Abilities of Shadewing:
- Can explode, doing massive damage to any enemy closest to him
- Can throw spheres of Dark energy that seek distant targets
- Can fire Dark electricity
- Can teleport
- Can fire shards of Darkness from his wings
- High evasion
- Dark Element

Weakness = All Shadewing’s attacks are incredibly powerful, but they take a long time to recharge, leaving him with nothing but melee attacks. Shadewing is not new to these, but he often hesitates while doing them, because he doesn’t practice often and keeps overthinking his actions.

He likes to stand his ground. The title of Chosen One isn’t to be taken lightly. However, it does leave him thinking he can survive almost anything, which he can’t. Shadewing often gets quite surprised if any foe manages to best him, even for a few seconds, during battle.

Abilities of Raylar:
- Can control another enemy’s mind, causing him to attack himself, attack other enemies etc.
- His bite will cause the affected limb to violently explode off of its owner at the point of injury
- He can see certain moves before they happen
- His cry will disorient all enemies that hear it
- Can throw red-winged crystals that explode when they strike their target
- Light Element

Weakness = Raylar is heavily dependent on melee attacks. Anything that he can get his teeth and claws into usually dies before it can strike back. He is unsure of how much control he has over his own mind, and at rare moments he flies into a rage during which he cannot discern allies from enemies.

Abilities of Adriana:
- Can hit a target accurately from great distances
- Has some skill in melee, using an arrow as a knife
- Can cause ice spikes to suddenly erupt from the ground and then sink away
- Can blind enemies with light she creates and bends through her ice spikes
- Can create a prism (if she throws her light through it, she can strike distant enemies with whatever rainbow results)
- Can transform into a Bloodfang
- Her howl during wolf morph will heal all allies who hear it
- Light element

Weakness = Adriana is inexperienced in melee. She can stab a little with her arrow, but this isn’t very efficient against a sword-wielding opponent since a well-timed attack can cut the arrowhead right off. Her wolflike form is tremendous help when using melee attacks, but it cannot kill enemies over long distances like Adriana is used to.

Abilities of Venox:
- Can fire energy similar to a laser from his mouth
- Can dissolve into a shadow form in which he cannot harm nor be harmed
- Can summon up to three Darkwings at a time to aid him in combat
- He and each of his Darkwings can create black lightning-filled Dark whirlwinds that only harm enemies and can give allies an attack boost. Any ally that enters the vortex will be granted increased speed for a brief time
- Dark element

Weakness: Venox’s laser has outstanding range and high damage but has an extremely long recharge. He has no melee attacking experience and fights well out of reach of enemies. If any hostile does get in his face however, he can be easily intimidated by even small targets and will retreat or use his shadow morph to get further away. When Venox goes into his shadow morph, then he will be extremely weak and unable to move for a few moments after it ends.

Also, he can only spawn three Darkwings at once. He cannot summon any more until the trio are all dead.

The lightning tornadoes Venox can conjure cannot continue independently and must have their owners within their funnels at all times. If an enemy is able to strike Venox out of his active whirlwind, the storm will vanish and have to be created again. Three full circles in flight are required to create a tornado. Any less and the vortex will not appear. Venox and his Darkwings can be distracted from rotating, thus preventing the wind threat from happening.

Abilities of Volt:
-Can cause storm clouds to appear and fire lightning on enemies
- Can use any type of electric attack
- Can transform into a lightning bolt briefly
- Can split into multiple electric bolts and strike multiple enemies
- Can cause powerful electric explosions
- Small amounts of his energy can amount to unimaginable power
- High speed
- High evasion
- Can fade to near invisibility in shadows
- Focus and speed will increase if Vamprina is in danger or in pain
- Light element

Weakness = Volt will go out of his own way to protect Vamprina, even to the point of risking his own death. Usually, he does not fight to kill his opponent, and is not the aggressive type when fighting alone. So far as he knows, if Vamprina attacks first, his attack will follow. It is highly difficult to strike him when he knows Vamprina’s in danger. He is so evasive and unpredictable that it is almost impossible to land a hit on his body in this state.

Abilities of Vamprina:
- Her bite will drain the life force of any enemy, no matter how strong
- She can turn invisible, the duration of which no enemy can see her unless it closes its eyes
- Can receive assistance from her shadow at any given time during combat
- High speed
- High evasion
- Disappears entirely in shadows
- Can communicate and receive assistance from shadows in the environment

Weakness = If Volt’s life is threatened, Vamprina will do whatever the enemy says. However, her ferocity will rise and she will constantly think of a way to get him back. Her unmatched communication with shadows is very dangerous; however, they don’t always listen to her and sometimes need a little convincing. Her own shadow aids her unexpectedly. It could help her at the very end of combat, at the start and through to the finish, or not at all. It will also not let her fall early in battle either.

Vamprina watched the target from the trees. It was massive, with a serpentine body and tentacles on its tail. These tail tentacles were underground most of the time, springing up unexpectedly in seemingly reflexive motions. She turned to Volt, and then eyed the rest of her team. “Are you guys ready?” she asked.

Shadewing, her brother, half-knelt in the soft sand. His oddly feather-fringed butterfly wings were slightly disturbed by the breeze. They were a symbol of his uniqueness apart from all Dark Stickkind. He focused on her, waiting for the signal. The rest of the team, Venox, the Darkwing master, Adriana, the long range attacker, and Raylar, the sane lunatic, crouched in silence behind him. Volt, Vamprina’s guardian, was beside her, curled up like a viper ready to strike. His eyes were slightly narrowed with concentration as he thought of what approach he was going to use on the enemy.

Vamprina raised her wing slightly, and then all six of them sprang from behind the massive rock barrier. Raylar led the pack, tearing across in front like a freed beast. Vamprina, Volt, Venox and Shadewing flew overhead, keeping steady pace with their unofficial leader. Bringing up the rear was Adriana, whose eyes were in constant motion, her bow ready to take the vital shot to save a teammate.

The Serpent plunged into the sand, sending clouds of blinding sand all over its attackers. The fliers spun to whip the grains away, and Venox released his Darkwings. Within a few seconds, the sand cloud was gone, torn apart by the whirlwinds created by the slender fliers. Adriana let off a shot, and the arrow embedded itself in the Serpent’s eye. The creature blinked its massive lid and roared, thrashing its head in an attempt to dislodge Raylar, who had crawled up onto its face. The blindfolded Light warrior seized the arrow shaft, clinging to the Serpent’s leathery hide with his free claw. He removed the arrow and plunged it in multiple times.

A storm of tentacles swept towards him, intent on knocking Raylar loose. Arrows caught most of the arms and turned them towards the offender. The last refused to be discouraged, barreling down towards the blindfolded creature. Suddenly it trembled, and plunged downwards at the last moment. The Light warrior watched the tendril tumble onto the sand below, severed by Venox’s laser blast. The Serpent reared up, forcing Raylar to jump clear as it burrowed deep into the ground again. Massive ice spikes surged upwards where it had disappeared, and a few seconds later, the beast resurfaced, roaring ferociously and bleeding from massive gashes rimmed with frost.

Shadewing shot towards the creature. As soon as he was sure that it wasn’t paying him any attention, the Dark one clung to the Serpent’s uninjured eye and exploded. Energy bloomed outwards, swathing one side of the enemy’s face in shadow. Dark tendrils twisted outwards from the origin point, sparking with power. Volt swept by, letting arcs of painful electricity bloom from his hands and body onto the wound. Strike then retreat. It was a tactic that he excelled in.

The Serpent opened its jaws, lashing out at Shadewing with its gargantuan tongue. The muscle missed by a fraction of an inch, caused so by a precise zap of energy from Volt as he flashed in and then out of combat. Venox seized the chance, whipping his laser across the sky. Its burning beam scorched easily through the tongue. His Darkwing allies quickly took over, melting it into a fleshy mess.

Raylar ran towards the Serpent’s side. He took a deep breath, calling on the focus of his blindfold, and plunged his claws deep into the beast’s hide. Raylar pulled with all his strength, and a chunk of flesh slowly began to tear free. Blood splashed all over the sand, hissing where it fell. Raylar grinned, leaping to the side as a massive tentacle smashed down where he had just been. Sand buried itself in the injured area, driving the Serpent’s rising rage to greater levels.

It raised its head, striking one of Venox’s Darkwings out of the air. Venox shrieked with anguish, converting to his shadow morph to avoid another strike. Meanwhile, Adriana fired arrow after arrow into the Serpent’s cavernous eye wound, and then stepped back behind a large rock to switch arrows.

She had made some from the Clingbarb bushes in the Dark lands. The venom in a single arrow was more than enough to down such a beast. Swiftly stepping into position, the Light female lined up her shot.
A tentacle erupted from beneath her, causing the archer to miss her target. Vamprina cried out in alarm as Volt fell, holding his arm as Darkness and blood flowed freely. His motionless body struck the sand, and the remaining Darkwings swept suddenly forward, striking Volt aside. A massive tentacle smashed onto them, and life left their bodies.

Vamprina hovered in the air, stunned for a moment. Raylar spotted the Serpent lunging at her, and a quick mental burst disoriented the beast for a few seconds. He leaped high into the air, pulling Vamprina down to the ground, and then swiftly jumping aside to avoid the Serpent’s second strike. His reflection ally revealed itself, striking the snake’s snout viciously until it pulled back, blood flowing from its wounds like water. Three tentacles whipped out from the sand, striking the irritating archer, Raylar, and Vamprina all to the ground at once. They lay in a stunned pile, and the Serpent’s jaws descended towards them.

Venox spun in frantic circles, and a lightning filled tornado surged between the snake and his friends. Three Darkwings spawned around him, and their rotations increased into whirlwinds of their own. The four storms bore down hard on the Serpent, hurting its eyes with their strong winds and scorching holes in its flesh with their lightning.

Shadewing and Vamprina lifted their arms to the sky, and it darkened. The moon rose, its glow intensifying as Adriana drew power from its presence, and within a few moments she had completed her change. She was a wolf now. The morphed female charged towards the wounded Serpent with unlimited rage, fuelled by the strength of the transformation. A howl tore from her throat, healing all her allies and giving them new strength.
Volt rose, smiling as the wound from the Clingbarb arrow vanished. Vamprina’s combat drive returned, and both she and her brother launched themselves into the air. Venox flew slightly above them, severing any tentacle that came close with bursts of his laser. Volt accompanied Raylar on the ground, and they took turns striking the wound the blindfolded creature had made on the Serpent’s side. Adriana rushed in, did as much damage as possible, and then she retreated, only to come from a different direction to do the same thing again.

The Serpent weakened. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a flaming orb dropped out of the sky…right in the middle of the fight. Not a single combatant could pay attention to the mysterious object, for they were focused on ending the fight. Investigation could come afterwards.

Adriana came out of her wolf form, exhausted from the energy drain. Venox got ready to summon more Darkwings. He looked up, and the slithery beast was nearly on top of him, anticipating the attack and ready to end it forever. The Darkling froze in fear, and it would have all been over for him in that instant. The Serpent fell under Shadewing’s electric attack, silenced forever. Shaken, Venox flew quickly to join his tired companions. They were focusing on a slight crater in the sand.

The orb had landed. The team walked as one, taking wary steps towards the object. Raylar was the first to break caution. He crept boldly up to the orb, tense for any movement. The orb’s skin was shiny with iridescence, like that of an insect, and in some areas it had thick fleshy veins blooming from cracks in its surface.

“Guys…” he said in a near whisper. “I think it’s an egg!”

His speech had returned to normal now that his blindfold had returned itself to his wrist. The rest of his team members came closer. The egg capsule was just about as large as they were, a good six feet tall, and it smelled of something oddly familiar. Venox said it smelled like the vile odor of Scraggletree sap. Adriana couldn’t disagree. She had been in the Dark parts of Stickworld more than once to know what he was referring to.

But Vamprina was skeptical. How could something not of Stickworld come from Stickworld? Shadewing told the rest of the group to be careful. If it was hostile, they all still felt pretty drained after their battle with the Serpent creature. Maybe it was best to watch it from a distance. Raylar snarled something about not being finished fighting yet, but he followed the group behind another large rock.

The sun had been hiding behind the clouds all this time. If it hadn’t, the battle with the Serpent could have been a whole lot harder to win. The Wastes contained no houses made by Stickkind, for quite a few good reasons. One, Syrus would eat any trespasser that dared walk here. Two, the blistering heat of the day would cause any outsider to burn to death. Three, the intense cold at night would freeze any outsider into an ice sculpture.

Syrus merely tolerated their presence because Raylar was with them. Unlike the rest of the team, he had done some very special healing within the snake. This caused the sparing of his life, and a very rare friendship, to result. Vamprina envied him for that.

The cloud cover could blow over soon. Then the egg would promptly melt in response to the sun’s wrath. As if stepping on this shard-like sand wasn’t punishment enough. Venox lifted one of his feet, brushed beneath his talons with his wingtip, and then returned it to the sand. A tense hour passed. And then, the egg began to split open.

The team did not know it, but this capsule was going to be the start of the biggest war Stickworld had ever seen.