The Dragon and Dark Moon confronted

As the cold weather begins to ease up, Ryu scans the terrain observing for the slightest change in landscape. For the landscapes in between Lunaria and Solaria changed from hot to cold and vice-versa at a sudden rate. One Lunarian General riding alongside Ryu looks straight up and turns to Ryu.

"There's our messenger." Says the general.

As the messenger makes a u-turn to ride alongside Ryu, he salutes.

"Status report?" Ryu asks calmly as he continues riding without change.

"The Solarian forces have managed to break through the center due to their artillery and Fire sages. Their numbers approximate to 6000 sir!" Replies the messenger.

"Number of casualties?" Ryu asks.

"About...2 battalions worth, 20,000 troops sir." The messenger says as he looks at the Lunarian General after answering gravely.

"Who's leading these fire wielding bastards?!" Yells the Lunarian General.

"Marquis Luria sir!" The messenger replies frightened.

"So they've sent a noble to do..."

"Silence." Ryu interrupts the general to which the latter immediately goes silent. "General, you will arrange for our troops to divide into two and occupy the left and right flanks forming a cone." Ryu says.

"But our troops only number 2000!" Replies the general shocked at Ryu's order.

"Just do it. Once I make a signal, you will commence an all out charge." Ryu says pulling on the reigns of his horse. "We're here." Ryu adds as they emerge to a desert cliff side overseeing the lower dessert which is now blazing in fire.

"Ah I almost forgot, General, once you've finished dividing the troops have the assassin take out his targets. Your king was quite specific with that order."

The General wipes his sweaty forehead and nods.

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

As Ryu and the Lunarian forces disembark, Ryu then looks to the general.

"Are the troops ready?" He questions.

"Yes sir!"

"And the assassin?"

"He just left."

"Good, move to your position and wait for my signal." Ryu says stepping forward staring at the battlefield.

"But sir...what are you going..." The general is then cut short as Ryu leaps off the cliff rushing towards the battlefield.

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

As fire and ice, steel and steel clash across the battlefield, Marquis Luria waves his hand to incinerate twenty Lunarian soldiers. And as he suddenly turns his head to witness a man with white hair land on a single soldier with great force.

"Marquis Luria?" The man with white hair questions walking towards him.

"Yes, and you are?" Luria questions backing off at the same pace as the man.

"Wonderful, my landing could not have been any more lucky." The man says as he is interrupted by five Solarian soldiers to which Luria's eyes widen at the mans response. The man waves his left hand, blowing the five men away who are now no where to be seen in the sea of soldiers.

"Who are you...?" Luria says in anger.

"I am Ryu Shinra, Emperor of Scaradia and I am here to end your life." Ryu proclaims.

Luria's eyes widen at the mans words. He then smiles as his hands are now enveloped in flames.

"I couldn't have asked for a more suitable opponent!" Luria roars as he fires a blast of fire which blows up where Ryu was standing.

"Is that all?" Ryu says as he waves his left hand blowing the sand aside and staring at Luria's eyes. "If it is, then it's my turn."

And as Luria tries to jump away to distance himself, he is caught by an explosion of black fire. He then emerges out of it, burned all over and coughing as he stares at Ryu in pain.

"What kind of fire..."

Suddenly, Ryu waves his left hand, summoning another wave of black fire which explodes at Luria's location. Luria is knocked back from the explosion having managed to fire a blast enough to counter the black fire back.

"Not bad. You managed to create distance by fighting back." Ryu says as another set of Solarian soldiers rush at Ryu.

"No don't!" Luria yells as he bares witness to Ryu waving his left hand, summoning a wave of black fire which envelops the soldiers. And as the black flames ceased, only black sand blew across the dessert.

"Pay no concern to them." Ryu says staring at the now frightened Luria. "What you should be concerned with, is how you can manage to defeat me. Because unless you do, then all of you Solarian warriors will perish before me."

As soon as the general gave the word, Silva immediately bounded to into the battlefield. He ran directly into the Solarian lines, immediately scanning for his targets. It felt odd to be back in uniform, but at least it wasn't his old one. He had taken a uniform from a Solarian prisoner before leaving Castle Eira, and it, along with a cloth bandaged over his right eye, served as his current disguise.

Luckily, he was moving through the soldiers on both sides so fast, he was able to slice open a few of them right there without anyone noticing the figure running back toward the command camp was actually there to slaughter them. Man after man fell to the frosted blade, and Silva never stopped moving. He was to kill specific leaders, but the King had never said he wasn't allowed to kill people on his way to the camp. This was the heat of battle. This was about being the best man on the field. This was what he lived for.

He hadn't had this much fun in three years.

Once he got deeper into the Solarian line, he stopped killing. Before, the men he killed were already in close proximity to Lunarian warriors. However, if men started dropping dead when there were no Lunarian soldiers to kill them, it wouldn't take long to follow a trail. Soon enough, he found his way into the camp.

He had several acts of sabotage to commit here. The first one was simple enough; find the commanding general and silence him. He located the command tent in a matter of seconds, the hard part was figuring out how to kill the general. A general is no novice to combat, and he was likely surrounded by other experienced warriors. Close combat would do Silva no favors, and would likely blow his cover.

Then Silva spotted his opportunity. A rock, good sized and hugging a mountain, was within range of the command tent. He could simply hide behind there, and put a poisoned arrow into the backs of the occupants. He moved behind the rock, and due to the setting sun, he was able to see the shadows of four people inside.

He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and then stuck three more into his boot, so all he would need to do is grab them from his already crouching position instead of reaching behind his back. He moved back out of sight, then closed his eyes, and imagined the shadows, how they had been moving, and where they were likely to move. He allowed himself to get into the rhythm of the actions he would need to take, then, he moved out, and fired.

He shot three more times as rapidly as he could. His powerful longbow easily ripping through the canvas tent. He saw the four figures fall, and allowed the fainted of smiles. The shot had been hard due to the fact he couldn't use his right eye, and on one of the men, he had only his the arm, but that is why he used the poison.

A standard quiver can carry twenty-four arrows. Silva carried twelve normal arrows, and the rest he coated in a potent poison, harvested from plants that grew on the many mountains that surrounded Lunaria. It could kill in seconds, and Silva had plenty of it. The arrow looked so identical that if it weren't for a tiny divider in the bottom of the quiver, separating the two groups, even he wouldn't know which one he was using.

The second act of sabotage was even easier. He found the horsemaster with the horses, where one would expect, then slit his throat and hid the body in the pile of horse dung that he had been forming. Simplicity at its best.

After finishing up the rest of the hits, somehow the general's body hadn't been discovered yet, he moved back through the camp, toward the frontlines. As he did, he passed the mess tent. The cook was just finishing dinner and taste-testing it. He covered the meal up and placed it outside the tent, where it would cool until the soldiers on the frontline returned to eat it. Silva couldn't believe his luck. When the cook turned back to begin dessert, he pulled out a small vial of poison. It was the same poison he had used those weeks ago back in the tavern. It was colorless, tasteless, completely undetectable, and could kill in a matter of minutes.

He poured the whole thing into the camp's dinner, then walked back through the front, headed for Ryu. He had worn the eye bandage to avoid being detected on his way in, and now it gave the illusion he had returned for medical care and was now returning to battle. Those that survived Ryu's plan would come back and eat, only to die in a few moments. The beauty of the poison was, by the time the first people started dying, half the camp would have been poisoned.

His only regret was that he couldn't leave the sign of the Dark Moon at the camp. He vaguely wondered why it was taking so long for the general to be discovered dead.

What Silva didn't know is that almost all the orders came from the Marquis in this battle. And with the general's tent being closed, most people assumed he was in meeting with other officers, and shouldn't disturb. By the time word reached the camp that the Marquis could no longer command and the general was found, the first men were already eating their meal.

Silva walked on through the lines, heading back to his own people, and, to his disgust, to Shinra.

In the center of the battlefield an explosion of black fire had just erupted. Luria emerged jumping out of it in pain as he fired five spells of high Fire magics only to be engulfed by a single surge of black fire. As Luria landed, a Solarian lieutenant helped Luria keep his balance and looks at the beaten Marquis.

"Sire, we must retreat!" Yelled the lieutenant.

"Tsch" Luria said in anger. "...Have the sages make a wall of fire towards the enemy and then signal our full retreat." Luria said sounding beaten.

It was then that Luria and the lieutenant saw a single surge of black fire shoot up into the sky and then blowing up, as if it were a firework. They soon heard the yells and stampede of soldiers only to realize they were about to be attacked from both sides.

"You planned this all along?!" Luria yelled turning to face the location as to where he last fought Ryu only to be shocked at the man already being right behind him. He is then knocked aside with a single strike from Ryu.

"Why you Scaradian scu....."

As the lieutenant charged at Ryu, he was then engulfed in a blast of black fire only to vanish just like the other soldiers who tried to stop Ryu.

"That's enough, I am afraid that I will have to finish this." Said Ryu walking towards Luria.

As Luria tries to distance himself, he then attempts to wave his hand trying to fire a spell to create some sort of distraction. And as he tries to wave his hand, his wrist is then caught by Ryu, who is already in front of him.

"I said enough." Ryu says twisting Luria's arm to the point his arm snaps to which Luria is now screaming in pain. Ryu then kicks Luria's head and stomps at it on the ground. And as the Dragon's foot lays atop the beaten Marquis, Luria can only cry not because of his broken arm, but because of the terror that Ryu had brought upon Luria and his men. And now as Ryu lifts his foot aside and begins to walk away, Luria is left in confusion, wondering why Ryu had just left him there.

Suddenly, as Luria tries to crawl away, a pillar of black fire erupts from the ground in which Luria was standing, and all the Solarian soldiers can only hear the screams of their now dying commander. Even the generals fall to their knees knowing that they have lost the battle as they also bare witness to the other soldiers getting slaughtered from both sides of the battlefield.

And as Ryu walks back to camp, he can only look up at the sky and sigh. "It's hot."

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

As Ryu arrives back in the main camp, the Lunarian soldiers can only stare at Ryu in fear at what the man had just done on the battlefield and as Ryu turns to look at the Lunarian general whom he had left earlier he then looks at the battlefield.

"General, the battle will end soon. Make sure all preparations are made for your safe retreat." Ryu says continuing his walk only to stop as a man with a scar is standing meters away from him.

"I take it you're the assassin?" Ryu says monotonously. "Hmph. Regardless, stand aside." Ryu says staring at the mans eyes.

"You are in my way."

Silva got back to the camp while the battle was still raging, so he decided to find a good vantage point and watch. When Shinra launched his black fire signal, it was obvious to Silva what the overall plan was. The V-shaped formation the Solarians had punched in the line was effective, but it was simply begging to be hit by a flanking maneuver. Sure enough, the the tactic worked, and the Solarian sounded the full retreat.

Running right back to their deaths.

The Dark Moon gracefully scaled back down to the camp, where the army was returning, victorious. Shinra was among them. Well, it was time to get this over with. For them to finally meet face to face.

"I take it you're the assassin?" The king of Scaradia asked, in that monotonous voice of his. "Hmph. Regardless, stand aside." He was staring right into Silva's eyes, but he wasn't seeing anything. Which was good. If the king could see the pure hatred Silva was feeling right now, he would probably strike him dead. The hatred was intensified even more when he said, "You are in my way."

"Actually, I'll stay right here. I was told to report to you once I had finished my mission, and my mission is done."

"Hmmm" Ryu wondered as he studied the man who defied him. "What was your mission?" Ryu asked staring at the man in the eyes.

"I killed the Solarian general in his tent, then the stablemaster they brought along, then several other targets of no import, and finally, I poisoned the evening meal meant to be served to the entire camp." Silva couldn't resist gripping the pommel of his sword. Something about him desperately wanted a fight. He knew he would lose, but he wanted to prove himself. He was the best Lunaria had to offer, and he wanted to prove it.

However, that wasn't the best way to go about things. If he just picked a fight right here an now with the Scaradian king, he would lose badly, and no one would ever take him seriously. Silva Darkmoon was no pushover in combat, but he also wasn't a fool. Picking a fight with Ryu would do no favors.

But it would! Thought the Dark Moon. If he was able to best Shinra, then all would know his name and fear him. He would finally prove himself to the world.

But that was the problem, Silva thought. He couldn't best Ryu. They were the same age, but he was on a completely different level. He looked up at the moon, taking comfort in it's still quite full glow. He always felt better at night. All this passed through his head in a matter of a few seconds. It was when Shinra spoke again that he was brought back to the conversation.

"You seem to be lost in your thoughts" Ryu said calmly.

Now the Dark Moon was back. "The battle may have been won, but the Solarian army is far from defeated. Now they know you are working with us. They will likely retreat and rebuild their force, then attack us again, more cautiously this time. Simple fact is, the Solarian military is simply better than ours. The current Lunarian king hasn't bothered to make sure his army was in top shape, and as a result, the Lunarian Wolves are really our only elites. They are currently fighting against Heraclia. We may have beat them back now, but what happens when you leave? What happens when I decide to go back to my own agenda? Gods know we have better things to do. We should cripple their force here, and make it impossible to retaliate while we dig in and fortify the passes along the Solarian border."

"You are not only foolish but also stupid" Ryu said throwing his cape aside revealing his strongly built body."Your wolves are your elites? Have you ever begged to think that perhaps the Duke's of your country are actually stronger than you mongrels?"

It was then Ryu threw his cape aside and revealed his finely fit body. "Also, who are you to order me around?" Ryu said ready to fight. "Know your place."

Silva drew his sword and dagger. Not as an aggressive threat, but simply to draw them. He was itching for a fight, but as much as he wanted to tussle with Shinra, there was an equal part that wanted to avoid conflict at all costs. It would really come out to what the Scaradian king did, and which side of Silva won out.

Ryu frowned as he watched the man draw a sword and dagger.

"Interesting sword..." Ryu said appearing in front of the man whom is now holding the sword with little effort yet with strength. "It's colder than other swords." He added.

It was then that the man tried to attack and Ryu simply waved his arm to smack the man aside who quickly recovered as he fell.

"Forgetting something?" Ryu said as he watched the man stare in confusion at Ryu who is now holding his own sword.

Ryu then looked at the man and closed his eyes as he motioned to slash the sword to which the man felt a cold chill and immediately jumped aside, and his instincts were right. As Ryu had slashed through the air, he summoned a number of large icicles in a straight path.

"It seems this sword is capable of enhancing Ice magics." Ryu says looking at the man who is watching him like a dangerous animal. Ryu then frowns as he throws the sword which now lands beside the kneeling man. It was then that Ryu turned to get his cape as he stopped and spoke.

"You act defiant yet you don't realize you are already kneeling before me." Ryu said turning to stare at the now angered wolf.

Silva closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. He cleared the anger out of his mind, and entered his state of calm. The Dark Moon was best when he simply let his body take over while his mind tried to see what was coming. He was kneeling, but that was of his own design. As Ryu reached to get his cape, he grabbed one of his hidden daggers in his boot, and threw it at the Scaradian king.

It was perfectly thrown, and hit exactly where he wanted it too. The dagger ripped threw the cape right under Shinra's hand. The throw hadn't been aimed at Ryu, because Silva hadn't yet seen any projectile actually hit the man, and this was by far more effective. A dagger thrown and deflected is laughably pitiful. A dagger thrown to destroy a man's coat as an insult, has much more effect.

He stood up then. With his newfound calm, he was ready to begin the fight anew. He drew his dagger. He had three daggers with him at all times. Two were smaller and fragile. He hid those in his boots and mostly used them as projectiles. Then, he had a third one on his side. It was longer and broader, he used it for close combat fighting. Silva fought with a sword and dagger combo, though he could improvise with just one, the other, or his fists. He picked up his sword, then began to analyze Shinra.

He couldn't win this fight by force alone. This much he knew. He also knew that Shinra was just as smart as him, so he couldn't rely on outsmarting the man. He needed to be unpredictable and fast to even have a chance. So, he relaxed his stance, appeared to see no opening, and went to sheathe his dagger.

That's when he struck, lightning fast, with his sword. As expected, it didn't do much to the king, but he followed up with a side attack from his dagger. Both attacks had minimal effect, but at this point, Silva was just trying to gauge his target's defenses.

"Kneeling is just an action." He said, "I refuse to lose before the battle even begins properly." It was stupid to challenge a king, he knew, but he didn't care. Nothing Shinra could do could scare him, for simple reasons.

This would be his ultimate test. If he could stand up to, or gods forbid even beat Shinra, it would be his highest point in life. However, even if he failed or died, he didn't care. It's not he had anything or anyone to live for. He had no reason to fear anyone, least of all Shinra. The two times he had seen Shinra fight, the opponent had wailed in fear. Of all the possible scenarios, he would not let that happen to him.

He simply took a stance, and waited for an opening. Even if Shinra used his own lightning speed, he would be ready for it. He would likely lose, but at least he would put up a good fight.

Shinra was still holding the ruined cape when Silva said,

"Game on, your Highness."

Clenching his now ruined cape, he turned and smiled throwing it aside. He then chuckled as he looked at the brave warrior who just defied him.

"Game...on!" Ryu bellowed as he grabbed Silva's head only to knock him afar with a blow from his knee.

Watching the man get back on his feet only to look back at where Ryu is, he is met with surprise when he sees a burst of black icicles explode in front of him. The man emerges from the explosion hurt only to be caught by the neck from Ryu. Ryu then slams the man on the ground and turns to grab the man's leg.

"Foolish wolf" Ryu says as he throws the man aside easily and at the wave of his hand, summoning another burse of black icicles which the man managed to barely avoid this time.

It was then that Ryu begins to turn and walk away only to react quickly to the sound of the wind. Suddenly, the man threw a dagger straight at Ryu only to be deflected easily. As Ryu deflected the dagger, he felt a moment of disgust knowing that someone he was against would not give up so easily. He longed for an opponent who wouldn't fall and could fight head to head with him, but he knew that this man was far from what he desired.

"Foolish Lunarians" Ryu bellows as he suddenly lets out a surge of energy resulting in all the Lunarian soldiers and Silva to fall face flat on the ground unable to move with the exception of the Lunarian general who is holding his body up by pushing against the ground looking as if he was bowing.

"You should be lucky to experience a tenth of my power." Ryu says calmly only to turn to see a man donned in white arrive on horseback unaffected by the great pressure. The man in white quickly disembarks to bow at the Dragon Emperor and immediately whispered something to which Silva manages to hear faintly.

"...mess...er...ret...urned...rom...Magn..."

Silva's eyes then widen at the words he had managed to hear. And it was then that Ryu turned and the pressure had vanished. Grabbing his ruined cape, he throws it at the defeated man who challenged him.

"This cape will forever be a testament to your brave yet foolish attempt to challenge me." Ryu says turning to mount his horse. "Goodbye Lunarians, till we meet again." Ryu says riding off along with the warrior in white.

And it was then that some of the Lunarian soldiers had managed to get on their knees and that Silva had managed as well only to realize almost half of the troops we're knocked out or dead.

"He is no king..." Says the Lunarian General. "He's a monster..."

And it was then that Silva clenched the white cape watching the Dragon ride off.

The rest of the battle, if it could even be called that, happened far too quickly. Silva was beat around like a ragdoll. He made the mistake of testing his enemy, and that first attack from Shinra was all the Scaradian king had needed to win.

Of course, he had known he wouldn't win from the beginning. He just hoped he wouldn't have lost that badly. To his credit, he never gave up. Not matter how much he was thrown around, he always got back up, his rage lending him endurance.

At one point, Shinra seemed to be finished. But Silva wasn't going to let him walk away while he was still standing. He threw his last dagger at him. As expected, it was deflected. Before he could follow up with an attack though, Shinra got mad.

Silva felt an incredible force throw him to the ground. He honestly thought it would crush him. However, the pressure suddenly lifted, and Shinra was talking to another man.

"...mess...er...ret...urned...rom...Magn..."

Silva's eyes widened. Messenger has returned from Magnux. What business would Scaradia have with Magnux? Neither nation was at war with the other, to Silva's knowledge. It was fascinating knowledge, and Silva made it a point to find out should he ever run into anyone from Magnux.

Silva stood up once again, and realized almost all the men were dead or out cold. It significantly reduced Lunaria's fighting force, Silva realized, but he didn't really care. The war was not his concern.

"He is no King..." the general was saying as the Scaradian king rode away, "he is a monster."

Everyone stared at Silva, as if they expected him to cry out in terror or start screaming. He thought back on what had just happened, looked up at the moon, and started laughing. For the first time in three years, Silva laughed. At one moment, the soldiers were standing there, watching this man give out a good long laugh.

And then he was gone.