The Ivory Court was a mess. People, foolish people, came to try to eradicate the Goddess. Between Damon and Ember, they never made it far. Each one was consumed by flame and fed to their Goddess. But as days went on, their numbers increased just as fiercely as their Goddess's hunger. With each soul snuffed out in flame Ember could only sense Rhylana's hunger and her need rage. The elemental was bound to Rhylana, she could feel her Goddess's wants and needs as if they were her own. She wanted nothing more than to unleash herself and give her Goddess what she wanted.

But she couldn't. Rhylana's senses had been over-ridden, in the moment she cared about nothing other than feeding her needs. But Ember knew that deep down, Rhylana cared about something even more than that. Nikolai was Rhylana's greatest concern, and though she was consumed in the madness and didn't act as though she cared about anything other than destruction and the absorption of power, Ember knew that Rhylana would return to her senses. And if Nikolai had been hurt, Rhylana would very likely break.

Ember needed to act now. She needed to act quickly, before the link with her Goddess caused Rhylana's madness to consume her as well. The only think holding her to sanity was Nikolai and the knowledge that if she did not protect the child, her Mistress would crumble. Ember would not let that happen.

The flame-tigress stalked into the boy's chambers, and he instantly ran up to her and flung his arms around her. The two had formed a bond. Although it paled in comparison to the bond he had with his mother, Ember felt a maternal instinct when she was with him, and he clung to her as though she were family. The cat nuzzled Nikolai, sensing his confusion and fear. He didn't know what was going on, truly, but he knew something wasn't right. Without having to explain, or having to ask twice, Nikolai climbed atop Ember's back. Once he was situated, she stood and turned around to leave, but her golden eyes fell upon a familiar sight… Damon.

Ember didn't need him to say a word, she knew he was there for the exact same reason she was – to protect Nikolai. The elemental was not burdened with pride or ego, she did not feel as though she needed to prove to Rhylana that she could protect the child on her own. She padded up to Damon, with Nikolai on her back.

“I am taking him to his grandfather, The Lord of Shadows and Secrets,” Ember's telepathic voice reached out to Damon. “It is where our Mistress told me to take him, to ensure his safety. Will you lead the way?”

She asked for two reasons. First, she did not know where the Keep was. Secondly, and most importantly, Ember could only do so much when Nikolai was riding her. Damon would be able to protect them both so they could keep moving. If things got dire, Ember would be able to set Nikolai down and back Damon up. She would be the second and final barrier between any enemy of their Goddess and Nikolai.

To say that he was tired would have been an understatement.  The constant drilling and working his cadets to keep their skills honed had been a blessing in disguise.  Damon had not truly thought they would have to be used on a regular basis, but with the onslaught set forth by their mistress,…it was necessary.  The phoenix and fire elemental had been able to handle most of the attackers if they got too far in.  Numbers were constantly increasing as the heroes attempted to put an end to the destruction created by Rhylana.  Even though he could see where they were coming from, he could not allow them to harm her.  Damon wished there was some way to satisfy her thirst, but there was no other way that any of them could come up with.  Therefore, Ember and Damon continued to bring an end to those that attacked the Court in the name of feeding their goddess.  It was a ‘two birds with one stone’ situation.
 
The Captain stood in the courtyard, per usual with his full set of green leather armor on and bow in gloved hand.  His free hand was rubbing the back of his neck as he took a moment to rest.  Patrol had been spread out further into the forest, but not by much.  Damon wanted earlier warning of attackers, but did not want to risk his men going out too far where the heavens could crash down upon them.  The Ivory Court was protected from the heaven’s fall, but it was not a wide radius outside of that.  Besides that, the ash in the air made his men choke when they tried to breathe.
 
A pang hit the center of his Flame, and it meant only one thing.  Pushing away from his favorite tree, Damon made his way into the main portion of the temple.  Haste came to his legs as he began to jog.  It did not take him long to get to his destination.  Before him stood the proud flame elemental, Ember with Nikolai upon her back.  A small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he looked at the proud beast.  He had taken a liking to her, and knew that she was someone to be counted on. 
 
Damon reached out with his green-gloved hand and ruffled his young master’s hair with a laugh.  “I think it is a grand idea to go visit the grandfather.  We can go for a nice trip.”  From the back portion of his belt, he grabbed out a wooden sword he had had made for the young master and handed it over.  Damon was the sort to be on the serious side, but whenever with Nikolai he found himself soften up.  “I will gladly lead the way.  We will have to take a swift pace.  Outside the walls I am unsure at the rate of the heaven’s fall, or those that would wish revenge.”  This time his voice was softer so Nikolai would not pay attention.  He was too busy playing with his new sword to listen to the grown-ups.  The Captain wanted nothing more than to get the child out of the Court. If he was within the Keep, there was no chance for harm to come to him. 
 

With quiver adjusted over his shoulder and bow in hand, Damon turned and began to jog through the temple, then courtyard, and out of the gates.  With one hand signal, the rangers left behind knew that they would be responsible for the well-being of the Ivory Court without him.  “Let me know what the best pace is for you with him.  I will match.”

Ember could not see Nikolai, as he was upon her back, but she could tell that he was absolutely ecstatic about the wooden sword. She could feel his weight shift on her as he wildly swung the toy around. When they were on their way, one of his little hands clung to her fiery fur and he bounced as he kicked his heels into her sides repeatedly while shouting,”Charge!” Ember didn't mind… she hardly even noticed. Her top priority and thought was on the boy's safety.

Although she trusted and respected Damon, she remained alert at all times. She would have easily been able to keep up with Damon were it not for Nikolai. She did not want him to fall off, and so she took a much slower, more cautious pace. Damon had gone ahead in the temple and courtyards. Whether he had run into problems or not, she didn't know, but the way was clear and Nikolai's eyes remained untainted by the carnage. Hopefully it would remain as such on their way to the Keep of his grandfather, but Ember doubted it.

The rainforest sprawled out all around them, and their journey began. Setting as quick of a pace as she dared with the child on her back, Ember picked her way through the easier parts of the forest. And then, suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. Her ears swiveled and her tail twitched. Certain perks came with being a in the form of a feline, and one of those was a superb sense of hearing.

“Damon…” Ember's telepathic voice was a whisper, despite the fact that no one would or could hear it except for the Phoenix. Her tail twitched again as if irritated by a fly. “Ice mages… they are heading for the Ivory Court. There are five of them, at least. They are about a hundred yards that way,” she added, nodding in the direction she could hear their voices.

“They are discussing their attack plans. I'd say that we bypass them since they do not know we are here… but they sound like they could pose a real threat,” Ember said. “If we can catch them off guard, or lure a couple away…”

The fire elemental's golden eyes flickered red as she envisioned sinking her teeth into the soft flesh of their throats, slashing at them with her claws, and lighting them ablaze. The flames that danced continuously on her fur brightened and grew, but did nothing to the little boy who sat atop her. His laughter at the 'trick' brought Ember back to the task at hand, and the flames died down.

“We cannot bring Nikolai into a situation such as this. But we cannot allow them to reach the Ivory Court. They will kill all those who are faithful to her,” Ember urged, shifting her weight from one front paw to the other. “They may even cause serious harm to our Mistress. I'm not sure about you, but I am bound to her. If she dies, I will vanish from this realm and return to the fire planes until I find another summoner.” Such had been Ember's life… an endless cycle of rebirth from the flames of the elemental plane, a new master each time. She hated it. And after feeling and sharing the power that her Mistress had this time, she refused to go back. After feeling what a family was like, in Rhylana and Nikolai, Ember refused to lose it.