Ray had been following the directions that Cameron had given him. The dragon was busy studying the trees and the forests as Lucy and Janet went over their suspicions of how they had come to find that Cameron was really a ghost. Ray found the whole thing rather interesting and was a bit put out with the fact that Janet and Lucy had never told him these things before. Janet had pointed out to him that since the dragon had been chatting so casually with the forestclan man that it might have been a problem for Ray if he had known what the girls had known. After some consideration, Ray had agreed and then the trio had headed quietly off into the woods as the dragon led them to where he hoped they would find the volcano passage they were looking for.

The hunter had been right. The air was getting rather hot. Hot and dry, and the trio moved uneasily as they headed towards their volcanic destination. There was something else in the air too, something that Lucy and Ray seemed to sense more then Janet did. Something like a buzz of energy seemed to pulsate through the air and grew denser with every few meters that the group began to near their destination. Lucy glanced around and shivered lightly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Can you feel that? It feels so evil..."

Ray nodded. "It's the demon's power. We're pretty close to the source by now."

"I feel a light buzz..." Janet glanced around. She could feel a tingling in her veins, but it wasn't anything close to the deep hum that Ray and Lucy could sense. The dragon and Lucy exchanged glances before nodding at Janet.

"We're almost there." Ray glanced at the sparse trees around them. The forest was now open enough to where they could see what lay beyond it, and the trio watched as the giant black mountain rose up slowly in front of them as they approached.

"I can't believe someone was dumb enough to make a passage through a live volcano..." Janet shifted her shoulders, adjusting the weight of the crossbow on her back. She hadn't noticed it much before now, but the growing heat of the air and the exhaust that began to pick at her was enough to remind her of the heavy weapon she had been lugging around. Geez Jason, couldn't you use anything lighter? Janet was almost startled to hear herself think the windian's name and glanced around as if she expected him to be there, ready to snap back at her with his own reply. That's silly... Janet thought to herself in wonder. It still feels like he's right here with us... The windian had already convinced herself that Jason was still alive, and that the trio would find him again. Lucy had constantly been trying to help her friend understand that, like Brandon, Jason wasn't going to come back, and it was something they'd all have to get used to. Janet, however, just couldn't seem to believe Lucy's words. I know you're alive, Jason. She thought to herself. And you must think you're pretty funny now, having me out here lugging your stuff around and worried sick about you when you're off somewhere doing just fine... Her thoughts did little to comfort her, but it gave her slight hope. It was early into the evening when the trio finally stepped out of the forest and into the shadow of the volcano.

"It's so hot..." Janet mopped the sweat off of her forehead with her sleeve. "We have to go through that?"

Ray was staring at the large tunnel that had been carved into the base of the volcano. The structure, its walls and floor formed by the cooling magma of the mountain, was still in some places a glowing river of the melted rock. The dragon ran a hand through his hair briefly for a moment in consideration of the passage that they had to take. "Well, I can see why most people don't use it that much."

"The heat probably kills most people off first..." Lucy was staring uneasily at the tunnel that twisted and disappeared somewhere into the center of the volcano. No one seemed to be too ready to rush through the passageway, especially since everyone had some sort of idea of what was on the other side waiting for them. The buzz that Lucy and Ray had felt in the air was now a loud throb that echoed like a heartbeat in their ears.

"So... now what?" Janet cast a glance from Ray to Lucy. The three exchanged looks and the dragon finally shrugged, letting out a little sigh.

"Alright... let's just get this over with." He started for the mouth of the passage when a feeling stopped him. Turning slowly, he gazed at Lucy and Janet in confusion. "Do you two have the feeling that we're being watched?"

The windians stared at Ray for a moment and then began to search their surroundings. Truthfully, neither of the two girls had the eerie feeling that Ray had. Not right away, at least, but gradually it began to envelop them. Janet first, and then Lucy, and the trio began to become even more wary as the sensation of being stalked began to slowly overtake them all.

"We need to get out of here..." Janet's voice was on the verge of frantic as she darted glances all around her. "There's something here, we need to go."

"Go?" Lucy gave her friend a concerned look. "But go where? We can't go back now."

"Then we'll just go forward." Janet made a quick walk for the volcano. "But we're not staying here, we can't stay here, we have to kee-"

"Janet..."

Janet wasn't sure why, but at the sound of Lucy's voice she stopped walking. It wasn't a slow down to a halt, it was an abrupt, sudden stop, and Janet held her breath and waited for Lucy to continue. The raven-haired windian's voice held a type of emotion to it that Janet hadn't heard before. One with a calm panic, a light urgency, a type of worried authority that made Janet only want to listen to Lucy's words and follow them. In a slow, steady voice, Lucy talked quietly to her friend again.

"Now... don't move too fast, but just tilt your head up... and look up at the side of the volcano just in front of you..."

Janet did so and froze. Staring down from its perch on the volcano top above her, Janet could just make out the form of a large bird. "Lucy..." Janet started in a shaky voice as she took a few careful steps back to her two companions, her eyes still trained on the form of the bird. "What is that?"

"I don't know..." The raven-haired windian also had her gaze fixed on the outline of the bird. "But whatever it is, I don't think we want to find out..."

"Something doesn't look right about it..." Ray squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at the creature. The dragon had a problem actually focusing on the bird. Its form seemed to be unstable, changing constantly and waving about like something uncontrolled, yet at the same time it kept the simple form of a perched bird.

"Animals..." Janet shook her head, "shouldn't be that close to an active volcano. No real bird would sit on top of one like that..."

"Then obviously it's not a real bird." Lucy commented quietly to her friend.

"Well then, what is it?" Ray's obvious question was met by silence from the two windians as the trio continued to stare up at the bird. Eventually the animal perked its head up, moving its gaze from the trio below it to the sky above it and reared its neck back, spreading out its wings and give a shrill cry. In the next instant it was gone. The trio exchanged bewildered looks and turned back to the passageway in front of them.

"What do you think that was...?" Ray glanced at the two windians in wonder. Janet shook her head.

"I don't know, but it's gone and we should be too." She was about to approach the volcano again when a comment from Lucy stopped her.

"What in Landon's name is that?" The raven-haired windian pointed a weak finger at the out wall of the volcano. Ray and Janet glanced up to see what she was pointing at and let out a startled cry.

There was a river of fire slowly streaming its way down the face of the volcano. It seemed to pour down in a slow trickle, spreading out across the volcano's rock surface, swirling and draining like water slowly being dribbled down the mountain's face. The trio took a step back as the lazy river of fire dripped down from the archway of the passage that lead through the volcano and landed in a pool just in front of the entrance, and there it continued to collect as flames slipped down the side of the volcano until all the red element that made its way down the mountain side was now gathered together in a large burning pool. Slowly the fires of the pool began to dance and flicker, and the flames rose up, completely blocking out the entrance of the volcano passage. The pool shivered and shifted and suddenly a large form began to grow from the red element. Unfocused at first, the flames of the great fire simply grew and began to intertwine around each other, braiding together until suddenly a recognizable figure emerged, its massive red body almost seemed to step from the fires itself if it weren't for the fact that the flames happened to be what was making up the outline of the creature. As the wild movements of the fire traced the invisible contour of the creature, the trio was finally able to make out the outline and details of the great fire beast that was now standing before them.

Simply put, it was a bird. It was a massive bird, estimated to be almost three stories tall if compared to the height of one of Windia's buildings. It had four legs, and stood almost catlike as it gazed down at the trio before it. There was a crest that started at the back of the bird's head, beginning right between two large, long, pointed, flame-traced ears. The crest, a line of feathers that created a type of stiff mane for the bird ran down to about the creature's shoulders where it stopped suddenly. The beast's four legs all resembled the legs of a bird of prey, the shaggy coat of feathers stopping halfway down the animal's leg at the bending join and turned instantly into a scaly textured which then led down to the creatures sharp talons. The bird's tail, long and almost fluid lashed from behind it wildly, leaving streams of flames in the air behind it that danced briefly for a moment before they faded into nothing. And finally the bird's wings, massive structures that, when unfolded, could easily cover the span of a few of the small towns that the group had visited in their journey, were folded tightly to the bird's sides, giving the animal a long and slender appearance. The bird seated itself into a partial crouching position, its head lowered to watch the trio with its burning gaze as its long tail lashed about behind it. Over all, the animal seemed to have an appearance close to that of a gryffin made entirely of fire. The flames that made up the animal continued to dance and swerve, giving the animal an unstable look as it sat watching the group. The feeling of seeing the fire beast before them seemed almost magical before it was broken by Lucy's quiet voice.

"The Red Bird..." Hearing its own name caused the ears of the bird to twitch lightly, and its head tilted down, fixing on Lucy with its unwavering gaze.

"The what?" Ray's quiet question came to Lucy's ears a moment after she had said the words. Lucy did her best to explain quietly to the dragon as she stared at the mythical creature before them.

"The Red Bird... a fire bird of mass destruction. Legends say it appeared in times of w-"

"Times of war, yes." The trio let out a startled gasp as the female voice filled the air around them. Speechless, they watched as a pale form appeared above the Red Bird, slowly fading into existence. The golden eyed demon smiled a sharp smile, her reptilian tail waving back and forth slowly as she hovered just above the bird. The demon moved her gaze down to Lucy and she considered the windian for a moment. "My, I see someone's been doing their homework. Yes, this is that very same little birdy as the one you've heard about in your books and fairy tales." The demon floated down, standing herself beside the Red Bird. With a smile at the fire creature, she slipped a pale arm around the bird's outlined neck and turned back to the trio. "But you see, the difference between my bird and the one from your fairy tales is that mine is very real." She grinned again at the trio and her golden eyes danced from one person to the next. "So are a lot of other fairy tales that I'm sure you've run across on your way here. Tell me, do you think I did a good job keeping them all in character? I really did try hard."

"You... you made those things?" Lucy stammered as she stared at the demon before her. "The shens, the panther, the nightmare... you made them all?"

"Well of course I did you silly bird." The demon smiled down at Lucy. "I had a lot of spare time! You don't think I would be wasting it and do nothing, do you? Oh but they were fun things to make, I must say. I especially liked those shadow creatures, they did their job well. But then, my bird here," the demon turned to gaze lovingly at the Red Bird beside her, "I think this one is by far my most favorite. Those other demons, they were empty shells, there was nothing behind them but my own programming of their minds." She shrugged her pale shoulders lightly and brought up a hand to examine her claw-like fingernails in vain boredom. "This one, however, this one is different. This one has more..." she stared at the Red Bird for a moment in consideration before she turned back to the trio with a grin. "This one has more character."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Janet gave the demon a wide-eyed look. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The demon brought her hand up to her chest in a display of humble shock. "Why, I am Ravyn, the Creator." Ravyn pulled her lips back in another fanged grin. "And I'll assume you are my welcoming party. It's so nice to see you all here, you see, after you've been waiting as long as I have, you begin to grow bored, so you start to think of ways to entertain yourself." Ravyn ran a finger down the Red Bird's head, starting at just below the beginning of the bird's feathered crest and then stroked down the arch of the beak, finally stopping at the sharp tip of the bird's maw before she turned back to the trio once more. "Did you enjoy my other pets? I know you've fought them, you see, I can smell their scent on you." The demon's golden eyes danced as she gazed at the three in front of her. "And since you've been acquainted with them already, I'm rather sorry I had to miss what must have happened after you ran in to them all." With a flourished gesture to the Red Bird, Ravyn rose into the air again and floated smoothly over to the side of the volcano, lowering herself into a sitting position and crossing her legs elegantly as she did. "But then again, that's why I'm so glad you're here now. See, my dear Red Bird is still in infant creation, and it needs someone to play with so it can develop some of its skills. I'm sure you all won't mind entertaining me for a bit while you get to know my dear pet." Another grin from Ravyn and suddenly the Red Bird reared up from its crouched position and glared down at the trio, its fiery beak cracking open in a snarl as a deep hiss like that of the rushing wind echoed from the bird's throat. The three took an uneasy step back as the fire beast slowly began to approach with a steady stalk, its movements mimicking that of a prowling cat as it advanced on the trio, towering over the three like a massive bonfire. The bird paused briefly and Ravyn spoke up again from behind the animal.

"Oh, I should warn you to be careful though. See, my dear pet doesn't always like to play nice." The demon's comment was followed by a light chuckle, and then the Red Bird attacked.