbed his daughter's head and bent close to the ground for protection. A cross appeared behind him serving as a shield. The arrow hit and fell to the ground useless.

The man rose to his feet and continued running. What happened? How was he a wanted man for his wife's death? Any normal guard would see that he's innocent, but, death mage's can use several spells that mask the death magic, perhaps they are thinking the same about him? "Nature's snare!" cried a voice from behind. Vines shot up from underneath him. He jumped out of the way, however, a vine ensnared his foot causing him to fall forward.

The vine shot upwards catching him before he landed on his daughter, surely resulting in her death as well. A genie hybrid walked towards him with her arms crossed against her chest and her green hair pulled into a ponytail that started at her head as pure energy before changing into leaves. Marking on her arms glowed while she used her magic. "Commander Nimrod," she called, "what shall I do to him?"

Nimrod, the tiger animaloid stalked towards him. The rekin hovered low with an arrow positioned at him in the event he tried running. "We take the baby for safekeeping and he gets sent to neevitat isle." The man gritted his teeth. It can't end like this. It couldn't. He glanced around him looking for some way to escape. Pain shot through his body and his eyes began closing. His arms became weak. No, he can't lose his daughter. Anything but her! A Sea Naga caught the falling infant in his arms as he lost consciousness.

*****************************

Moaning, the man picked his head up and glanced around his surroundings. Wooden panels surrounded him. Was he in a box? No, the room was too large to be a regular box. The room swayed to the side, throwing him from his wooden bed. He hit the floor with a hard thud. What just happened? Looked off to his right, stealing bars.

Footsteps pounded against the floorboards. Commander Nimrod stood before the bars with his arm crossed. "Good you're awake. Nagisa is quite an asset with his poisoned fangs, don't worry, he knows a good family to place your daughter with. Thought you might want to know that before we take your life for murder and being a death mage all together."

The man swallowed hard. Sounds like he was being taken to the prison on Neevitat Ilse. A place that keeps mages from using their magic and famous for putting well known criminals to death. This couldn't be the end, could it? The ship made a hard tip to the side. Nimrode rolled out of sight and the force threw the man back onto his bed. "What's going," he shouted, "did we run into a storm?"

"None of your concern." Nimrode stated as he appeared before him once more. "You just stay there and think over life choices." The tiger growled as he ran back down the hall that led to stairs going up to the main deck. The man rested his back against the side of the ship. Think about life choices? Up until his wife died he had the perfect life.

A roar resounded around him. The ship shook with vengeance. He knew this was no ordinary attack. Something was wrong. A crash sounded behind followed by boards breaking. The man rolled out of the way as a tentacle shot towards him from the outside. He stared in disbelief as it withdrew back into the sea. He thought sea monsters were nothing more than make-believe.

The man looked around the deck. He had to escape his cell or the monster would kill him, but how? He knew how. There was a spell he could use to escape. Jumping to his feet he rushed towards the hole in the wall. "Angel wings!" A golden circle appeared on his back as he vaulted out the wall. White feathery wings attacked themselves to his back. He flapped his wings, sending him soaring towards the upper deck.

Hovering afar off, he watched as the guards ran around the deck. Tentacles were slamming into the upper desk one right after the other. From the large width of the appendages to the orange color of the scales, the monster was far worse than one knew, this monster was the Kraken. The man glanced around his area. He could make a run for it, however, they had already said so far, there was no way to make it back safely, his best chance was to help the guards.

A scream reached his ears from below. He watched as one of the tentacles held down RoseMary, the genie hybrid who captured him. "Eternal suffering!" He cried out. Golden light shaped like crosses pounded into the tentacles. The Kraken roared and pulled it back into the sea. Rosemary glanced towards the sky. She gritted her teeth once she realized who had helped her.

Nimrode stood from where he had been wrestling with an appendage and stormed towards the bow of the ship where he hovered. Before the Commander could speak, four appendages shot out of the water. "God's Protection." He rushed down and wedged himself between Nimrod and the monster. A cross appeared before him before wrapping Nimrod, Rosemary and himself in a protective barrier.

"How did you get out? Nimrod hissed.

"Couldn't even say thank you, huh? The monster let me out."

Nimrod growled as pushed him out of the way and stared up at the beast pounding on the barrier. The man gritted his teeth. Each strike caused the barrier to break. He didn't know how much longer he could keep the barrier standing. After what felt like a barrage of pounding, the barrier shattered around them. He glanced behind him as a tentacle shot down towards him. Nimrod stood in its way and caught it between its paws.

"Why are you saving me?"

Nimrod slid back as the kraken applied more pressure to him. "I don't think you're the one with death magic. I hope we can make it to your trail. Maybe there is more to consider." Nimrod pushed back against the tentacle it kept backwards as he did so. He watched as the wind blew past him. He had to do something, but he had already used up much of his magic. What could he do anyway? His mind pictured his wife as she flew above him. Her scythe sliced the tentacle causing it to withdraw. If any she was here to assist him.

Gritting his teeth, he focused his magic on his back once more. Astrid may no longer be with him, but she still had his magic. "I need something sharp." He murmured as he glanced around his surroundings. Smiling, he spotted a sword laying on the deck a little ways from him. The man launched into the air, swooped down to grab the sword then soared towards the Kraken.

Pulling the sword back, he swung and sliced at the monster's scale covered arm. Nimrod winced as he stood firm. "Holy radiance!" The blade turned a snowy white as he plunged deep within the monster's arm. The Kraken let out an ear piercing roar. All appendage dropped below the water.

Cheers erupted from the crew members. The man landed but felt uneasy. Why did the win feel so easy? Something was wrong. But what could it be? He couldn't put his fingers on it. The boat began shaking under their feet. Tentacles blasted out of the water and stood all around the ship.

"Abandon ship!" Nimrod cried. Before any could react, the tentacles slammed down the ships deck. Wood flew around him. A piece of pie wood hit him in the face and gouged his eye leaving a scar. The man flew out to the tentacle's reach only to be pinned down by the one he tried to slay. The appendage held him down to the deck as the ship began sinking.

Tears welled up in his eyes. Now was the time he dreaded. He was going to die. Cold water rushed around him as the ship hit the waves. Images of his wife played against his mind. Their wedding, the birth of their first daughter, their life together was nothing more than a memory now. Black began coming into his vision. He blacked out as the picture of his daughter sleeping in Astrid's arms as she rocked her faded into oblivion.