(This is soooo baaaaad! I suck at plot....)

(3rd POV)

The cursed woods. What an unappealing name for such a peaceful woodland. The only danger there is the poisonous herbs growing there, which only the most retarded travelers don't know to avoid, and the bandit population. Maybe it was just given that name for effect?

I don't know, perhaps the founder was drunk and was hallucinating terrifying paper people or something.

Anyhow. The forest was also a place travellers use to get from kingdom to kingdom, if they wish to keep a low profile. And that's just what a group of refugees were doing. They had decided to rest on the side of the dirt road, believing it was safe for them to do so.

Was it safe?

Absolutely not.

A figure lurked in the trees above, squatting on a sturdy branch as he watched the homeless families ration their scraps of food. Despite them having near to nothing, they were smiling doing their best to stay in high spirits. The figure's expression remained blank.

"Target locked..." He whispered, raising his jet black bow and pulling the string. As he did, a bunch of arrows appeared for him to shoot at the refugees. Taking a deep breath he counted down softly.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One."

He released the string, and the only thing he could hear was the blood curdling screams he had caused.

---

(Iris POV)

"You missed a spot~"

I growled, shooting a glare at the Dragnian from over my shoulder "What was that, you're willing to help me?"

Jet laughed from his position against the wall "Not a chance."

"Then shut the fuck up. The last thing I need is for this to last any longer because of your babbling mouth."

"Ouch, that stings." The ravenette placed a hand to his heart, faking a hurt expression. I rolled my eyes again, and attempted to proceed filling out my punishment, when-

"Iris! Jet!"

"Huh?"

Jet and I turned our heads, our eyebrows raising once we saw Vincent sprinting towards us. Must've been hard, cause like I've said before Resuk armour is heavy. When he reached us I expected him to stop, but instead he ran into me and grasped my shoulders.

"You gotta... come... quick!" He gasped out, his breathing ragged "I-It's... emergency!"

I took hold of his arms "Breathe, dude." I told him softly.

The male sighed, steadying his breathing and resting his forehead on my shoulder. It wasn't awkward for me if he did this, as we had known each other since we were tiny. Once he had calmed down he lifted his head to meet my eyes.

"What happened?" I whispered.

"General Emiliana called for you..." He stated, his voice shaky "A group of refugees were slaughtered near Alzdrak!"

"What?!" Jet and I gasped. Vincent beconed us to follow him, and without another word we began running towards the exit of the academy.

---

"How could this happen?" Jet muttered, his body shaking from the scene in front of him. It was just dead bodies everywhere, and every single one of them had an arrow through their heads.

"Nobody knows. A student found them like this when on patrol, and rushed to inform me immediately." Emiliana explained as she walked to my side, arms folded "That's why I asked for Iris and Vincent to come, as his large brain and her knowledge in weaponry will come in handy during investigation."

I hummed "So, who will finish cleaning up while I'm doing this?"

"Oh, you'll resume your punishment once the investigation has been carried out."

"WHAT?!"

"It's your own fault, Iris."

I pouted at her scolding, turning my head away and sulking like a child "Fiiiiiiine!"

"Good, now hop to it." The woman demanded "Jet, come with me. I want to discuss some things with you regarding the king of Dragnir."

"My father? What about him?" the ravenette questioned.

The two walked off together, leaving Vincent and I to do what was requested along with a few other guards. Surprisingly Darius was there too, who seemed to be perving on a female guard. I sighed, trudging up behind him and pulling him away from the poor lass.

"Hey, what was that for??" The incubus whined "Pixi and I were just hitting it off."

"You mean you were scaring her off? 'Cause that's what it looked like."

"You jealous?" He teased, making me roll my eyes dramatically.

"Yes, I can feel the jealousy burning up inside..." I responded monotonously.

"Okay, okay I can sense the sarcasm from here." Darius held his hands up "Actually, what are you doing here? I thought you were on cleanup--"

"Shushshushshush!" I hissed "We shall not speak of that. And, fyi, General Em wanted me to investigate the scene due to my 'knowledge in weaponry'."

Vincent walked to my side "So, Darius was it?"

"Yup, that's me." The white haired boy confirmed.

"You got any clues on what happened here?"

"Well... it seems like all of them were killed after being shot by arrows." Darius stated matter of factly.

I glanced at all the bodies around me "You don't say."

"Let me finish." The male sighed "The thing is, there's no way this can be a group attack. From where the arrows are positioned, the attack came from the trees. And as you can see-" he took a moment to point at the area "-This isn't a heavily treed area."

"So you're basically saying this is a one-man deed?" Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"Basically, yes. Well, from what me and the other guards can tell anyway."

"But wouldn't that be impossible? You can't shoot this many arrows at once, and judging by the victims' positions this was a clean sweep. There had to be more than one."

"Not necessarily..." I muttered, placing a finger to my chin "I mean, with a regular bow that's true."

Vincent eyed me "What are you getting at?"

"I'm thinking maybe the bow this guy used had some sort of enchantment on it, allowing them to kill all the refugees at once." I told the boys, shrugging slightly.

"How are we supposed to know if it was an enchanted bow or not?" Darius asked, tilting his head to the side.

"The point of the arrow changes depending on what enchantment was used. We can start there." I replied "We're allowed to take the arrows out of their heads, right?"

"They're corpses, Iris." Vincent deadpanned "I don't think they'll mind."

"Right..." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. I walked over to the closest body, which turned out to be a cute teen boy about my age. Damn... left too soon, handsome--

Sorry, not the time.

I ripped the arrow out of his forehead, causing blood to ooze out of the hole it made.

"Well, that was graceful." Darius said sarcastically, scrunching his nose up. I rolled my eyes before holding the arrow up, examining the point to see if I could determine if it was enchanted or not.

It was.

"Vincent..."

"Hm?"

"You... might wanna look at this."

Vincent approached me, and I held the arrow out so he could take a look. His eyes widened.

The arrow's point was ebony black, carved into the shape of a heart with a piercing sharp point. Down the middle was a jagged line. A broken heart...

I exchanged glances with the male, taking my bottom lip between my teeth as I sensed he was thinking the same thing.

"So... what gives?" Darius asked, completely oblivious as he came up behind Vincent "Why are you giving that thing a look of terror?"

"Because..." I paused, glancing over at Vincent who nodded for me to continue "There's only one bow in existence that shoots this type of arrow."

"And that bow belongs to someone very dangerous." My brunette friend added.

Darius's eyes narrowed, his mouth twisting in confusion "And that 'someone' is?"

"The Dark Cupid." Vincent and I answered at the same time, our faces completely serious.

---

"And you believe the Dark Cupid is behind this?" Emiliana asked us, propping her elbows on her desk and lacing her fingers together.

Vincent nodded "Definitely."

The woman hummed, staring down at the arrow with narrowed eyes "I honestly thought he had been executed..."

"Most of us did." I muttered "But he is the only one able to wield the Bow of Heartbreak, the only bow able to shoot the arrows that killed those poor people."

"I don't get it, what exactly are they talking about?" I heard Jet murmur to Darius.

"Your guess is as good as mine, pal." The incubus answered with a shrug "But from the way their talking, this 'Dark Cupid' dude is someone to stay clear of."

"Yeah, no dip professor!"

"Guys!" I hissed at them "We're trying to focus here."

"Sorry..."

"Iris," Emiliana gave me a look "Both of them are curious about Dark Cupid, I think it's fair you tell them."

"Well I was planning on saving it for their bedtime story." I said sarcastically, folding my arms over my chest. I then sidestepped to dodge a punch Jet had swung at me. "Too slow, Rader." I teased.

'Just tell us who this guy is, already!" He growled.

Vincent sighed "Alright, but you may wanna sit down. We'll have to tell you the whole story in order for you to understand."

Jet and Darius obeyed, sitting in the seats facing the General's desk. I sat on the table, while Vincent was next to me leaning against it.

"Alright, for starters. Are you guys aware of the name Pillars of Destruction'?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Ye- no. Have you, Jet?"

"Nope."

I facepalmed "Okay, looks like we're gonna be here for awhile..."

I felt Emiliana place her hand on my shoulder, and I glanced over my shoulder to see her giving me an encouraging nod. I sighed.

"Alright... many years ago, about two decades before the great ancient war, two babies were born. Both children had oddly coloured eyes, one with Amber and the other with Voilet. These children were twins, and were named Emira and Sebastian."

"Wait, hold up!" Darius waved his hands around "We asked about the Dark Cupid, and you're telling us about a legend that everyone's heard of--"

"Patience, Darius." Emiliana commanded, shutting the boy up.

"Anyway. You already know that the children enherited powers at the age of five, they grew up, found ways to help Eriska blah blah blah... but what you didn't know, is that Sebastian had aides."

"Lord Sebastian had AIDS?!"

"Not that type! I mean assistants. Three of them."

"Oh"

I rolled my eyes, before nudging Vincent "Okay, your turn."

He nodded, turning to the two males "Sebastian thought he and his sister weren't helping their region enough, and therefore figured they needed help. That's when he created three mystical instruments: The bow of love, the whip of skies, and the book of healing. He gave these items to his most trusted friends, Xavier, Saffron and Keith; also known as the Cupid, the Thunder and the Keeper. They spread hope across all Eriska, and soon earned the title 'Pillars of Hope'. However, Emira soon grew weary of the pillars, not sure if they could be trusted. She told Sebastian about her uncertainty, but he just waved her off. After three years of the pillars' service, Saffron confronted Sebastian about needing more power and asked him to grant her, Xavier and Keith more. Of course Sebastian declined, explaining that greatness doesn't come from power alone. Saffron was furious, and she along with the other pillars went rogue, destroying villages and taking innocent lives."

"That was what Emira was afraid of." I continued "Power can be manipulative, and too much can take someone over in a heartbeat. The pillars were hungry for more power, and were willing to destroy Eriska just to get it. Sebastian was distraught, betrayed by his own friends like his sister had said. Emira ordered him to destroy their weapons, but he refused in hope he could convince the three. Sebastian begged his friends to stop, but they attacked him and left him for dead in the cursed woods. Emira had to take action, and therefore banished and destroyed the pillars, before locking their weapons away where they could never be found again. All was well, but Sebastian was dying and the only way to save him was by sending him to live down in Arqua."

Darius gawped "He wasn't banished?!"

"No, he was saved. He now rules Arqua proudly, but losing his friends will always haunt him. I'd say Emira thought that was punishment enough."

"Okay... but what has this gotta do with--"

"We weren't finished, Jet!" I hissed. "Now, many years later the pillars' weapons were found, by three individuals fleeing from an invasion. The darkness in their hearts and thirst for revenge corrupted the instruments, changing them into the Bow of Heartbreak, the Whip of Storms and the Book of Forbidden Spells. Wielded by their new masters, Nathan, Alexa and Dexy, they spread fear across regions everywhere. They were crowned the 'Pillars of Destruction'."

"Nathan is the Dark Cupid, wielder of the Bow of Heartbreak. He killed those people." Vincent finished, looking down at his hands. "He's killed thousands of innocents, with a straight face. He's torn families apart, taken loved ones from their significant others, permanently ended friendships; hence why he goes by the Dark Cupid."

"It sounds like you really don't like this Na..." Darius trailed off, eying me as I made slitting motions across my neck "Na- Neigh neigh neigh, let's go horseback riding."

We all gave him a weird look.

"Seriously, dude?" Jet raised an eyebrow.

Darius only shrugged, failing to hide the small embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

"Well then," Emiliana began, sitting back in her chair "This is certainly a serious matter. And with that boy running around, it'll take more than Alzdrak to catch him."

"Then, what do you suggest we do?" I questioned, turning to face her.

"I'd start by calling upon the General's of Irance, Resuk, Yoganis and Dragnir, as they are the closest kingdoms to us. Then hopefully Lilya, Lukali, Rhoe, Arvrok and I can think of a plan."

"Shall we prepare messenger birds then?"

"No, I'd prefer it if we send actual people. That way we can get the message delivered, and provide escorts for the Generals." She turned to me "Iris, do you think your friends can travel to the kingdoms I mentioned?"

I tilted my head "I guess... but why can't I go?"

"Because I'm not trusting you on your own."

"Oh, come on!"

"I'll be more than happy to travel to Irance, ma'am." Vincent offered, placing a hand on his chest.

"And I could get the message to the General of Resuk!" Jet suggested, a little too quickly.

I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows at him "You're eager, aren't you? Has it got something to do with the General~?"

He stared at me blankly "That joke's old, Iris."

"Doesn't make it any less true."

"It wasn't- it's not- I'm not-" the Dragnian was a stuttering mess, his face burning a dark shade of red "Just be quiet!"

I held my hands up in surrender, before once again turning to the General "Are these dorks acceptable for those locations?"

She nodded "Indeed, and what about the other two?"

"I'd say..." Vincent trailed off, placing a hand to his chin "We send Hunter to Yoganis and Silver to Dragnir."

"Why send the fox to Dragnir?" Jet scoffed.

"Because she can handle higher temperatures better than Hunter."

"...Fair enough."

"Then that's settled." Emiliana grinned "Darius can you fetch Lieutenant Crimson, Silver and Hunter for me?"

Darius stood, saluting with a quick 'yes ma'am' before excusing himself from the room, Leaving me with Jet, Vincent and General Em. I glanced towards Vincent, taking note of the distressed look on his face, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay." I whispered.

Vincent gave a small smile, wrapping an arm around me and giving me a side hug "Thanks..."

'Still... Why has Nathan only just turned up? Are there attacks we haven't heard about yet?'

'Are the other pillars back, too?'